Saipan

Managaha, in the middle of the lagoon

Saipan's west coast is a wide lagoon, with the reef holding back the open-ocean swell. The small island sitting inside it is Managaha. It's a short boat ride from Saipan, and walking all the way around it doesn't take long. The water is shallow and calm, so you can wade in straight from the sand and start snorkeling. Inland stands a statue of Chief Aghurubw, who led his people from Satawal in the Caroline Islands around 1815 and founded the first Carolinian settlement on Saipan. Between the trees you'll also see the remains of Japanese defenses from World War II, so a swimming stop turns into an encounter with both the migrations and the war that shaped these waters. Back on the main island, Micro Beach at the north end of Garapan is the place for sunset. Managaha's low outline sits across the lagoon, and the sun goes down behind it.

A cave open to the sea: the Grotto and Bird Island

The Grotto, in the island's northeast, is a limestone cave linked to the open ocean by underwater passages, and it's a dive site. Walk down a long, steep stairway and you reach the pool at the bottom; light coming in through those passages glows up from below, so the blue is striking even from above. Because the cave connects to the ocean, water can surge in and out hard on some days, and people who get in usually go with a guide from a local dive shop. Even without diving, you can look down on the cave mouth from the viewpoint above the stairs. Not far from the Grotto is Bird Island, a limestone rock where seabirds roost. It's a bird sanctuary, so you take it in from the lookout on the shore: white surf breaking on the reef and sheer rock in one view, a completely different face of the eastern sea from the calm western lagoon.

Summer 1944, at the northern cliffs

Saipan's history grows heavier the further north you go. The Battle of Saipan began on June 15, 1944, when U.S. Marines landed on the island, and the fighting went on for a little over three weeks until the U.S. flag was raised on July 9. According to the U.S. National Park Service, of the 71,000 U.S. troops who landed, nearly 3,000 were killed. About 26,000 civilians were living on the island at the time, and in the battle's final days, July 9–12, hundreds of Japanese civilians took their own lives. The headland at the island's northern tip, where many of them jumped, is now Banzai Cliff; the high inland escarpment overlooking the coastal plain is called Suicide Cliff. The Banzai Cliff area has become a peace memorial park lined with memorials and prayer towers, and the north of the island also holds the Korean Peace Memorial, honoring Koreans who died here, and a tower for victims from Okinawa. The sea below is startlingly blue, and people tend to linger longer than they expect.

Garapan and American Memorial Park

Garapan, refreshed in 2024, is Saipan's downtown, where most of the hotels, restaurants and shops are. Paseo de Marianas, the street visitors flock to, is a good place to pick somewhere for dinner. Right next to Garapan, American Memorial Park is a national memorial honoring the military personnel and island residents who lost their lives in the World War II Marianas Campaign. There's no entrance fee. The Court of Honor, dedicated on June 15, 1994, the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Saipan, is inscribed with 5,204 names. A wetland in the park holds the largest remaining mangrove forest on Saipan, and every spring the flame trees are covered in orange and red blossoms, so they look like they're on fire. The park runs right up to Micro Beach, so you can walk out of the Court of Honor and sit down by the water.

The Chamorro table

Saipan still holds traces of Chamorro settlement going back about 4,000 years. The remains of latte stones, the stone pillars that once held up Chamorro houses, also tell that history, and Chamorro and Carolinian traditional navigation lives on today. The table is the closest you'll get to that culture. Red rice, tinted with achote seeds, is a fixture at parties and graduations. Kelaguen is meat or seafood cooked not with heat but with an acid like lemon juice, then tossed together. Fina'denne', a soy sauce with chili and onion, comes with almost every meal and never misses a barbecue. On village fiesta days, dishes made with chili, taro and just-caught seafood are said to fill the table.

The island's summit, and Tinian next door

Mount Tapochau, in the middle of the island, is Saipan's highest point. From the top you see the jade lagoon to the west and the deep open ocean to the east at once, and to the south the neighboring island of Tinian sits low on the water. Tinian is a quiet island reached by small plane, so if you have time to spare, crossing over for a day is an option.

Suggested 4-day, 3-night itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive at Saipan International Airport → check in in Garapan → sunset walk on Micro Beach Day 2 — Morning on Managaha (snorkeling) → afternoon at American Memorial Park → dinner along Paseo de Marianas Day 3 — Northern loop: the Grotto → Bird Island lookout → Banzai Cliff and the Korean Peace Memorial → Mount Tapochau Day 4 — Slow morning on a lagoon beach → airport If you can add a day, make it a day trip to Tinian.

What to eat

• Red rice (tinted with achote)
• Kelaguen (meat or seafood cured in citrus)
• Chamorro barbecue (with fina'denne')
• Taro and seafood (village fiesta food)

Handy tips

• Get ESTA approval (or a G-CNMI ETA) before you fly. Travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries, South Korea included, can stay up to 90 days on an ESTA, and filling in the online CNMI customs form ahead of time speeds up arrival.
• The American Memorial Park visitor center opens only Tue, Thu, Fri and Sat, 9am–4pm (the park itself has no entrance fee). If you want to see the exhibits, plan around those days.
• July–November is the rainy season, when typhoons can hit. Keep the day before your flight home free in case of delays or cancellations.