Customer Reviews

Clark: Beaches of the Big Island (Kolowalu Books)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The most informative and well-researched book I have found on beaches, surfing, and snorkeling on the Big Island. The author must have spent decades finding all these places and includes how to get to them, what the conditions are and even local history of the place. The information is laid-out in what initially seems to be an unorganized manor, but soon you learn that he starts out with a brief history of each beach area, then goes on to describe how to get to it, then rates how the beach, snorkeling, and surfing is. I also bought 7 other books on the big island including a snorkeling guide and a surfing guide to Hawaii, but all of these paled in comparison to Beaches of the Big Island and have since given them away. We even used preferred this book to our map for finding directions to get around the island. If you can only take one book to the Big Island, this is it!!!!

I purchased this book in 1989 and used it then, and again, later in 1994. I now live on the Big Island and can tell you that this book is not up-to-date on the easily accessible beaches. There have been marked changes in the 4WD beaches, also. What was once my Beach Bible, is no longer useful. It WAS a great book.

This book displays black and white pictures and is totally outdated. Out of all the tour books on Hawaii that I ordered (Frommers 2000, Fodors 2000, Best Places to Stay in Hawaii and the guides books written by Andrew Doughty and Harriet Friedman, Lonely Planet) this was by far the worst. I should have returned it while I could but I wanted to give it a chance. What a waste of time and money.

This is a great book which could benefit from being updated. With the focus on just beaches, it was extremely useful and I found many great beaches I wouldn't have found otherwise during my three week visit. If beachgoing is your thing, this book will help you find plenty, expecially non-resort ones that are virtually empty.

Great resource for people seeking off the beaten path beach experiences. Book predates destruction of Kalapana by the volcano so there is some out of date information but everything else is right on target. Helped us find long sought "Nanawale Dunes" and they did not disappoint. Highly recommend.

My favorite part of this book is how the author reveals what happened to the beach along bayfront in Hilo. The diversion of the waiolama river project removed about half of the beach. If you're wondering what this has to do with a book review, it's in the details.

This book gives details. It obvious that the author spent a great deal of time here and listened intently to locals when researching his work here. This book enables you to become intimately familiar with the beaches here on the big island.

If you want to learn about big island beaches from a local's perspective, get this book. For those of you just looking to visit for a few weeks, you'll also enjoy the book for it's maps, directions and "what to expect" perspective.

I especially like that fact that only the major beaches are covered. The private, small, secluded, beaches we enjoy locally, aren't always mentioned. When you get here, hire a local guide to reach those truly hidden spots. A local guide will get you to the 4x4 only access areas devoid of other visitors.

Why 4 stars? As a surfer, I cannot give this book more than 4 stars. It deserves 5 stars. It's the best book on big island beaches that I've read (more than 15). It's just too good and it will probably cause more people to surf our already crowded surf breaks. :)

Brent Norris
BigIslandFun.com