palolo deep marine reserve

Awesome marine life and plenty of live coral with beautiful colours. I advise you that snorkelling at low tide is best as the currents are weakest and easier to navigate around. Also the snorkelling equipment is a little average but if you can bring your own you will guarentee a more enjoyable experience.

While it is only 4 Tala to visit I really don't think it was worth it. A lot of the coral around Samoa is dead and there was not a lot to see that we couldn't find outside our resort.

Good easy snorkling, within walking distance of Apia Harbour. Currently $4 per person entry, 7 days. Snorkling is accessible and good. Easy for kids and novices. Tide is important, because it's shallow, so a couple of hours either side of high tide are best- some rips develop as the tide changes. Toilets/changing rooms and parking available at no extra cost. Small fales to rest in too. Snorkling gear for hire (sorry didn't get the cost).Best snorkling I've seen so close to Apia...although I'm a noviceNearby to Annabelles, The Edge and others for food and drink- nothing on site.

The January heat in Apia is pretty intense, but an afternoon here cooled and relaxed me! For 4 tala, you gain access to this Marine Protected Area managed by the local community. There are changing rooms and toilets, and lots of wonderful places to rest and eat a picnic lunch under the huge trees. The ocean breeze was so very welcome! Lots of people, locals and tourists, come to lounge and even catch a nap. The waters are incredible. I do advise high tide- at low tide, you will have a long uncomfortable walk over the seaweed and coral to get to the Deep (marked by poles in the water), but at high tide that extra meter allows you to bathe comfortably near shore, or float yourself out to some spectacular snorkeling! I was astounded by the number and variety of fish at this spot so close to the town's shipping docks! Bring your mask or rent snorkel gear at their desk. Perfect Sunday afternoon!

We visited the Palolo Marine Reserve during a one day cruise stopover in Apia. The reserve is about a 5 minute walk to the left after exiting the port gates. We were there during low tide, which made getting into the water easy, but also made swimming the approxmately 100-150 yards offshore to get to the better coral a bit of a challenge to keep from damaging the coral or your skin. The coral surrounding the deeper hole in the center of the lagoon was surprisingly dense and in good shape. Fish numbers and variety were well worth the visit. This does not seem to be a very well advertised or signed highlight of Apia, but if you like to snorkel, this is a nice diversion from the usual assortment of shopping and tourist sites.

a few more touches from the caretakers of the beach would make this place a truly nice experience. Its all fine once you get in the water. The edge of a deep bowl on the left side of the snorkeling area is really nice, with more fish and space. Fish are not abundant, but the corals are great.

Getting into the water when the tide was starting to come in was a bit challenging but once at start (150m offshore) it was worth it! Once there there was no current - lots of fish and interesting coral that I haven't seen in other countries...The plus side was when I was swimming back to shore it took no effort at all.

Very strong currents when we were there so struggled a bit to get out there. While over the deep area no problem wit current. No really notable large fish We had much better snorkeling on the south coast of Upolu. Nice to have this place close to Apia. Good showers for afterwards. Only 4 Tala entry fee.

If you are into Snorkeling this is a must. Just within a couple of hundred meters you will encounter beautiful coral and fish. This is a must for adults and kids alike. In the heart of Apia

Fantastic beach - aside from the choral. Beach shoes would be a good option. A beautiful place - lots of huge trees for shade, great toilet facilities and the snorkelling was great. So much colour. Highly recommended. Take your own equipment if you can because the ones for hire (from 4 tala to 7 tala) aren't great. No playing music on a Sunday - we got a big telling off from an eldery man there.

Bit of a swim out required - so flippers are a must.Plenty of live coral and fish once you get out.Well worth the effort.

Brilliant! One of the best snorkelling spots we found, and also by far the cheapest!There was plenty of beautiful coral and different fish to see! Initially the swim/walk out there isn't so inspiring, but it is absolutely worth it once you are out there!

make sure you swim as far as the reef before giving up. definitely suggest water shoes if you dont have flippers and other footwear on the beach also due to sharp coral etc

Its a great place to go and not just for the snorkeling, you can just lie around on the beach in the little beach fales and have fresh water showers, the snorkeling is good to great and if you have never snorkeled before this is a great place to start, I love Palolo deep.

Was lots of fun but kind of felt a wee bit dangerous. One local encouraged me to go down the larger slide (which no one was doing). It looked pretty dodgy so I chickened out. Which was lucky as afterwards the same local said the river was really low and was probably good not to have done it! I got the feeling that health and safety is pretty lax in Samoa so my advice is be careful and use your instincts!