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The Islands of Samoa (pronounced Saaah-Moah) are located halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii and East of the International Dateline.

Samoa is comprised of 10 islands, of which Savaii and Upolu are the largest. The 8 smaller islands includes Apolima, Fanuatapu, Manono, Namua, Nuulopa, Nuulua, Nuusafee and Nuutele. The country’s capital of Apia and Faleolo International Airport are both located on the main island of Upolu.

The Fa’a Samoa culture (the Samoan Way) is over 3,000 years old and Samoan mythology and legends say they descended from the Gods and Heavens to inhabit these islands.

European whalers and traders started to arrive in the late 1700’s. The most important agents of change in Samoa were the Western missionaries, converting the people from belief in Gods for the sun, earth, heavens and sea to the one God.

In 1899 after years of civil war, the islands of the Samoan archipelago were divided – the Germans taking the islands to the west and the Americans taking the islands to the east, now known as American Samoa.

After the outbreak of World War I, New Zealand captured Western Samoa from the small German company stationed the islands and following the end of the war took administrative control on behalf of the United Nations from 1918 until independence on 1st January 1962. Western Samoa became the first Pacific nation to gain Independence.

From 1962 to 1997, the nation was known as Western Samoa, until it dropped the title ‘Western’ from its name to become the Independent State of Samoa.

Diving in Samoa offers something special for both the novice and the experienced diver.  The islands are blessed with a rich marine life and the surrounding reefs are home to some 900 fish species including including anemone, rays, trevally, napoleon, tuna, barracuda, snapper, wrasse, grouper, butterfly fish, angel fish, spade fish, giant clams, morays, turtles and reef sharks.

There are more than 200 varieties of coral, as well as various swim throughs and tunnels to explore. The warm clear waters provide excellent visibility of between 15 and 50 metres and temperatures ranging from 25° to 30°C.

For Advanced and adventurous divers, much of the reef remains unexplored and there is the potential to discover brand new dive sites in the area.

On Upolu, two favourite dive sites are:

THE ROCK
As you descend on this dive you generally drop into a school of barracuda. Dropping onto the plateau between 12-18 metres you feel as if you are floating in an aquarium. Hard corals and giant clams are surrounded by a variety of tropical fish, anemone, clown trigger fish, manta rays, trevally, napoleon, tuna and fusiliers often follow you around. The soft corals begin at 18 metres as you drop off the plateau to search for sharks.

APOLIMA GARDENS
The coral garden off Apolima Island begins at 8metres and drops to 40metres and is a wonderland of colour and life between 10 and 20 metres.  Drift pass the large table corals which screen lobsters and rainbow runners. Unicorn fish, turtles, napoleon, reef sharks and blue fin trevally are a staple of this dive.

On the island of Savai'i, the wreck "Juno" is a nice, easy dive, only a 5 minute boat trip from shore. This was a 3 mast missionary sailing ship which sunk in Lelepa bay in 1881. This iron wreck is full of corals, where you can see trumpet fish, turtles and a wide variety of colourful reef fish, parrot fish, yellow snappers, big-eyes and much more. The maximum depth is 25 meters.

Polynesian Blue, Air New Zealand, Air Pacific and Polynesian Airlines all operate international flights from New Zealand, Australia, United States of America, Tonga, American Samoa and Fiji into Samoa. The main entry point into Samoa is Falelolo International Airport, 35 kms from Apia on the island of Upolu.

Entry Requirements:
Visitors to Samoa are not required to obtain an entry permit for stays of less than 30 days, however you must have a return or onward ticket and your passport must be valid for six months of more at the time of entry into the country.

Climate: Samoa’s climate is tropical all year round with two distinct seasons – the dry season running from May to October and the wet season running from November to April. The year round average temperatures range between 26-29 degrees Celsius

Water Temperature: Generally ranges from 25° to 30°C with little seasonal variation

Language: Samoan is the national language, although English is widely spoken and is the official language of business.

Currency: The Samoa decimal currency is the Tala (dollar) and Sene (cent). All major foreign currencies are exchangeable in Samoa. The Tala can be purchased outside the country from a few selected banks. Credit cards are widely accepted in the major hotels, restaurants and stores. Traveller’s cheques are mostly accepted at major banks and hotels. EFTPOS machines can be found throughout Upolu and Savaii.

Electricity: 240 volts/AC 50 cylces, but can be converted to 110 volts in some hotels. Power-points can accept three-pronged plugs as used in Australia and New Zealand.

Time Zone: Samoa is 11 hours behind GMT and 21 hours behind Australian Eastern Standard Time (e.g. At 11am in Eastern Australia, the local time in Samoa is 2pm the previous day)

Dress: Light summer clothing with a light sweater for the cooler evenings. Visitors are requested not to wear swim suits in Apia or the villages. Topless/nude sunbathing is not permitted.

Medical: The islands are free of major tropical diseases and no vaccinations are required unless coming from an area infected with yellow fever within 6 days of arrival. There is no risk of catching malaria in Samoa but dengue fever outbreaks have occurred on odd occasions. It is recommended to use a good branded insect repellent.