Tumon & Tamuning
Guam’s resort bay: a reef-calm lagoon, a mile of hotels, duty-free shopping and the island’s dinner shows.
Destinations in the Mariana Islands
Eleven guides, grouped by island. Each has six pages: an overview, tours and tickets, things to see, getting there, a travel guide and when to go.
The Marianas are small, but they are not all alike. A day in the duty-free malls of Tumon and a day among the seabird cliffs of Rota feel like different countries. We have split Guam and Saipan into four districts each, roughly matching how you would actually spend your days, and given Tinian, Rota and the remote Northern Islands a guide apiece.
If you are still choosing an island, start with the itineraries; if you already know, jump straight in below.
Guam
The largest island: resort life on Tumon Bay, a small Spanish-era capital, a hilly rural south and a wild northern plateau.
Hagåtña & Central Guam
Guam’s pocket-sized capital and its war-scarred central coast: Spanish plazas, latte stones, landing beaches and the reef at Piti.
Southern Guam
The other Guam: volcanic hills, Spanish-era villages, waterfalls and quiet bays on a classic one-day loop drive.
Northern Guam
A limestone plateau ending in cliffs: the famous view from Two Lovers Point, the wild beach at Ritidian and trails to caves and ancient villages.
Saipan
The heart of the Northern Marianas: a long western lagoon, Managaha Island, the cliffs of Marpi and a rugged east coast.
Garapan & West Saipan
Saipan’s lagoon coast: the hotel and restaurant district of Garapan, a sunset town beach, and the 1944 landing beaches along Beach Road.
Managaha Island
A tiny sand cay in Saipan’s lagoon: a ten-minute boat ride to white beach, reef snorkelling and the grave of a Carolinian chief.
Northern Saipan
Marpi’s cliffs and memorials, the deep blue pool of the Grotto, Bird Island and the quiet beaches of San Roque.
Saipan South & East
Saipan’s summit, its wild ocean coast and the quiet southern beaches that look across the channel to Tinian.
Tinian, Rota & the Northern Islands
The quiet islands — reached by small plane — and the uninhabited volcanoes beyond, which almost nobody reaches at all.
Tinian
A quiet island of empty wartime runways, giant latte stones and turquoise coves, a ten-minute flight from Saipan.
Rota
The “friendly island” between Guam and Tinian: one village on an isthmus, seabird cliffs, an ancient latte quarry and very clear water.
The Northern Islands & Marianas Trench
A chain of smoking volcanoes and the deepest ocean on Earth — real, remarkable, and for almost everyone a place to read about rather than visit.
Distances are short: Guam is about 50 km from end to end and Saipan about 23 km, so on either island you can sleep in one place and reach every district as a day or half-day trip. Moving between islands is what needs planning — see getting there & island-hopping.
Plan your days in the Marianas
Turn a list of beaches into a trip
Dinner shows, dolphin cruises and guided snorkelling run with limited seats and fill up around New Year, Lunar New Year, Golden Week and the summer holidays. Compare what is bookable online and reserve in a couple of taps.