December 1998 - Christmas in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

Waves crashing on Saipan cliffs

Bill standing in a grotto

Anette and Kimberly in the Saipan Hilton gardens

Beautiful Saipan sunset

Kimberly with her face painted

Our Christmas trip to Saipan Northern Mariana Islands

We spent our 1998 Christmas holiday on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. Saipan is the largest of the Northern Marianas, a chain of tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean. It enjoys US Commonwealth status and is one of the most beautiful resort destinations in Micronesia. Saipan is the main Island and is 1650 miles east of Manila, 1700 miles north of Papua New Guinea and 3720 miles west of Hawaii. The Mariana Islands mark the dividing line between the Pacific Ocean and the Philippine Sea. The peak of a submerged mountain, the island of Saipan rises more than 36,000 feet above the floor of the Mariana Trench, one of the unseen natural wonders of the world that dives to a depth of 38,635 feet.

Discovered in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan on his last trans-Pacific voyage to the famed Spice Islands, Saipan and its neighboring islands were variously, over the centuries, colonized by the Spanish, influenced by the Germans and occupied by the Japanese. The Americans came in after World War II. Today, the people of Saipan and the rest of the Northern Mariana Islands are a diverse mixture of local Pacific Islanders, Caucasians and Asians.

Saipan is a popular resort destination, endowed with blue lagoons, white sandy beaches and verdant hills where swimming, diving, parasailing, boating, fishing and snorkeling are just some of the island's main attractions. Golf is also a popular pastime in Saipan with five challenging courses. Because of the political union Saipan was fairly "Americanized" despite being a tropical island in the Pacific. Because of the proximity the tourist industry is dominated by the Japanese.

The Island is about 13 miles long and 5 miles wide with Garapan, its largest city, rich in duty-free shops and a number of designer outlets.

Map of Northern Mariana Islands

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Saipan. At the time of our stay the hotel was run down and in very poor condition. It was not up to our expectations for a Hyatt branded hotel. The beach, pool and grounds were very nice but the actual rooms looked as if they hadn't been refurbished in many years. This was particularly troublesome as the room rates were fairly high (we should have known as any time you have a high concentration of Japanese tourists the value for money isn't usually too good). We complained to the hotel manager and got an apology (he admitted that the hotel rooms needed to be refurbished and was planned) and a room rate reduction. If visiting this hotel confirm when it was last renovated as in late 1998 it was in poor condition.

Some useful Web Links

Lonely Planet Guide on Northern Mariana Islands

Saipan Informational site

Hyatt Regency Saipan

Speedy Turtle Dive Shop Saipan

What we did

Aside from relaxing at the beach and pool at the hotel, Bill did some scuba diving. The diving was pretty average at best, the only highlight was an early morning sunrise dive at the "Grotto" which was a cavern with three entrances to the ocean. In addition, he dived a site which had a bunch of discard World War II relics (jeeps, troop transports, guns, etc) which had been dumped into the ocean.

We took an island tour and saw the "Bonsai cliffs" where the Japanese soldiers jumped into the ocean to commit suicide rather than be captured. The waves breaking up on the cliffs was a nice view.

Overall we had a nice time enjoying the beach and pool at the hotel. Although given the high cost and difficulty in getting to this Micronesia Island I doubt that we will ever return.