Rota lies roughly 60 to 75 kilometres north-north-east of Guam, the southernmost island of the Northern Marianas. It covers about 85 square kilometres of limestone terraces rising to a cool central plateau, the Sabana, and most of its people live in Songsong, a village strung along a narrow isthmus between two bays beneath the tiered bulk of Mount Taipingot — known to everyone as Wedding Cake Mountain.
Unlike Saipan, Tinian and Guam, Rota was bypassed rather than invaded in 1944, so it escaped the worst of the fighting, and Chamorro village life has carried on here with less interruption than anywhere else in the islands. What you come for is modest and very good: a white-sand beach you may have to yourself, a natural rock pool filled by the surf, a clifftop platform above thousands of nesting seabirds, and the As Nieves quarry, where the largest latte stones ever cut still lie unfinished in the rock. Divers come for the visibility in Sasanhaya Bay. Nobody comes for nightlife. If Tumon is the Marianas at their busiest, Rota is the opposite end of the scale.
Highlights
- The view over Songsong and Wedding Cake Mountain from the hill road
- Unfinished giant latte stones lying in the As Nieves quarry
- Boobies, frigatebirds and tropicbirds at I Chenchon Bird Sanctuary
- A calm-day soak in the Swimming Hole on the north shore
- White sand and easy snorkelling at Teteto Beach
- Diving Sasanhaya Bay, with visibility that often exceeds 30 metres
Rota in pictures
How long to stay and where to base yourself
How long: flights are few and seats limited, so a day trip rarely works. Two nights gives you one full day to circle the island at Rota’s pace; three nights adds a day’s diving or simply a day of doing nothing at Teteto Beach. Build in a little slack either side in case a flight is rescheduled.
Where to base yourself: the practical base is Songsong, where the island’s small hotels, shops and places to eat are gathered and the dive boats leave from the harbour. The choice of accommodation is small and simple, so book a room before you commit to flights. A golf resort in the north of the island, Rota Resort & Country Club, has operated on and off — check whether it is open before counting on it. For how Rota compares with the other islands, see where to stay.
