To Sua Trench and Lalomanu

The south coast of Upolu, Samoa's main island, holds two of the country's most beautiful sights. The To Sua Ocean Trench is one of the most photographed places in the South Pacific, a stunning, deep swimming hole, or giant sunken pool of clear turquoise water fed by the sea, set in a lush tropical garden and reached by a long wooden ladder down into the trench. Nearby, Lalomanu is regularly rated one of the finest beaches in the world, a dazzling curve of white sand and clear turquoise water lined with the simple, open thatched beach huts, or fales, in which visitors sleep by the sea.

What you actually see

• The To Sua Ocean Trench - the dramatic deep turquoise swimming hole.
• Lalomanu Beach - the dazzling white sand and beach fales.
• The beach fales - the traditional thatched huts by the sea.
• The lush coast - the tropical gardens, blowholes and coves.

When to go

May to October, the drier, cooler season, for the best weather and calmest seas; the wet season from November to April is hotter with a cyclone risk. Swimming in the To Sua trench is best around low tide, when the water is calmer, and the beach fales offer a magical, simple night by the sea.

Honest expectations

The famous To Sua trench is a specific, if spectacular, swimming spot reached by a steep ladder, so it suits those comfortable climbing down and swimming in deep water, and it can get busy; the beach fales are simple and open, an authentic but basic way to stay. Some south-coast areas were rebuilt after a 2009 tsunami. For the sheer beauty of the trench, the world-class beach and the traditional island stay, though, this coast is magical.

Nearby

The capital Apia, the waterfalls and the north coast are elsewhere on Upolu.