Natural hazards : active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons especially August to November.
Crime : people have reported their cars being broken into in Saipan's tourist areas, and some people have also had their apartments or hotel rooms burgled. Don't leave valuables lying around and use common sense when walking around tourist areas, especially at night. That said, Saipan is safer than a lot of other destinations, with muggings and other violent crimes against tourists being extremely rare.
The Commonwealth Health Center is Saipan's overburdened and understaffed public hospital. There are also many excellent but expensive private clinics. The Seventh-Day Adventist clinic is noted for their dental care and vision centre. Health care on the other islands is scarce.
talk
English is the official language and universally spoken, but 86% of the population speaks a language other than English at home, including the native languages Chamorro and Carolinian. Basic Japanese is also spoken by many in the tourist industry. Tagalog, Chinese and Korean are also used widely.
respect
Veneration of the elderly, ancestors, and departed family members is a large part of Chamorro culture. Always give respect to the older people in the room.
contact
The Northern Marianas are part of the North American dialing plan. The country code is 1, and the local area code is 670.
Mail is handled by the U.S. Postal Service; the state code is MP and the postal code is 96950. The main post office branch is in Chalan Kanoa, other branches are in Capitol Hill as well as Tinian and Rota. Most hotels can send mail for you. DHL and FedEx also offer courier services.
Internet access is widely available. The top level domain for the Northern Marianas is .mp.