Samoa is open to international tourism
Samoa has lifted all travel restrictions — all passport holders can now enter the country, regardless of their vaccination status. Foreign travelers are not required to quarantine or to present a negative PCR test result on arrival. Travel insurance is not required, however, it is recommended.
Visa to Samoa is not required if you intend to stay for up to 60 days (90 days for EU citizens). Visitors should have a confirmed return or onward ticket, a copy of a bank statement, and hold a passport valid for at least 6 months.
Practical tips
- If you are flying to Samoa from abroad, you will most likely land at its main international airport—Faleolo International Airport
APWlocated 35km from Apia, the capital city in the northern coast of the Upolu island. After arrival you will need to clear immigration and customs: simply follow the signs and have you passport ready.
There are airport shuttles available that serve Samoa’s major resorts and hotels. They can be booked before arrival or organized at the airport after clearing the customs. Taxis that serve the guests arriving at the airport cost around ST$60-80 ($21-28) for a around 50-minutes ride to Apia center. Taxis in Samoa are not metered, so do agree a price beforehand.
APW in Apia. 99% of tourists who visit Samoa arrive at Faleolo airport, mostly on direct flights from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and American Samoa.
- Planning to explore the region? Popular destinations can be easily reached with regional low-cost carriers (LCCs) by the likes of Samoa Airways and Talofa Airways.
Flights to Samoa
from United States and Canada
- There are no direct flights from the US or Canada to Samoa. However, most major hubs in Asia have non-stop flights to Samoa, as do some larger airports in the Middle East – your journey will have at least one stop. There are no direct flights from the mainland US or Canada to Samoa. However, Fiji Airways and Hawaiian Airlines operate direct flights from Hawaii (Honolulu) to Samoa (Apia). If you are flying from one of the major American cities to Samoa, your journey will have at least one stop.
- Samoa is well-served via one-stop flights from North America. Flights to Samoa with one layover depart from most major North American airports, including Atlanta
ATL, DallasDFW, DenverDEN, ChicagoORD, Los AngelesLAX, Las VegasDFW, MiamiMIA, SeattleSEA, HoustonIAH, New YorkJFK, and San FranciscoSFOin the United States and TorontoYYZ, VancouverYVR, CalgaryLAS, and MontrealYULin Canada. - The best airlines to fly to Samoa from the US and Canada are: Air New Zealand, Fiji Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines,. They are top full-service carriers, offering exceptional customer service, in-flight comfort, a generous checked baggage allowance, and reliable customer support channels – all included in the ticket price.
40–80% off flights to Samoa
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What is the best time to book flights to Samoa?
The best time to book flights to Samoa is between 2 to 8 months before your travel date. The prime booking window (the most likely time to find the bargains) for Samoa flights is 4–6 months before takeoff. Book when you notice a significant drop in price.
Airfare prices for Samoa flights fluctuate due to demand, seasonal trends, and competition, causing numerous price drops and increases as your departure date approaches. The airlines use sophisticated revenue management systems to adjust pricing for optimal seat sales.
Generally, as seats are sold, prices tend to become more expensive.
Don’t book too early
Most airlines start selling their flights 9–12 months in advance. However, booking a ticket too early in that window can be an expensive mistake – airlines typically start by setting prices at a relatively high level to capture early demand from those willing to pay more to secure their seats.
Peak seasons are expensive
Peak travel seasons are always expensive – due to higher base prices set by airlines for dates they expect to be popular. Try to avoid the high season during summer and major holidays including holidays in Samoa. If you must travel during peak times, book your flight well in advance.
Avoid last minute
Avoid booking flights to Samoa less than 30 days before takeoff. Prices spike sharply then, as airlines are taking advantage of any last-minute travelers who have no choice but to pay up.
Prime Booking Window
For long-haul flights to Samoa, the best time to book your ticket is around 4–6 months before departure. This is the “Prime Booking Window.” After some seats have already been sold, airlines start dropping prices to stimulate demand. They may also offer promotions and sales. This is the ideal time for bargain hunting.
Fly on weekdays
It makes a difference which day of the week you board the plane. Midweek travel (especially Tuesdays and Wednesdays) is less busy and likely cheaper than flying on weekends. Airlines charge higher prices for weekend travel due to the high demand from people going on short getaways or visiting family and friends.
Opt for early morning flights
To save on airfare, select a late night or early morning (1–5 a.m.) flight. Airlines often offer discounts on their first flight of the morning (up to 15-20%) simply because of lower demand—most people are not willing to go to the airport so early. Moreover, morning flights tend to have fewer delays, and airport queues are usually shorter.
Flights to Samoa from Europe
- There are no direct flights from Europe to Samoa — you’ll need to get a connecting flight from elsewhere in the Middle East or in Asia.
- Airlines that frequently fly from the UK, Germany, France, and other European countries to Samoa include Air New Zealand, Fiji Airways, Qantas, and Virgin Australia.
- Consider departure airports in neighboring countries to increase your chance of spotting the best deal. Especially look for large airports that serve as hubs for multiple airlines. For example, if you live in Western Europe, check air tickets to Samoa from Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Paris, and Rome. Leverage frequent promotions from European budget carriers like RyanAir, EasyJet, and Eurowings to reach a major hub; from there, take a cheaper long-haul flight to your final destination, potentially saving hundreds of euros.
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The cheapest time to fly to Samoa
The best time to find cheap flights to Samoa tends to be during the low season – February to March. It’s the country’s rainy season and also an off-peak tourism season when Samoa receives the heaviest rainfall and significantly fewer visitors. Everything – including airline tickets – is cheaper.
Flights and accommodation are the most expensive between July and September thanks to the favorable weather conditions — with sunny days and low levels of humidity the country sees an influx of tourists. Book your flights well in advance to avoid inflated last-minute fares.
Samoa vs American Samoa
Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) is an independent country that consists of 10 islands on the west side of the archipelago. The eastern islands became overseas territories of the United States in 1904 and today are known as American Samoa, with the capital city of Pago Pago. Samoa is more geared to tourism and it has many more flight options than American Samoa.
Two main Samoan islands are Upolu (home to the country’s capital city of Apia and main airport Faleolo International Airport) and Savai’i (with a smaller population of just 50,000 and two local airports: Asau Airport and Maota Airport). In the Apolima Strait between Upolu and Savai’i you’ll find two other islands — Manono and Apolima — they have only tiny populations concentrated in small villages. The remaining 6 islands — Fanuatapu, Namua, Nu’ulopa, Nu’ulua, Nu’usafe’e and Nu’utele — are all uninhabited and can only be reached by private boat.
Know your time zone
When checking flights and airport transfer times, ensure you know the local time zones. The departure/arrival times on your plane ticket and boarding pass are based on the time zone of the departure/arrival airport – this also applies to the connecting (layover) airports.
Samoa has an east-west extension of just 1.1 degrees of longitude, and this corresponds to about 120 kilometers. It has only one time zone – West Samoa Time (WST) or Samoa Standard Time (SST), which is GMT/UTC+13 time zone. There are no daylight saving time clock changes.
Samoa is one hour ahead of New Zealand, and 2 hours ahead of Sydney.
Book flights on airnewzealand.co.nz
When booking Air New Zealand flights, always use its website located at the co.nz domain – irrespective of where you are based.
It’s surprising, but often flights listed at airnewzealand.co.nz are much cheaper than on the .com, .eu, .co.uk and com.sg sites (sometimes you can save 50% of the ticket price or more).
Long waiting times when calling the helpline?
Social media is usually a faster way to reach the airline when a problem arises. Use Twitter or Facebook Messenger to contact the airline customer service and get a response and solution within minutes (see detailed guides for Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, and others.
When it comes to Twitter there’s one more trick to get in touch with the airline faster: mention the airline in a tweet about your issue (add “@airline_handle”, for example: “@FlySamoaAirways” if contacting national carrier Samoa Airways). The social media team will often notice it immediately, ask you for a direct message, and respond privately.
South Pacific time travel (the international date line)
The international date line (IDL) is an imaginary line on the Earth’s surface that stretches from the North Pole to the South Pole, running through the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It roughly follows a 180-degree longitude and defines the border between one day and the next.
IDL is not a straight line, though. It zig-zags back and forth across the Pacific Ocean, so it is not always at the same longitude. Starting from the north, it passes west of the Hawaiian Islands and east of the Marshall Islands. As it moves further south, it reaches the Pacific island nation of Kiribati and makes a major deviation east to encompass the Kiribati and Line Islands. Then it passes between Samoa and American Samoa, keeping the former west and the latter east of the IDL. It then stays parallel to the meridian, keeping to the east of the line so that Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand are all west of the IDL.
When you cross the ID westward, you gain a day, and if you are traveling eastward, you lose a day. It may seem like you are moving forward or backward in time, but obviously, you’re just adjusting to a different time zone.
Book your flights in the local currency
Airfares that a flight search engine or airline website quotes you often vary depending on where you book from. Try to spoof your location and currency so that it looks like you’re booking the flight from the same country it departs from. For example, if you are in the US and booking a leg of your trip from Dubai to Singapore, set the country on the airline website to UAE and the currency to Emirati dirham (AED).
This simple trick doesn’t work every time (not all websites set prices the same way), but it can sometimes save you significant money.
Airlines of Samoa
Samoa’s national flag carrier is Samoa Airways (formerly Polynesian Airlines), based at Faleolo International Airport near Apia. Currently, it operates short-haul domestic flights within the country and international flights to Australia (Brisbane, Sydney), New Zealand (Auckland), the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia.
The other Samoan airline is Talofa Airways — a small carrier that offers flights to a handful of regional destinations, including Apia in Samoa, Pago Pago in American Samoa, and Nuku’alofa in Tonga.
Flights to Samoa
from Australia and New Zealand
- Australia and New Zealand offer robust flight networks to key APAC locations, Samoa included. While domestic carriers like Qantas, Jetstar Airways, Virgin Australia, and Air New Zealand provide solid options, several major international airlines also serve these routes. These include ANA, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways — expanding your choices for travel between Australasia and Asia.
There are no direct flights from Australia or New Zealand to Samoa. You’ll need a layover in one of the major hubs in Asia. Thanks to its location in the central South Pacific Ocean (roughly halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii), Samoa has many options for direct flights to from Australia and New Zealand. Weekly non-stop flights connect Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, and Christchurch with Faleolo International Airport in Apia, the capital city of Samoa, and you can fly with Air New Zealand, Fiji Airways, Qantas, Samoa Airways, or Virgin Australia. During the peak tourist season (between June and September), airlines usually put on more flights to meet higher demand. However, it's best to book your flights well in advance to avoid higher prices. - Airlines have different pricing strategies for different routes. Depending on airline partnerships, demand, and even the time of year, a flight to Samoa could be significantly cheaper from Sydney than from Melbourne.
Compare fares from main international airports in Australia: SydneySYD, BrisbaneBNE, MelbourneMEL, PerthPER, AdelaideADL, CairnsCNS, Gold CoastOOL, CanberraCBR, DarwinDRW, and in New Zealand: AucklandAKL, WellingtonWLG, ChristchurchCHC, and QueenstownZQN. - If you’re looking to save, consider flying from Australia or New Zealand to a primary Asian hub, then catch a connecting flight to Samoa with a regional budget airline such as Samoa Airways and Talofa Airways.
For the initial leg of your trip, full-service airlines such as Qantas or Virgin Atlantic offer premium comfort and exceptional service, albeit at a premium price. However, many Asian airlines, including budget carriers, operate out of Australia and frequently feature sales and promotions. For instance, AirAsia runs deals to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore; Cebu Pacific to Manila; Scoot to Singapore; VietJet Air to Ho Chi Minh City; Jetstar to Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo; Bamboo Airways to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing; Batik Air to Jakarta and Singapore.
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Flights to Samoa
from major hubs in Asia
- Asia is probably the best continent for short-haul and mid-haul flying. The sheer scale of this most populous region on Earth is reflected in the type of aircraft operating many shorter routes: intra-Asia flyers benefit from comfortable, wide-bodied aircraft by the likes of Boeing 777, 787 or Airbus A350, A330, and A380. When booking your flight to Samoa look for these bigger planes as they will almost always give you the best experience in every cabin, including better seat pitches, higher ceilings, and larger overhead bin space.
- Asia is also home to most of the world’s best airlines. There are only ten airlines that received the prestigious 5-star mark of quality from Skytrax, and all of them are from Asia: ANA, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines. Choosing one of these airlines for your trip to Samoa will guarantee a pleasant journey – delicious meals served during the flight, great in-flight entertainment, and above-average airline customer service.
- Asia is extremely well served by low-cost regional airlines. If you are visiting Samoa and want to see several other countries on a tight budget, they often have great sales with rock-bottom prices, while still offering a relatively comfortable flight experience. Among the best Asian budget airlines you can book without hesitation are AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, Citilink, FlyDubai, Indigo, Jetstar Airways, Scoot, SpiceJet. The cons? Being no-frills airlines they may not provide free baggage allowance, inflight meals, or onboard entertainment. The departure times may also be quite inconvenient as they try to save money by flying at off-peak hours.
Flights to Samoa dataset
