American Samoa appears in our catalog as Ofu, one island in the Manu'a group, and that is the whole of our coverage. This is a US territory in the South Pacific, a long way from the mainland, and its snorkeling is one remarkable thing: a national-park fringing reef that begins a short swim from a long white-sand beach, on an island group with almost no development. We give it its own page rather than folding it under the USA because it is not a US-state destination in any practical sense — it is reached on its own flights through Pago Pago and then a small inter-island aircraft, and the territory runs its own visitor entry-permit system rather than the visa-waiver and ESTA arrangements that cover the fifty states. Expect warm, clear Pacific water, a genuinely empty reef, and the logistics of somewhere very far from anything.
What we cover — and what we don’t
Where we cover American Samoa: Ofu only — the beach and fringing reef inside the National Park of American Samoa, the Asaga Strait between Ofu and Olosega, and the two offshore islets, Nu'utele and Nu'usafe'e, as one destination with four sites. The territory's other islands, Tutuila and Ta'ū among them, are not in this catalog. Take the park's own current rules as governing the water rather than anything on this page: Ofu is lightly developed, with very limited gear hire, few places to stay and limited medical support, and the inter-island flight from Pago Pago is a small aircraft with a weather-dependent schedule. Nothing here is a safety, security or immigration assessment — check your own government's current position, and the entry-permit requirement, before you plan.
In catalog rank order. Rank, taglines and “best for” notes are the catalog’s own; each destination page and guide goes deeper.
National-park lagoon · Polynesia A national-park lagoon in remote Polynesia — the South Pacific reef you have to mean to visit.
Ofu Beach's fringing reef, inside the National Park of American Samoa, is the classic South Pacific shore snorkel — a long white-sand beach with coral starting a short swim out, on an island with almost no development. Be honest about the trip: reaching it means a flight to Pago Pago and then a small plane to the Manu'a group, so it is a destination you commit to, not a stopover.