Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to Hawaii 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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As guidebooks to Hawaii go, the Rough Guide is a reasonably comprehensive resource with solid, middle-of-the-road information about all the islands. The challenge in covering the whole state within a single tome is that author Greg Ward has to pitch his research at a necessary cursory level and spends approximately 60-70 pages on each island. Consequently, if you choose to focus on one or two islands, as most travelers do, the book ends up being somewhat lacking on the details that really can separate a good vacation from a great one.

Beyond the color maps in the middle, the book is all text, so it does require concentration to absorb much of the information presented. However, Ward provides helpful information on preparing for your trip, choosing accommodations and eateries, and exploring the more popular attractions. What's missing is the off-the-beaten path insight that, for example, Andrew Doughty provides in spades in his book, "Maui Revealed". The other gap is a vivid perspective on what the must-do activities are. Consequently, this is not an all-encompassing resource but one that needs to be complemented by other books that specialize on the islands you visit or the personal research you need to conduct on your own. Regardless, it's still a solid resource.

expected more from this guide after reading all the reviews. hardly used it when I was in hawaii.