Customer Reviews

Frommer's Hawaii 2008 (Frommer's Complete Guides)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchase Frommer Guides when I'm going someplace new, and I have always been happy with them. This one, however, is not up to their usual standards. I took it along on my recent trip, and it was less than helpful. Many towns and places in HI have native names, but the translation is not in the book, so asking for directions was harder than it needed to be. Several hotels and good local restaurants were not listed. Travel times (either by car or bus) between cities were mentioned in passing, if at all. Local landmarks might get a word or two in description, but there was a detailed listing of every mall and shopping plaza. Overall, I got the impression that this was written largely from an impression of HI that hadn't been updated in a while.

I recently purchased this book for an 11 day cruise to several Hawaiian islands. I have been to Hawaii multiple times and have visited almost every island (except Molokai) and have done much of the typical Hawaii recommended locations.

I was looking for something with off the beaten trail type recommendations, and as expected, Frommers came through. I toured several botanical gardens which were out of the way, but excellent. A MUST HAVE for people who have never been to the islands, or those returning who are looking for something new and exciting.

Lots of good recommendations for reservations on the Internet prior to leaving which will save you lots in onsite costs if you are traveling or cruising. The savings alone if you are planning a week trip will cover the cost of the book!

Up to Frommer's usual high standards. Very good information about hotels, travel within the islands. Even though it's rather bulky to take with me on the trip I will definitely carry it with me as it is a mine of information.

This is the first book I bought when I began planning my husband and I's weeklong honeymoon trip to Oahu at the end of this year when he comes back from Iraq. It's packed full of information on all five Islands and I thoroughly read the "Where to Stay" portion of the Oahu section first to plan out the details of our lodging first so reservations could be made well in advance. The descriptions are very thorough as to what hotels offer, where they are located, how to contact them and how much they cost (they are categorized by location and lumped into "Very Expensive, Expensive, Moderate, and Inexpensive" categories), and even has information on lesser-known hotels, bed and breakfasts, and beach cottages for rental that you won't find on many travel Web sites. However, since the book was only written by one person, the impressions and reviews of the hotels, dining places and activities is a bit more objective than a book written by several reviewers would be. I went online and read many, many reviews from other people who had stayed in the hotels before I made my decision. However, I DID find the best link for guest reviews (tripadvisor.com) from a suggestion in the book.

Overall, this is a good starting point purchase in planning a Hawaiian vacation. I will definitely be taking it with me.

I relied on this book heavily for advice while I honeymooned in Hawaii and it delivered. It was comprehensive and informative. I would recommend it to all vacationers who like a packed, encompassing, and active vacation

Even a full year old, this was a great guide for a recent trip, but the maps were lacking. There were no zoom ins allowing better looks at specific areas of the island, save for the obvious one of Honolulu, and it took us lots of extra time of hit and miss turns and slow downs to find several key locations we wanted to visit.

This tour book was a real letdown... found more helpful information for free on google... better pictures, too! Very basic information. Save your money.

As we planned our recent trip to Hawaii, this book was a valuable resource. It helped us chose hotels and sights to see.

I could not imagine a better trip than the one I planned to Maui with the help of this book. It pointed me to the best activities for my money and advised that I spend some time in Hana. So, I spent half my trip there and am very, very thankful for that advice.

I've read this book from front to back and found it to be very informative. I can't wait to go on my trip and enjoy all the wonderful things that were described in the book.