Northern Marianas Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

How fast can you say CNMI? The residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands refer to their Pacific homeland by its initials, saying the letters as quickly as possible, so that they come out in an exotic-sounding blur. But you might also add the letters U.S. when you say the name, because the Commonwealth, which contains all the islands of the Mariana Island chain except for Guam, is a U.S. possession. The U.S. wrested the islands from Japan in some of the most bitter battles of World War II.

Travelers looking for traditional island life, good diving or beautiful scenery are likely to prefer the island of Rota, which is hardly the sleepy place it once was, but which still has a friendly ambience and secluded beaches.

Geography

The Northern Marianas consists of 14 mountainous islands in the western Pacific, about equidistant from Japan and Australia. The islands in the northern part of the chain are formed of volcanic rock, and those in the south are mostly limestone. The CNMI's highest peak (3,165 ft/965 m) is on the northern island of Agrihan. The Mariana Trench, the deepest in the world, runs alongside the southern islands (it drops more than 36,000 ft/11,000 m beneath the surface of the sea).

History

The Marianas were originally settled by the Chamorros, a seafaring people who probably arrived from the Malay Peninsula about 4,000 years ago. The monumental stones (called latte or taga stones) erected on the islands by the Chamorros can still be seen today. Although Magellan landed on Guam in 1521, the Chamorros of the other Mariana Islands resisted Spanish occupation for more than a century. It was not until 1668, when Charles II of Spain dispatched Jesuits and soldiers, that local resistance was defeated. Charles named the island chain for his mother, Queen Maria Ana of Austria. After completing their conquest, the Spanish forced all Chamorros from the entire island chain to move to Guam, where they could more easily be controlled.

At the end of the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. and sold the rest of the Marianas to Germany. But Japan seized the German possessions at the beginning of World War I and maintained control after the war by virtue of a mandate from the United Nations. Japan sent an enormous number of settlers to the islands, who destroyed the rain forests to make room for sugar plantations.

Terrible battles were fought on Saipan and Tinian during World War II, and after the U.S. prevailed, it turned Tinian into the busiest airbase in the world. Following the war, the islands were included in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, administered by the U.S. on behalf of the U.N. In 1975, residents of the Northern Marianas approved commonwealth status for the island group, which effectively gave the islands political union with the U.S. As a result, citizens of the Northern Marianas technically are U.S. citizens, but do not have the right to vote in U.S. elections (nor do they pay U.S. taxes). The agreement gives the U.S. authority to conduct foreign affairs and defense for the islanders and includes the right to build military bases there.

In 2004, signs of a weakening economy began to show with the closure of four garment factories. Garment production has been an important industry in the Mariana Islands, and additional plant closings are expected there.

Economic troubles continued in 2005 when Japan Air Lines (JAL) stopped flight service to Saipan. The cancellation of twice-daily flights from Japan was a major blow, because Japanese tourists accounted for 70% of the visitors to the Commonwealth and US$733 million in annual revenues. The last JAL flight, a 450-seat Boeing 747, landed in Saipan with 56 passengers onboard, mostly local residents who took advantage of the low airfare offered by the departing airline.

In November 2005, islanders headed for the polls and elected Benigno R. Fitial and running-mate Timothy P. Villagomez as the commonwealth's new governor and lieutenant governor with the hope that they would help turn around the economy.

Snapshot

The foremost attractions of the Northern Marianas are snorkeling, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, white-sand beaches, windsurfing (especially off Saipan), hiking, golfing and visiting historical sites.

The islands will appeal mainly to travelers interested in golfing, diving or snorkeling and who are looking for a climate that is drier, cooler and sunnier than elsewhere in Micronesia. Saipan is not exotic or even quaint: It's a place to relax, try out your karaoke skills or go shopping. Rota is more picturesque, but has far fewer hotels and other services.

Potpourri

Foreign-owned factories are taking advantage of the Northern Marianas' status as a U.S. Commonwealth. The factories import cheap labor from Asia (the Northern Marianas sets its own immigration and minimum-wage policies) and turn out products (especially clothing) that are not subject to tariffs or quotas when they enter the U.S. mainland. Workers on the islands have reported various human-rights abuses, though some reports say the worst of these practices have been stopped. The garments are no longer labeled "Made in the U.S.A.," but instead say "Made in the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S.A."

The Mariana Trench is deeper than Mount Everest is tall. The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is greater than seven tons per square inch.

Although most of the dive shops are on Saipan, the less-visited islands of Pagan, Anatahan and Sarigan have better diving.

Tinian is slowly becoming a major tourist destination, as it gains recognition as the gaming capital of the South Pacific. Although Japanese tourism is waning, the Chinese are filling in the vacuum. The Tinian Dynasty Hotel, with its 75,000-sq-ft/6,967-sq-m casino, is a major draw.

Larry Hillblom, reclusive founder of DHL Worldwide Express, retired to Saipan. However, he was lost at sea when the small plane he was piloting crashed.

Because Tinian is shaped somewhat like Manhattan, U.S. soldiers stationed there during World War II named the streets Broadway, 86th Street, etc. The names have stuck.

In Saipan and Rota, hafa adai (pronounced half-a-day) means "hello."