🛍️ American Samoa: souvenirs
Souvenirs here are Samoan first and American second - siapo cloth, carved bowls and lavalava prints you will not find on the mainland. Here is what travellers bring home from American Samoa, where the good versions live, and the export questions worth a look - alongside our 37 written places.
🛒 The classic buys
Siapo (tapa cloth)
Bark cloth painted with earth pigments - the Leone area keeps the tradition alive; each piece is one of a kind.
Ava bowls and carvings
Multi-legged tanoa bowls carved from ifilele wood - the flea market in Fagatogo and village carvers sell directly.
Lavalava and puletasi fabric
Bright island prints by the yard or sewn - Pago Pago's fabric shops cut generously and cheaply.
Coconut-oil products
Scented island oils and soaps made locally - solid and travel-proof.
⚠️ Check before you buy
- Though it is a US territory, agricultural items still face inspection flying on to Hawaii or the mainland - declare plant and food items.
- Anything with turtle shell, whale tooth or coral is restricted - check the rules before buying marine material.
✗ Better left behind
- Turtle-shell jewellery, however traditional the design - trade is banned.
- Corals and large seashells collected live - protected, and confiscated on the way out.
Keep planning
Markets shift, workshops close and open, and the best souvenir is still the one with a story you were there for. Buy from makers where you can, keep receipts for anything substantial, and when a deal feels too good, it usually is.