Robert Louis Stevenson Museum

Robert Louis Stevenson moved to Samoa in 1890 for his health and lived his last four years at Vailima above Apia, where Samoans called him Tusitala, the teller of tales. The house has been restored to how he kept it, with his writing room, the great hall built for entertaining, and the fireplace he installed despite the tropics because he missed Scotland. Guides tell the story with real affection - his involvement in Samoan affairs made him genuinely loved here. When he died in 1894, Samoan chiefs cut a path up Mount Vaea overnight and carried him to the summit, where his tomb stands with his own requiem carved on it.

History

Stevenson bought 314 acres here in 1890 and finished Villa Vailima, named after the nearby village, by 1891, with the only working fireplace in Samoa. After his death in 1894 the villa served the governor of German Samoa, then the New Zealand administrator and Samoa's head of state, and after cyclone damage in the early 1990s it became a museum funded by overseas donations (Wikipedia, Robert Louis Stevenson Museum).

The main sights

• The restored villa - Stevenson's writing room, hall and furnishings.
• The Mount Vaea tomb walk - the climb to his grave above the house.
• The gardens - the estate grounds and rainforest behind.
• Apia's waterfront - the old town, market and clock tower below.

When to go

The drier months from May to October make the tomb climb more comfortable. The walk up Mount Vaea takes about forty-five minutes to an hour on a steep, often muddy path. Mornings avoid both heat and afternoon rain.

Things to know

The house tour is guided and fixed, running to a schedule rather than free wandering. The tomb walk is steeper and muddier than most visitors expect, with two route options of which the shorter is considerably harder. Apia's traffic and heat make the trip up feel longer than the distance suggests. Sunday closures apply widely in Samoa, including here.

Nearby

Apia's market and cathedral, Papapapaitai Falls and the cross-island road.

Key facts