Saipan Spotlight: A Holiday Weekend Travel Guide

I grew up on Long Island, so I was spoiled by the ease of getting from place to place. The LIRR made going into the City a breeze, we could drive onto the ferry to Connecticut for an easier trip up to Massachusetts, and Amtrack, while not the fastest mode of transportation by any stretch of the imagination, made traveling to Virginia a relatively stress-free experience (except for that time that storms shut down the trains and Dad had to come pick me up from Northern Virginia). Even flying out of New York meant major destinations were only a couple of hours away and could be relatively affordable (shout out to Breeze).

Spending my adult years in Hampton Roads made weekend trips easy. With a couple of hours of driving I could either be in the Outer Banks or in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I loved visiting Richmond, Charlottesville, Roanoke, and Kill Devil Hills, and even DC wasn’t too far away for a long weekend trip. Going somewhere that felt distinctly different than where I lived was easy on a budget; I could scratch my itch for urban sprawl, rural quiet, or beach towns without much planning, time, or expense.

Living in Guam, however, has totally changed travel for me. The whole island is 212 square miles, about half the size of the city of Suffolk in Virginia. Leaving Guam means spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per person, so spontaneous, budget-friendly travel is a thing of the past. Because United Airlines has a monopoly on the American market, those prices are pretty steep, and the 24-hour (minimum) travel time back to the East Coast is exhausting. Most military families in Guam don’t make the journey back to the States frequently (if at all) and instead choose to spend their leave at closer, more affordable destinations like Korea, Japan, and the nearby islands of Palau and Saipan.

Saipan is the closest and most accessible travel destination from Guam with a flight time of only half an hour. At only 46.5 square miles, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands is much smaller than Guam, but like Yoda, it shouldn’t be judged on its size alone. Tom and I spent Wednesday-Monday of Thanksgiving week in Saipan and were pleasantly surprised by our hotel, the food, and the overall atmosphere of the island.

Let’s start with getting there. There is one flight a day, and from wheels up to wheels down, we were only airborne for 28 minutes. The ticket prices, however, were shockingly expensive. As it stands now, a round-trip flight will generally land you around $580 per person. Remember, you’re not even in the air for an hour, and this is just for an economy ticket. After chatting with a travel nurse at a bar, I learned a crucial money-saving hack. If you book on the computer, you have the option to change your currency from US $ to Guam $, and this brings the price down to $399. Still not Spirit, Frontier, or even Southwest cheap, but, hey, it’s something. The only way to get this discount is if your credit card is linked to a Guam address. We switched over one of Tom’s credit cards just so we could get this discount. You can bring the price down further by going with a basic economy ticket, but I’ll suck it up and pay more to have a carry on and to choose my seat.  

We got to the airport with an hour to kill, so we picked up our free--but always slightly underwhelming— breakfast at the United lounge. The United lounge at the Guam Airport typically has scrambled eggs, sausage, waffle pieces, clam chowder (who categorizes this as a breakfast food???), some fruit and oatmeal, and some deli meat and veggies. Think Hampton Inn free breakfast without the waffle machines but with the ability to get a Bloody Mary or mimosa. It’s a small lounge, but given the slim pickings that exist in the airport’s food court (Burger King and Dominos) and the early flight time, I was happy to eat my waffle pieces and watch the sun rise.

The flight was blink and you’ll miss it short, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. I have come to love travel, but I have not come to love airplanes, especially while pregnant. Trains and cars are great; airplanes are tiny, dry boxes of boredom and too little legroom. Anyway, we got to the airport and picked up our bags surprisingly quickly. The airport is significantly smaller than the one in Guam (which is about the size of a smaller, regional airport), so there wasn’t any competition at the baggage carousel. We were originally just going to rely on taxis, but we sprung for a rental car at the literal last minute. By last minute, I mean we were waiting for our bags at the carousel and reserved a car that was ready for pick up less than 10 minutes later. The rental car stand was just across the street, and it was a quick and painless process. After showing our confirmation, an employee drove our car around to the curb for us, and we were off to the races.

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Resort, which was less than 20 minutes away. For reference, the airport is near the southern end of the island, and our hotel was pretty smack dab in the middle. Like I said, it’s a relatively small island. Driving up to the hotel, we were immediately met with an ostentatious, gold-covered, half-finished abandoned hotel/casino project that looked straight out of Versailles. Saipan, like Guam, has suffered in recent years from a dip in tourism, and both islands have shuttered storefronts in what were once more lively main drags. The Crowne Plaza Resort, however, did not show signs of disuse, neglect, or weathering and felt far more luxurious in its little touches than its Guam counterparts. The first floor is open-air and benefits from the island breezes and beautifully maintained landscaping. It creates a sense of openness and spaciousness, and there is a clear invitation to explore at your leisure.

While Tom checked us in, I went to Market Place, the counter service option that served pastries, coffee and smoothies, pizza, gelato, sandwiches, and salads. We became frequent and familiar customers over our stay, and I genuinely really enjoyed everything we ordered there. The pastries were fresh, generous in size, and tasted crafted rather than just reheated from a frozen plastic package. The gelato was both light and rich, the pizza had fresh ingredients and was full of flavor, and the smoothies were bright, flavorful, and, to use the descriptor again, fresh. The prices were shockingly reasonable, especially given the tourist trap and generous portions, and it made it even easier to regularly indulge in a snack, dessert, or lunch. I really miss the margherita-style pizza and the chocolate gelato and would like to visit the hotel just to have those items for lunch again. Oh and that sticky bun and almond croissant…

Even though it wasn’t even noon, our room was ready for us, so we didn’t have to deal with the hassle of storing our bags and circling back to the check-in desk in the early afternoon. Tom surprised me by booking a suite, and it was perfect for us. There was a kitchenette with generous counterspace, a fridge, and microwave, a living area with a comfortable couch, a balcony with a view of the grounds and ocean, and a very spacious bedroom and bathroom.

Our days blended into a similar pattern of enjoying the included breakfast buffet, spending the majority of the day at the pool, and sharing meals with the three families we traveled with. The pools were a true stand-out feature, and they worked perfectly for our group. There was a kid’s splash area and two full-size pools, and even though we were visiting during a holiday weekend, there was never more than a small group at any of the pools. There were plenty of lounge chairs with shade, the beach was only steps away, and it was quick and easy to walk inside for a quick bite to eat or to pick up a drink (alcoholic or otherwise). That process was even easier because of the QR codes that allowed for poolside ordering and delivery, and we frequently took advantage of them to load me up with virgin pina coladas and to get plenty of pizzas and fruit bowls for the kids. Everything felt calm and hassle-free, and I appreciated how warm and clean the pools and surrounding areas were. There was true care put into maintaining the relaxing atmosphere, and touches like the QR code ordering adding a sense of luxury and ease to the overall experience.

The daily breakfast buffet at The Terrace was the typical blend of American and Asian favorites, and it was easy to find something that even the pickiest eaters would enjoy. Because of some dietary restrictions with pregnancy, I have to be careful when I’m eating at a buffet, but I was consistently able to find multiple satisfying options. We saw The Terrace in a new light on Thanksgiving when we had dinner there. I was anticipating that there would not be the traditional turkey and fixings, but I was so pleasantly surprised to see turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing being offered. The turkey was moist and flavorful, and the mashed potatoes were a clear winner for me. They had mashed peas incorporated into them, so they had a vibrant green color, but their taste was a perfect complement to the turkey and the sweet notes of the stuffing. Tom got to enjoy the sushi station to keep our sushi on Thanksgiving tradition alive, and I of course had to add red rice to my plate—a Chamorro dish that’s a favorite of mine. There was the parrot fish that I was expecting in a buffet setting but there was also beef stroganoff. The variety was refreshing, the quality was high, and for $65 a person, I felt like we got a real bang for our buck, especially since a similar option on Guam was priced at $90.

The hotel’s bar, Mari Bar, served delicious virgin lava flows and a $10 bruschetta that I simply could not get enough of. It’s hard to find fresh, flavorful tomatoes on Guam, so having tomatoes and basil together felt like a real treat for me. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would have loved to order a glass of wine and enjoy their tuna poke. The bartenders were really kind and considerate, and it was a great experience ordering from them. Tom had requested a painkiller, and while they didn’t have nutmeg on hand, they made a real effort to try and find some for him.

The other dining option at the hotel that we enjoyed was the Ataari Dinner Show, which was an island buffet followed by various styles of Polynesian and Micronesian dancing and fire dancing. The food was plentiful and had a good variety of options, and the grill station was a nice touch for the proteins. Much to my delight, the green mashed potatoes made an appearance on this buffet as well, and they took a prominent spot on my plate. Again, I lament not being able to have as adventurous and varied a plate as I normally would, but what I did have was cooked well. The dinner show was a standout because of the interactions between the hosts and the audience and the ongoing invitation to participate in the humor and dancing. Tom ended up winning second place in the dance competition and got a free drink and lei, which was such a special and memorable moment. The experience cost $69, which is far cheaper than the one on Guam (currently priced with a discount at $108). We ran into the performers the following day when they gave a free demonstration on the beach and invited the audience to join them in a limbo game. They welcomed us to sit with them afterwards (McDonald is apparently a memorable last name), and it was yet another example of the warm hospitality that we felt again and again throughout our stay.

For other dining options, we had takeout dinners twice, and our entire group was impressed by the quality and portion sizes that we received. We got pasta from The Angry Penne on our first night, and my mushroom pasta went above and beyond the basic white button mushroom. The pasta tasted fresh and homemade, and the cream sauce, while rich, was not too heavy. Tom had seafood pasta, and we could not get over the size of his gigantic prawns. As a New Yorker and someone who’s had the pleasure of enjoying handmade pasta, I can say with confidence that the quality was that of a well-established city restaurant with prices that are reminiscent of a local neighborhood joint. My mushroom tagliatelle was only $16 while Tom’s linguine of prawns with clams was just $19. For comparison, the spaghetti pesto and shrimp at Crust, a high-quality Italian restaurant on Guam, costs $30. On our last night with the group, we had Original Lucky Bill, and their pad Thai was some of the best that I’ve had. I had been craving it for weeks, and this finally gave me the satisfaction that I had been looking for. Both restaurants were a very short drive from the hotel and would have been walkable if we weren’t bringing back bags of food.

The last culinary standout for us was OHAS Boulangerie and Café, a traditional French bakery with a huge assortment of breads and pastries. I wish we had tried it sooner so we could have come back more than once; it was such a treat to have such high quality, handcrafted desserts.  

Because we had a car, we were fortunate that we could easily drive around the island and explore the historical sites at our own pace. Tom has been listening to history podcasts and had learned about the battles on Saipan during World War II, so he was especially excited to see these historic monuments in person. We drove to the northern end of the island to see Banzai Cliff, a mass suicide memorial for the Japanese soldiers. It was a solemn site, but keep an eye out for the many wasps that have made it their home. The last Japanese command post is still pretty intact and has the remains of guns and even a tank. There are memorials to the dead throughout, and it’s a quiet and solemn place to reflect on the many losses of the war. Suicide Cliff was like Banzai Cliff, but it luckily did not have any wasps buzzing around. We drove further to see Bird Island, a tranquil and photogenic overlook, but we had to call it quits before we made it to some nearby caves. The road became progressively less drivable, and with my pregnancy sensitivity and our compact car, it was in our best interest to turn around before we got ourselves stuck. If you want to partake in hikes or do some off-road exploring, you’ll want to invest in a truck with 4WD.

 Our friends went on a few dives, and they enjoyed being able to see sunken ships and colorful reefs. The Grotto is praised as one of the best dive spots in the world, and nearby Managaha Island offers ideal snorkeling for less confident explorers.

Our flight back to Guam was very early on Monday morning, but luckily dropping off the rental car, getting our boarding passes, and passing through security took only a few minutes. The airport felt largely abandoned, with a large section of terminal that is clearly used only sporadically. The duty-free shopping had all but disappeared, and while there was an interesting history exhibit, there was very little else to look at. We did stumble upon a lounge that felt a bit like a potluck spread, and it helped us to kill a little more time. We were back in Guam before most people’s work days would begin, making this an ideal flight for people wanting to squeeze in just one more night of vacation.

Overall, Saipan felt like a true island getaway that is ideal for travelers wanting to embrace the beauty of the natural world or to take a pause from the bustle of daily life. Our friends travelled with kids ranging in age from less than a year old to five years old, and they enjoyed the experience so much that they’ve been twice. It’s rare to find a place that’s as equally suited for young families as it is for couples looking for a romantic escape as it is for adrenaline junkies, but there truly is something for everyone. If you’re already out in the Pacific, especially if you’re spending time in Guam, it’s worth the trip.