Samoa just beautiful as it is

By Anina Kazaz 17 May 2018, 12:00AM

Bev and Nicole Chitty found themselves at a perfect time in the islands. 

The mother and daughter from Auckland, New Zealand, couldn’t have agreed more that Samoa is the best place to enjoy Mother’s Day. 

While it is Bev’s first time to Samoa, for Nicole this is her third trip, but it is their second time to spend the holidays together. 

 “The first time I came around was in November 2014 and came again in February 2015. I have not gone out to have a look at the surrounding,” Nicole said.  

 “Last time I came it was for work and they took us around the island in different resorts. It is the first time in this one.

 “So far it looks pretty much the same, really lovely and just nice,” Nicole shared with the Dear Tourist team. 

She has already been to Fiji, Rarotonga and Tonga.

“The vibe here is different compared to Tonga for example. Here it is a bit more commercialised, more access. I guess coming from New Zealand and having the comfort here is quite nice. We have warm water and air conditioner in the room,” she said.

 “I have been to Rarotonga and Fiji a few times, it is very similar here,” her mother, Bev said.

 “We want to go to town and maybe Lalomanu beach,” Bev said.

 “I am here for the fun and enjoying the heat. Back home it is getting quite cold. I would probably need to stay here another month to avoid the winter. June will be freezing at home.” 

Bev is already thinking of returning to Samoa.

 “We would come back in August to avoid the school holiday,” she said.

Nicole, who works in a travel agency said: “Samoa is not that well advertised in New Zealand. I think a lot of the agencies are promoting the more popular places like Fiji and Rarotonga. You find Fiji and Rarotonga fully booked and Samoa always the third option that agencies sell. 

 “It is not well known, but I mean it does get sold when nothing else is available. There was one slogan in the TV and that was how people knew about it, I think they should bring that back.”

Bev added: “I think they should do a thing for escaping the winter because it is very easy to travel here. The whole point of travelling can be escaping from climate and learning new culture.”

On culture, Nicole said: “They are really nice and lovely here. They look after you and make you feel at home. I like it.”

In terms of tourism, Nicole sees no need to carry out major changes.

 “I think it is good like it is because as soon as you adopt more place for tourism, you kind of lose the atmosphere of the island. It is like when you make the public transport better; you would lose the public buses. I think it is fine the way it is. There are supermarkets and we have everything we need.”

Bev added: “When I compare it with Rarotonga, when you drive around there are restaurants and places to eat. But driving from the airport to here, there weren’t a lot of restaurants. You do not see them on the main streets to give us options of where we can eat because not everyone can afford to eat in the resorts. There were no information sheets to know where to go.”

By Anina Kazaz 17 May 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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