Hawaii: An Explorer's Guide [Paperback]

Kim Grant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2006 | Series: Explorer's Guide Hawaii

Six major islands. One indispensable guide.

Veteran travel writer and photographer Kim Grant cuts through the tourist brochure clutter to help you maximize your precious time and money. Utterly reliable and comprehensive, she gives opinionated listings of resorts, condos, vacation cottages, and campgrounds, and hundreds of dining recommendations, from plate lunches and local grinds to seared ahi and Kona lobster at haute eateries.

But Grant steers you where other guides don't. As apart-time resident, she guides you to waterfalls and volcanoes; takes you snorkeling and golfing; finds authentic luaus; illuminates the nuances of hula; and unearths fine contemporary craftsmen and Hawaiiana collectibles. She also includes dozens of "Top Ten" lists highlighting Musts for First-time Visitors, Best Beaches, Best Romantic Resorts, Best Places for Weddings, Best Places for Sunset Drinks, and a section on how to choose the island that's right for each traveler's taste.

Other guide features include:

• Suggested itineraries for varying lengths of stays and purposeful getaways
• Sidebars on the Hawaiian language and Hawaii regional cuisine
• 25 up-to-date island, regional, and city maps
• Calendar guides to annual events and celebrations
• An alphabetical "What's Where" guide for trip planning
• Handy icons point out best values, "must dos," family-friendly activities, and rainy-day activities
• 100 black & white photos, 15 maps, index

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Travel writer and photographer Kim Grant is the author of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket: An Explorer'sGuide, Best Places to Stay in Hawaii, and many other popular guidebooks. Her photographs appear in Explorer's Guides to Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York City, as well as in other national guidebook series and magazines. When she's not exploring Hawaii, she lives in Boston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Countryman (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881506567
• ISBN-13: 978-0881506563
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,846,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kim has been writing about travel since the day after she graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1984.

Kim currently writes guides for: Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket; Hawai'i; Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque; Backroads of New England; and a 50 deck box of travel cards.

Since the mid-1990s Kim has also written other travel books about: Boston; New England; the Southwest; Florida; Miami & the Keys; USA; Best Places to Stay in New England and Best Places to Stay in Hawai'i.

As for web work, Kim serves the City Expert for www.homeandabroad.com on the six major Hawaiian islands, Cape Cod, and Boston; is a Hawai'i lodging specialist for www.away.com; writes about top luxury, romantic, and beach destinations in North America for www.orbitz.com and www.away.com; was an early member of www.guidebookwriters.com; and contributed to www.flyguides.com.

As for TV and radio, Kim has done 20-city radio tours to promote the Great Destinations series for Countryman Press (for whom she serves as an Acquisitions Editor). She also recently appeared on Comcast TV's Newsmakers to discuss autumnal outings in New England; on CNN Headline News to discuss fall foliage travel in New England; and on the Valerie D'Elia Travel Show (syndicated but based in NYC) to discuss the merits of travelling in Massachusetts.

From 1999-2007 she wrote Yankee magazine's Editor's Picks for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. During the late 1990s, she appeared on WCVB-TV's Chronicle as a Boston expert; wrote for National Geographic Traveler and Yankee magazines; and served as an editor for Boston Magazine's annual New England Travel.

From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, she contributed to guides published by Frommer's (New England; Canada; Mexico, Belize & Guatemala), Fodor's (Boston; New England; Cape Cod; Access USA), Insight (New England & Boston), Berlitz, and Rodale.

Kim founded Bindu Press in 2001 as a means to more widely distribute her fine art black and white photography. Lushly printed blank note cards are available through retail stores and the Bindu Press web site. The Press is also a book packager for artists and other photographers.

Kim runs Good Karma Publishing (the venture connected with T'ai Chi Chih) which produces, disseminates, and distributes materials by Justin Stone about T'ai Chi Chih to students and teachers worldwide.

Kim has been practicing T'ai Chi Chih, a moving meditation, since 1992 and teaching since 1999. She credits the practice with many extraordinary benefits, chief among them -- an increase in creativity and intuition. (And productivity!!)

She edits The Vital Force, a 24-page quarterly journal dedicated to T'ai Chi Chih teachers and students worldwide.