Getting Through Your First Week on Guam

Getting Through Your First Week on Guam

Martin Howard October 2, 2013 View all blog articles

So you've been on an airplane, somewhere between 4 and 27 hours, and you finally arrived on Guam. More often than not, you'll arrive somewhere between 10pm and 2am, that's just when most of the flights arrive. Now you're off to your hotel to find there's no microwave, there are two single "twin" beds, and the mini fridge is packed with $6.00 a can beer (or there's no mini fridge at all).

The fact is the hotels here are set up more for the tourists than people that will be actually living at the hotel, and they would prefer you use their amenities rather than finding a more cost effective way to get by for a week or two until you find your own place.

Only a couple of the hotels have laundry facilities, and most charge for internet, between $12 and $15 per day. Food is quite expensive if you eat in the hotels. The buffets you will find in most will be $30-$40 per adult and maybe half that for kids. Beds are "Asian style" in most cases, which means a standard room is two twin beds. Phone calls are between .25 and $1.00 each and there tends to be a lot of service charges built in, maybe to make up for the fact that most tourists are from Japan and don't tip. If you've been making full use of our websites, you know this stuff already.

Most people have a moving budget, whether self imposed or mandated by their company or DFAS. There are lots of ways to save a few dollars when you're living out of your suitcase if you know where to go.

Map of TumonMap of Tumon

In Tumon, where the majority of the hotels are, you'll find just about every kind of food you can imagine. Eating in the hotel buffets will cost you around $35 per person. Just to name a few of my favorites, Jamacian Grill which is next to the USO / Royal Orchid hotel, TGI Fridays, Outback Steak House and Tony Roma's are all in Tumon. We also have Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. Plus about 100 Asian style restaurants. After you take a lap on San Vitores Road, you'll know where everything is. There's also a KMart nearby that has a pretty good selection of groceries that is a little cheaper than the stores in Tumon.

Agana Bay AreaAgana Bay Area

There is a "shopping trolley" that makes its rounds through Tumon and stops at all the shopping places that is very cheap, but that's the extent of our mass transit system. They're easy to find, just ask the front desk for a schedule. Taxis are easy to find but of course, that will cost you more.

Between these two maps you should make out just fine.