Guam?

Possibly no one has ever survived a hike in Guam due to being knocked senseless by flying tylenol poisoned mice?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_things/2013/12/04/poison_pill_mice_parachuted_onto_guam_fighting_brown_tree_snakes_with_tylenol.html

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Every single person I've talked to about Guam has said the same thing. The best thing I can find to do there is scuba diving ship wrecks. Even if I was certified, my turn-around window to fly prohibits me from diving. I found a few hiking videos on YouTube that looked fairly meh and I'm going to be hiking in Hawaii next summer.

I'll probably get some snorkeling in, enjoy a nice dinner and call it good.

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure if you can make it work, but I enjoyed Saipan much more than Guam. The WWII sites were way more interesting, and there were many more things to do there. For one, you can snorkel right out to some amphibious tanks that never made it to shore. You can see the guns right from the beach. If you go to the visitor center first, they have great posters describing all the sites, some of which can be snorkeled to, including this one. They are part of the WWII Maritime Heritage Trail – Battle of Saipan. http://www.pacificmaritimeheritagetrail.com/

Moving on to the upper end of the island, I was surprised at how it really hit me what the Japanese went through here. Yes, I realize they started it and there’s not much you can do about their government and military propagandizing, telling them to give their lives for the Emperor and that the U.S. will just capture them and they will be shamed. But even though I remember learning about these suicide cliffs before, and again during the film at the Visitor Center, I just wasn’t prepared for this experience. And especially when I saw people leaving flowers and other items on the memorials, and praying and crying, I just lost it. I just can’t imagine what was going through the minds of the Japanese back then, to actually make the decisions they made. I kind of felt I was intruding on some sacred place, especially when there were people there that day, probably paying respects. It may have even been a stronger emotion than I felt when experiencing Gettysburg for the first time—which I will never forget.

The Grotto was a great experience on Saipan. It is a natural tunnel leading from the top of a high cliff down below sea level to a blue pool, then exiting into open ocean through three wide openings which are accessible if scuba diving. It was absolutely stunning, especially in the morning. As the day wore on, the light was not as beautiful, and the crowds grew. When we arrived in the morning, there were about four or five people swimming. I wasn’t fully convinced I wanted to do it, so I wanted to go down and make sure, before bringing the stuff down. So, with tennis shoes on and cameras in hand, we headed down the steps. It didn’t take long to decide to do it. So back up the stairs, change into swimsuits, and back down the stairs with masks, fins, and snorkels. It was really cool, but by the time we got down to do it, the crowd had grown to about 30 people, at least. But it was still fun, and just a really cool place. Actually turned out good that we went down without the stuff, because we got some nice photos that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise because we didn’t bring the cameras the second time.

But if Guam is your only option, be sure to go to the National Park Visitor Center where they can give you all the info on the various hikes around the island. There are some good waterfall hikes and plenty of short hikes that lead to pill boxes and guns that are still in place from the war.

An excerpt from my Guam trip report, in case you're interested in a couple of small hikes and restaurant ideas.

We went on what is called a Boonies Stomp at Assan Beach. I guess that’s what the guidebooks call a day hike. It led to a beautiful view and a bunch of memorials and pill boxes along the way.

Decided to stop at Jeff’s Pirate Cove for burgers. They were soooooo good. And with a live band and that view, it is hard to beat. I usually go for the teriyaki burger, and I made a good choice, it was awesome.

Tried Meskla Dos for lunch. I loved it. I went for the Bleu cheese burger, it was really good. The sweet potato fries, tossed with a little cinnamon and sugar were the best I’ve had.

Stopped at a memorial that was a little depressing when we read the sign about how most of the bronze plaques with the names of those who perished were stolen and sold for scrap. Wow, that’s about as low as it gets. So, they are planning to replace them with granite etched plaques, something that may last a bit longer.

Unfortunately, the Piti Gun Unit and hike was closed due to erosion.

Thanks for all the great information Jennifer!