This outrageously photogenic spot is a Samoan icon; skip it to your everlasting regret. Though the first thing you'll see upon entering the grounds is To Le Sua (a smaller, drier depression), it's To Sua that is the star of the show: more akin to a giant sinkhole than a trench, its sheer, green-draped rock walls plummet 20-odd metres to the almost hallucinatory-blue waters of the magnificent pool below. Swimming access is via a precipitous but sturdy wooden ladder; believe us, it's worth the clamber.

　　When you’ve had your fill of this enchanted waterhole, take the short track to the wave-battered cliffs. The well-groomed garden is a great spot for a picnic.

　　Gorgeous though it is here, visitors still need to exercise caution: swimming through the underwater passage that feeds the waterhole from the sea is a big no-no, and if you're with kids, beware the child-sized gaps between the ground and the fence that circles the top of the trench.