🧭 Guam: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Guam feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 30 written places.
American convenience wrapped around Chamorro family culture; respect for elders anchors everything.
Cost level: High Costs run at western European levels - planning and a few local tricks keep it sane. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Greet people with Hafa Adai - it is used constantly and warmly returned
- Let elders go first - at fiestas, buffets and doorways, age has absolute priority
- Tip American-style - 15-20% in restaurants, a dollar or two per drink
- Bring a dish, drinks or ice if invited to a village fiesta - guests contribute
✗ Better avoided
- Refuse offered food outright - take a little even if you are full
- Be first in line at a fiesta while elders and children wait
- Honk or drive aggressively - island driving is patient and courteous
- Wear beach clothes to church - Sunday Mass is a dressed occasion
💡 Worth knowing
- It is US soil - US dollars, US plugs, US portions and a drinking age of 21
- You need a car - public transport is minimal and everything is spread out
- Every village holds an annual fiesta for its patron saint - go with a local host if invited
- Groceries and fuel cost more than the mainland US - nearly everything is shipped in
Plugs and voltage
Type A, B · 110 V travel adapter →
CurrencyUS dollar (USD)
LanguagesEnglish, Chamorro
Driving sideright
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.