Guam US TerritoryCruise Port Guide

Guam is the westernmost territory of the United States — a 544 km² island in the Mariana Islands chain of the western Pacific that serves as America's most distant Pacific outpost, roughly equidistant between Tokyo and Sydney. The island has been shaped by over 3,000 years of CHamoru civilization (the indigenous Chamorro people), 333 years of Spanish colonial rule (1668–1898), the Japanese occupation of 1941–1944, and American military presence that has continued since liberation in 1944 — layers of history that give Guam a uniquely complex identity nowhere else in the Pacific. For American citizens, Guam is a passport-free destination reachable by direct flights from major US cities and served by international cruise lines.

Tumon Bay, a gentle crescent of white sand on Guam's northwest coast backed by a strip of resort hotels, is the island's tourism centerpiece — calm, clear aquamarine water excellent for swimming, snorkeling, and water sports. But Guam's most emotionally resonant landmark may be Two Lovers Point (Puntan Dos Amantes) — a 130-meter-high cliff at the northern end of Tumon Bay, where according to CHamoru legend, two young lovers from rival families, unable to marry due to Spanish opposition, leaped from the cliff together rather than be separated. The viewpoint looks out over the turquoise Philippne Sea to the north and the Pacific to the east, offering some of Guam's most dramatic scenery.

The island's WWII legacy is commemorated extensively at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, which encompasses seven separate sites around the island including Asan Beach Park — the primary American landing beach of July 1944 — and Fonte Plateau, where the last organized Japanese resistance was broken. The Plaza de España ruins in the capital Hagåtña (Agana) preserve fragments of the Spanish colonial governor's complex destroyed in the liberation bombing. Chamorro Village, a permanent cultural marketplace on Hagåtña's waterfront, hosts a famous Wednesday night market (6–10pm) overflowing with Chamorro food, local crafts, live music, and the full spectrum of Guam's multicultural community life.