Samoa - Transport
There are flights from Apia to Fiji, Auckland and Sydney from where further connections can be made. Polynesian Airlines has daily flights to Savaii (20 min) and Pago Pago (American Samoa) (40 min). Polynesian Airlines and Air New Zealand fly to several destinations like New Zealand, Hawaii, California.
Polynesian Air, Tel. 22737/8, have inter-island flights to American Samoa, Tonga, and Niue. Also, flight plans to Seattle and San Francisco. They also have flights to Savaii, just next door, and special low-season rates to New Zealand and Australia.
There are ferries to Tokelau and American Samoa.
Taxis are relatively cheap (5 Tala to town) and there are a great many of them. Local buses are even cheaper.
Currently, car rentals are not available due to number of visitors from New Zealand and Australia visiting their relatives since the border reopened.
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
Next Section: General Info: Diplomatic Missions
Related to following destinations: Samoa
Country Navigation
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE-5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comMain Ports - Samoa
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE-5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comFormalities
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE-5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.com
From our 2024 visit. The Noon site pages are accurate. Samoa is a good place to visit, so the comments before 2022 below can be ignored. Really folks, bitching about not paying your Harbour fees before departure! No wonder cruisers have a poor reputation through the whole pacific. Maybe a decade ago there was petty official corrution. (ie cash USD not Samoan Talla) Not now.
1. Yes there is a 48Hr ANOA form via email. Ask for a response in a separate email if you don’t get one automatically first time.
2. Yes, call the Harbour Master at Apia Port Control on VHF 1-2hours before arrival, it is professional to ASK permission before entering a commercial port in every country in the world. They don’t want you blocking a channel or sailing into a container ships’ turning basin. Samoa is seriously poor, and can not afford overtime so runs 9-5, on weekdays and episodically on weekends. Plan accordingly. Also Sunday still really is the Sabath here. Respect it and put some pants on, neither they or I want to see your tanned bum cheeks poking past your G-string. In fact outside of walled resorts, every day is shirt on and no G-string day in Samoa.
3. Clearance anchorage. The Harbour Master will direct you to an obvious yellow customs clearance anchorage buoy. You can ASK permission to clear in at the Marina if you already have a booking – but just anchor out it’s easier, the holding is good and it’s cooler on anchor. You pick up the obvious waving officials, at the marina dock. If you a have a small tender you might need 2 trips as Samoans can be well nourished. The smaller the tender and larger the Samoan the more laughter there will be.
4. On arrival it was explained to us that your harbour fees are $100 per month (or any part of a month) but will be waived if you instead stay in the Marina for a few days and have a receipt. On departure you will not get Customs Clearance until you pay your Harbour or Marina Fees.
5. Biosecurity is free on arrival, they didn’t take any of our food stuffs, there “may be” a disposal fee if they do.
6. Immigration is free on arrival, but requires a walk to their office in town as first pit stop on departure.
7. Customs is free on arrival and hassle free. But they will give you the 3rd degree and a whole boat search if your papers aren’t in order, ie: you arrive in Samoa from Polynesia but your Zarpe says next port Fiji. If your blown here off course, call them in advance. If you just rock up, then yes you are actually suspicious so just be polite and get inspected. Drugs are sadly a growing and quite real problem in these Islands, and so called “cruising” yachts are still a traditional contributor to the the import trade. Customs has a clearance fee on departure
8. The “cruising permit”, honestly I wouldn’t bother, anchorages are few and far between, and the nice tourist sites of Samoa are not near those anchorages. Hire a car, do a lap of Upolu and catch the ferry to Savai. If they added Western Savai as an Entry/Exit port then things would be different for cruising here, but they are poor so can not do that. Reinhard’s 2023 comment below is interesting, maybe that is a loophole that they have allowed to let a yacht leave from Savai after clearing out at Apia. Maybe its new……ask? A permit does cost extra I think.
So come to Samoa, both Samoa’s in fact, they are far less crowded than down south if you need a break from that crowd. Both Countries are scenic and both have there own interesting brand of Polynesian culture and history.
Well said. Somoa is certainly one of the most welcoming places we have visited so far on our 7 years of cruising.
We (cruisers) should always remember that it is a privilege to enter a foreign port and be welcomed as foreign visitors. It’s a shame that isn’t true for other countries that I won’t name.
Cruising permit: the immigration officer – he is in the 1. floor of the gouvernment building – told me today on my request, that a cruising permit only allows sailing along the coast. No landfall. Except when you leave Samoa, then one landfall with a cruising permit would be possible.
Lucinda and Al on SV Ten Gauge left NZ in 2018, cruised French Poly from Australs to Marquesas for almost a year before heading to Alaska for the northern fall/winter/summer of 2019/2020. Now on their return trip to NZ they stopped over in Apia, Samoa and gave this report:
1) Western Samoa: Arriving boats are most definitely NOT allowed into the marina until AFTER they’ve cleared all the health, customs and immigration items. Apparently this became a headache for the marina, and had to change at some point. Sounds like this change came from cruisers not doing what they were asked to do.
2) We were first told that all officials would come to the boat at anchor, and we had to stay on the boat until completed. In the end we were told to walk to immigration in town. It’s more than a week and we’re still not sure what’s up with Agriculture/biosecurity.
3) Health came first and did a rapid antigen test for covid on us. They did ask if we had evidence of supervised testing prior to leaving last port. We didn’t. I’m not clear if we’d have been tested on arrival regardless. Everyone we talked to had same as us, and didn’t come with prior supervised testing.
4) In Apia nobody has answered the vhf for cruisers until after 9am. A container ship got an answer at 6am, but he’d been calling for well over an hour. A couple boats this week called for several hours during the day, got no answer, came in and anchored and they say nobody challenged them on it in the end. VHF reception still seems to be an issue.
5) The Port Captain’s email to us prior to arrival clearly instructed us NOT to come into the channel until receiving verbal permission. Everyone calls them ” Apia Port Control” on radio calls.
6) The rest of the arrival protocols seem to more or less align with what’s on Noonsite. The staff here seems to be quite under-resourced. Our clearing in has been dis-combobulated. The different boats here all had slightly different experiences.
7) Everyone from the Port Control, to health, customs, immigration, the marina, the guys on the dock…. All have been uniformly friendly and welcoming. But not all organized individually, not organized between departments, not fast, not easy to get hold of, and not really clear. Everyone has been polite and most of them even apologizing for not having made a smoother process for us.
8) US Samoa – we decided not to go since our best info from shore based people’s research was a no go. We met two policemen from US Samoa visiting here in Apia the other day, doing a few days official exchange of some kind. They told us US Samoa would have been open to us, and encouraged us to visit later if we wanted.
9) I got permission from Tonga to go to Minerva on the way to NZ. I emailed Friday morning, got the response Tuesday morning. I requested ” Up to a week weather depending, around 7 October, weather depending”.
Update: Already checked out of the country and heading West toward Wallis.
Over Channel 16 the port authority hailed and said we needed to Return to pay $100 USD we informed them we didn’t have USD.
That we were already out of the harbor in rough seas.
They said they would send a boat out to collect the $100 USD for anchoring in the only place you are allowed to anchor without a cruising permit.
We waited 30minutes for the boat.
Hailed and said we would pay with a CC.
We were there a week without any signage or visit from them asking to pay a anchor fee.
We finally put sails up and left.
We later found out that a worker came to another vessel.
And demanded $100 USD they weren’t a US boat but had USD and paid it.
They later went into the office and found the man and asked for a receipt for check out.
They said “we have the $ to another coworker, he’s not here to give you a receipt”
They were able to check out without it.
To be clear this is not the marina, it’s the port authority for anchoring not the marina for docking or dinghy docking fee.
SCAM employees of the harbor SCAMMING yachts.
Go to Samoa by plane, a worse cruising destination I am yet to find
I would think twice before coming back to Samoa.
Heres the truth, Apia is on the north side of the east island right in the middle of the island.
Typically the trades are blowing 20+ knots which means if you are coming from the south or west you are beating into the trades.
I had a long discussion with them about needing a check in on Savaii the island to the west for this reason. So yachts can land, pick a weather window and make their way east.
Once you’ve made your way to APIA now you are stuck in sailboat jail in the middle of the city which is the ONLY place in the country you can be anchored unless you apply for the 5 day cruising permit for $100
Once you’ve gotten your cruising permit it is active immediately.
So let’s say you want to see Savaii? you head west a day. spend 4 days and then beat right back into the trades to return to sailboat jail.
Every cruiser here is saying the same thing and every cruiser had a rough ride reaching APIA.
Once just came in that said it took 12 hours just to get across the 10 mile stretch between the islands.
Samoa needs more check in, check out places.
And NO you can not check out of anywhere other then APIA despite what has been written prior.
It’s been written that you check out and let customs know you will be departing from Savai’i.
This is not true.
You must check out from Apia.
Which means you likely will have to beat into the trades.
Also you must get a cruising permit for 5 days which is $100 ($30usd) it is active when they give it to you.
If you want to go to Savai’i you will take a day to get there. Stay 4 days. And immediately come back to Apia again… beating into the trades.
Not the best set up for cruising.
Please note that, since 2011, Samoa has been on the New Zealand side of the International Date Line. If you arrive from the Cook Islands or French Polynesia you will skip a day.
None of the cruising guides mention this but as the Samoan authorities do not clear boats at the weekend, it is worth planning for. American Samoa, however, is still on the French Polynesian side of the Date Line.
S/Y Yindee Plus