Saipan

Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands. Many Chamorros on Saipan consider their culture more intact than on Guam, the U.S. Military has only one small permanent presence on Saipan, the U.S. Coast Guard. Therefore, comparisons between the two islands should take this into account. Furthermore, Chamorros on Saipan and throughout the CNMI still primarily speak Chamorro at home, while the same isn't true of Guam. Furthermore, while the differences between a commonwealth (as in the CNMI) and a territory (as in Guam) may not appear to be great (especially to a mainland US citizen), Saipan should not be referred to as a territory when speaking to a local. Finally, while the population of the CNMI, as on Guam, are US citizens and proud to be recognised as such, their independence is equally important.

Music on Saipan can generally be broken down into three branches: local, mainland American and Asian. Local consists of Chamorro, Carolinian and Micronesian traditional music and song, often with traditional dance for many occasions. Mainland American is many of the same varieties that can be found on U.S. radio; and Asian consists of Japanese, Korean, Thai and Philippine music among others.

Scuba diving and snorkeling on Saipan are deservedly the most popular activities here among western tourists, though gambling and karaoke/hostess bars are most popular among Korean businessmen, as well as some Japanese travelers. Garapan is coastally located, so other watersports abound as well. For scuba divers, the term "Fun Dive" is used for those who have already been certified and just want to recreational dive, while "Taiken dive" is used to designate first-time divers that take classes on Saipan. The same is true for the rest of the CNMI and somewhat so for Guam. While boat dives are available, you can still drive to some awesome dive sights, like Grotto. A cavern dive to open ocean is great.