The Sua Ocean Trench at the end of the world

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
9
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
1
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
6
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
2
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
9
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
80 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
53rd/454
Top 20%
continent
Oceania
country
Samoa
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$30 (typically $20 - $50)
Time of year visited
July
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Yep – offensively photogenic and screams “I want to go there!” from just about everyone who sees the photo.  In my case, from my girlfriend.  “You know it’s in the middle of the Pacific right?  In the middle of nowhere?”, I reply.  The determined eyes staring back at me need no vocal expression – “I want to go”, they clearly say.

For those who have the similar determination, you won’t be disappointed – the place really is that beautiful up close and it’s a lot of fun swimming around in the pool soaking it all in.  The site has the added advantage of having some delightfully well maintained gardens on the nearby cliff edges where you can gawp at the gorgeous surroundings, and a series of rock pools that you can laze around in and get pushed and pulled around as the waves come in, which is also super fun.

 

Sua Ocean Trench, Samoa

 

To be fair, I don’t think you’d go this far to the middle of the ocean for just the Sua Ocean Trench, which really, spectacular as it is, you only need half a day for.  Samoa itself has some nice spots to drive around to (I’d recommend hiring a car for convenience), friendly people and some fab food (make sure you have lunch at the Seabreeze resort only 5mins drive away).

 

Seabreeze Restaurant views for lunch. Samoa, next to the Sua Ocean Trench

Views from the nearby Seabreeze Restaurant, which is nice for lunch

 

But I’d recommend combining your visit as part of a 2 week trip of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.  Swimming with Humpbacks, diving with Tiger Sharks, white water rafting and kayaking from one picture perfect island to the next sound appealing?  Then see here for more details, ideas and tips in this travel entry for –2 weeks in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.

Highlights

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#1 Staring at the picture-perfect Sua Ocean Trench, getting the courage to walk down the steep stairs and have a swim in the beautiful water

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#2 Heading to the waterfront to playing around in the rock pools by the shore. Super fun as the tide comes in to throw you around

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#3 Lounging by the beautifully maintained grassy cliffs of the gardens right nearby

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#4 Grabbing lunch at the nearby Seabreeze Resort Restaurant with is terrible view

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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