Two main islands, one ferry, one rate
Samoa is two main islands — Upolu (where Apia sits, and where flights into Faleolo land) and Savai'i, the larger and more rural one — plus a handful of smaller islets. Most travelers spend a week on Upolu and a few days on Savai'i, crossing on the inter-island ferry from Mulifanua to Salelologa. The trip is beach pools, the To Sua Trench, the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, drives along the south coast. Connectivity has to follow the ferry, the bus, and the village beach fale without you swapping SIMs.
Roamzy charges $5.73 per gigabyte in Samoa. That's $0.0056 per megabyte, billed in real time on Samoan networks. No subscription, no expiry, no minimum bundle. One per-MB rate across 193 countries is the number the meter produces, not a marketing line.
How much will Roamzy actually cost on this trip?
A typical visitor uses 0.4–0.7 GB per day: maps in Apia, the bus stop's location pin (the buses don't run on a published schedule), the camera-translator on a Samoan menu, video calls home from a beach fale, the inter-island ferry's online schedule. Beach fale Wi-Fi is rare; cellular does the work cellular usually does in a less-built-out destination. Call it 0.5 GB/day:
| Trip length | Roamzy ($5.73/GB) | Tourist roaming pass | Local SIM at APW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days (1.5 GB) | $8.60 | $25–55 | $10–25 + ID and a 30-day cap |
| 1 week (3.5 GB) | $20.07 | $50–110 | $15–30 + cap |
| 2 weeks (7 GB) | $40.14 | $100–200 (often two passes) | $20–40 + cap |
Competitor prices in columns 3 and 4 are 2025 ranges based on typical offerings; exact figures depend on your home carrier and the airport store you visit. Roamzy's rate in column 2 is our actual published rate from the pricing page.
The Faleolo SIM kiosk is open at flight times but the form wants ID and the line moves slowly after a long Pacific crossing. The eSIM is on the network when you board the bus into Apia.
Connectivity across two islands
Samoan networks cover the populated coastal ring on Upolu and Savai'i densely; the volcanic interior is thinner. The ferry between Mulifanua and Salelologa runs through cellular line-of-sight to both islands — signal mostly holds, with brief drops in the middle of the strait.
You'll feel the network thin out on the cross-island roads — the Le Mafa Pass on Upolu, the road from Salelologa to Falealupo on Savai'i — but in the villages it's there.
How is coverage distributed by region?
| Region | 4G/5G | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Apia and the Upolu north coast | 4G/LTE | Stable in the centre, working at the wharf and the markets |
| To Sua Ocean Trench, Lalomanu | 4G | Solid in the village, weaker at the trench viewpoint itself |
| South-coast resorts (Sinalei, Coconuts) | 4G | Working in the beach areas; the property's Wi-Fi covers the rest |
| Le Mafa Pass | Spotty | Drops in the high section, returns on the descent |
| Savai'i (Salelologa, Manase, Falealupo) | 4G | Coverage in the villages, gaps on the lava fields and at Saleaula |
| Inter-island ferry | 4G with gaps | Mostly works, brief silence mid-strait |
Things you'll feel about Samoa specifically
A few practicalities worth surfacing before they surprise you:
- Cash leads outside the capital. Apia has cards and ATMs; Savai'i is more cash-and-Wi-Fi-payment, the local mobile-money systems are popular among Samoans but mostly local-only.
- Sunday is genuinely closed. Buses don't run, most shops are shut, and many beach fales hold a service. Plan grocery runs and ferry bookings for Saturday.
- Beach fale stays are the budget standard — open-walled platforms with mosquito nets. Wi-Fi is a polite myth in many of them; cellular is what keeps you in touch.
- Date Line. Samoa is on the western side of the international date line — the day in Auckland may not be the day in Apia. Calendar invites get confused. The eSIM doesn't, but worth knowing.
How do I install my Roamzy eSIM?
| Plug type | Voltage | Frequency | iOS | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type I | 230 V | 50 Hz | iPhone XS+ | Pixel 3+, Galaxy S20+ |
- Sign in to Roamzy via Telegram or Google
- Your first eSIM is free and comes with real data on us. After that, top up from $20 in stablecoins (USDT or USDC): no cards, no banks, no FX surcharges
- The QR code appears in your dashboard as soon as the eSIM is issued
- On the iPhone itself (iOS 17.4 or newer), tap Tap to install in the QR card; otherwise Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → scan QR (do this on home Wi-Fi before you fly)
- The counter starts the moment you land at APW
Samoa uses Australian/NZ Type I plugs — bring an adapter if you're flying in via the US or Europe. Supported stablecoins and common setup errors are in the FAQ.
Why the tariff is built this way
A trip to Samoa is already paced — Sunday closures, fale-to-fale moves, ferry schedules that don't match flight schedules. Connectivity should be the one thing that doesn't compound the load.
Roamzy is built around that. No first-purchase promo to lure you, then jacked rates on the second top-up. No fine-print throttling. No auto-renewal you forgot to cancel three months later. One rate, billed by the megabyte, balance carries.
Come back to Samoa in a year and your balance will be exactly where you left it; the meter counts megabytes, not days. That's a design decision, not a promotion.
What if my trip continues to other countries?
Samoa fits into a wider Pacific itinerary:
- Tonga — common Pacific pairing, separate country rate
- Fiji — short flight from Apia, the eSIM hands over at landing
- If you want the underlying mechanics — how roaming actually gets priced and why it hurts