Wing Beach

Wing Beach on Saipan's northwestern coast is reached down a track rough enough that most rental cars are not taken along it, which is why the beach is usually empty: white sand, reef offshore and nothing built anywhere near. The name comes from aircraft wreckage on the reef. Surf breaks on the outer reef and the water inside is calm on most days. The reef here is one of the better stretches on Saipan precisely because so few people get down to it. Aircraft wreckage from 1944 lies in the shallows and is visible when the water is clear.

What you actually see

• The empty sand - a beach with almost nobody on it.
• The reef - the coral offshore taking the swell.
• The wreckage - the aircraft remains on the reef that name the beach.
• The rough track - the access that keeps it quiet.

When to go

December to June is the drier season. Typhoon season runs July to November. The track is worse after rain.

Honest expectations

The track needs high clearance and is impassable after heavy rain. There are no facilities of any kind. Currents outside the reef are strong.

Nearby

Bird Island is northeast, and Garapan is south.