When You Go
Guam, the westernmost territory of the United States, is 3,300 miles west of Hawaii and 1,500 miles south of Japan. Air travelers will fly into Guam’s centrally located Won Pat International Airport; car rental is recommended.
Where to Stay and Eat
The center of tourism on the island is the city of Tumon; many large hotel chains offer accommodations on the mile-and-a-half-long beach on Tumon Bay. Thuy’s Café (671-477-9595), in the nearby capital city of Hagatna, is a warm and friendly mom-and-pop establishment with wonderful Vietnamese and Thai food.
To sample native cuisine and culture, visit the Wednesday night market at Chamarro Village in Hagatna, where vendors offer plates of barbecue topped with a local hot sauce called finadene; lumpia, vegetable egg rolls dipped in garlic sauce; and ahu, shredded coconut boiled in sugar water.
What Else to See
Diving is spectacular around Guam, which is located near the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean in the world. The clear, warm water is home to healthy coral reefs and other vibrant marine life, as well an array of wrecks, including the Tokai Maru, a Japanese freighter torpedoed by the submarine USS Snapper in 1943, which came to rest beside the SMS Cormoran, a German auxiliary cruiser scuttled in 1917—the only place in the world where shipwrecks from two world wars are known to be touching.
