Things to do in Guam
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Guam
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: driest, least humid and calmest seas for diving, Ritidian and Cocos.
Very good: January is dry but peak priced; May and early June are a mostly dry shoulder sweet spot.
Dry season begins, with festive demand and higher prices around New Year.
Wet season and peak humidity, worth it only if timing the trip around Liberation Day on 21 July.
Worst stretch: peak wet and typhoon risk, heaviest rain, muddiest trails and most dive and boat cancellations; August adds holiday crowds at wet season weather.
What's on
- Guam History and Chamoru Heritage Day first Monday in March
Discovery Day, with Mes Chamoru cultural programming running all month.
- Mes Chamoru March
Chamoru Month cultural programming, the best cultural timing of the year.
- Guam Micronesia Island Fair typically May / June, dates vary
Regional cultural fair with crafts, performance and food from across Micronesia.
- Liberation Day 21 July
Parade on Marine Corps Drive in Hagatna, carnival, fireworks and memorial services for the 1944 landings.
- Guam Ko'ko' Road Race typically October
Half marathon and ekiden built around the endangered ko'ko' bird, a good active traveller fixture in a wet month.
Best things to do in Guam
Tumon Bay
Protected, reef-sheltered bay with calm shallow water, reef fish and turtles, and the easiest swim on the island.
Ypao Beach Park
Local family beach park at the south end of Tumon Bay with lawn, picnic tables and good snorkelling inside the reef.
Two Lovers Point
Cliff lookout about 400 feet above the sea with the best panoramic view of Tumon Bay and a Chamoru legend behind it.
Valley of the Latte Adventure Park
Riverboat cruise past latte stone sites with a recreated Chamoru village, demonstrations and a fiesta lunch.
Asan Beach Unit
The 1944 US landing beach, preserved as a flat, sobering walk with memorials inside the national historical park.
Asan Bay Overlook
Hilltop interpretive viewpoint with bronze reliefs and the best orientation view over the invasion coast in 20 minutes.
Ga'an Point
Southern park unit with Japanese guns, pillboxes and landing ground from the 1944 Battle of Guam.
T. Stell Newman Visitor Center
National park visitor centre with film and exhibits to see first before the Asan and southern battle sites.
Where to stay in Guam
Central and South Tumon, Pale San Vitores Road
first trip, all-round base
Walk to a protected swim, dinner and nightlife, and drive easily to the airport, Hagatna, Piti and the south.
North Tumon and Gun Beach
quiet luxury and snorkelling
Same bay with better reef access and a calmer feel, slightly longer walks to the central restaurants.
Hagatna, Asan and East Hagatna
work trips, history-heavy short stays, repeat visitors
Close to government, the museum, Chamorro Village and local lunch spots, but no resort beach and quiet at night.
Yona and LeoPalace inland
golfers, long stays, repeat visitors and groups in houses
Trades beach access for space, golf and a local rhythm, and needs a car for every day of the trip.
Think twice about
- Dededo and Yigo
Sprawling far north residential villages with few good hotels, no walkable visitor centre and long drives south, plus reported car break-ins at isolated northern parking.
- Harmon Industrial Park and Upper Tumon motel row
Warehouses, car lots and the island's dingiest budget motels inland on Marine Corps Drive, often dated and poorly maintained, with the beach a drive not a walk.
- Mongmong-Toto-Maite and Barrigada
Ordinary central residential villages with essentially no visitor accommodation, no beach and nothing to walk to at night.
- Airport and Tamuning warehouse strip
Fine for a short layover sleep but poor for a holiday, with flight and road noise, parking lot views and a car needed for every meal and swim.
Best restaurants in Guam
Proa Restaurant
Best all round Chamoru dinner for visitors, with barbecue, red rice, kelaguen and taro cheesecake for sharing.
Meskla Chamoru Fusion Bistro
Best Chamoru cooking on the island, traditional dishes with contemporary technique and parrot fish to order.
Meskla Dos
Burger famous Tumon sibling of the Meskla bistro, excellent and more casual for an easier night.
Chamorro Village
Best cheap eat on the island: graze barbecue sticks, kelaguen plates, red rice and coconut drinks across stalls.
Pika's Cafe
Best breakfast and brunch, a Chamoru California cafe famous for loco moco, burritos and a peak time queue.
Jeff's Pirates Cove
Beachfront bar grill and museum since 1979, the best southern loop lunch for burgers, parrot fish and sunset.
Jamaican Grill
Jamaican Guam plate lunch institution with jerk chicken and huge portions, perfect for groups without reservations.
Shirley's Restaurant
Family diner for Spam fried rice, tapsilog and local coffee shop plates at diner prices, open early daily.
Best bars in Guam
The Beach Bar at Gun Beach
Sunset drinks bar at Gun Beach at the north end of Tumon, the natural end to a snorkel day.
Tasi Grill
Resort version of the sunset drink at Dusit, polished and hotel priced on Tumon Bay.
Outdoor things to do in Guam
Tokai Maru and SMS Cormoran Wreck Dive
Signature dive where a WWII Japanese freighter lies across a WWI German cruiser, the two wrecks physically touching.
Blue Hole
Natural limestone shaft dropping past 120 feet into open wall diving with sharks and eagle rays on good days.
Piti Bomb Holes Preserve
Beginner friendly shore snorkel and training dive site with famously tame fish around the observatory pier.
Gun Beach
Reef cable cut at Tumon's north end giving strong snorkellers and divers access to deeper water and turtles.
Tumon Bay
Zero logistics paddle, clear kayak and gentle water sports on the hotel beach, best at sunset.
Cocos Island
Low islet in Cocos Lagoon reached by ferry from Merizo Pier, with lagoon swimming and clear shallow water.
Southern Loop
Essential self drive day linking Spanish, village, war and reef Guam around Routes 4 and 2 at your own pace.
Mount Lamlam
Steep, exposed summit hike of about 1,600 feet with panoramic south and west views, free and unguided.
Best hotels in Guam
The Tsubaki Tower
Guam's newest true luxury tower by Gun Beach, adults leaning and design forward with an infinity pool.
Dusit Thani Guam Resort
Full resort luxury in central Tumon with bay views in every room, a spa, club lounge and kids club.
Hyatt Regency Guam
Large landscaped multi pool beachfront resort with some of Tumon's best gardens and a loyal family following.
Hotel Nikko Guam
North end resort with a huge waterslide and gardens, popular with Japanese families and strong on rates.
Lotte Hotel Guam
Beachfront tower with an infinity pool, a credible luxury alternative when its rate undercuts rivals.
Crowne Plaza Resort Guam
Refreshed beachfront resort at the south end of the bay, often the best value to beach ratio in Tumon.
Hotel Tano Guam
Newer clean central tower with pool and family rooms, an excellent base if days are spent out exploring.
Pacific Islands Club Guam
Family activity resort with a waterpark and included activities, best for kids under about 12.
Is Guam expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $100 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $240 a person |
| Splurge | $480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Valley of the Latte Adventure Park: weeks ahead
- Tokai Maru and SMS Cormoran Wreck Dive: weeks ahead
- Blue Hole: weeks ahead
- Onward Mangilao Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Valley of the Latte Adventure Park: weeks ahead
- Proa Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Meskla Chamoru Fusion Bistro: a few days ahead
- Alfredo's Steakhouse: a few days ahead
- Book Tumon beachfront hotels early for December to April and Japanese and Korean holiday weeks.
- Book the Valley of the Latte riverboat, dive boat wreck and Blue Hole days, and Mangilao tee times ahead.
- Reserve Proa, Meskla and Alfredo's for any group over two.
- Put diving and Ritidian in the first half of the trip so weather can push them rather than cancel them.
Is Guam safe?
- Water kills more visitors than crime: swim inside barrier reefs and heed flags, signs and weekly beach advisories, especially after heavy rain.
- Car break-ins at beaches, trailheads and overlooks are the recurring property crime; leave nothing visible and ideally nothing in the car.
- Wear reef shoes on rocky ground, clean coral cuts immediately, and carry desert level water and sun protection for hikes.
- Shake out shoes left outside in village or jungle stays because of the nocturnal brown tree snake, and follow official instructions in typhoon season. Emergency is 911.
Guam travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Duty free shopping only saves money if you were buying that exact item anyway.
- Kmart and local supermarkets are a cheap supply run for sunscreen, reef shoes and snacks, not a sight.
- Avoid two hour circle island tours that spend minutes at each southern sight; drive the loop in six hours.
- Do not feed fish or touch coral for photos outside managed sites, and never take beginners outside the reef in rough conditions.
Getting around Guam: public transport and more
- Rent a car: Tumon is walkable but the southern loop, Ritidian, Piti diving, Inarajan and golf all need driving.
- Taxis are plentiful in Tumon and at the airport but expensive cross island; check the Stroll Guam rides app for your dates and do not assume Uber or Lyft.
- The Tumon trolley loop suits shopping days; regional buses are cheap and slow and do not serve beaches or trailheads usefully.
- The airport is about 10 to 15 minutes from Tumon; confirm very early or late check-in before paying for a night spent on a plane.
Who Guam suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Guam your trip
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