How to begin . . . . ???

I need some good ol' Tug collective thinking . . . .

I am planning an extended fall 2008 trip that will include a trip to Guam to see my daughter who will be stationed there with the Navy. Since we are traveling so far, I thought we would maximize our time, points and fun by including several other destinations. Possible stops . . . several of the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, New Zealand maybe Singapore, my daughter thinks Japan would be fun. On a map these places all look close, but I am sure they are not as close as they appear. We are open to suggestions.

I have a variety of Marriott timeshare weeks to use for trades. I also have about 900,000 reward points. How do I go about doing all this???

My biggest questions concern airfare between different destinations. Is there such a thing as an open jaw plan where you can have a beginning and an end with stops in between. We don't want to spend a lot of out of pocket money if it can be avoided . . . it will be costing me a lot just to take that much time off from work.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If there are any other "must see" place over in that part of the world. . please let me know that too. I did find a Marriott on Guam . . . so that part is easy . . . just not sure about the rest of the trip.

If any of you have been to Guam and can share your in-sites that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for all your anticipated assistance. Karen

PS. Are and special Visa's or shots needed . . .by the question you can tell I am not a world traveler . . . this will be our first big trip!

I've spent a decent amount of time in that part of the world since I am an avid diver and history buff. What do you like to do on vacation? Do you like remote places or shopping? Are you into water activities...again, remote or touristy.

That part of the world is facinating. Midway is pretty close, as is Micronesia...Truk, Yap, and Palau are all incredible places. Much of the WWII Pacific battles were fought there...you can still see tanks, planes, buildings, caves...it's amazing.

The other thing is that the Phillipines are fairly close, and as you said, you could do Japan, etc. It depends on what you like to do.

Guam itself is interesting, but it's very developed. It's a Japanese shopping mecca...all the 5th Avenue stores are there, as are all of the major hotel chains. I spent two nights at the Hyatt there on my way to Micronesia one time...I decided to spend some time at the pool one day. When I looked up from my book at one point, I was the ONLY non-asian person there!

Airlines

Also, if you have a lot of time most of the airlines have an "around the world" ticket. You can only go one direction and stop at a single place once, no "backtracking". I've always wanted to do it, but never had the time.

Hawaii is a good stop on the way. If you've not been there, that's a good option as well.

I have been to Guam several times as well as Saipan and Palau. Guam is very developed with many chain restaurants. (I prefer Roy's and Outback)

Saipan is not that big and not as developed as Guam. They have a Hyatt in Saipan and a Tony Roma's and Hard Rock Cafe. They have a museum there that chronicles the battles in the war and how Saipan played a role. You can even see from the road a tank that is still in the ocean from back during the war.

If you want to dive or snorkel go to Palau. Palau is a beautiful series of islands but you will not find a lot of development there. No chain restaurants and good hotels are hard to find. While in Palau, I would recommend staying at the Palau Pacific Resort and go to the Rock Islands. It is about 2 hr. flight from Guam on Continental. The return flight from Palau to Guam leaves at 1:30 a.m. in the morning and I would recommend getting the airport 2+ hrs. ahead of time.

FYI - I prefer the Hyatt over the Marriott in Guam.

Karen,
How exciting! I'm sure it will be a wonderful trip. You must be very proud of your daughter.

Tell everyone more about how long you plan on traveling and whether you like beach vacations or site-seeing (or a combo).

Depending on what countries you decide to visit, you can determine what shots you may need by going to this site: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/
and clicking on destinations.

Jan

Hello all,

I tried to stay off the the computer for a day . . . very hard to do! When I checked I was very pleased to see all the replies. Thank you. Most of the places you all mentioned . . . I never heard of. I need to get out a good world atlas.

What I like to do . . .huuummmm . . . just about anything. I am not a big shopper though I sometimes like to look . . . especially at art galleries. We all like to snorkel but are not divers and probably will not learn by this trip. As a rule, I do not like crowds and traffic, but I love to see new places and famous landmarks. We love to go to places where we can take a guided tour to learn what you can't learn on your own in a short period of time. My husband loves history and culture . . . we both love new experiences and learning new things. A deserted beach . . . paradise!

I am kind of a chicken when it comes to places I perceive might be unsafe. My perception is the the Philippines might not be the safest place for an American these days. If I am wrong let me know your thoughts.

I kind of view this as a once in a life time trip. While my daughter will be in Guam for the next 2 plus years, I am not so sure I will be able to visit as often as I would like. I think it is something like a 29 hour trip from our home in central PA. Soooo . . . since I will be there anyway, I figure I might as well see as much as possible. My daughter will join us on some of our excursions. We are planning at least a month, but could take off more time if we have a neat plan where we can use point rather then a lot of out of pocket money . . . at least for airfare and hotels.

I do want to stop in Hawaii but again, I would love to see all (or most of) the islands while there. We know people who live in Singapore who have said they would be happy to give a personal tour if we ever want to visit.

This round the world ticket sounds kind of fun . . . can you use points for one of these tickets? How long do you have to use the ticket? I am assuming this must all be on one airline.

Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all. Karen

Wow! 29 hours... I would make Hawaii the first stop and get 12 of those 29 out of the way ..

As for the airline, I only travel on American. They allow both a stop over and an open jaw on one freq flyer ticket. An open jaw is having a round trip ticket that leaves from one place (such as PA to Guam) and begins it return to PA from somewhere other than Guam. So you may select your places and have Guam in the middle. However, you would have to provide your own transport to the other areas not part of your stop over or your open jaw. You might consider a stop over in Hawaii and then on to Guam. Fly separately to somewhere else you want to go and check if those tickets also provide a stop over and an open jaw. In doind so each person would have 2 FF tickets. You could possibly then take 2 to 3 places on each ticket.

I think with planning on this trip you will be happy to have a year or so to do it

Beverley

If you've not been to Hawaii, then I would spend some time there and then go on to Guam. (YOu can easily spend a month in Hawaii and still not run out of things to do, and there are lots of timeshares). Then, I would go on to Guam and then check out Palau for few days. It's an easy flight with Continental Micronesia...PPR is the best resort on the island. You need to take an excursion to the island of Pellilieu, the sight of a major battle and one of the Japanese headquarters in a the Pacific. Amazing. We liberated those islands and left planes, tanks...you can walk thru the Japanese headquarters building. If you are real adventurous, go on to Yap, where the women wear no tops, and it is obscene to show your knees. Everyone chews Beetlenut, this red nut from the beetle plant.

Micronesia is one of the few places in the world that still LOVES America, and remembers what it was like when they were occupied by Japan and the Americans and British came and saved them and restored their way of life. They are great, fascinating people. You won't find McDonalds anywhere though.

Hi Holly,

Thanks for your input . . . those are definitely some places I will have to look up on a map. They sound interesting and not your ordinary adventure . . . which is good. My father, having been a WWII vet in the pacific, has mentioned a couple of places he thought would be interesting. I think some are the same names you just mentioned. I am going to have to get a little better educated about that part of the world between now and fall 2008 Actually just plain educated . . . better would imply I actually know something and was going to improve on that knowledge