It’s Amy’s last day in Samoa and she did not waste a single minute as she set up by the pool complete with her tanning lotion and a book ready to work on her tan. 

Dear Tourist sat down with Amy who was more than happy to share her travelling experience so far in Samoa.

Amy is here with her three good friends that she met in a mothers group when her eldest child was born and over the years they have remained close. 

Over coffee last year, the friends decided then and there to plan a trip together and tickets were bought to Samoa, a place none of them had been to.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Amy said. 

“I liked the fact that I was coming to something new. We flew into Samoa while it was dark so I had no idea it was this beautiful as we drove to the Taumeasina.” 

“But walking through this hotel has just been amazing and having this beautiful beach here is fantastic.”

The ladies discovered Chef John Tours on the Taumeasina website and booked a tour with him to Savai’i, and Amy told Dear Tourist that it was one of the most amazing experiences she had ever had. 

“We were so lucky, we booked a Chef John tour and we went over to Savai’i with him on the second day we were here. We loved it; that was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had,” she said. 

“It was because it didn’t seem too commercialized and we got out there and saw different things. It was nice and fun, we got to play our own music in the car and sing along.” 

“Chef John was great about letting us have our own time but also popping in from time to time. Also the fresh food, we got to go to the markets and see things that we may not have been able to see had it not been for Chef John.” 

“And the food, hands down – the best meal I’ve ever eaten. To have our meal on the beach with no one else around, it was just amazing.”

Amy and her friends had such an amazing time in Savai’i with Chef John that they decided to follow him again to To Sua.

“I’ve always wanted to do a cooking tour on other travels and for whatever reason I missed out but this time it seemed to line up, we loved the Thursday Chef John tour to Savai’i so much that we rebooked for the Saturday tour with him when we went down to the Ocean trench, which we loved.”

Amy will never forget her experience in Samoa and even with last weekend’s earthquake that jolted our island nation, she maintained that it did not deter her and she would return when she could.

“When I felt the earth shake last Saturday, I wasn’t scared because I looked around and nobody seemed to be in any urgent hurry. It did make me wonder though what the earthquake evacuation policies were at the hotels especially considering we are sitting out on the water here.”

“I mean where do we go? And how do we get there? However I would absolutely return if I get another opportunity to come back. I would tell everyone back home to just do it and come over to Samoa; you will never ever experience something else like this.  I love the people and I love the stories behind the villages and your culture.”

“I worked for a travel insurance agency and I’ve started to see some advertising on Samoa tourism back home in Sydney. I feel like now is the time for Samoa, you’ve got your national carrier now. I hope you promote it and get people here.”