Guam

Guam is thought to have been inhabited by people since about 4000 BC, when it was discovered by Southeast Asians, the distant ancestors of the local Chamorro people. Owing to a lack of written records, not much is known about the early Chamorro society, but the latte stones — a type of structure dating from that period — dot the island (and others in the Marianas). It's not certain how a Neolithic people with no knowledge of metals ever cut these stones, but they were most likely used as supports for the houses of the privileged class. Similarities between the latte stones and some wooden structures in the Philippines and Indonesia have been pointed out, and more imaginative minds might even see resemblances with the moai of Easter Island far to the east.

The first European contact came in 1521, with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on his famed circumnavigation of the world, sponsored by Spain. Having no counterpart of the western concept of "ownership" in their culture, curious Chamorro canoed out to Magellan's ship, relieving it of whatever they could get their hands on. As a result, Magellan named the islands Islas de los Ladrones, "islands of the thieves."

Spain claimed the island in 1565 and Christianity arrived soon after. Guam became one of the most favorable harbors in the trans-Pacific maritime routes, serving as a common port-of-call for the ocean-going galleons between Mexico and the Philippines, both major possessions of the global Spanish Empire then. It was around this time that the modern Chamorro culture started to take shape, when intermarriages between the locals, Filipinos, and the Spaniards were common.

Guam was ceded to the U.S. by Spain in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. Captured by Japan and its army in 1941, it was retaken by the U.S. after an occupation lasting three years, during which locals were often treated brutally as defeated enemies.

In 1950, Guam was elevated to the status of an organized territory, and all locals were granted American citizenship. In the 1960s, there was even briefly a discussion of forging all American possessions out in the Western Pacific (which included Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as now-independent Palau, Micronesia, and Marshall Islands) into a full-fledged U.S. state centered in Guam, the largest and most populous island of all between Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Hawaii. However, this proposal was quickly dismissed by the Guamese, mainly due to their mistrust of their Chamorro brethren on the Northern Marianas, who loyally served the Japanese during the occupation of Guam (Northern Marianas had been a Japanese possession between World War I and the end of World War II, hence the Chamorro of Guam and the Chamorro of the Northern Marianas were on opposing sides).

As Guam is the westernmost point in the Pacific Ocean to fall within U.S. territory (so far west it's in the Eastern Hemisphere), the military installations on the island are some of the more strategically important U.S. bases in the Western Pacific.

The economy depends on U.S. military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total U.S. grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. However, Guam tourism is branching out to attract people from other Asian countries such as South Korea and China. Most food and industrial goods are imported. The possibility of a large military buildup has generated a lot of interest in increasing the tourist facilities on the island.

Guam enjoys a tropical marine climate: generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds. The dry season runs from January to June, the rainy season from July to December, though with little seasonal temperature variation. During the rains, squalls are common, though destructive typhoons are rare.

• 🌍 Won Pat Guam International Airport (GUM  ^IATA). is the only civilian gateway to the island 

The main airline serving Guam is United Airlines, which offers non-stop service to Honolulu and Tokyo with onward connections from either airport to Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington-Dulles. It also offers non-stop flights from Guam to most major cities in Japan, Hong Kong, Palau, Manila and Cebu in the Philippines, and many of the Federated States of Micronesia.

All other service to Guam is through East Asia on JAL (serving Tokyo only, as of Jan 2024), Jeju Air (Seoul), Jin Air (Seoul), Korean Air (Seoul), China Airlines (Taipei), Eva Air (Taipei) and Philippine Airlines (Manila). If you're departing from the mainland U.S., U.S. law prohibits the use of a foreign carrier to fly from the mainland U.S. to Guam, even on two separate tickets, so if you're transiting East Asia you should make sure that at least one segment of your journey is on a U.S. airline or leave at least 72 hours at your transit airport. From traveler reports, this is the minimum when transiting Seoul to avoid being denied boarding for the onward flight.

There is no regular ferry service to Guam, but cruise ships stop on various itineraries, generally as part of a Pacific crossing or world circumnavigation.

Driving is fairly simple and similar to the mainland US. The main route on the island is Marine Corps Drive/Guam Route 1 (better known as Marine Drive). On main roads in Guam, expect congestion around rush hour; however, such delays, which rarely exceed 30 minutes, are not as bad as the traffic congestion experienced in larger cities stateside and around the world. Many people purchase vehicles described as "Guam Bombs" which are older vehicles that are great to get around in and affordable, though these are becoming less and less common as more people are buying newer cars.

• Traffic safety: Island-wide, the speed limit is 35 mph (56 km/h). However, be careful and defensive while driving as it is common to see vehicles moving at far greater speeds, driving through red lights, tailgating, and cutting through traffic without signaling. The per-capita rate of traffic accidents far exceeds stateside rates (the U.S. national average is 19 crashes per 1,000 people, while Guam has 41 crashes per 1,000 people). Additionally, many of the older roads were paved using coral aggregate, causing them to be excessively slippery in rain. While these roads are slowly being replaced, they still exist - primarily in the southern part of the island - and can cause a vehicle to spin out even when driving under the speed limit; take caution.

Buses are available, through both private companies and the governmentally operated Guam Regional Transit Authority (GRTA). GRTA buses run island-wide, but are slow, difficult to navigate, and often unreliable. Limited operating hours mean that you may wait an hour or more for a GRTA bus, and connections to other bus lines may also incur equally long wait times. Private companies, however, operate their own trolley-style buses through the main tourist areas of Tumon (including all the major hotels) and loop through Micronesia Mall, K-Mart, Agana Mall, and Guam Premier Outlets.

Bicycling is most common in the Tumon tourist area, and, to a lesser extent, the length of the Hagåtña-Tamuning beachfront sidewalk. Bicycles are available for rent through most hotels and a number of local businesses. While bicycling is possible in other areas of the island, it is not common due to potholes, erratic driving, stray dogs, rainy weather, and hilly regions (in the southern part of the island). Due to these reasons, it is not recommended that one ride a bike outside of the Tumon and Hagåtña-Tamuning area unless they are experienced and skilled.

Walking is most common in the central business districts of Hagåtña and Tumon. Walking elsewhere around the island is uncommon due to heat, dangerous vehicular traffic, and the lack of sidewalks. Within villages, however, it is common to walk short distances between households, and to small villages stores, churches, mayoral offices, and other community meeting places.

Guam uses the U.S. dollar ("$", ISO currency code: USD). It is divided into 100 cents.

There are many retail outlets in Guam, including DFS (Duty Free Shoppers) which operates several stores in hotels, a large "Galleria," and a store in the Guam Airport. Further, visitors to Guam will note some of the same shopping opportunities available in the United States. Although there is no Wal-Mart, there is a large K-Mart that does a very high volume of business. Indeed, visitors who are used to the voided cavernous K-Marts in the U.S. may be surprised to find that they can barely squeeze through the aisles of the Guam K-Mart.

The Tumon Bay area has many duty-free shopping outlets and boutiques catering to Japanese tourists. Among these are boutiques selling Bvlgari, Chanel, Cartier, Dior, Fendi, Ferragamo, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, and more.

For U.S. citizens, Guam offers greatly increased customs exemptions coupled with duty and tax free importation of goods. However, take care with the prices offered in stores. A lot of merchandise has been shipped a very great distance at no small cost.

Guam participates in the North American Numbering Plan and the area code is (671). Mandatory 10-digit dialing is in effect, so calls must be dialed in the full 10-digit domestic format including area code, 671.

None of the major U.S. networks (AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile) have coverage in Guam. Telephone service is instead operated by locally-operated carriers Docomo Pacific, GTA, and IT&E. As of Dec 2020, Docomo Pacific has 5G while all three carriers have 4G and 3G service. Guam will be treated like an international country and you will be subject to roaming fees! As of Jan 2024, visitor SIMs are available from Docomo Pacific ($25 for 7 GB, unlimited local calls and texts, and 15 international minutes) and IT&E ($20 for 4 days or $30 for 8 days of unlimited local calls/SMS/data and $10 of international call credit). If those are not flexible enough for your needs, there are prepaid plans with varying lengths and data allowances.

If you are using a U.S. mainland carrier, check with your carrier to see if your plan will also cover roaming costs while in Guam. T-Mobile offers unlimited text and data (usually at 2G speeds) on most post-paid plans while AT&T and Verizon will make you pay to roam in Guam on a day-by-day basis or with pay-per-use rates. Going in the reverse direction, if you are planning on continuing to the mainland US after Guam, you will either be charged heavily for roaming (Docomo Pacific charges $10/day for data, $0.30 per minute, and $0.10 per SMS sent) or blocked altogether (IT&E, GTA).

Guam uses the U.S. Postal Service with zip codes 96910-96915; 96921 and 96929-96932 and a state code of "GU". Postage between Guam, the United States, Puerto Rico and overseas U.S. military & diplomatic installations (APO, FPO, DPO addresses) are the same domestic rates as it would be within Guam. However, international mail sent to Guam, especially if sent from the Asia-Pacific area, is best addressed to "Guam" as the destination country (as opposed to "USA") to avoid a long detour through North America, almost half the world away — literally.

• Japan, 590 S Marine Dr Ste 604, Guam International Trade Center Bldg, Tamuning, ☏ +1 671-646-1290, fax: +1 671-649-2620, infocgj@ag.mofa.go.jp. 
• Republic of Korea, 153 Zoilo St., Tamuning, ☏ +1 671-647-6488 9, fax: +1 671-649-1336, kconsul_guam@mofa.go.kr. 
• Micronesia, 1755 Army Dr Tamuning, ☏ +1 671-646-9154, fax: +1 671-649-6320, fsmguam@teleguam.net. 
• New Zealand (Honorary), 290 Salas St, Tamuning, ☏ +1 671-646-7662, fax: +1 671-646-1061, jws@ite.net. 
• Palau, ITC Building, 590 S. Marine Drive, Suite 121, Tamuning, ☏ +1 671-646-9281, +1 671-646-9282, fax: +1 671-646-5322, guampalauconsulateoffice@gmail.com. 
• Philippines, ITC Bldg, Marine Dr, Ste 601 and 602, Tamuning, ☏ +1 671-646-4620, fax: +1 671 649-1868.