Things to do in Upolu
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Upolu
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season: settled seas, best snorkelling, passable inland tracks. July and August are the sweet spot.
Wet and cyclone season: fuller waterfalls and fewer visitors, with ferry, boat and track disruption possible.
What's on
- Independence Celebrations around 1 June
National celebrations centred on Apia, with parades, church services and cultural performance.
- Measina Festival (Teuila Festival) Late August to early September each year
Samoa's flagship cultural festival in Apia: dance, choir, fire knife and fautasi longboat racing.
- White Sunday (Lotu Tamaiti) Second Sunday in October
Children in white lead church services and are feasted. Visitor services largely close for the day.
Best things to do in Upolu
Sopo'aga Falls Viewpoint
The easiest falls stop on Upolu: a flat garden walk to a railed platform facing a tall waterfall.
Fuipisia Waterfall
A wilder 54 metre falls with a short path and a stream pool at the top, best paired with Sopo'aga.
Falefa Falls
The roadside falls stop on the Falefa Valley descent, the scenic return leg of the island loop.
Sauniatu Waterfall
A swimmable inland falls most visitors never find without local directions or a guided east coast day.
Return to Paradise Beach
The famous film beach at Lefaga: white sand, lava rock and a lagoon day through the resort or village.
Saleapaga Beach
Lalomanu's quieter neighbour beach, with family day fales, lunch and lagoon swimming on village land.
Vavau Beach
A beautiful deserted beach with no facilities since the 2009 tsunami, for travellers who value empty.
Apolima Island
A crater island with one village, visitable only by arranged boat and village host, weather permitting.
Where to stay in Upolu
Apia
first base, town sights and logistics
Sleep here for the city picks, restaurants, cash and rental cars. Its hotels are picked in the Apia brief.
Lalomanu and Aleipata, east tip
beach second base
Wake next to Lalomanu and To Sua instead of commuting, with enclosed fales above the open fale strip.
Saleapaga and Lepa, southeast coast
fale value base
The same sand and lagoon as Lalomanu with more fale choice, lower prices and an easier falls circuit.
Siumu and Maninoa, south coast
resort second base, couples
Quiet resort strip near Togitogiga and the national park, about 40 minutes from Apia.
Lefaga, southwest coast
pure beach block
One famous beach and one Samoan-owned resort, with the clam sanctuary a short drive east.
Northeast coast, Faleapuna to Falefa
quiet and the island loop
The least visited sleeping coast, with one cove resort and Falefa Valley at the end of the road.
Think twice about
- Mulifanua as a main holiday base
A good resort in a logistics strip. Beyond the hotel there is little to walk to and Apia is 45 minutes away.
- Reef passages and exposed south coast surf beaches
Lagoon currents drain through reef gaps and surf beaches like Aganoa have powerful rips. Swim inside reefs only.
Best restaurants in Upolu
Mika's Restaurant
The south coast special-occasion table: Samoan dishes with Italian and French-leaning menus by the sea.
Ocean Club Maninoa
The independent beach bar and restaurant in the Maninoa resort cluster, for lunch and sunset drinks.
South Pacific Restaurant
The ocean-view resort dining room at Mulifanua, so ferry and airport nights need no night drive.
Rock Pool Bar
The sunset drink of the southwest coast, by the resort rock pools above Return to Paradise Beach.
LuluLosa Beach Fales Bar & Grill
Fale bar and grill cooking on the Lalomanu strip: the cheap cash lunch where you are already swimming.
Pele's Dine-in & Takeaway
A small local dine-in and takeaway on the south coast road, for a Samoan plate at local prices.
Outdoor things to do in Upolu
Lake Lanoto'o
A crater lake with wild goldfish, reached by a muddy rainforest hike and best done with a local guide.
Samoan Island Adventures
The specialist guide operator for Lanoto'o, national park lava coast days and east coast waterfalls.
Aganoa Black Sand Beach
An exposed black sand surf beach on the lava coast: walk it and watch it, do not plan to swim.
Manono Island
A car-free, dog-free island circled on foot in two hours, past villages, graves and a star mound.
Best hotels in Upolu
Coconuts Beach Club Resort and Spa
Small character resort with over-water fales, a spa and the south coast sights in easy reach.
Return to Paradise Resort & Spa
Samoan-owned resort on the famous film beach, with pools, a spa and room for families to spread out.
Samoa Beach Resort
The airport and ferry resort, formerly the Sheraton beach resort, ideal for first and last nights.
Le Uaina Beach Resort
A small locally built cove resort, the only absolute beachfront base on the quiet northeast coast.
Litia Sini Beach Fales
Enclosed fales on Lalomanu with a restaurant and bar: the fale experience with a door that closes.
Faofao Beach Fales
Benchmark family beach fales with big home-cooked meals included in the classic Samoa budget tier.
Manusina Beach Fales
Family fales at the Lepa end of the Saleapaga shore, the alternative when the famous names are full.
Is Upolu expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | WST 150 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | WST 350 a person |
| Splurge | WST 750 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Sauniatu Waterfall: a few days ahead
- Apolima Island: weeks ahead
- Nu'utele Island: a few days ahead
- Lake Lanoto'o: a few days ahead
- Samoan Island Adventures: a few days ahead
- Manono Island: a few days ahead
- Coconuts Beach Club Resort and Spa: weeks ahead
- Return to Paradise Resort & Spa: weeks ahead
- Book over-water fales at Coconuts and Lalomanu stays weeks ahead in the dry season, and guided Lanoto'o and boat days days ahead.
- Arrange Manono and Apolima boats and hosts through your accommodation in advance. There are no fixed timetables to fall back on.
Is Upolu safe?
- Beaches are unpatrolled and reef passages have strong currents. Swim inside the reef and ask locally first. Emergency number 911.
- Avoid night driving on unlit roads, give dogs distance, and carry insurance that covers medical evacuation.
Upolu travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Apia taxi day rates to a beach you could sleep at for less in a fale.
- Expecting a restaurant scene outside Apia and the resorts. Fale dinners are usually the better meal.
- Putting To Sua, the falls or a village beach on a Sunday, when sights close and villages rest.
Getting around Upolu: public transport and more
- Drive on the left and get the WST 21 temporary licence endorsement before driving. Limits are 40 km/h in villages and 56 km/h outside.
- Run the island as circuits: south and east loop over the Cross Island Road and Le Mafa Pass, a west day for Lefaga and Manono, a highland half day for Lanoto'o.
- Ferries run Mulifanua to Salelologa on Savai'i several times a day in about 60 to 90 minutes. Check times and book vehicles ahead in season.
Who Upolu suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Upolu your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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