Samoa’s laidback lifestyle has caught the eye of Australian tourists Natalie Heuston and Shane Peases.

The couple – who have been to the Cook Islands and Fiji – flew in last Sunday with their son and his friend and they said the absence of the hustle-and-bustle they experienced in Fiji was noticeable in Samoa.

“Things here do not happen quickly like in Fiji, but everything is slowly laid back here in Samoa,” said 48-year-old Natalie.

A holiday destination within the vicinity of Australia was the reason behind Natalie and Shane, who live in Newcastle in the Australian state of New South Wales, choosing Samoa after travelling to Fiji and the Cook Islands.

“We just want to go somewhere we have never been to before and it's still close to home so we picked Samoa,” she added.

Natalie said her close friend who lives in Samoa took them on a tour of the whole island and the experience was fantastic.

“My best experience is visiting the giant clams and the trench. She took us to some beaches, waterfalls and having lunch and seeing some other beach,” she said.

Sixteen-year-old Peri Soprano, who is a close friend of their son and is on his first visit to the island, said the differences in building styles and architecture between Australia and Samoa were obvious.

“Going around the villages and see their house without walls, and people gather together inside which I don’t  see it in back home,” he said. 

Peri acknowledged that the different weather patterns between the two countries were major factors that determined traditional building architecture. 

While he had one eye on Samoa’s building styles and architecture, the natural beauty of the island was not lost on the 16-year-old. 

“It’s  nice experiencing nature of Samoa also saw lots of animals and some waterfalls, the trench and swimming in clear water which was in a cave," he said.

The experience of seeing giant clams and snorkeling in the warm waters were also special experiences for 50-year-old Shane. 

“We went on a tour for a day where we visit the trench, the waterfall, the sliding rock and the giant clams and the cave pool,” he added.

The Newcastle family return to Australia on Saturday after a week’s holiday.