finally back to the Pacific!!

It's been a while, but in about 8 weeks or so, I'll be back in your neck of the woods. Normally, I plan things about 10 minutes in advance, so this is a bit odd thinking so far ahead of time.

I'll be looking to fly from Manila to Guam, x amount of time there, then take that Continental island hopper flight to Hawaii. I'll probably want to visit some of the other islands/countries in that general part of the world but am wary of the fact that I'll already (by that time) have spent almost 5 months in hot climates with lots of beaches available.

So, my questions are:

how long to stay in Guam and what sort of budget accommodation is available? Bearing in mind that my average accommodation spend so far is about $5.00 per day (long may that continue)!! Couchsurfing?

which islands/countries would you visit (not including the ones on the island-hopper route?

The bloody hassle with that Continental ticket is that I have to tell them arrival and departure dates in advance. I haven't a clue how long to spend on each island. Any suggestions please?

I've a UK passport and assume that the US territorial islands are the same as flying into Miami or anywhere else as regards immigration purposes. Is that right?

Ta muchly in advance.

Have no advice to part with but would be curious to hear how much the island-hopper ticket costs (noting which islands it includes) these days - Continental's own website seems pretty useless for fare info.

If you already live in Manila then you know what's up in their airport but if you've never been there and your coming from the UK. ..........well get ready for the gustapo at the international airport. I flew from Manila to Palau on Continental and my experience at customs sucked and really was an intrusion. Get ready to take off your shoes and take all your stuff out of your bag and have the Philipinos ask you why you are carrying a snorkel and what are fins for.........no kidding. Bad experience. And the airport in Manila is a trip. Can't have much freedom there.........thought I'd warn you first. If you haven't booked your flight from Manila first I would suggest you fly direct to Guam through like Hong Kong or Taipei but since you said you are leaving soon.............now you know what's up in Manila. And i doubt much has changed in their policies at their airport.I felt like kissing the ground when I got back to Bangkok airport....what a difference. Once you get through the bs customs ......then the flight and service on Continental is pretty good.......nice plane new plush seats.

I would also highly recommend you include Palau into your island hopping. Check out the rock islands and the coral reefs not far from Koror and if you dive, kayak or snorkel ...........you will absolutely love it. Not heavily touristed area and where else can you swim with stingless jellyfish. There is great snorkeling off the Palau Pacific Resort and the nemelis wall.(the Big drop-off..........or the blue corners for diving. Midrange hotels there and some budget ones too.

I''ve heard Kosrae is pretty cool as a volcanic island. Strict Christianity in Micronesia.

I've heard about the island hopper thing but like others say....... hard to find much info. Best info i found was to call the Continental office in Guam.

You might want to check out Pohnpei and Nan Madol a famous ancient site place or Lelu on Kosrae.

Watch your back if you go to Truk /or Chuuk if your not diving.

Yap......check out the manta rays.

Guam ..........heavily Americanized .

But don't miss Palau. Awesome place and beautiful.

Let us know how it went and cheers

Dave

Well- Dave has it pretty well spelled out. Do not miss Palau for all the reasons he says. And I would recommend Yap- the most traditional of the islands. Beyond the manta rays are some wonderful villages. Guam? 10 minutes or as short a time as possible between flights. Chuuk is wonderful if you like wreck diving, or even wreck snorkling. If you aren't dedicated to wrecks, go to Pohnpei. Nan Midol is great, and have lunch at the Joy Restaurant. Kosrae is a lovely little island- the kind of place tat kids draw when they think of islands.

You are NOT going to get by in Micronesia for $5 a day. It is pricey. Spend a lot of time in Palau (4 or 5 days at least), a couple of days in Yap, I already commended on Guam, a couple of days will do Pohnpei and Kosrea. Beyond there on the way to Hawaii- nobody I know has ever visited the Marshalls. I got off the plane in a rain storm. Kawjelain (sp?) you can't stop at. But the island hopper is a great trip- is it daylight on the eastern trip? I forget.

And PS- I can feel my Pacific urges beginning to well up- I may need to visit next summer. Please keep posting so I can let this bubble up to the surface and begin to make plans.

we just booked some kind of air pass, we're flying from Guam to Yap, Palau, Truk and back to Guam.
It was very, very difficult to book it in the Netherlands, I believe it's much easier for US residents. I did manage to get a good price in the end, but that was because there was a really friendly person in the Guam continental office (I paid approx. 500 euro's for the air pass). I had a local diving agency that managed to make the booking for me because I couldn't do it myself through the contintental office, and in the head office of Continental in the USA they never heard of the island hopper pass. really strange....
We'll be staying in Guam a few days, simply because the flights don't really connect, but I also read some nice things about Guam but my only challenge is that I don't want to stay in the big resorts area so I found a B&B on the island called Jungle B&B. I definately heard great things about Palau, and we're going to Yap to see the famous stone money, manta's and traditional villages and Truk for the diving. I heard indeed if you don't go diving, truk doesn't have much to offer so you should probably go to Kosrea or Pohnpei, that was too far for us.

Uh.....no. You might be flying from Guam to Yap to Palau, but then it is back to Guam before Truk. And it is true, if you don't want wreck diving, skip Truk.

that's right, we couldn't fly from Palau to Truk, but have to fly from Palau-Guam-Truk, the connection isn't too bad although it's a night flight and you arrive early morning.