Samoa | 9 Days Tropical Paradise, White Beaches, Palm Trees, Rainforests, Reefs and Crystal Clear Waters
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Samoa | 9 Days Tropical paradise, white beaches, palm trees, rainforests, reefs and crystal clear waters. That is the beautiful country of Samoa. Slow travel by bicycle is the best way to explore this beautiful country, as we explore both major islands, Upolu and Savai’i. The ride engages with local NGO, Brown Girl Woke, coconut oil farmers and cacao growers. Fast Facts Start: Apia, Samoa Departures Finish: Apia, Samoa th Group Size: 28 June, 2020 Direct/connecting 2-12 th Total Distance: 20 Sept, 2020 flights: Bookings 200km th Cycling Days: 24 Jan, 2021 Sydney | Brisbane Deposit: $100 7 of 9 th Difficulty: 18 April 2021 Auckland | Fiji | Tours guaranteed from 2 people + Easy/Moderate th Price: 13 June, 2021 Hawaii Click here for T&C’s US$1450-$1590 th AU$2150-$2350 19 Sept, 2021 Click here to book Custom dates available for 4+ Single Supp: AU$200 (3 nights only) Welcome to Samoa Day 1: Bike fitting, ferry and an intro to Savai’i The meeting point is on Upolu, about 3km from the ferry port at Outdoor Samoa. We’ll meet for 9am and get fitted for our bikes, after having a brief about your upcoming adventure. From here, we take the midday ferry to Savai’i, grab a snack along the way on the ferry and then ride to Lano (20km). Along the way, there is a great rock pool overlooking the ocean where we can take a bit of a dip to cool down. Lauiula Fales 20km | easy | +118m / - 120m Dinner One hour ferry Lano to Manase Day 2: Church lava ruins, cycling and snorkelling The 31km cycle from Lano to Manase brings you to the church ruins from the volcanic eruption of 1905-1911. An early start means you’ll get to Manase by lunch time and make the most of the 2km of white sandy beaches. This is also an excellent place for snorkelling, visiting one of the many resorts and enjoying a well earned beer! Tailua Fales 31km | easy | +198 m/-196 m Breakfast, Dinner Manase to Vaimoana Day 3 Cave exploring, snorkelling and cycle climbing This 38km ride starts and finishes by the beach, but in between, you’ll reach heights of 240m. Along the way, stop and check out Pe’ape’a Lava Tube Caves and give yourself a bit of a break. And if at any point, the idea of snorkelling outweighs the cycling, you can always jump in the van to give you more time in the water! Vaimoana Beach Resort 38km | moderate | +432m / - 426m Breakfast, Dinner Vaimoana to Falealupo Day 4 The Western Pinnacle and ultimate sunset The ride is a little shorter than yesterday, but also encompasses a 180m climb over about 4km. What goes up , must come down though and Falealupo boasts the most remote and arguably dramatic scenery of Samoa. Situated on the western tip of Savai’i, you’ll find a sunset painted for postcards, over the coral white beaches and lagoon. Along the way, you can stop by the Canopy walk and view the lush forests from great heights! Falealupo Beach Fales 20km | moderate | +242m / - 246m Breakfast, Dinner Falealupo to Satuiatua Day 5 A traditional umu BBQ feast The ride out of Falealupo is spectacular! Giant palms align the soft sand road for the first few kilometers, as you listen to the sound of the waves gently crash in along the coast. A couple of short but sharp hills (on bitumen) will get your blood pumping. We’ll get to Satuiatua by lunch. Relax on the beautiful beach, go for a walk or explore the reef and some more tropical snorkelling. In the evening, we’ll enjoy a feast with Uilau, our local guide, and his family. The feast is prepared on a local umu style rock BBQ. It’s an incredible, very local experience! Satuiatua Beach Fales 38km | moderate | +433m / -427m Breakfast, Dinner Satuiatua to Florences Day 6 Cacao farms, waterfall swims and blowholes Shortly after riding out of Satuiatua, we’ll break the day up with a visit to a local cocoa growing family. Through WIBDI, learn how these families use traditional methods to create an incredible style of cocoa from bean all the way to your own hot chocolate! There’s an amazing blowhole that’s on route worth stopping at. Once you arrive at Florences place, you can double back about 2km to the Puleia swimming hole for a refreshing waterfall swim. Florences Homestay 31km | easy | +206m / - 202m Breakfast, Dinner Savai’i to Upolu Day 7 Last cycling day, meet with Brown Girl Woke NGO The last day on the bikes and we head back to Upolu island via the ferry. Once back on Upolu, we’ll meet up with Doris from Brown Girl Woke. Doris Tulifau is a survivor, educator, activist and organizer ensuring that there are safe spaces for our future generations to talk about trauma before they deal with it as adults. She founded the Brown Girl Woke, a group that promotes young women and men to empower them on taboo issues happening in the Samoan community especially on domestic violence and sexual abuse. The next two nights are spent at Matareva beach on the south coast of Upolu. After the ferry, the bikes will be dropped back at the office and you’ll be transferred to Matareva by car. Matareva Beach Fale 45km | 1 hour 22km | easy | +123m / -123m Breakfast, Dinner Matareva Day 8 To Sua Ocean Trench and Togitogiga Falls Using Matareva as a base, we’ll explore the best of Upolu. Togitogiga falls and To Sua ocean trench stand out as highlights for the day. To Sua is arguably one of the best swimming holes on the planet. A long ladder down into the trench leads to some of the most beautiful, clearest waters. Take your time, and your camera, as you lay back and enjoy nature at it’s very, very best. Matareva Beach Fale None Breakfast, Dinner Upolu South Coast Tour Departure Day Day 9 Time to say goodbye Your adventure comes to an end today, so it’s time to say goodbye to your new found friends and travelling companions! Airport taxis are available from the Matareva Beach fale reception or there are an abundance of options should you want to spend a few more days relaxing in paradise. Tour itinerary on a page Day 4: Vaimoana Day 3: Manase Day 2: Lano to to Falealupo to Vaimoana Manase Day 1: Catch the midday ferry After collecting bikes in the morning and cycle to Lano Day 5: Falealupo to Satuiatua Day 6: Satuiatua to Florence’s homestay Day 7: Savai’i to Upolu Day 8 & 9: South Coast Upolu staying in Matareva Getting There and Away As there are a variety of flight options coming into Samoa, we’ve decided not to include arrival and departure transfers in the tour package, as it’s not possible to get a ‘one size fits all’ option. Therefore, we’re happy to provide the following options to assist you in making the most of your Samoan adventure. ARRIVAL 1. Stay at Le Vasa Resort. Conveniently located close to the airport and starting point. You can book direct online. Mid range prices. Good for one or two nights. 2. Stay at Sheraton. High end international hotel next door to the airport and also close to the starting point and ferry port. Good for one or two nights. 3. Matareva Beach Fale. We can book this for you A$75 per person, per night. Taxi from the airport is roughly A$60 and a one hour drive. Good for two or more nights. 4. Custom build a kayak adventure on Manono island over 5 days. Speak to us for options. DEPARTURE 1. Additional nights at Matareva Beach fale at A$75pp. Airport taxi for up to four people A$60. 2. Turtle Kayak extension. Stay 3 extra nights at Matareva. The first day includes a guided kayak down a small mangrove stream out into a lagoon where you can expect to see 30 or more turtles. On Sunday relax on the beach and enjoy an Umu lunch (small extra fee). On Monday enjoy the beach, or share a ride into Apia for the day. On Tuesday you will be met after breakfast and take a mountain bike tour to some large Lava Tube caves. Trip includes airport dropoff for evening flights. 3 nights accommodation, 3 dinners, breakfasts, Guided kayak tour and guided bike/cave tour. Price $750 AUD pp share twin, min 2 people. Inclusions and Exclusions Included in tour price: All accommodation (twin share in traditional fales, Meals as per itinerary (food only), support van transport, water and fruit whilst cycling, NGO presentations, cacao farming presentation, bike hire with helmet, ferry to and from Savai’I, entry to To Sua Ocean Trench Excluded in tour price: Entry to local attractions such as canopy walk, lava church, waterfalls etc, souvenirs , travel insurance, visas, flights, tips, donations, arrival and departure airport transfers, lunches. Samoa support Our local Samoan guide and driver; Uilau The ride around Savai’i is supported by Uilau, our local guru and support driver. He’ll be with you during your cycling hours, which are usually early morning to early afternoon, depending on the day. Once you’ve reached your new fale for the evening, Uilau will head home to be with his family and leave you to relax, go for a snorkel, lay on the beach, read a book or drink a beer before dinner. He’s pretty handy with a spanner and will be able to get you out of any trouble, in the unlikely event the bike lets you down.