It’s Chris and Debbie’s fourth time in Samoa. But they still can’t get enough. 

The couple live in Hamilton, New Zealand. They plan to spend their retirement in Samoa.

“We absolutely love the people, the atmosphere and the warm climate,” Chris shared with Dear Tourist.

“Back home in New Zealand it is at the moment only 12 or 13 degrees.”

The first time they visited their dream destination was three years ago. 

“We try to come twice a year,” Chris explained.

This time they are spending two weeks here, they arrived last Saturday. The couple love staying at Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Beach Resort.

“In the resort, the service is just excellent and it is absolutely beautiful,” Chris said.

If they definitely move to this piece of paradise, they intend to buy a house and a little piece of land. 

“We do not know right now where we want to live. We first want to go around and explore more. The date is not clear either. This all depends on the family situation. But we are definitely not sad to leave New Zealand, I mean it is a beautiful country but still we would not miss it,” Chris said.

For Chris, there is another good reason to live in Samoa. He loves fishing and he finds Samoa the perfect place to fish.

“Kids have been running around everywhere it was brilliant. The people have been fantastic. It is just a great place.”

Debbie added: “We felt absolutely safe every time.”

The couple also shared some of their disappointments this time around. 

“This time we have been really disappointed with the rubbish lying around. Normally it is so clean. This is the first time we see so much rubbish around. The last three times, we never saw something like this, especially at the airport,” Chris explained.

They have been to Fiji and they found that it was not as clean as Samoa. 

“Fiji was a really over promoted place and full of tourists, not like here in Samoa,” Chris said.

The advertising in New Zealand is so much more focused on Fiji than on any other island. Samoa is not this known in New Zealand. The couple heard the first time about the island from a friend.

“The culture is much purer here than in Fiji for example,” Debbie said. “The nature seemed to be untouched. You have everything you need in Apia compared to other places which are commercialized.”

Chris added: “There is a line between not enough advertising and being commercialised, because this would kill Samoa. What Samoa makes so attractive and special for us are the village lives and the people. This is why we are so into this island and are considering living here.”

Until the time they spend the rest of their lives here, Samoa can expect twice a year for now.