Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook [Paperback]

Andrew Doughty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2008 | Series: Hawaii the Big Island Revealed

The finest guidebook ever written for the Big Island and the only one written by writers who anonymously review the island. They visit every beach, restaurant, activity and trail on the island. The result is this comprehensive, humorous and easy-to-read full color guide that will lead you to more adventures than any other book. A must for travelers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Most travel titles are put together in a few weeks by visiting travel writers. Wizard guidebooks take over a year to compile and the writers are residents who personally and anonymously review every facet of the island. Their maps are the best you'll find. From restaurants to helicopter companies to scuba to beaches to trails. They see it all and show you the best the island has to offer. They also reveal who's the worst and who to stay away from. All told in a frank, humorous way that keeps the reading fun.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Wizard Publications Inc.; 5th edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 098146100X
• ISBN-13: 978-0981461007
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (145 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Hawaii
  • #61 in Books > Travel > United States > Regions > West

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Always Spot-on with recommendations, but poorly organized, July 7, 2011

By 

V. Natarajan (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Paperback)

The plusses:
Just about every place that this book recommended, and that I've tried, has been spot on. Perhaps more importantly, it's also spot-on with respect to its recommendations of tour companies (e.g. snorkeling tours, van tours). Not one restaurant, attraction, tour company, or hotel recommended by this book has disappointed, and it recommends a lot -- you could spend a month on the Big Island and not go through half of what's in this book. For the most part, the maps are clear and helpful, and the book gives contact information as needed.

The minuses:
The information presented is very poorly organized. Largely speaking, this book breaks down into Sights, Activities, Adventures, and Dining/Lodging, and within each section, the listings are broken by geographic region. The problem with this approach is that, in order to see everything there is to do within a particular geographic area, you have to flip to each section. It would be far more convenient to reverse the ordering -- break down the book first by geographic area, and then by activities within the area.

Secondly, the "Sights" section for each area is presented as a single tour that goes through each attraction, and the directions for each site are only given in terms of the location of the previous site mentioned. The problem is, there are often many more attractions than you'll have time for in each area, so it takes considerable work to figure out the location of individual attractions if you want to skip an attraction or go in a different order than the book describes.

Normally, the I'd treat the minuses much more harshly, but the recommendations are so good that I'm going to be more forgiving here.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best travel books, July 1, 2011

By 

M. L. Jones - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Paperback)

My husband and I travel a lot and have looked at and used many types of travel guidebooks. We have found the 'Revealed' guidebooks to be, without a doubt, the best. The authors/editors don't ever hold back when they feel that a hotel, restuarant or attraction doesn't live up to its reputation or is over-priced. You can count on these guidebooks for the truth, not just a glowing report that someone has paid to have printed in a guidebook.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for exploring the Big Island, August 15, 2011

By 

NC Family - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Paperback)

We just used this book to help us navigate the Big Island for a family vacation. The maps were fantastic and the descriptions very helpful. Hawaii tries to hide it's national treasures and signage is almost invisible. This book gave mile marker references and visual landmarks to help you find where you needed to go. The amount of information was a bit overwhelming, but it was great to keep in the car for quick reference as you were trying to decide what to do next. We found the information to be extremely accurate except for restaurant suggestions - some were correct, but rely on your hotel concierge first. We would highly recommend this book if this is your first trip to the Big Island or you are adults traveling alone and a bit more on the adventurous side (lots of hiking and rough terrain not suitable for little legs).