Travel near(ish) to the Northern Mariana Islands

April 28, 2018 1:48 PM

An amazing and completely unexpected opportunity has come up at work: I have the chance to facilitate a small event in the Northern Mariana Islands in June. Having never traveled anywhere near the literal opposite side of the planet (I am based in the northeastern US), and with my employer picking up the airfare, if I sign on to do this, I would love to piggyback further travel onto this trip. More inside.

Complications: I don't have money set aside to do this, and am in fact planning a separate big trip (Europe) for later this year, so funds are somewhat limited. I also have never traveled solo internationally. It looks like the cities where I'd be most likely to have scheduled layovers (and could therefore extend the trip for a few days with hopefully no additional flight expense) are: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, and Honolulu. I suppose I could also think about traveling somewhere that would be a train or flight away from one of these cities, and covering that extension at my own expense. I keep hitting snags when I try to work out the logistics of any of these options, though: Am I wrong to think that Tokyo would just be prohibitively expensive? Is sitting on a beach in Honolulu a waste of this opportunity? Would someone with somewhat limited travel experience be completely overwhelmed in Hong Kong? Additional bits of info: this piggyback trip would be relatively short -- about 5 days or so - so I'd likely stick to one place. I always gravitate towards places with interesting art/architecture/cultural experiences, so bonus points for that, although in the midst of a personally very difficult year, I might not mind the chance to just chill in a beautiful natural setting for a while either. Help me, traveler MeFites: Any strong recommendations from these four options? Any thoughts on other nearby destinations? Any thoughts on how else I should be approaching these decisions in the first place?

posted by ella_minnow to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

My partner had a layover in Honolulu. He rented a bike, and camped at some campground or other. Got to see Diamond Head and Huanama Bay and Waikiki Beach. My point is, there's some kind of camping option in Honolulu.

Huanama Bay was amazing when I was a kid. Don't miss the chance to see it while it's still there and you're passing through anyway.
posted by aniola at 2:18 PM on April 28, 2018

There's the Polynesian Cultual Center and Iolani Palace. I remember liking both as a kid.
posted by aniola at 2:20 PM on April 28, 2018

Best answer: I don't think Tokyo needs to be prohibitively expensive, depending on what you're looking for. If you don't mind a small hotel room and don't eat in fancy restaurants, you could probably do Tokyo cheaper than Honolulu. In terms of like museums and art galleries and high culture, I would say Tokyo comes out a bit ahead of the other three, with Hong Kong and Seoul tied for second.

I wouldn't rule out Hong Kong for being overwhelming: it's English-friendly on account of its colonial history, and has an extremely easy-to-use transit system. June's not the best month to visit Hong Kong weather-wise, as it can be both hot and rainy - although Tokyo and Seoul could be as well, especially later in June.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 3:09 PM on April 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

I went to Japan on a super tight budget many years ago, and it was worth it — it was a fascinating place to be even if I couldn’t spend anything much.
posted by LizardBreath at 3:29 PM on April 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

Interisland flights from Honolulu are all about an hour each way and $70 a pop. You could go to the Big Island or Maui; Kauai is recovering from flooding right now and might not be as easy to book.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 6:46 PM on April 28, 2018

Is it possible to get to CNMI without stop and connecting flight on Guam? In past years there weren't any flights direct to Saipan from either Japan or Hawaii. If you take the island hopper from Hawaii to Guam on the way to CNMI you might consider a layover on the national capitol of the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei). If you snorkel you can see some beautiful coral reefs and marine life.
posted by X4ster at 9:39 PM on April 29, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks so much for these answers, especially for the nudge to not rule out cities that seem too pricey. On a closer look, it really does seem that Tokyo might be easier to swing financially than Honolulu, and it was my top choice to begin with -- I had just thought that I couldn't do it. Work plans are still being finalized, but if I'm able to go, I'm going to finish the trip with five days in Tokyo. So happy.

Oh, and X4ster, you're right, Guam is the automatic layover on the way to the islands. The next round of stops after that is what I was referencing in the list of cities above.
posted by ella_minnow at 3:50 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Are you going to Saipan? Tinian is a quick 20 min flight away and completely amazing. The water is so clear, only 2000 people live there (and hardly any tourists come) and there are a ton of WW2 artifacts that you can explore and find. The beaches and reef are untouched! The locals are super friendly.

Guam is a great jumping off point to some of the least visited countries in the world. Sure, a layover in Honolulu would be fun...but you can literally do that whenever. When else can you fly to Palau and see the lake of stingless jelly fish? Or scuba dive the crumbling WW2 wrecks of Truk Lagoon? You could explore the mysterious ancient ruins of Nan Madol, and then go for a surf and be the only person on the break in Pohnpei.

Guam is also great, especially if you like hiking scuba diving or snorkelig. Or, you know, drunk sailors and all the strippers you could ever want.

Pm me if you want more suggestions! If not already clear I am very familiar w the CNMI
posted by foxonisland at 1:55 AM on May 1, 2018