[stugatz]

There are more territories than I remembered. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are the two in the Caribbean - and Guam, the Northern Marinara Islands, and American Samoa are the three in the South Pacific.

I am thinking of traveling to one of these as a way to scratch the travel itch for less, if the money is right. Is it just as pricey as leaving the country, or are there built in advantages for American citizens?

[GlobalMan]

Getting to Guam, the Northern Marianas, or American Samoa from the mainland will be more expensive than getting to Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, and many other places.

The Pacific territories are extremely isolated destinations, with few flights = more expensive. Being part of the U.S. has nothing to do with travel costs.

In addition, cost of goods, food, accommodation are relatively high- again, because they are isolated islands.

If you want to go to these places specifically then thats one thing, but if you are looking based on price it will be cheaper to go to any number of foreign destinations, including places that are further away- because they are travel hubs and popular with tons of flights.

More encouragement- some of those places in the Pacific are depressing as hell. Interesting to see once, but not much going on.

As far as Puerto Rico and V.I., they will be much cheaper to get to than the Pacific islands and you get a better value staying there. Not to mention much more to see and do.

If you are only considering U.S. territories then I'd choose P.R.

If you simply want the cheapest vacation to a tropical location, there are much better options than U.S. territories.

Do you mind saying what region of the U.S. you'd be flying out of?

[stugatz]

Midwest area - I'm in the Milwaukee metro area, about an hour from Chicago.

I've always had a fascination with remote islands, especially those in the South Pacific - so this question is more based out of curiosity, I don't aspire to write a "Bang Guam" anytime soon.

If there were a cruise line that went throughout Micronesia/Melanesia/Polynesia (or one of the three, at least), that would be a pretty cool trip.

[GlobalMan]

I can understand your curiosity, I was as well, and if you can go to that area someday and aren't concerned about cost then you should check them out.

Saying that, being that you are flying out of Milwaukee I can say without a doubt that going those Pacific territories will be hundreds more expensive than going to a beach in Vietnam for example.

[GlobalMan]

As an aside- a guy named Larry Hillblom, the founder of DHL and a billionaire, lived on Saipan in the Northern Marianas. Went all around SEA spending millions to get virgins. Some of the children he fathered with bargirls ended up getting hundreds of millions from his estate after his disappearance. If you can find the full documentary online it is an interesting film.

[stugatz]

I usually try to make it out of Chicago if I'm doing odd flights - but I imagine the Midwest is unforgiving on average.

[GlobalMan]

Even if you were flying out of LAX it is still significantly more expensive to get to Guam or Saipan than it is to get to Thailand, Vietnam etc.

For example, right now

LAX to HCMC Vietnam can be had for $615.
LAX to Bangkok $602

LAX to Saipan $1250
LAX to Guam $1120
LAX to American Samoa $1500

As far as your area-

ORD to Puerto Rico $300
ORD to Medellin $365
ORD to Dominican Republic $330

[The Breeze]

stugatz,


If you search your exact quote, you get lots of info to check out. I'd post it myself,
but don't want to possibly go afoul of the forum guidelines. Google this.

"cruise line that went throughout Micronesia/Melanesia/Polynesia"

But GlobalMan is giving you the BEST suggestions!

[Kona]

I just got a flight from Honolulu to Pago Pago AM Samoa mid april. It was about 1300.

Your hotel options there are shoddy. There's a real nice Sheraton in Apia, but it looks like the idea is staying in the us.

Of all the pacific territories, I'd say go to Guam first then the others. Guam just got the most services. Way more hotel and food choices, decent beaches, and vacationing Japanese chicks as well. It is infested with snakes, so be careful.

There is a cruise you can take, I think its princess. I can't figure out how to find it though.

Aloha!

[Armogan]

Wow. that DHL guy. 4 azn kids from Vietnam and the Philippines got $90m inheritances each, unreal.

[Travel Museums]

If you can get listed as a passrider with a United employee then it'd be almost free to hit many of the pacific islands. In fact Guam is a hub so (I've been told) it's easy to hub out of.

I met an employee at a bar in Tokyo who disliked being based in Guam bc it's boring so every weekend was hitting cities in Japan. He also visited other islands you mentioned, for free.

I think the main attraction of those places are the beach and scuba. So nonreving alone might be boring/lonely. They tend to be couple's destinations.

[Travel Museums]

This post got me interested in Micronesia so I finally pulled the trigger. Bounced down after spending Halloween in Tokyo.

Unfortunately typhoon rain put a damper on the Halloween weekend festivities. This year it fell on a Tuesday. There were some parties on the actual day but I left before that. Kawasaki was supposed to have a parade Sunday but I’m guessing ruined by rain.

Friday and Saturday nights everyone gathers on center gai in Shibuya. It’s not a formal parade. Everyone kinda mills around drinking. Some cars play music on the Main Street but the cops kept shutting them down. Honestly was a bit lame and not great for approaching/SNL. The clubs were surprisingly empty Friday night so I didn’t even bother Saturday.

The intl parties cheaped out and didn’t do all you can drink so everyone left early and barely anyone was hooking up. I smashed a few young girls all night. Did an urushi workshop at Suntory Museum and checked out the new Hokusai in Sumida. A lame garden festival in hibiya Park and a ramen one in Olympic.

I’d have to say Tokyo is my favorite city. I even considered making it my base in Asia. But it’s just not practical.

Spent a nice chunk of time exploring Micronesia. Started off in Saipan. I’d recommend renting a car for at least one day. You can hit all the sites with an early start then return it and use the cheap illegal Chinese taxis to get around Garapan. The big G is where the (total lack of) action is. Them Chinese massage whores are fun to talk to. A few times I even got the jump on them!

Saipan sees less Japanese and more Koreans and especially Chinese tour groups these days. It’s a lot of eye candy but most of them are with loved ones. Often they’ll be out for nightlife in groups killing time until a 3am flight. Don’t waste your time.

Trumps war mongering with North Korea has a lot of ships farting around th pacific which turned garapan into a major sausage fest. Though sailors mostly stuck to themselves in large groups at the dive bars and strip club.

There’s now more money flowing through garapan casinos than Macao. I’m sure there’s several angles to be worked here for the right operator. Most of the help is Filipino. Saw this everywhere in Micronesia.

Got some traction with a barely legal half Chamorro/pinay local. Not quite half my age but the virgin aspect made me feel a bit weird despite her extreme gratitude. Chinese whores give cheap hour massages for $20-30. More for sexy massage if you’re completely desperate.

Saipan has one club GIG. I skipped it due to being in tinian for weekend. Prob lots of sailors anyway. My rental easily made it up to mount topachau. Really great snorkeling on Managaha island and easy to talk to Chinese girls. Fun submarine ride from the ferry point too.

I flew to Tinian for a night. It’s a very short flight $55 each way. You can do it in a day trip if you leave early. Rent a car and drive to the pits where the atomic bombs were loaded. A few nice beaches and lookouts. The main attraction is the worlds biggest lattie stone ruins at the house of taga. Forget about girls.

Rota was my favorite Island. Peaceful and serene. Hardly any traffic or tourists. Rent a car and drive around. I was able to make the full loop in a sedan. A nice waterfall back side of island. Main attraction is lattie stone quarry. Forget about girls.

Guam is hard to take. Traffic and all the annoyances of mainland. Even local Chamorro women have western attitude plus hate the military being there. If you’re young they’ll assume you’re military. This despite them generally being unpleasantly plump and facially unnattractive.

Make sure to check out the Chamorro village night market on Wednesday. It’s just food and trinkets but the dancing is what you’re there for (and bbq sticks).

I didn’t see much Chinese tourists in Guam but I’m sure they are there. Mostly Korean and Japanese. The main club Is globe. There’s a free lounge type place for blacks and locals (W?) down by the subway sandwiches. It was free entry but doing some lame velvet rope and tables bullshit that had me shaking my head in disbelief.

Globe is $10 with a free drink. Friday was so cold I was freezing and no talent. Saturday was bal dripping hot. I saw the same girls and guys with a mix of tourists both nights.

Turned down a fat pinay girl and her fatter friend for a threesome Friday. Saturday made some dates with Koreans who kinda flaked. Got a makeout with a Japanese 7. Dealt with interference from military dudes and a local ring of 6-8 local guys working together rounding up girls for an after party. They were all hideous. It was really depressing.

Thursday’s is ladies night at beach bar and grill (gun beach). You’ll need a car or taxi from Tumon resort area. Finger banged a Korean girl who had to leave in an hour for her 2am flight. Yay. Gay.

It takes about 3 days to leisurely drive around Guam. The north end of the island is a boring coral plateau. The national wildlife refuge at ritidian is worth driving out to. Stop at coco palm garden before it closes at 4. Lovers point and marbo cave are easy stops too.

The South half of Guam Island is volcanic and has most of the attractions. Several points for the war in the pacific national historical park including a nice visitor center. A lot of the same info as American memorial park in Saipan but focusing on invasion of Guam.

There’s some really great waterfalls in the south. Bring old sneakers for the mud. And full finger gloves for the sword grass.

Consider getting your dive cert in Guam. It’s super cheap starting at $200 for quality instruction for a 3-5 day course. I let mine lapse 15 years ago. Really should have taken the opportunity to do a course while there.

Flew down to Republic of Palau. The above islands are part of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. Guam is a US territory but part of same chain. Palau and Yap used to be under dept of interior until 1994.

Palau has the best diving in the world. I just snorkeled and did some sailing. The rock islands have recently been declared a UNESCO world heritage sight. $50 gets you a ten day pass but you still pay another $50 environmental fee at the airport whether you go or not.

I rented a car and drove around Palau for a day. There are two waterfalls and several small stops. Badrulchau ancient stone megaliths is probably the most interesting. Similar to house of taga in tinian.

Kokor is no longer the capitol but is the main city. It has two excellent museums. Palau is where the yapese mined their stone money. You can take a boat trip to the quarry.

Yap is a bit boring. The only reason to come here is to dive. Yes the stone money lines the roads and is just sitting out front of all the properties. Kinda loses its novelty really quick. If you’re not here to dive it’s not worth just coming for that. I’d seen stone money in several numismatic museums around the world.

I rented a car and drove around for a day. Nothing to see besides some men’s houses I’d you know where to look (I didn’t). I did pass a few “stone money banks” where large stones lined the road. Pretty cool I guess.

I’ll be in Kauai for a few weeks then Manila all of December past New Years. Any big baller trolls hit me up if your stone money is bigger than a Japanese drive sedan. Deadpan.

I’d be up for doing the rest of Micronesia and Marshalls at some point if I had a travel buddy. Got a little bored on my own. Next trip maybe Old air mike route: Guam > truk > Pohnpei > Kosrae > Majuro > Hon. Again not much point doing this without planning some diving. Most dive boats are minimum two people to book. The guide I had was a 20 year old moon handbook. LP only does a South Pacific (where I understand there’s an actual backpacker scene).

From some salty seadog yachtsmen I chatted the outter islands are where it’s at. Sail your own boat there and it’s like something out of a mitchner novel. Bare breasted girls in canoes welcoming you. One dude said he hit an outer island of yap and he was their first boat in 20 years. The stories he told me.

[TravelerKai]

Good report. Thanks for sharing that.

[Adonis]

(11-20-2017 08:07 AM)Travel Museums Wrote:  

Guam is hard to take. <snip>

Spent quite some time stationed in Guam, co-sign all of this. Arrogant Chamorros, flighty Japanese tourists, and drunk military everywhere. It is nothing more than a shabbier yet more expensive version of Oahu but with nicer beaches for diving. That pretty much goes for Samoa and Saipan too. Rather go to one of the less popular Hawaiian islands.

Thailand, P.I., HK, Singapore are all better visits from almost every metric in my experience.

[Gorgonzola]

Nothing like a GI sausage fest to make a 5 feel like a 10. Lol. God I don’t miss those days. At all.

[CodyB]

(03-21-2017 04:12 AM)stugatz Wrote:  

I've always had a fascination with remote islands, especially those in the South Pacific - so this question is more based out of curiosity, I don't aspire to write a "Bang Guam" anytime soon.

If there were a cruise line that went throughout Micronesia/Melanesia/Polynesia (or one of the three, at least), that would be a pretty cool trip.

You can fly direct from LA to Sydney or Auckland. From both of these place there are plenty of very well priced cruise ships that will travel through the major south pacific islands. The remote islands, not so much.

[Travel Museums]

Those cruise ships aren’t that cheap and 99.9% old people. Though I wonder what the cost would compare if you added up flying everywhere, hotels, food, etc...

When I did Alaska, a cruise was by far cheapest route. Even just adding up the cost of ferries alone it was a better deal.