Saipan | Villa Angels

Information

Official language - English
Currency - USD
Voltage - 110 V
Time Zone: GMT+10
Mobile system – CDMA & GSM

Saipan is the largest island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. The Commonwealth consists of a chain of fifteen tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Saipan's population was 48,220, a drop of 22.7% from the 2000 US Census

Located about 120 mi (190 km) north of Guam, Saipan is about 12 mi (19 km) long and 5.6 mi (9.0 km) wide.

The western side of the island is lined with sandy beaches and an offshore coral reef which creates a large lagoon. The eastern shore is composed primarily of rugged rocky cliffs and a reef. Its highest point is a limestone covered mountain called Mount Tapochau at 1,560 ft (480 m).

The center of the tourism industry on the island is Garapan. It is located on the west coast and is home to the majority of the island's major hotels, numerous shops, restaurants.

Climate

The climate is tropical marine, hot and humid. The rainy season in Saipan runs from July to November and sometimes include typhoons. The temperature varies very little throughout the year and is typically +27, +29 °С. The average water temperature is +25°С.

Visa

Entry requirements for the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are the same as for any U.S. destination. The U.S. Visa Waiver Program applies. In addition, a special Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program allows visa-free entry from additional countries: Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong (HK Special Administrative Region [SAR] passport or HK Identification card is required), Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom. Under the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, travelers from these countries, for a maximum of 45 days, seeking admission to the CNMI must possess a valid, unexpired machine-readablepassport and must not have previously violated the terms of any prior admission to the U.S. ESTA is not a requirement for these travelers.

Prices

The prices are a little bit more expensive from USA, but much cheaper then Japan. For example: one liter of gasoline – 80 cents, average café bill — $7-10, hotel buffet lunch— $10-$35. Taxi – 35-60$ per 15 minutes. Daily rate on a rental car $35-$60. Food price is not high not expensive (soda -60 cents, bear- $1.25)

Customs Rules

The amount exceeds USD 10,000 must be declared when imported and exported . For fresh fruits a phytosanitary certificate is warranted. Prohibited: mangoes from the Philippines, meat (except from Continental USA, Hawaii, Guam, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), pre-cooked and dried noodles with powdered meat. Free import of 600 cigarettes provided manufactured in USA with Surgeon General's Warning label, 0.6 US gallon of distilled alcoholic beverages and 1.0 US gallon of wine and Japanese sake (only for persons of 21 years of age and older). No free import of any beer and other malt beverages; a reasonable quantity of perfume.