October 19
No park visits today while I wait for the flight back to Oahu. Many of you may be interested in the logistics of traveling to American Samoa. The only airline options are direct flights from Honolulu or an island-jumping flight from Samoa (which is a different country). The easiest option for Americans is to fly to Honolulu, then use Hawaiian Airlines. Only two flights a week, on Monday and Thursday. Honolulu departure is 4:30 PM, with arrival in Pago Pago at 9:30 PM. The plane then unloads passengers and cargo, gets refueled, and is ready to board folks headed back to Honolulu. The return flights leave at 11:20 PM, landing in Honolulu at 5:50 AM. There is a one-hour time zone difference between American Samoa and Hawaii, Hawaii being one hour ahead. You need a passport to enter American Samoa. You will go through Immigration and Customs, just like traveling to a European country. The airport is not located in the city of Pago Pago, rather nine miles to the west of the capital. The airport does not have a jetway, so if you cannot walk down steps, you have to wait on the plane until they can attach a lift.
My flight from Dallas to Honolulu landed at 1:30 PM, so I would have had plenty of time to walk out the doors of the Honolulu airport and reenter for the 4:30 PM American Samoa flight. But I flew into Honolulu a day early to mitigate any issues with flight cancellations or other unexpected surprises. There is a very nice Best Western within walking distance of the Honolulu airport, with a few restaurants in between (I-Hop, McDonalds, L&L Barbeque, etc.). They offer a shuttle at the top of each hour, and have a large seating area where you can wait, after you check-out, before getting on the shuttle.
American Samoa has a few rental car companies, such as Avis. I used Tautai, a family-runned business. An agent was waiting for me as I exited the terminal. I then drove to the Tradewinds Hotel, just 1 mile from the airport. Tradewinds also has a rental car option. This is definitely a 3-star property. Very nice, large rooms, with refrigerators and microwaves. The A/C kept the room cool with low humidity. A full-service restaurant, a nice swimming pool, ice machines, etc. Lovely lobby where folks can hang out before going to the airport for their evening flight. My only complaint would be the first day the WiFi connection to my room was iffy. But today it is working very well. I did learn that if you go out to the lobby the reception is excellent. There is no Cricket cell service on the island (just BlueSky and AT&T, best I can tell), but you can connect through the internet, so making calls was easy. Television channels are minimal, about twenty, none being the major networks, nor ESPN (there was ESPN2). Final vote - if you want to stay in a hotel that resembles Hilton and Marriott, this is the place.
There are plenty of family-runned B&Bs and lodges on the island, but I am not familiar with them. Most of the lodging options on the island are near the airport, but there are a couple down by Pago Pago, like Sadie By The Sea (I stayed there 10 years ago, but going forward I will stay at Tradewinds). It does have its own beach in the coral reef zone.
Do not expect to travel faster than maybe 18 mph on average as you go around the island. The maximum speed limit is 25 mph. Be sure to have a map if you want to get off the main East-West road. There are no signs on that road for the commercial area around the airport. But after you drive the loop in that area, you will have your bearings and know where to go… there are not that many roads on the island to begin with. One plus about Tautai is that they said I can park the car in the Tradewinds Hotel lot and leave the key at the front desk. The island definitely knows how to handle tourism. After the big Starkist tuna factory near Pago Pago, tourism has to be the second largest revenue stream for the islanders.
Vehicles travel on the right-side of the road, like in the States. Just be alert for everyone stopping to let in cars, either going your direction or needing to cross to the other side. Basically becomes a 4-way stop at any point in time, at any point on the road. You will pass more food marts (aka convenience stores) than you can count. There are only a couple of grocery stores, so most people go to these marts. The island has to have the greatest number of marts per capita than anyplace on the planet. The number of religious buildings is a close second. Around every bend is another church.
I had read that April to October is the dry season. The taxi driver confirmed that, telling me the rains usually begin in November, but this year things were getting an early start. Already today the rain has started and stopped multiple times. Feels a bit like Florida in that regard.
Anyone who is up for more adventure can try to get over to Ofu and Tau. Both islands have properties which are a part of the National Park of American Samoa. But you need to do extra planning to access the two small islands. Samoa Airways now goes over there, but their schedule does not provide for day-trips. Ofu Beach is considered one of the top pristine and beautiful shorelines in the world, with worldclass snorkeling. You will need to stay the night. People in the National Park Travelers Club who have made it over there stayed at Va’oto Lodge (more rustic than Hilton level), right by the airstrip. With only three days on the main island, I figured I did not have time to try and jump over there for two days. Maybe someday in the future.
Hope the above is helpful for anyone who wants to travel to American Samoa. It is really not that hard. Get to Honolulu and then take Hawaiian Airlines to the island. Stay at the Tradewinds Hotel and rent a car from the front desk. Then it is just like any other trip you have taken.