We took a quick look at some of the bookings, and it looks like someone went to Saipan! It’s time to talk travel again! This time, with our Militaryfares.com blog, we thought it would be fun to take a quick look at U.S. Territories. Often, we might visit places without realizing just exactly where we are.
So, to say the least, this post will probably turn into another great informational travel series–that I know you’ll enjoy reading. 😉
Currently, there are 16 major territories that are part of the United States and several other dependent areas that are administered under perpetual lease. This first article is to introduce you to them and we’ll further explore them individually in upcoming articles. In short, territories are somewhat self-governing and have a non-voting representative(s) in the U.S. Congress.
I know, this is a travel blog, and not a History Channel (smile), but I thought a little background would be informative so that you’ll know the relevance of places that are part of the USofA outside of the regular 50 states. So anyway, as stated earlier, there are 16 main territories that we’ve listed below.
Territories
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Bajo Nuevo Bank
Baker Island
Howland Island
Jarvis Island
Johnston Atoll
Kingman Reef
Midway Islands
Navassa Island
Palmyra Atoll
Serranillla Bank
Wake Island
Other Dependent Areas
There are several Islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea that are dependent territories (which we’ll also cover in future posts). Also, areas like Guantanamo Bay, are considered dependent areas. Places like The Panama Canal, The Canal Zone and the Republic of Palau used to be dependent areas until they either gained their independence or control was relinquished back to their country(ies).
Saipan
Oh, by the way, Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands. It’s a beautiful commonwealth in the western Pacific Ocean. Saipan is not a US Territory in a strict legal sense, but the people are, non the less, U.S. Citizens.
Though beautiful and somewhat of a tourist area, the Saipan economy has not been the greatest over the past years. But, the weather is generally nice…and the water is fine! It has somewhat of a tropical rainforest climate and the yearly average temperature is around 84° (degrees) with seasonal trade winds. I found a cool video on Youtube… (with very cool music) you might find interesting about Saipan. Watch Here.
You wanna go? Interested in tickets? As always, visit www.militaryfares.com to search for a deal that might be right for you! Safe Travels!
Resources:
About Territories (wikipedia.org)
HuffPost Article on Saipan (Oct 2015)
Saipan (Wikipedia page)
YouTube Saipan Video (Feb 2017)
