When I told my friends that I was going to Saipan, the first response I got was: Saipan? Where’s that? Saipan is one of the lesser known islands in the Pacific Ocean. This beautiful island is the largest of the Northern Mariana islands, which are an U.S. commonwealth in the western Pacific. It has sandy shores, a mountainous landscape, cliffs and memorials from World War II.
Facts
- U.S. Commonwealth
- Island group: Northern Mariana Islands
- Capital: Saipan, Garapan
- Language: English, Chamorro
- Currency: US Dollar (1 € ≅ 1.1 USD)
- Population: 50.000
- Size: 115,4 km² (1/2 of Amsterdam)
- Daylight saving time: No
- Visas: USA visa / waiver required
- Best time to visit: Jan – May (dry season)
- Visited: 2011 (part of Pacific trip)
Saipan
I flew into Saipan from the island of Guam which is also an U.S. commonwealth. My flight was in the middle of the night and I was already really tired. I fell asleep in the waiting area and 10 minutes before my scheduled departure time I shook myself up. Only 10 minutes! I ran to the gate and boarded the plane. No problem on this side of the world! The flight itself was only 45 minutes. I took a taxi to one of the cheapest hotels in Garapan which is the so called ‘capital’ of Saipan.
The centre of Garapan.
The centre is empty!
There’s no public transport on Saipan, so you’ve got 3 choices to get around: taxi, rental car or a bicycle. Needless to say; the taxis are pretty expensive here. I have to admit that I wasn’t very impressed with Garapan. You will find here heaps of fast food places (welcome to the U.S.), video poker houses, Chinese restaurants, hotels, DFS mall with expensive stores and massage parlors (the shabby ones). But in general, Garapan feels very empty. My hotel was a few blocks from the beach which is always a plus.
Mural art.
Even the Hard Rock Cafe found its way to Saipan!
I rented a bicycle the next day and started to explore the islands’ awesome natural beauty. The bicycle was unfortunately way too small for me.
My best friend for the day.
I’ve got the whole road for myself!
Still a long way to go!
Saipan is pretty popular among Japanese tourists, which is quite surprising as a lot of Japanese men and women lost their lives on Saipan during World War II. Most people speak Japanese on the island and all the menus are written in English and Japanese. Japanese tour group tourism is quite a thing here. I saw a lot of minibuses full with Japanese tourists going from 1 sight to the next. They were only given a few minutes per sight, so they were taking pictures while walking/running. They see the whole island within an hour and then back to the airport! Wow!
Such a pleasure to be here!
On my way to the top.
Splendid views along the way.
You will find Japanese and Korean war memorials close to the northern tip of the island which date from the 1944 Battle of Saipan.
Almost at the top with a little help of an awesome American family.
Memorials.
Korean memorials.
I met an awesome American family who has been living on Saipan for the last 16 years. They offered me a ride up the hill with their pickup truck. An offer which I accepted with a big Yes as it would had take me forever to reach the top of the hill with my midget-sized bicycle under the burning sun. I threw my bicycle in the back of the pickup truck and off we went.
Korean memorials.
Many old guns and battle tanks dating from WW II can be found here.
More old battle tanks.
Along the way we stopped at Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff. The 2 cliffs look gorgeous, but the reality is that these 2 cliffs have a horrific history. Thousands of Japanese killed themselves during the war by jumping of the cliff or by being pushed of the cliff by a family member into the Pacific waters and cliffs below. The Japanese soldiers thought that they and their families will be tortured to death by the Americans. Surrendering themselves would be shameful, so they choose suicide instead.
Left: More WW II guns – Right: Suicide Cliff
Thinking of all those Japanese families who jumped off this cliff.
Suicide Cliff.
Such a beautiful place with such a tragedy. Nowadays you will find many memorials around these cliffs.
Memorial around Banzai Cliff.
Bird island.
Tiny Bird island just off the coast.
Several little islands right off the coast, such as Bird Island, can be seen as well from the cliffs.
Bird island.
Bird island.
I was planning to spend my last day on one of the many beaches, but unfortunately it was pretty much raining non-stop that day. Well yeah, can’t have all the luck. Micro beach which is just off Garapan is pretty nice. I didn’t bother checking out the other beaches of the island as it wasn’t really sunbathing weather.
Beach time! Unfortunately no sunshine today.
The beach just off Garapan.
I saw so many tiny islands from the plane.
After 2 days on Saipan it was time to fly back to Guam from where I continued my journey to Fiji!
Wanna see more travel pics? Check out my Photo Gallery
Don’t forget the tourist submarine where you can see brilliant colored fish and sunken World War II relics.