Whenever we go on holiday we like to do a bit of research into our destination to get a bit of an idea of how much to budget.
I was shocked with our recent trip to Samoa on some of the costs so we had to make some quick adjustments.
Food
Resort food is super expensive, you always expect resort food to be slightly more.
We picked a resort with complimentary breakfast so only lunch and dinner we had to pay for but after day 1 we realised it was going to soon add up, it was costing approx USD$82.00 / NZD $130 for lunch and the same if not more for dinner not including drinks.
So we were looking at approx NZD $300 / USD $190 a day for meals, this is just not within our budget we usually spend about NZD $200 / USD $123 a day when staying at resorts.
Supermarket food is very reasonable
Eggs are USD$2.50 / NZD $4 for dozen
Oil USD$1.20 / NZD $2
Juice about USD$1.20 / NZD $2 for a large bottle
Bread USD0.94c / NZD$1.50 a loaf of bread.
The locals said it had got very expensive but compared to home we found it great. We spent USD$126.00 / NZD $200 for a weeks worth of lunches, cooked breakfasts and snacks for our family of 5 which included alcohol.
Drinks
Supermarket prices
Vodka in a can is about USD$2.50 / NZD $4
Beer per can USD$1.80 / $3
Juice bottles USD$1.80 / $3
Chocolate milk USD.75c / NZD $1.20
Purchasing drinks from resort wasn't too bad but still on the slightly higher price.
Resort prices
USD7.00 / NZD $11 for a milkshake
USD8.30 / NZD $13 cocktails (this is the half price happy hour price)
Sorry we didn't do wine of beer at the resort.. it's always cocktails for us when on holiday!
Local Attractions
If you do this yourself the price is super cheap $20pp Tala (local currency) approx USD$7.50 /NZD $12 will get your entry into the Tu Sua Ocean trench, Clam Sanctuary etc and the money goes back to the local village.
If you pick the option of doing a guided tour expect to be paying a lot more, your looking at around USD$63.00 / NZD $100 per person.
Taxis
We got a taxi driver for a half day to go do some grocery shopping, not only did he drive us wherever we wanted, he waited at the checkout and helped us pack the groceries into boxes put everything in the car. It costs us USD$50 / NZD $80 we think that was well worth it, he had great knowledge and his service was amazing we ended up giving him a tip.
So is Samoa really expensive? Yes and No
You could go to the supermarket make all your meals and just swim and relax all day and then I would say no it's not expensive, but if you don't want to cook and you want to do guided tours then yes it's on the higher end for destinations we have visited.
Samoa is really an untouched gem in the South Pacific and is a bit more raw than destinations like Fiji or Rarotonga.
It's well worth a visit.
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