Driving in American Samoa on a UK Licence — IDP Recommended, Right-Hand Roads

American Samoa is about as far from a British road as you can get — a cluster of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, run as a US territory, with one main island, Tutuila, doing most of the driving. For a UK visitor the licence is straightforward; the habits are not.

Can a British licence holder drive in American Samoa?

For a short tourist visit, your UK licence is generally accepted, and an International Driving Permit is recommended to carry alongside it — it gives officials and rental desks a recognised translation and avoids friction. Because American Samoa follows US-territory rules, anyone staying longer than a short trip may be expected to hold a local licence, so this is firmly a hire-car-for-the-week proposition, not a relocation one. Arrange the IDP before you leave the UK.

The right-hand-side switch is the real work

The UK drives on the left; American Samoa, as a US territory, drives on the right. That flip is the thing to respect. The roads here are quiet by British standards, which actually raises the risk — empty lanes make it easy to drift back onto the “home” side without a stream of oncoming traffic to correct you. Be deliberate pulling out of car parks and junctions, and keep the running rule in mind: the driver sits nearest the centre line. Speeds are low everywhere, so there is time to think, but only if you are paying attention.

What the roads are actually like

There is no motorway and no fast road — Tutuila’s single coastal route winds between the mountains and the sea, with sharp bends, the occasional landslip after heavy rain, and pedestrians, dogs and the odd pig sharing the carriageway through villages. Sunday is genuinely quiet, as church observance shapes the day. Our data carries no specific drink-drive figure for American Samoa, so the only honest advice is to drive sober: enforcement is informal but the roads are unforgiving and help is distant. The emergency number is 112.

Check the documents you need with the Driving Permit Checker, and budget your trip’s driving with the Fuel Cost Calculator before you travel.