Fast Facts

American Express -- There is no American Express representative in American Samoa.

Baggage Storage -- The hotels will store your extra gear for free.

Business Hours -- Normal shopping hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to noon. Government offices are open Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm.

Clothing -- Lightweight, informal summer clothing is appropriate all year, with a light sweater or wrap for evenings from June through September. Young American Samoans have adopted Western-style dress, including jeans and shorts of respectable length, although the traditional wraparound lava-lava is still worn by many older men and women. In keeping with Samoan custom regarding modesty, visitors should not wear bathing suits or other skimpy clothing away from the hotels. Women must confine their bikini tops to the beach.

Electricity -- American Samoa uses 110-volt electric current and plugs identical to those in the United States.

Embassies/Consulates -- Independent Samoa and the Republic of Korea have consulates, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) maintains a liaison office in Pago Pago, primarily to assist the Korean and Taiwanese crews of the tuna boats unloading their catches at the tuna canneries.

Emergencies -- The emergency telephone number for the police, fire department, and ambulance is tel. 911. In a medical emergency, you can call or go to Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center. The police station (tel. 633-1111) is in Fagatogo, across the malae (open field) from the Fono.

E-mail -- DDW Internet Cafe, in Pago Plaza at the head of the bay (tel. 633-5297), has Internet access for US$3 for 15 minutes, US$5 for 30 minutes, US$10 for an hour.

Eyeglasses -- Pacific Vision Center, in Pago Plaza at the head of the harbor (tel. 633-1076).

Firearms -- Guns are tightly controlled, and permits are required.

Gambling -- There are no casinos or other organized forms of gambling in American Samoa. Money is wagered at very popular bingo games.

Healthcare -- The Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center (tel. 633-5555 for emergencies, or 633-1222) in Faga'alu west of Pago Pago (turn off the main road at Tom Ho Chung's store) handles the territory's medical and dental services. The outpatient clinic is open 24 hours daily. Frankly, you will get much better treatment in Apia.

Insects -- There are no dangerous insects in American Samoa, and the plentiful mosquitoes do not carry malaria.

Libraries -- The Feleti-Barstow Public Library (tel. 633-5816), in the government buildings in Utulei, is open Monday to Wednesday and Friday 9am to 5pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9am to 7pm, and Saturday 10am to 2pm.

Liquor Laws -- There are no unusual laws to worry about. The minimum drinking age is 21.

Maps -- The best map of the territory is in the brochure published by the National Park of American Samoa . The American Samoa Office of Tourism distributes a sheet of maps.

Newspapers/Magazines -- The daily Samoa News (www.samoanews.com) is the dominant newspaper here. The Samoa Post and the American Samoan Tribune also appear.

Post Office -- The U.S. Postal Service's main post office is in Fagatogo. Regular U.S. domestic postage rates apply, and first-class and priority letters and packages go by air between American Samoa and the United States. Unless you pay the first-class or priority mail rate, however, parcel post is sent by ship and will take several weeks to reach Hawaii or the U.S. mainland. The post office is open Monday to Friday 7:30am to 3:30pm, Saturday 9am to noon. The zip code for Pago Pago is 96799.

Radio/TV -- The transmitters atop Mount Alava are used during the day to send educational TV programs to the territory's public schools and to transmit CNN and live sporting events. At night they broadcast two channels of U.S. network entertainment programs. The broadcasts can be seen 129km (80 miles) away, on eastern Upolu in Samoa. Many homes in American Samoa also have cable television. The territory has three FM radio stations, which transmit American network news broadcasts on the hour.

Safety -- Street crime is not a serious problem in American Samoa except late at night around Pago Pago Harbor. Fa'a Samoa and its rules of communal ownership are still in effect, however, so it's wise not to leave cameras, watches, or other valuables unattended or in your rental car.

Taxes -- The US$3 airport departure tax is included in ticket prices. There is no sales tax, but an invisible import tax of 5% is imposed on most merchandise (it's much stiffer on tobacco and alcoholic beverages).

Telephone/Fax -- Telephone calls can be dialed directly into American Samoa from most parts of the world. The territory's international country code is 684.

Pay phones are the same type used throughout the United States. The number for directory assistance is tel. 411. For emergencies, dial tel. 911.

The easiest way to call home from here is to buy a prepaid Blue Sky card, available at many shops. You can use these cards from any phone as you would a prepaid card at home. Several international companies have access numbers here, including AT&T (tel. 633-2872), MCI (tel. 633-2624), Sprint (tel. 633-1000), GTE/Verizon (tel. 633-1706), and Hawaii Verizon (tel. 633-2482).

You can also place overseas calls at American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (SamoaTelCo), diagonally across the Fagatogo malae from the Fono building. It is open 24 hours daily.

Blue Sky (tel. 699-2759; www.bluesky.as), which has offices in Pago Plaza and in the Lafou shopping center on the main road in Nu'uli, rents cell phones for US$25 a week plus air time. You can also buy a prepaid SIM card for your own unlocked GSM phone.

Time -- The local time in American Samoa is the same as in independent Samoa: 11 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. That's 3 hours behind Pacific Standard Time (4 hr. behind during daylight saving time). In other words, if it's noon standard time in California and 3pm in New York, it's 9am in Pago Pago. If daylight saving time is in effect in the United States, it's 8am in American Samoa.

American Samoa is east of the international date line and shares the same date with North America, 1 day behind Tonga, Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.

Tipping -- Although this is a U.S. territory, officially there is no tipping in American Samoa. A lot of American Samoans have lived in the United States, however, so the practice is not exactly uncommon.

Water -- The tap water is treated and is safe to drink except during periods of heavy rain.

Weights/Measures -- American Samoa is the only country or territory in the South Pacific whose official system of weights and measures is the same as that used in the United States -- pounds and miles, not the metric system of kilograms and kilometers.