Samoa in july? waste of money or worth a stab?

[brenno05]

thinking of heading over to samoa in july with a few of the lads for a surf trip, looking for some uncrowded waves and mellow times...i dont expect indo style perfection, but still a group of competant surfers looking for some fun waves...considered other trips but the budget is roughly about 2k all inclusive...been to bali a number of times and looking for somthing different

any ideas on which is the best surf camp to stay at?

cheers

[brendo]

trade winds at their strongest from se in july = shit waves
i went for 2 weeks in july yrs ago. it blew se onshore day and night for 8-9 days.
we got one epic 3-4ft day.
samoana is ok to stay at....but a long way from the breaks.
coconuts and sinelei are only just reopening...but with big discounts.
maninoa - who gives a fark..the aussie owner is a di.ckhead...and they dont sell beer
if u want samoa on....go NOW. it will be good till mayish then trades will pick up and be more consistent.
perhaps u could help with the rebuild if u go over...they are struggling to get homes built post tsunami

[BDL77]

Another thread which might help.
http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtop ... oa#p382723

Brendo summed it up pretty well. I only stayed at Samoana in May which has a close-out style beach break (over shallow reef) right out front which can have it's day. It is far from all the breaks but the boat gives you all the options day to day. It will probably also be the most expensive as it was pretty much untouched compared to most places.

[brendo]

samoana has got a sale on like all the other joints. its pay 5 stay 10. pretty cheap. but they sting you about 70-80 aus to go out on the boat or drive u to breaks.
you can hire a car and paddle to some breaks, although we are talking 600m min.
salani camp was wiped out, but the right out the front is insane, and the paddle aint to long.
hire a car for round 600 a week.
the beach where they filmed survivor...find it. before it was boat only access, id say a path has been hacked through the jungle. the left will be worth the effort
north side has some awesome setups...do some research on the net i cant make it to easy for yas.
theres a guy(yank) called neil, has a boat. calls himself manoa tours. he knows where to go. BUT he is a loud mouth wanker.

oldman, on the other topic u ask bout takin family. sinelei no kids under 15. coconuts none under 3. samoana kid friendly. in fact its prob the place to take em if ya missus aint to high maintenace. i was gunna go again this year, but injury has me now gettin surf fitness back, so next yr for sure. and id feel bad going over and not helpin to rebuild...but thats another story..
if any of you are serious bout goin over, pm me and ill answer your questions.
any mac bank kooks reading...NO there are no soft breaks..so fark off to kuta.

[oldman]

oldman, on the other topic u ask bout takin family. sinelei no kids under 15. coconuts none under 3. samoana kid friendly. in fact its prob the place to take em if ya missus aint to high maintenace. i was gunna go again this year, but injury has me now gettin surf fitness back, so next yr for sure. and id feel bad going over and not helpin to rebuild...but thats another story..
if any of you are serious bout goin over, pm me and ill answer your questions.
any mac bank kooks reading...NO there are no soft breaks..so fark off to kuta.

Thanks Brendo.

Just saw something on TV tonight about them, not sure if it was samoana though. Still rebuilding and need the tourists for the money as well. Just being there a help I think.

Will keep track of it, and not a mac banker. Just a pipe dream at the moment, but a man can dream can't he.

[brendo]

was aiming that jibe at the non regulars olds
its a cheap place to go, especially if ya got flyer points.
me , missus and grommet did 10days for 3k. the lot. accom, 7 days car, food n piss.
and its a beautiful country. surfed one isolated break, with mountain rising out of sea, and jungle everywhere...a bit tahiti like. fark..i should work for their tourism board!

[oldman]

its a cheap place to go, especially if ya got flyer points.

nup, but that no matter.

me , missus and grommet did 10days for 3k. the lot. accom, 7 days car, food n piss.
and its a beautiful country. surfed one isolated break, with mountain rising out of sea, and jungle everywhere...a bit tahiti like. fark..i should work for their tourism board!

Sounds very good compared to what I have been looking at. Very grateful. May come back to you with more specifics at a later date.

[brenno05]

so i get the feeling its a waste of money heading over in july then is that a fair assumption?? i guess its off to indo again!! i would be pretty cut if i got there and it was onshore the entire time, anyway im still waiting on the student equity scholarship money to come through to pay for this jaunt haha

appreciate the feedback lads

[brendo]

brenno, go to sa moana website. go to surf reports, then go to the archives. click on july, and check it for the last 7yrs. but read it carefully. if they say its a rest day, then theres no surf its a bit like reading a snow report if ya know what i mean. look, if u go and its punping, you wont forget it. but if u go and its shit ya gunna be bummed. remember its the pacific = inconsistent

[brett68]

theres a guy(yank) called neil, has a boat. calls himself manoa tours. he knows where to go. BUT he is a loud mouth wanker.

goofy foot with curly hair?
was there about 4 yrs ago - constant big swell so surfing Boulders day after day with same people, so everyone knowing each other - loudmouth Neil getting bad rep, taking more than fair share (even snaking the bloke he was taking surfing as a guide) - big solid Maori bloke, scary to look at but actually top bloke (and mad suicide charger) roots Neil's girlfriend one night - next day, out at Boulders again, could cut tension with a knife, everyone (including Maori mate) waiting/wanting Neil to say something - former supermouth turned into pussy - sat right down the end and didn't look at anyone or say boo - Maori smacked him that night

Samoa seems to have that extra bit of power per foot than other places - wicked hold downs and an extra board just to cover snappages is advisable

[brendo]

brett , yea thats him, curly rangaish hair but natural foot. a few yrs back he paddled out at a break and was snaking everyone. no one said anything but the whole mood of the lineup changed when the cock paddled out. when back on the boat everyone was spewin bout him.
last yr when i arrived some guys were tellin me bout this guy paddling out and havin a dig by sayin out loud ; whats with all u aussies where booties? i might move there and open a bootie shop'.....woooo....farken hero.

also heard him boasting bout being mates with the wolfpak....later that yr kala and crew where stayin at one of the camps. guide asked them bout knowing neil...the respose...who?

every spot has its di.ckhead......samoa has neil

[swvic]

Just got home from 2 weeks in Samoa. Trades haven't (hadn't) kicked in yet and got some pretty good waves. Week 1 Aganoa SE swell for most of week and not really doing it, but occasional inside peak throwing a barrel all the way through. Snapped board 1 on day 2. From what mates have previously said, the place seems on the downward slide. Keith was hardly sighted and reluctant to take you elsewhere. Got a crew together one day and hired a taxi (van) for trip up the coast to Satuiatua and got reasonable surf to ourselves. Taxi with a few crew heaps cheaper than hiring. Week 2 was unreal. Found a guy on the Sth coast of Upolu who has a couple of Fales. Great guy, relatively cheap and he's right on top of swell size, direction and winds. He can also take you out on Sundays and works on a minimum of 1 guest. How good is that? Snapped board 2 on day 10, but our friendly guide lent me a board. So, August in Samoa is definitely possible. Don't ask for the guy's details because I want to use him again sometime and his capacity is very limited. Also, that beach where they filmed survivor, there is a road in, but still easier by boat. Having said that, it was off limits as they're filming again. The Samoan Govt has just passed Survivor legislation which formally restricts access - even to the surf by boat on filming days.

[brendo]

so swvic, because you MIGHT go back to samoa one day, for prob 10-14 days outa 365, this so called great operator doesnt deserve to make a few bucks in case someone is staying there when you want to go?
tell you what, ill give you a chance to out him before i do. B and C are makin a fist of it and havin a go, good honest guts, which cant be said about those knob jockeys who run sa moana.....

[swvic]

Fair point brendo, but pretty sure they're going ok and B said that he doesn't want it to get full on as he likes to have time without guests so he can spend time with his young family. They have fishos and divers as well as surfers and when I left he was having some ocean going spearfishing nuts come to stay. Only 2 fales and it's apparently staying that way. I'm not outing him, but go for it if you want. You've given a clue anyway. I'm comfortable that B wouldn't be concerned with my take on things. And, just because I haven't broadcast the details to Realsurf, doesn't mean that I haven't or wouldn't tell friends. Anyone who spends time there, would definitely do so again on a return visit - if you can.

[brendo]

piont taken swvic, so heres what we do...anyone goin over there thatwants cheap accom, stayin with expat and his family, pm one of us. but its a hit and miss destination....

[swvic]

Sounds a fair compromise brendo. Definitely hit & miss, especially in August when I was there. Got real lucky with the trades (lack of), but I was there on a wife plus surfing kind of trip. Doubt I'd risk it at that time of year for dedicated surf mission. The missus was a bit neglected though and she was pretty good about it.