Falealupo tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 12:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Pacific/Apia local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sat 16 May (range 1.4m). Next neap on Tue 19 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Falealupo occupies the westernmost tip of Savai'i, and by extension the westernmost point of Samoa — the last land before the International Date Line and the open Pacific rolling south toward Tonga. The village sits at the base of the cape, facing north and west into unobstructed trade-wind swell. The Falealupo coastal rainforest is the reason most visitors make the long drive out here: a canopy walkway bridges between mature fig and breadfruit trees 20 m above the forest floor, with the ocean visible through the foliage on the northwest side. The forest represents one of the few intact lowland coastal rainforest remnants in Samoa. The tidal character at Falealupo differs from the sheltered southeast coast in one important way: there is no fringe reef on the northwest face of the cape. The full trade-wind swell arrives directly at the shoreline, and the tidal signal combines with wave run-up to produce a water-level envelope substantially wider than the 1.0–1.2 m spring tidal range alone suggests. At high spring tide combined with a 1.5 m swell, water reaches the base of the coastal forest margin. At low spring tide with calm conditions, black lava platforms are fully exposed down to Chart Datum and beyond. For photographers, Falealupo is one of the most dramatic coastal shooting locations in the Pacific. The black lava platforms at the cape's tip provide foreground at low tide; the green rainforest rises immediately behind; trade-wind swell backlit by the late afternoon sun creates spray columns against the cliff faces on the northwest shore. The best light arrives in the final hour before sunset — approximately 17:45–18:30 local time year-round given the low latitude. Low spring water, when the lava platforms are fully exposed, gives the richest foreground. Platform access requires reef shoes and attention to wave sets: rogue waves from the northwest arrive without warning, especially during southerly low-pressure systems. Anglers targeting pelagics — yellowfin tuna, wahoo, skipjack — work the point at Falealupo from the cliff-top casting platforms and from small boats launched off the beach at the village. The northwest cape concentrates bait on the ebb current, which runs northeast along the north coast of Savai'i and accelerates around the point. Bottom lures worked at the cliff base in 10–20 m target trevally and snapper. The optimal window is the two hours either side of the ebb low — when the current is running hard — in the morning before trade-wind chop makes boat control difficult. Kayakers should treat Falealupo as an advanced location. The northwest exposure means sea state is rarely flat past 09:00, and the cape itself generates confused swell when trade-wind and long-period swells interact. The sheltered lagoon section immediately east of the village is more forgiving: at high tide the lagoon carries 1.0–1.2 m of water and provides protected flat-water paddling along the edge of the coastal forest. At low tide the lagoon partially drains across its reef flat, leaving an inner pool of 0.3–0.5 m suitable for sit-on-top kayaks in calm conditions. Families visiting for the canopy walkway rather than the ocean should check the village access road: the unsealed section crosses two stream fords that flood after rain and can become impassable for low-clearance vehicles. Tidal timing here is relevant for the ford crossings only indirectly — heavy rain typically coincides with incoming tropical moisture rather than tidal state — but the general principle of checking conditions before committing to the road applies equally to both weather and tide. Cyclone season (November–April) brings the real risk at Falealupo: the exposed northwest face is directly in the path of cyclones tracking southwest from the ITCZ. Storm surge plus wave action in a direct hit can overtop the coastal margin entirely. All tide predictions for Falealupo come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.