Trip Planning
The TakeYourBackpack guidebooks are your all-in-one travel companion, featuring the best cities, national parks, hikes, beaches, and unique sites, along with essential tips on when to go, how to get around, exchanging money, and even local phrases to get you started — everything you need for a smooth, unforgettable backpacking adventure.
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Planning a backpacking route through Guam can be tricky — you need to balance must-see places, travel times, budget, and how long to stay in each destination. Our free personalized Guam itinerary planner creates a route based on your travel style, trip duration, and interests, so you can spend less time researching and more time exploring.
Personal tip: I normally search on good rating for atmosphere (for meeting people) and location (for easy exploring). Cleanliness as a bonus.
Travel Essentials
No vaccinations are required to enter Guam, but you should be up to date on routine shots such as MMR, tetanus-diphtheria and the flu vaccine. Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are commonly recommended for travelers. Dengue has appeared on the island, so pack insect repellent and cover up at dawn and dusk.
vaccination requirementsWhen I first started traveling, I often spent part of my first day in a new country hunting for a local SIM card. While this can still be slightly cheaper, it also takes time and planning.
These days, it's much simpler to install an eSIM before leaving home. Once you arrive in Guam, you can activate it immediately and have mobile data from the moment you land — which is especially useful for ordering transport or navigating away from busy airports.
There are many providers nowadays, and price differences are usually small. I personally go with
Holafly, as it offers excellent network coverage throughout the country and strong global coverage, so you can manage multiple countries from a single app.
HolaFly eSimCulture & Customs
Chamorro culture centers on family, respect for elders and Catholic faith, and being polite and modest goes a long way in Guam. Do dress modestly in churches and villages, and keep swimwear for the beach. If you are invited to a village fiesta, accept the food, eat generously and take a plate home if offered, since refusing can seem rude. Do ask permission before crossing private land, because many beach and waterfall access paths belong to families. Don’t remove latte stones, artifacts or shells from historic sites. Locals also ask the ancestral spirits (taotaomo’na) for permission before entering the jungle, and showing quiet respect in those places is appreciated. Don’t photograph military installations, which cover a large part of the island. Women face no special restrictions, and same-sex couples are legally protected, though displays of affection are low-key everywhere.
Trying traditional food is always a great way to experience the culture. Here are some must-try dishes for Guam.
- Red rice (hineksa’ agaga’): rice cooked with achiote seeds, which turn it orange-red. It shows up on every fiesta table and plate lunch, and it is the backbone of Chamorro food.
- Chicken kelaguen: grilled chicken chopped and tossed with lemon juice, grated coconut, green onion and hot pepper. It is tangy and spicy, and a family potluck isn’t complete without it. Shrimp, beef and fish versions exist too.
- Chamorro barbecue: short ribs, chicken or pork marinated in soy sauce, vinegar and onion, then grilled over charcoal. Weekend roadside grills and the Wednesday night market in Hagåtña are the best places to try it.
- Finadene’: a sauce of soy sauce or lemon, vinegar, onion and local boonie peppers. It goes on almost everything, and every household swears by its own ratio.
- Kådun pika: chicken stewed in coconut milk, soy sauce, vinegar and hot peppers. It is comfort food that shows the Spanish and Pacific influences mixing in one pot.
- Titiyas: flatbread made with flour and coconut milk, or with corn masa, cooked on a griddle. It is eaten alongside kelaguen or on its own as a snack.
- Apigigi’: a sweet dessert of grated coconut and tapioca wrapped in banana leaf and grilled. It is a classic fiesta treat.
Tap water in Guam is treated to US EPA standards and is officially safe to drink, but many locals still use filters or buy large refill jugs because of the taste and the aging pipes in some villages. Tourists can generally drink it in hotels, and a filter bottle is the cheapest way to deal with the taste. After typhoons or major storms, follow any boil-water notices and switch to bottled water until they are lifted.
English is an official language of Guam alongside Chamorro, and you can use it everywhere: in Hagåtña, in the Tumon hotel strip, among younger people, at guesthouses, and in the smallest southern villages. Signs, menus and transport info are all in English, so you won’t need a translation app. In Tumon, staff also speak Japanese and Korean for the big tourist markets from those countries. A couple of Chamorro phrases go down very well, especially “Håfa Adai” (hello) and “Si Yu’os Ma’åse’” (thank you).
Money & Payments
The local currency of Guam is USD ($).
Guam uses the US dollar, and ATMs are easy to find in Tumon, Tamuning, Hagåtña and the big malls, though there are fewer in the southern villages. Expect a local fee of about US$3 to 5 per withdrawal on top of whatever your home bank charges. Visa and Mastercard work in hotels, malls, supermarkets, gas stations and most restaurants, and Japanese and Korean cards are widely accepted in Tumon. Carry cash for village fiestas, roadside barbecue stands, the Wednesday night market at Chamorro Village and some small family eateries. Bring US dollars or a card rather than euros, because currency exchange is limited to banks and the airport, and the rates there are poor. Banks in Hagåtña and Tumon are the safest places to change money.
Tipping in Guam follows US habits, with 15 to 20% expected at sit-down restaurants and bars. Check your bill in Tumon first, because many hotels and tourist restaurants already add a 10% service charge. Taxi drivers usually get 10 to 15%, and tour guides and dive crews appreciate US$5 to 20 per person.
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Over the years, I've learned the importance of packing minimally. It's so much easier to jump on the back of a truck or squeeze yourself into the last spot of a minibus without that supersized backpack. If you're headed to a warm destination, leave your winter jacket at home; for colder regions, opt for thin thermal underlayers. Instead of packing your entire wardrobe, bring just three sets of clothes, as laundry facilities are available everywhere.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.