Ofu — the beach and reef of the National Park of American Samoa

Where: Ofu, Manu’a Islands
American Samoa
Coordinates: 14.1800° S
169.6500° W (approximate)
Park: National Park of American Samoa
established 31 October 1988
Land: Leased from village councils
50-year lease, 1993
The Ofu unit: Two-mile beach and reef
70 acres of land, 400 of water
Getting there: Samoa Airways from Pago Pago
Tuesdays and Thursdays
Best visited: Year-round; not Sundays in the water

From Tally’s diary

A small plane set us down by the sea, on an island made mostly of steep green mountain with a beach tied round its foot. Over the reef the water was so clear the fish hung there as if in air, and across a narrow gap of shallows another island raised its green ridges. At dusk the village went quiet for prayers, and I went quiet with it.

The short answer

Ofu is an island in the Manu’a group of American Samoa, the western half of a volcanic pair with Olosega, from which it is separated by the Āsaga Strait, 137 metres of shallow reef crossed by a single-lane bridge since 1970, Wikipedia records. Its south-east shore at To’aga, a two-mile beach and its coral reef below Sunu’itao Peak, is the Ofu unit of the National Park of American Samoa, the smallest of the park’s three units, with 70 acres of land and 400 of water. The park, spread across Tutuila, Ofu and Ta’ū, is the only unit of the US National Park System south of the equator. Ofu had 176 people at the 2010 census.

Why it's worth knowing

A park on rented land. Congress established the National Park of American Samoa on 31 October 1988, Wikipedia records, but the Park Service could not buy the land, because land in American Samoa is held communally. The answer, reached on 10 September 1993, was a 50-year lease from the Samoan village councils. The Park Service’s own advice follows from it: ask permission before taking photographs, using a beach or starting an activity in a village; treat Sunday as a day for church, rest and quiet, when swimming that is fine on other days is often not permitted; and when a village stops at dusk for evening prayers, sā, stop and wait quietly.

An old shore. Archaeological work at To’aga in the 1980s, by a team that included Patrick Kirch, found pottery in the Lapita tradition, adzes and worked shell and bone, and Wikipedia records that the finds suggest people have lived on Ofu for about three thousand years. When the Dutch commodore Jacob Roggeveen approached in June 1722, the high chief of Ofu met his ships with a war canoe; in 1768 Louis Antoine de Bougainville anchored off Ofu and Olosega and, admiring the islanders’ canoes, named the group the Navigator Islands.

The field notes

The reef at To'aga

The Park Service describes the Ofu unit as a shallow, protected reef with a great diversity of coral cover and fish, with good snorkelling from the beach. Wikipedia notes that To’aga’s lagoon has been the site of long-term research on coral reefs and climate change. Across the park’s waters it records more than 950 species of fish and more than 250 of coral, and on land the Samoa flying fox, a fruit bat, one of the islands’ three native mammals, all of them bats.

Two islands, one bridge

Ofu and Olosega are the remains of a single basaltic volcano, Wikipedia records; Ofu rises to 491 metres at Mount Tumutumu, and Olosega to 629 metres at Mount Piumafua. Before 1970 people crossed between them by waiting for low tide and wading the strait; since then the bridge has carried a single-lane road. The last eruption nearby was in 1866, about three kilometres east of Olosega. The park as a whole had 12,135 visits in 2022, making it one of the least visited in the national park system.

Black boulders scattered along a pale beach and shallow lagoon, below steep green mountains in soft light — Ofu's shore at low tide, Olosega's ridge beyond.

Photograph: Peter Craig, National Park Service · Public domain (PD-USGov, US National Park Service) · cropped

Two small islands joined by a reef, partly under cloud, in a deep-blue ocean seen from orbit — Ofu and Olosega from the International Space Station.

Photograph: NASA (ISS crew photograph) · Public domain (PD-USGov-NASA) · cropped

Tally’s list

Bring your food with you, enough for every day and a spare, because the shops are small and the next plane is days away.
Ask before you swim, before you photograph, and before you cross anyone’s beach. It is their land, lent to the park, and asking costs nothing.
Walk until the sand runs out. I set off with this as a quick item and came back at teatime with it still open and no idea where the morning had gone.
On the village’s day of rest, leave the water alone and the beach quiet, and save the reef for another day.
When the village stops for evening prayers, stop with it, wherever you are, and wait.

The Relic

The reef at To’aga. The shallow, protected coral reef along Ofu’s south-east shore, inside the National Park of American Samoa, which the Park Service describes as rich in coral cover and fish, and where long-term studies of coral reefs and climate change have been run, Wikipedia notes. It lies off a beach about twenty minutes’ walk from the island’s only lodge, on village land the park leases, and is reached by swimming out from the sand.

Tally, in the marginI drifted above it all morning, and only near the end found myself holding my breath at the surface, as though the corals might hear. I expect they have heard worse.

Getting there

How to get there. Fly to Pago Pago on Tutuila, then on to Ofu. The Park Service says Samoa Airways is the only airline flying between Tutuila and the Manu’a Islands, to Ofu on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Wikipedia gives the flight as about half an hour. Fishing boats from Ta’ū are another way across, which Wikipedia calls not very reliable. Vaoto Lodge, outside the park boundary, is the only lodge on Ofu, and the beach is about a twenty-minute walk from it.

When to go. Any time of year; plan your days on the reef around Sunday, when village custom keeps the water quiet.

What to arrange ahead. Flights both ways and the lodge. Food: the Park Service warns that there are no restaurants on Ofu, only a couple of small stores, and suggests bringing dehydrated meals to cook in the lodge’s shared kitchen. Snorkel gear of your own, since the lodge’s few sets go first come, first served.

Safety. The State Department’s travel advisories cover other countries, so none applies to American Samoa, a US territory. The Park Service is plain about the risk: services on Ofu are extremely limited, there is no medical care, and emergency response may take days. The hazards are the place’s own: sun, reef and current, and that distance from help.

Mark this place

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Common questions

Where is Ofu?

Ofu is an island in the Manu’a group of American Samoa, in the South Pacific, joined to its twin island Olosega by a bridge across the 137-metre Āsaga Strait. Its south-east shore at To’aga is the Ofu unit of the National Park of American Samoa.

How do you get to Ofu, American Samoa?

By air from Pago Pago on Tutuila. The National Park Service says Samoa Airways is the only airline serving the Manu’a Islands, flying to Ofu on Tuesdays and Thursdays; the flight takes about half an hour, by Wikipedia’s account.

Is the National Park of American Samoa the only US national park south of the equator?

Yes. Wikipedia describes the National Park of American Samoa, with units on Tutuila, Ofu and Ta’ū, as the only unit of the US National Park System south of the equator.

Why does the National Park Service lease the land on Ofu?

Because land in American Samoa is held communally, the National Park Service could not buy it when the National Park of American Samoa was created in 1988. On 10 September 1993 it signed a 50-year lease with the Samoan village councils instead, Wikipedia records.

What customs should visitors follow on Ofu?

The National Park Service asks visitors to American Samoa, Ofu included, to ask permission before photographing, using a beach or starting an activity in a village; to keep Sunday for rest, when swimming is often not permitted; and to stop and wait quietly when a village pauses for evening prayers, sā.

Where do you stay on Ofu?

The National Park Service names Vaoto Lodge, outside the park boundary, as the only lodge on Ofu, about a twenty-minute walk from Ofu Beach. There are no restaurants on the island, so the Park Service suggests bringing dehydrated meals to cook in the lodge’s shared kitchen.

Can you walk from Ofu to Olosega?

Yes, across the bridge. Ofu and Olosega are separated by the Āsaga Strait, 137 metres of shallow reef; before 1970 people waded it at low tide, and since 1970 a single-lane bridge has joined the two islands, Wikipedia records.

How many people visit the National Park of American Samoa?

Wikipedia records 12,135 visits to the National Park of American Samoa in 2022, across its three units on Tutuila, Ofu and Ta’ū, which places it among the least visited parks in the US national park system.

Notes on sources. This entry draws on the National Park Service (nps.gov) for the National Park of American Samoa: Samoa Airways as the only airline between Tutuila and the Manu’a Islands, flying to Ofu on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Vaoto Lodge as the only lodge, outside the park, about twenty minutes’ walk from the beach, with its shared kitchen and first-come equipment; the absence of restaurants and the advice to bring dehydrated meals; services extremely limited, no medical care and emergency response that may take days; the shallow protected reef and its snorkelling; and the customs of asking permission, Sunday and sā. All of these were reached only through their indexed text. Wikipedia’s articles on the National Park of American Samoa and on Ofu-Olosega, and the references they cite, supplied the park’s establishment on 31 October 1988, the communal land and the 50-year lease of 10 September 1993, the three units and the Ofu unit’s two-mile beach, Sunu’itao Peak, 70 acres of land and 400 of water, the only National Park System unit south of the equator, the Āsaga Strait of 137 metres and the bridge of 1970, the wading before it, Mount Tumutumu’s 491 metres and Mount Piumafua’s 629 metres, the single basaltic volcano and the eruption of 1866, Ofu’s 176 people in 2010, the To’aga excavations of the 1980s with Patrick Kirch and their Lapita-tradition finds and the three thousand years of settlement, Roggeveen in 1722 and Bougainville’s Navigator Islands of 1768, To’aga’s coral research, the park’s fish and coral counts, the Samoa flying fox and the three native bats, the fishing boats from Ta’ū, the flight of about half an hour, and the 12,135 visits of 2022. The page’s coordinates are an approximate point on the To’aga shore. Travel advisory: the State Department issues travel advisories for other countries, not for US territories. Checked 4 October 2026. Written and fact-checked by SockMonkey. Last reviewed 5 October 2026.