No significant gathering in Samoa, whether official or for pleasure, is complete without the 'Ava or kava ceremony at the beginning. Kava's biological name is Piper methysticum, which means intoxicating pepper. The roots of the plant are used to produce a mildly narcotic drink that is passed around meetings following strict rules. However, you do not need to participate in a Samoan cultural event to try it. On some days it can be purchased at Apia's central market marketi fou.
The local beer is Vailima (http://www.vailima.ws/) beer. It's cheap and you can buy it everywhere.
Non-alcoholic beverages and bottled water are available in all roadside stores. Coke, Fanta and Sprite are available in 750 ml glass bottles for about 4 WST. You will need a bottle opener for these if you want to take them with you to drink later; otherwise stores will have a bottle opener available. Bottled water is available in a range of sizes.
Alcohol is plentiful in the bars. There's not that much in most stores and it tends to be expensive. Le Well near the market in Apia ask any taxi driver has a good range at the best prices. For heavy drinkers, the cheapest liquor is generally vodka in large 1.75 L plastic bottles. This may be bought from supermarkets and bottleshops and is also available in smaller 750 ml bottles for about 25 WST. Imported wines are generally very expensive, although not as expensive as in the restaurants.
The government shut down most of the popular and legendary bars and night spots in Apia in 2006, citing underage drinking, drugs, noise, and crime. They were reopened several weeks later. At the end of 2010 bars and nightclubs were supposed to close at 22.00 although some seemed to be able to evade this. There are lots of smaller bars and night spots to check out. Also every hotel has a bar as do most of the restaurants.
