What I wish I had known about Tinian before going…

Given the fact how little information there is on the TT about Tinian I thought it might be helpful for some if I recount a few of my experiences on the island from my visit today…

There is NO passenger ferry connecting Saipan and Tinian anymore at this time, and I’ve been told there hasn’t been one running for more than two years already. The only option to get to the island is by plane. One has the choice to fly with either Freedom Air or Air Marianas. Both are small commuter airlines operating Piper Cherokee Six planes (7-seaters). Freedom Air charges 69$ round-trip from Saipan. Apparently Air Marianas is only 40$ round-trip but they mostly run a charter operation for local tourism offices and/or the Tinian Dynasty Resort and Casino so it’s not very straightforward to get a seat on them for walk-in passengers without reservation. Freedom Air operates a scheduled service and does the round-trip between Saipan and Tinian about 10 times per day. Making a reservation is not necessary but you must be prepared for a bit of a wait in case there are many passengers signed up for flights already and/or the weather is less than ideal. With regard to the weather is must be noted that all these flights operate under visual flight rules. They don’t operate if visibility is low, there’s heavy rain, or any other kind of inclement weather that most regular airlines would be able to operate in commercially. In my case the wait for departing Saipan to Tinian on a weekday morning was almost 2 hours. Going back in the mid-afternoon the wait was roughly an hour, but with the plane then having to make a return landing to Tinian short after airborne because of rain moving in from Saipan, reducing the visibility to an extent that the pilot decided to land back and sit out the rain there. That added another hour of delay. The flight itself only takes about 10 minutes, is at low altitude, and offers fine views over both Tinian and Saipan.

At Tinian airport it’s possible to rent a car with either Avis or Interisland company, the latter one being significantly cheaper. There is no scooter rental at the airport, and no taxis. For hotel pick-up there’s a phone to make a free call to the Tinian Dynasty Hotel. They will come and pick you up within 5-10 minutes’ time. I never intended staying there but had learned that there’s a scooter rental just opposite to the hotel which I wanted to get to. The transfer worked perfectly for me and the driver was very helpful and friendly. He didn’t seem bothered at all when I answered his question about how many nights I was planning to stay on Tinian with that I hadn’t made up my mind if I was going to spend a night there at all.

The scooter rental is a small shack opposite the main entrance of the Dynasty Hotel. (The Dynasty Hotel itself seems to be mostly popular with Chinese and Korean tour groups these days who may be the only ones who can stand the kind of both ridiculously pompous yet awfully tacky and lackluster place it represents). I was initially annoyed to find out that the scooter rental was closed for the day as the manager had left on an ATV tour around the island with a group of Chinese tourists in the morning. Hence there was no other option left for me than to rent a car from the hotel. I chose the (cheaper) Interisland agency which rents out Toyota sedans for 39$ for 4 hours, 55$ for the day. I opted for 4 hours which turned out to be plenty to leisurely drive all over the island and see the sights.

Going by car rather than scooter turned out to be a very good idea due to intermittent heavy rain showers throughout the whole afternoon. There’s not much particular to say about the historic sites around the island. They are easy enough to find, even though I recommend asking the rental agency for a map of the island. It definitely helps to know the historic background of what happened there in WWII, and I would recommend looking at pictures of what Northfield looked like during its heyday before actually driving there to see how it looks today. The main town San Jose doesn’t have much. I’ve found JC café a pleasant place to have coffee or a snack. From 2pm to 5pm they have a special menu with a good selection of meals for 5$ each, including one main dish and a soda with free refills. They serve good portions and the food is quite alright.

There are some okay beaches around the island which I didn't pay particular attention to because of the rain. It didn't seem to me as if they offered anything nicer or significantly different than what you can find on Saipan though.

All in all I thought Tinian was okay to visit, but definitely not a place worth going out of your way for. I spent 110$ on the flights and car deal for the day. It was worth it to me because I have a strong interest in history of the 20th century, and also didn’t feel like spending another full day on Saipan, but I would still argue you don’t get a lot of value for your money spent.

The Solomons might be closer to what you are looking for if it's the vibe of the Pacific War.
Rusting tanks and planes in the jungle, rotting ships on the beaches...

Locals still eating spam and canned spaghetti...

I found that in the FSM and on Palau. Watch this space for a summary of my experiences there, coming up soon...