The main island of American Samoa, Tutuila, is shaped like a Chinese dragon, 32 km long and ranges 1-10 km wide.
Alone it accounts for 68 percent of American Samoa's surface area and over 95 percent of its population. Surprisingly, this is one of the most varied and beautiful islands in the South Pacific. Its long mountainous spine twists from east to west with wild coastlines and cliffs on the north side, gentler landscapes and plains on the south.
There are lots of good beaches scattered around, but for a variety of reasons, finding a good place to swim takes some doing. When it's calm, the snorkeling is fine off the empty golden beaches all along the north coast, and the reef-break surfing along the south coast is especially good from December to March.
[Extract from Moon Handbooks South Pacific by David Stanley, Avalon Travel Publishing]
