Travelling solo is not for the faint hearted.

And in Roxanne we meet a free spirit, living her best curiosity-filled life at Taufua Beach Fales. 

We come across Roxanne after her third dip in the pristine waters of Lalomanu that morning.

With a big smile she welcomes Dear Tourist to her table.

“I came to Samoa by myself because I thought I would see and do more,” she said. 

“I have a couple of friends who are from Samoa, and also a couple of friends who have been here, so it was a combination of things that led me here. 

“I just went off their advice and off the people that I met, who were from Samoa, who are very lovely.”

Roxanne was really excited when she first clamped eyes on the beach at Lalomanu.

“Everyone here is very friendly, everyone was waving and smiling; yeah, I love it. The beach is amazing, it’s like a movie scene. When we drove around the corner coming into this place I was like, ‘Oh my God, is this for real?’ Its like, WOW.

 “The colour of the water is insane. It reminds me of Hawaii with the palm trees, the vibe and the layout. I’’ve just been on my third swim and I loved it, the water was warm like a bath. ”

Roxanne will be moving around a lot to cover a lot of ground before she spends the last days of her holidays at the Teuila Festival, next week.

 “Tomorrow, I’ll be going around the south coast and then I’ll jump on the ferry for a trip to Savai’i and then I’ll be back in Apia in time for the Teuila Festival, which is why I came because I knew it was happening.”

In a short amount of time, Roxanne is already bursting to tell her friends about Samoa, 

 “A hundred and ten percent I would recommend Samoa,” she said. 

“I  already have 10 people in mind who I’m going to recommend this place to. Everyone would love it here -- before it gets too touristy (sic); I mean, it kind of is, but not really. It’s still pretty untouched.”