I’ve spent 6 weeks of my life on Guam, and I think it’s the most underrated tourist destination in the US
July 22, 20240
That’s the author posing with a shell on one of Guam’s pristine beaches in 2001. Hardly any Americans visit Guam, and I think they’re missing out.
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The island of Guam is a US territory in the Pacific seeking more US tourists.
I’ve spent six weeks in Guam, visiting my CHamoru family and exploring the island.
Its unique attractions, marine preserves, and rich culture make Guam a hidden gem destination.
Throughout my life, I’ve probably spent more time in Guam than any other destination in the world. The primary reason I’ve spent a total of six weeks on the Pacific island is that I have more family there than anywhere else on Earth.
The indigenous people of Guam are CHamoru. I’m half CHamoru, and most of my CHamoru family lives on Guam.
When I visit them, we go on adventures all over the island and surrounding waters. These photos of tropical jungles, coral reefs, and some of the most culturally rich destinations Guam offers will show why it should be No. 1 on everyone’s travel bucket list.
Guam’s slogan is “Where America’s day begins” because it is — literally.
Guam is an island in the Pacific.
Google Maps
It’s the largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago, according to CIA World Fact Book.
When I visited my family on Guam, I flew from the contiguous US by connecting through either Honolulu, Hawaii, or Tokyo, Japan.
Guam is full of jungle terrain.
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The dry season is from January to June, and the rainy season is from July to December. The temperature stays around 80 degrees all the time.
The warm weather is perfect for swimming. Guam is surrounded by coral reefs.
The Guam Seawalker Tours are in Piti.
Google Maps
Guam Seawalker is in a marine preserve called Piti Bomb Holes.
This tour takes people to the seafloor to see schools of fish, complete with a Sandy-Cheeks-like helmet straight out of “Spongebob Squarepants.”
Ritidian Point is in Yigo.
Google Maps
I recommend Ritidian Point, which is on the northern tip of Guam in a village called Yigo.
It used to be an ancient CHamoru village, but now Ritidian is a wildlife refuge.
Rock art not pictured here.
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The caves in Ritidian have some ancient rock art, or pictographs, in them. The art is very difficult to preserve because of high humidity and mold growth, according to Guampedia.
Archaeological studies suggest that the first CHamoru people settled on Guam nearly 4,000 years ago, according to Guampedia.
After I took this photo, I began to feel ill.
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I was still feeling sick from the plane journey, but my mother told me I couldn’t vomit on these lands because they were sacred.
Many CHamoru people, including my family, believe that Taotaomo’na — the spirits of the “people before” — reside in Ritidian.
It is widely believed that if you don’t respect the land, Taotaomo’na can pinch and scratch people in their sleep and make them physically ill. Needless to say, I kept my mouth closed until we left Ritidian.
For another historically informative adventure, you can also visit the Valley of the Latte Adventure Park.
A riverboat takes patrons to the valley.
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When traveling through the Talofofo and Ugum Rivers, patrons can see wildlife in and around the river.
The river supports wildlife in the area, including mangrove crabs, tilapia, catfish, mangrove snappers, trout, perch, shrimp, and halfbeaks.
Once at the site, patrons can see how ancient CHamoru people lived in the Talofofo River Valley over 3,000 years ago.
A traditional Chamoru home.
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“The presence of our ancestors can be seen and felt as people tour the river and grounds,” Valley of the Latte CEO Daniel Tydingco told Business Insider in 2019.
The rest of the tour is a combination of exploration and demonstrations.
Chickens live in the Valley of the Latte.
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“For our locals, many of them take great pride in being able to visit a place that celebrates our history and culture and are proud to share it with guests that they bring with them,” Tydingco told BI.
My family also took me to the Guam Museum in the island’s capital.
A timeline of the museum’s history.
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War and natural disasters have damaged previous locations of the museum.
The first thing that stands out about the museum is the building’s exterior.
The building was designed to inspire a sense of community.
Guam Museum
Woven patterns, sling stones, and latte stone elements are included in the design.
This slab of cement on the front of the building resembles a book page.
The museum’s lobby.
Guam Museum
The title translates to “The Journey of the CHamoru People.”
The exhibition is 6,200 square feet in total, and it uses technology to make it an interactive and unique experience.
Artifacts from “The Sea and Land.”
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Stone, ceramic, and shell artifacts are presented here.
The next section of the exhibition focuses on the ancient CHamoru culture.
Colonization brought up a diverse range of traditions and cultural influences that made their ways into CHamoru people’s lives.
Guam Museum
This part begins with Spanish contact and ends with the first American naval administration.
The exhibition then goes into World War II and postwar reconstruction.
Chaco is my mother’s maiden name.
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When I found great-grandpa Manuel Chaco’s name on the wall, I immediately pictured his aging face as I remembered the story he told me of how he and my great-grandma Josefina Chaco had a baby — Norman — in a concentration camp. Norman Duenas Chaco died in the camp before the war ended.
Finally, the exhibition ends with CHamoru’s perspectives on Guam’s political status and cultural revitalization.
An image from “I Finaloffan Yan I Ma’mai’la: Our Past and Our Future,”
which is the section about contemporary Guam.
Guam Museum
This covers the growth of tourism and the continued militarization of Guam. Most of Guam’s tourists come from Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan, according to the Guam Daily Post.
Tourism commercializes Guam, introduces foreign illnesses and diseases, and it’s Guam’s only driving economic force, Tolentino told BI.
Opened coconuts at the Valley of the Latte.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
In my experience as a CHamoru, this includes respect, collectivism, and courage. Coming to Guam might give you a sense of these values, too, and that’s part of what makes this tourist destination so underrated.
