It is said that life begins at 30 and what better way to celebrate the big three zero than in Samoa. 

Californian friends, Julie Adkins and Joanna Szczekutowicz are first time travelers to Samoa, and they could not contain their excitement when they discovered what Samoa offered. 

It’s Joanna’s birthday, and to her, Samoa has given her the best and most memorable birthday treat. Her friend echoed the same feeling. 

“Samoa has been incredible. We haven’t been to any place similar to Samoa, the villages are amazing. We travelled to Savaii and we had the best time,” Julie told the Dear Tourist team.  

“We stayed at the Matareva Beach Fales for five days and that was incredible. That was the first place we stayed at. It was so cool to be very remote, just off the grid.”  

Joanna said they have definitely been enjoying the company of the locals, and the culture.

“Everybody is so curious and they talk to us and it’s amazing. We got to know a lot of locals in Matareva,” she said. 

The girls also commented on the local dishes, describing them as “really amazing”. 

“Different types of things I’ve never had before, which I like. At the beach fales we stayed at in Matareva, they have all the different kinds of traditional food, the family in the village they cooked for us. We loved everything they gave us, they were all delicious,” Julie said. 

The girls learned about Samoa through Joanna’s Samoan co-worker, who told them the beauty of the island, and for them, their trip here was worth the long flight.  

“We just love it. We came on Fiji Airways and we really loved it, we look forward to going back, I enjoyed it,” Julie said. 

Apparently nine days were not enough for the pair to explore more of the island, but they assured that they will return. 

“We want to spread the word about Samoa. I know a lot of people who actually don’t know about Samoa, where it is, what it’s all about, and they are always curious, some people haven’t even heard about it, which is crazy. We want to put it on the map so that people can know how beautiful it is,” Julie said. 

 Following their departure on Sunday, Joanna had this to say to all Samoans: “Maintain your lush landscape; I love how pure it is. Samoa is not as touristy as everywhere else. We love the beach fales, it’s really different. It’s really beautiful.”