Areas at a glance
- San Jose: the only village — hotels, small supermarkets, fuel, the House of Taga, and Taga and Tachogna beaches.
- The north: North Field, the atomic bomb pits, Japanese wartime buildings, the invasion beaches and the cross memorial at Ushi Point, all on military-leased land.
- The east coast: the Blow Hole and a wild, reef-less shore open to the trade-wind swell.
- The south: the Carolinas plateau and Suicide Cliff, with its peace memorials.
Eating and drinking
Choice is small: a few simple restaurants and takeaways in San Jose, with short and sometimes unpredictable hours, and small supermarkets for picnic food. Day-trippers should carry water and snacks, because there is nothing at all to buy in the north. Tinian is known across the Marianas for its tiny, fierce hot pepper, donne’ sali, sold as bottled sauce and paste — the island’s best souvenir. Chamorro cooking here is much as on Saipan: barbecue, red rice and kelaguen.
Money and supplies
The currency is the US dollar. Bring cash from Saipan: ATMs are limited and can be out of service, and small businesses may not take cards. Stock up on sunscreen, insect repellent and anything you need from a pharmacy before you fly.
Safety and respect
Crime is very low; the risks are natural ones. The sun on the old runways is fierce and there is almost no shade. The limestone at the Blow Hole and along the east coast is sharp and the sea there is dangerous — do not swim on that side. Mobile signal is patchy away from the village, so tell your hotel where you are going. Do not touch or pocket any wartime relics, and keep out of old bunkers and shelters, which are unstable. The bomb pits, the invasion beaches and Suicide Cliff are places where many people died; visit them quietly.
Good to know
Electricity is 120 V with US-style plugs. Access to the north can be closed without much notice for military exercises or airfield works. For the wider story of the Japanese sugar years and the 1944 campaign, see history and culture.
Sample plans
Day trip from Saipan
Take a morning flight, collect your pre-booked car and drive straight to North Field for Runway Able and the bomb pits while it is cool. Continue to the Blow Hole, return to San Jose for lunch and the House of Taga, drive out to Suicide Cliff, and finish with a swim at Taga Beach before a late-afternoon flight back.
One night
Fly over after lunch, see the House of Taga and the village ruins, and watch the sun set from Tachogna Beach. Next morning do the northern loop early — North Field, the bomb pits, the invasion beaches and the Blow Hole — then Suicide Cliff and a last swim before an afternoon flight.
Two nights
As above, with an unhurried middle day: snorkelling at Tachogna, a slow drive along Broadway, time to read the panels at the bomb pits and to find the Japanese air operations building and shelters, and a long evening on the beach.
