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Samoa SamoaSamoan IslandsVolcanic island

Upolu

1,125 km² rising to 1,100 m out of the Pacific Ocean.

When to go

Upolu seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
ApiaSiusegaLauli’iNofoali‘iSatapualaSolosoloFalefa
N 10 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

1,125km²

Area

165km

Coastline

measured on a simplified outline

1,100m

Highest point

143,418

People

29°C

Warmest sea

March

3,974km

To the mainland

When to go to Upolu

Best for the beach from January to April and in August.

The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in Samoa

Upolu is an volcanic island in Samoa. It belongs to Samoan Islands. It covers 1,125 km², with 165 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 1,100 m. About 143,418 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 3,974 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Faleolo International Airport (APW)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
  • FerriesApia - Tokelau, Apia - Pago Pago
  • 3,974 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From January to April and Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire in SamoaDiscover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Upolu.

  • 111beachesCoconuts Beach, Maninoa Beach, Sinalei Beach and 108 more
  • 17viewpointsPapapapaitai-falls, Sopo'aga Waterfalls, Coastal Walk Lava Field and 14 more
  • 2ferry terminalsApia Ferry Terminal
  • 1marinasĀpia Marina
  • 3named peaksMount Fito, Mount Fiamoe, Mound Peak
  • 13volcanoesLua O Fafine Crater and 12 more
  • 10waterfallsFalefa Waterfalls, Papase'ea Sliding Rocks, Sopo'aga Waterfalls and 7 more
  • 1castles and fortsRobert Louis Stevenson Museum and Botanical Gardens
  • 7ruins and archaeological sitesNono'a Archaeological Starmound, Nono'a Spring Pool Foaga Stone, Salepoua'e Starmound and 4 more
  • 1dive centresSamoa Dive & Snorkel
  • 197hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 98restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Upolu in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Upolu, each with its own numbers.

  • 3beaches and covesCoastya
  • 5waterfallsCascadyas

  • Beach with the warmest sea

    29.3°C

    Matareva Beach

    sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

3 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

  1. Salamumu Beach29.3°C
  2. Matareva Beach29.3°C
  3. Return to Paradise Beach29.3°C

Open Coastya ↗

5 waterfalls

on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas

  1. Papapapaitai Falls
  2. Sopoaga Falls
  3. Fuipisia Waterfall
  4. Falefa Falls
  5. So'agu Falls

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 260 m above the sea. 49 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 22 %0–50 m
  • 28 %50–200 m
  • 35 %200–500 m
  • 15 %500–1,000 m
  • <1 %1,000–2,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Upolu1,125 km²
Tenerife2,038 km²
Long Island3,529 km²

50 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Apia40,407 people
  • Vaitele7,972 people
  • Vaiusu2,686 people
  • Siusega2,618 people
  • Vaimoso2,465 people
  • Lauli’i2,109 people
  • Nofoali‘i2,018 people
  • Satapuala1,963 people
  • Solosolo1,851 people
  • Falefa1,707 people
  • Leulumoega1,458 people
  • Moata‘a1,412 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)282828282828282828282828
Night low (°C)272727272726262626262727
Sea (°C)292929292928282828282929
Rain (mm)25824116516912891755692141213229
Wet days262324222017151517232524
Sun h/day6.56.57.47.16.97.07.17.88.07.87.26.7
Wind (km/h)171714151822222222201716

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.3−0.2+0.6+0.7+1.0+0.5+0.7+0.6+0.3+0.4+0.3±0.0
2021+0.3+0.1+0.3+0.1+0.2+0.4+0.6+0.5+0.5+0.2+0.2+0.3
2022+0.3±0.0+0.1+0.2+0.4+0.4+0.1+0.1±0.0±0.0±0.0+0.2
2023+0.3+0.3+0.3+0.6+0.4+0.6+0.5+0.9+0.5+0.5+0.5−0.1
2024+0.9+0.5+1.2+1.4+1.2+0.7+0.5±0.0+0.2+0.2−0.1+0.1
2025+0.5+0.7+0.5+0.6+0.5+0.2+0.3+0.6+0.6+0.3+0.3+0.7

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

View of the south-eastern coast of Upolu, Samoa - August 2016
Rickard Törnblad · CC BY-SA 4.0
Beach fales at Lalomanu beach, Upolu, Samoa - August 2016
Rickard Törnblad · CC BY-SA 4.0
Piula Cave Pool, Upolu island, Samoa
Stephen Glauser · CC BY-SA 2.0
Samoan blue tiger (Tirumala hamata melittula) male underside Upolu
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Manono IslandSamoaSamoa2.9 km²67 m40 km awayApolimaSamoaSamoa1.0 km²28 m45 km awayTutuilaUnited StatesUnited States137 km²653 m119 km awayTaʻūUnited StatesUnited States46 km²963 m248 km awayNiuatoputapuTongaTonga16 km²157 m315 km awaySwains IslandTokelauTokelau152 km²4 m326 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q274569) · CC0
OutlineNatural Earth · public domain
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsCoastya, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit