- Entry rules: the essentials
- Money and costs
- Health and safety
- Sea safety
- Connectivity, power and time
- Language and etiquette
- Food and drink
- What to pack
- Accessibility and families
- Travelling responsibly
Entry rules: the essentials
Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are both part of the United States, and US immigration law applies in both. They also share a special visa-waiver arrangement of their own, which is why the rules here differ from those for Hawaii or California. The outline below is a starting point only: requirements change, and they depend on your nationality, your route and how long you stay. Always confirm with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or a US embassy before you buy tickets.
| If you are… | Typical arrangement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A US citizen or national | No visa | Carry a passport or other accepted proof of citizenship and identity; a passport is simplest, especially when flying via a foreign country. |
| From a US Visa Waiver Program country (for example South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, the UK, most of the EU) | ESTA travel authorisation | Allows short stays, normally up to 90 days, anywhere in the US including Guam and the CNMI. |
| From a country covered by the Guam–CNMI Visa Waiver Program | Guam–CNMI electronic travel authorisation | A separate programme for short visits (up to 45 days) to Guam and the CNMI only. It is not valid for onward travel to the rest of the US. Check the current country list and the online form. |
| A citizen of the People’s Republic of China | Special arrangements for the CNMI only | A dedicated programme has allowed pre-authorised short visa-free visits to the CNMI only — not Guam. Conditions are strict and have been revised; check the latest CBP guidance. |
| Any other nationality (including Russian citizens at present) | US visitor visa | An earlier parole arrangement for Russian visitors was ended in 2019. A standard B-1/B-2 visa is required unless official guidance says otherwise. |
Moving between Guam and the CNMI: the two are separate for customs purposes and travellers are inspected on flights between them. An authorisation that is valid for one is not automatically valid for the other — this matters especially for visitors admitted under CNMI-only arrangements. Customs: both are outside the US customs territory, so there are customs checks on arrival and again when you continue to the US mainland or Hawaii. Agricultural rules are strict: do not bring fresh fruit, plants or meat.
Money and costs
The currency is the US dollar. Cards are accepted in hotels, shops and most restaurants on Guam and Saipan; carry cash for markets, village stores and everything on Tinian and Rota, where ATMs are few. Tipping follows US custom — around 15–20% in restaurants and a dollar or two per bag or per drink.
Almost everything is shipped in, so prices are closer to Hawaii than to South-East Asia. Resort meals, taxis and inter-island flights are the big costs; supermarket food, local diners and petrol are reasonable. Guam adds no sales tax at the till; hotel taxes apply everywhere. Both Guam and Saipan trade on duty-free shopping — check your home customs allowance.
Health and safety
The islands are safe, friendly and run on US standards of infrastructure. Dial 911 in an emergency. Guam has the region’s largest hospitals; Saipan has a public hospital; Tinian and Rota have health centres only, and serious cases are flown out — which is the main reason to carry travel insurance with medical evacuation cover. US health insurance may work here, but check.
- Water: tap water on Guam is treated and generally fine to drink. On Saipan, Tinian and Rota many residents drink bottled or filtered water; ask your hotel.
- Sun and heat: the sun is fierce year-round. Use high-factor reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and a rash vest, and drink more water than you think you need on hikes.
- Insects: mosquitoes are a nuisance in the wet season and dengue outbreaks occur occasionally; use repellent.
- Crime: low, but do not leave anything in a parked car at beaches and trailheads.
- Wartime relics: unexploded ordnance is still found. Never touch shells or metal objects in the jungle or on the reef; report them.
Sea safety
Most serious accidents involving visitors happen in the water. The lagoons inside the reef are calm; the reef edge and everything beyond it are not. Do not swim or snorkel through channels in the reef, where the outgoing current is strongest. On the windward (east) coasts, and at spots such as the Grotto on Saipan, surge and waves can be dangerous even on sunny days — go with a guide and turn back if in doubt. Wear reef shoes, watch for stonefish, urchins and box jellyfish warnings, and never snorkel alone. More in our diving and snorkelling guide.
Connectivity, power and time
Mobile coverage is good in populated areas of Guam and Saipan and patchy on remote coasts, Tinian and Rota. Local operators sell prepaid SIMs and eSIMs; some US mobile plans treat Guam and the CNMI as domestic and some do not, so check roaming charges. Hotel Wi-Fi is standard.
Electricity is 120 V, 60 Hz with US-style flat-pin plugs (types A and B). The islands keep Chamorro Standard Time, UTC+10, all year with no daylight saving — one hour ahead of Seoul and Tokyo.
Language and etiquette
English is spoken everywhere. Chamorro (spelt CHamoru on Guam) is the indigenous language of all the islands, and Carolinian is also an official language in the CNMI. Two phrases will earn you a smile: Håfa Adai (roughly “hello”, pronounced “half a day”) and Si Yu’os Ma’åse’ (“thank you”).
- Respect for elders and for family is central to island life; a relaxed, unhurried courtesy goes a long way.
- Ask before you enter private land, and do not climb on or remove anything from latte stones, caves or memorials. Many islanders ask permission of the ancestral spirits before going into the jungle; visitors are not expected to, but should tread quietly.
- Memorials and cliffs on Saipan and Tinian are grave sites in all but name. Dress and behave accordingly.
- Village fiestas are generous, open-handed affairs. If you are invited to eat, accept.
- Swimwear is for the beach and pool; cover up in shops, villages and churches.
Food and drink
Island cooking blends Chamorro tradition with Spanish, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and American influences. Look for red rice coloured with achote, barbecued chicken and short ribs, kelaguen (meat or seafood dressed with lemon, onion, chilli and fresh coconut), finadene dipping sauce, kadon pika (spicy chicken stew), tinaktak (beef in coconut milk), coconut-wrapped apigigi and latiya custard cake. Night markets — Chamorro Village on Guam, the street market in Garapan — are the easiest places to try several at once. Tinian is proud of its tiny, fiery hot peppers, and Rota of its sweet potatoes.
Restaurants in the resort areas cover Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and American food at every level. The legal drinking age is 21.
What to pack
- Light, quick-drying clothes, a hat and sunglasses; a light rain jacket in the wet season.
- Reef-safe sunscreen, a rash vest and reef shoes — the single most useful item.
- Your own mask and snorkel if you have them.
- Closed shoes for limestone trails, plus insect repellent.
- A dry bag, and a soft duffel if you will fly on the small planes.
- A US-style plug adaptor, and your driving licence.
Accessibility and families
US accessibility law applies, so modern hotels, malls, airports and national-park visitor centres have ramps, lifts and accessible rooms. Nature is less accommodating: many viewpoints involve steps (the Grotto has more than a hundred), beach wheelchairs are rare and pavements outside the resort strips are patchy. The small inter-island aircraft have steps and tight cabins — speak to the airline in advance.
For families the islands are easy: shallow lagoons, short drives, water-park resorts and child-friendly restaurants. Bring sun protection for children and insist on life vests on boats.
Travelling responsibly
These are small islands with fragile reefs and a living indigenous culture. Do not stand on coral or feed fish; take all rubbish away from remote beaches; keep to marked trails in bird sanctuaries; buy from local growers and craftspeople at the markets; and learn a little of the history before you visit the war sites.
