The Most Authentic Polynesian Society

Fa'a Samoa, or the Samoan way, is the Samoan people's 3000-year-old culture. It prioritizes the village, family, and church in everything they do, and their traditions have altered little over time. Locals continue to live in traditional communities overseen by supreme chiefs. This is one of the most traditional Pacific societies, and it's a fantastic chance to see the most authentic version of Polynesia that still exists today.

As you travel around the islands, you will notice how deeply the traditions here are held, and how little the Samoan way has changed in the face of tourism and technology. Fife here truly has remained substantially intact despite the Germans seizing the islands to the west, the Americans taking the islands to the east (now known as American Samoa), and New Zealand assuming administrative control after the First World War.

Since 1962, when Western Samoa became the first country in the Pacific to achieve independence, protecting its cultural legacy has taken first priority. You are "more likely to witness someone juggling fire than a building with walls" in some areas of the islands.