The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed [Paperback]

Andrew Doughty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2008

The finest guidebook ever written for Kauai and the only one written by a writer who anonymously reviews the island. He visits 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

Review

The finest guidebook ever written for Kaua’i. Now you can plan your best vacation-ever. This all new seventh edition is a candid, humorous guide to everything there is to see and do on the island. Best-selling author and longtime Hawai'i resident, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so lush and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Explore with him as he reveals breathtaking trails, secluded beaches, pristine reefs, delicious places to dine, relaxing resorts, exciting waterfalls, colorful canyons and so much more. Every restaurant, activity provider, business and resort is reviewed personally and anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Kaua'i so exciting.



The most up-to-date and accurate information available anyplace with up-to-the-minute changes posted to our website



Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best...and which to avoid-no advertisements



Driving tours let you structure your trip your way, point out sights not to be missed along the way and are complemented by 100 spectacular color photographs



15 specially-created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers-so you’ll always know where you are on the island



Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted beaches, tropical jungles, hidden waterfalls, rugged scenic coastlines, freshwater lava pools and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else



Exclusive chapter on Kaua'i’s beaches with detailed descriptions including ocean safety



Unique Adventures chapter and over 60 pages of exciting activities from ATVs to ziplines



Fascinating sections on Hawai'i's history, culture, language and legends



Companion website with links to every business, events calendar, over 70 resort reviews complete with aerial photos-so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront



"The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" covers it all-from the mile-high summit of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Kaua'i visit. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a longtime kama'aina, you will find out more about Kaua'i from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook."

Book Description

The finest guidebook ever written for Kaua’i. Now you can plan your best vacation-ever. This all new seventh edition is a candid, humorous guide to everything there is to see and do on the island. Best-selling author and longtime Hawai'i resident, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so lush and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Explore with him as he reveals breathtaking trails, secluded beaches, pristine reefs, delicious places to dine, relaxing resorts, exciting waterfalls, colorful canyons and so much more. Every restaurant, activity provider, business and resort is reviewed personally and anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Kaua'i so exciting.



The most up-to-date and accurate information available anyplace with up-to-the-minute changes posted to our website



Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best...and which to avoid-no advertisements



Driving tours let you structure your trip your way, point out sights not to be missed along the way and are complemented by 100 spectacular color photographs



15 specially-created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers-so you’ll always know where you are on the island



Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted beaches, tropical jungles, hidden waterfalls, rugged scenic coastlines, freshwater lava pools and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else



Exclusive chapter on Kaua'i’s beaches with detailed descriptions including ocean safety



Unique Adventures chapter and over 60 pages of exciting activities from ATVs to ziplines



Fascinating sections on Hawai'i's history, culture, language and legends



Companion website with links to every business, events calendar, over 70 resort reviews complete with aerial photos-so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront



"The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" covers it all-from the mile-high summit of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Kaua'i visit. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a longtime kama'aina, you will find out more about Kaua'i from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Wizard Publications Inc.; 7th edition edition (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981461018
• ISBN-13: 978-0981461014
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.5 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Hawaii

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Use this guide with caution, September 17, 2011

By 

Jan Svejkovsky - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Paperback)

My comments are specifically addressing the hiking and snorkeling portions of this guide, which is what we primarily used it for: First, as another review already notes, EVERY tourist on Kauai is walking around with this book, so forget all the comments in it about "having the beach to yourself" or visiting a spot "only a few local hunters know about". Second, in an obvious attempt to separate this guide from others, the author tends to overexaggerate the beauty or uniqueness of many of the "secret" attractions or destinations that his book contains. And that's a serious problem for most of us that have only a limited amount of time on our Kauai vacation and must decide how to spend each day - what to do and what to give up.

Case in point is the book's hiking description to a pair of now-abandoned, mile-long water diversion tunnels blasted through rock near the middle of the island some hundred years ago. Following the guide's directions you drive inland, then hike 2 miles on an unmaintained hunter trail, then hike a mile through the first tunnel...to find yourself in a breathtaking, Shangri La valley! The book estimates 1.5 to 2 hours hike for the first 2 miles on an uneven, potentially muddy trail. What it doesn't reveal is that, even in dry weather, you will be trekking for 2-3 hours each way through troughs of foot or deeper mud the color and consistency of diarrhea! The hike through the tunnel is cool but the narrow valley beyond is not very exciting and the same scenery can be found in many other parts of the Island with much less time and effort. What was initially a "must-do" hike for us based on the book's description turned into a tiring, wasted day of our vacation. Sadly, while sloshing through the mud and brush on our way back we met up with 2 filthy, sweaty couples who also tried to do the hike on the same day (each had their own copy of the revered blue book!) but didn't even make it to the first tunnel due to lack of time (due to the trail condition and elevation changes the book's 1.5 hour timeline is BS for most people)and trail difficulty.

We found similar exaggerations in other parts of the book, including descriptions of snorkeling conditions at some of the beaches. So our advice is to use the guide but make good judgements as to what may be worth doing in the time you have on the Island. Just because the book touts a spot as Paradise on Earth doesn't guarantee it will be there for all your effort.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Knowing Your Own Kauai Local, June 28, 2011

By 

Carson Budde (West Lafayette, IN, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Paperback)

This guide book is amazing! We were in Kauai for 7 days and managed to find amazing hikes, adventures and food every day no matter what part of the island we explored. The descriptions for adventures and hikes are in amazing detail! We found ourselves hiking the most amazing (and seemingly untouched) trail overlooking Waimea Canyon and could only have found it with the help of this book since the trail head was unmarked on a back country road.

The descriptions of the sights on Kauai are realistic and are presented in a humorous way that makes reading the book interesting as well as informational. We only doubted the book once on a restaurant and soon found out never to challenge the wisdom again... sigh. If anyone of my friends or relatives were going to travel to Kauai this would be the first item I would recommend they get (the second and third being sunscreen and a nice raincoat for the quickly changing weather)!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Kauai Travel Guide - EVER, February 20, 2011

By 

Ron - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Paperback)

Been to Hawaii twice before and bought the new edition of this book each time. This is the THIRD edition I've purchased. It is THE BEST travel guide for Kauai. Authors live in Hawaii, vacation (verb) every day, then rate their experiences in their books. How did I not get this job?!?!?! When you get to Hawaii, you'll see people walking around with their books. We just lucked out buying this book on our first trip and it proved to be our guide for a wonderful experience. The authors do the tourist thing anonymusly to give you a true review of what you would experience. We did what they said was good, avoided the bad, and had an absolutly fabulous time. You're going to spend a lot of money on your trip and this series of books will insure you get the best value for your dollar. I always tell people that if you go to Hawaii you need 3 things. Master Card, Visa, and The Book. The Ulitmate Kauai Guidbook - "Don't leave home without it."