By air
Faleolo (APW), ~35 km west of the town
Australia & New Zealand · Samoa
Apia, Samoa
Samoa's easygoing capital and the Stevenson house
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to October — the drier, cooler season
Don't miss
Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
Palolo Deep Marine Reserve
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Apia fish market
Papase'ea Sliding Rocks
Mount Vaea
Things to do
Robert Louis Stevenson's house at Vailima
The Saturday market
Swimming at Palolo Deep
A fiafia night of dance and drums
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Where to eat
What to pack
Light clothes, a lavalava for villages and churches, reef shoes, insect repellent
A quieter corner
Papase'ea Sliding Rocks, natural waterslides in a stream on the hills above the town
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Apia?
May to October — the drier, cooler season. What to pack: Light clothes, a lavalava for villages and churches, reef shoes, insect repellent.
How do I get to Apia?
Fly into Faleolo (APW), ~35 km west of the town.
What is there to do in Apia?
Robert Louis Stevenson's house at Vailima, the Saturday market, swimming at Palolo Deep, a fiafia night of dance and drums, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. A quieter find: Papase'ea Sliding Rocks, natural waterslides in a stream on the hills above the town.
What should I eat in Apia?
Oka raw fish, palusami in coconut cream, umu feasts, fresh papaya and taro, koko Samoa.
About Apia
- Coastal
- Island
Where it is
Apia is the capital of Samoa, on the north coast of the island of Upolu in the South Pacific, facing a reef-sheltered harbour.
History
A trading settlement on the harbour in the nineteenth century, Apia saw German, British and American rivalry before Germany and then New Zealand administered the islands, and it became the capital of independent Samoa in the 1960s. The writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent his last years on the hill above the town and is buried on Mount Vaea.
People
Samoan life follows fa'a Samoa, the Samoan way, with village chiefs, church on Sunday and extended families at its centre; visitors are met with warmth and expected to dress modestly in villages.
Known for
- Robert Louis Stevenson's house
- The Saturday market
- Fiafia nights
- Snorkelling at Palolo Deep
Did you know?
Stevenson's Samoan neighbours called him Tusitala, the teller of tales, and carried his coffin up Mount Vaea.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.