Samoa Swim Series 2025
We’re thrilled to share this wonderful travel story from Laura Baxter, a member of Toowoomba Masters Swimming Club, who recently took part in the 2025 Samoa Swim Series. A big thank you to Laura for generously sharing her insights and reflections—here’s her report on an unforgettable swimming adventure in paradise!
At the end of July, I flew to Samoa for the Samoa Swim Series, hosted by Seti and his team at Samoa Events. I was a little nervous, having had no luck finding anyone who had attended in the past. Fortunately, Seti connected me with another lovely swimmer from New Zealand. It was reassuring just to know that it was a quality, well-attended event historically.
From there, it was an easy process to arrange. Seti was very flexible and supportive in the lead-up. In the week prior to departure, he sent out an event booklet covering the itinerary and important information. You can choose the full package and allow Seti to book your flights and hotel, or take care of that yourself. I ended up finding my own deals for flights and accommodation, and booked the swim package with Seti directly. He also arranged airport transfers each way, which was very helpful.
All of the team stayed at the Sheraton Beach Resort, right next to Apia Airport but nearly an hour from the town of Apia. If budget is a factor, there is also a budget hotel option opposite the Sheraton. You would spend the days at the Sheraton as part of the event, but sleep at the other hotel. The Sheraton is very convenient, as one of the three swims is held there and another just a few minutes up the road. The third swim was an hour’s drive away, but there was a day tour organised in the same location. The Sheraton has a lovely private beach and was a great spot for a morning swim each day too.
The 2025 Samoa Swim Series had about 20 swimmers entered, but in previous years has had as many as 180, depending on other events on the ocean swim calendar that year. Having a small group was a lovely experience, and everyone was so friendly, encouraging and welcoming. There were two other Aussies swimming, but otherwise the swimmers were all from New Zealand. Each swim had the option of 4km, 2km or 1km.
The first swim to Monono Island was a point-to-point swim. You could either swim from the main island or from part of the way across. Everyone finished at the same location on Monono Island. At the end of each swim, we were provided with cold water and fresh coconuts. After a big swim in water ranging from 29–31 degrees, some cold water was very welcome! This was my first attempt at ocean swimming (apart from a couple of Pier to Pubs 20 years ago), so getting used to swimming without a black line to follow, and with or against a current, was quite tricky! I think I probably swam an extra 500m with all the zigzagging I did trying to work out the current and losing track of the finish buoy constantly. By the third swim, I was much better at keeping a straight(er) line!
The second swim was another point-to-point swim along the coast at Sinalei. This was a long day, as we also combined it with some sightseeing and lunch and dinner at different resorts. The highlight of the day was visiting the To Sua Ocean Trench, where we could also have a little swim—if we were game enough to climb down the steep ladder!
The final swim was out the front of the Sheraton, and we finished the day with a presentation dinner and awarding of the outright men’s and women’s winners for the 4km distance. Each swimmer was also presented with an amazing hand-carved wooden medal and fresh lei.
On each swim, there were plenty of fish to see and some other assorted sea life such as sea slugs and stars. At the Sinalei swim, most of us even saw a turtle or two! Out the front of the Sheraton, we also saw rays. Much of the coral is dead or bleached from the warm ocean temperatures, but there were still fish living amongst it and pockets of surviving coral.
I would recommend swimming in long-sleeved suits (and maybe even short legs) if you’re concerned about sunburn, as some of our pale skins are not used to swimming for an hour or more in the sun! I would also bring a tow float next time. Many of the experienced ocean swimmers had these, though they were not mandatory. They’re a great way to make sure you’re visible to the safety boat and also helpful for your peers to spot or follow you.
The biggest expense of the trip was probably food. There are no other local options near the Sheraton, so most meals are in-house. The day trips were also arranged around resort meals at other venues. They weren’t unreasonably priced—probably similar to dining out at nice restaurants in Brisbane. Grabbing some snacks from the local store or bringing some from home is definitely a way to cut down on meal costs and helpful to pack for the longer days away from the hotel.
The highlights of the trip were the buffet breakfast at the Sheraton, the three diverse swims, Seti’s welcoming and easy-going nature, the variety in the itinerary, and of course the other amazing swimmers. Getting to know another group of swimmers, hearing some of their stories and motivations for swimming, was quite special. It really was a great, relaxing yet busy, affordable, flexible and well-organised trip. I would definitely do it again!
For more information on this event: https://www.samoaevents.com/samoa-swim-series.html
