Weddingbee

This is the best guidebook for Hawaii. You will see other visitors carrying the blue book. The little nooks and crannies you find is great!

But since many many visitors use this book, alot of the secret places aren’t so secret.

We borrowed ours from the library, but it’s worth to purchase!

We used the Big Island one in December last year. I agree, it’s the very best guidebook! One warning, though, is that we were accosted on more than one occasion by locals who ranted about how evil the writers of the books are. On the other hand, we were also told by other locals that it’s the best out there. I mention it only because I have never in my travels anywhere else been confronted about the guidebook I was using. The people who hate them really hate them, so maybe keep your copy in your bag :-).

As a Maui resident, I have to absolutely agree - this series is awesome. I have given so many away as gifts!

The only portion of the books that I sometimes struggle with is the dining section. I’ve had wonderful meals at restaurants the authors did not care for. I know (and think they even mention it in the books) that restaurant reviews are always subjective. So I often tell friends and family if a restaurant or dish looks really appealing to you, don’t shy away just because the book tells you to.

We own the one on Kauai! It’s GREAT! Has everything you could imagine!

The guidebooks get great reviews but I have to say that some locals in Maui at least have a very hostile reaction to that book…apparently a lot of the “secret” places revealed are on private property and were once unspoiled…now residents have tourists trapsing through their land and spoiling the natural beauty of the place. Alot of the “gems” are now overcrowded with tourists as well and not so secret anymore and the hordes of tourists are doing ecological damage to places that weren’t set up to deal with large groups. After reading many reviews from locals on Amazon.com begging people to quit buying the book and to respect their land and culture I decided to buy Frommer’s and Lonely Planet…I know that not all the locals feel that way and many probably use it themselves but enough had serious issues with it that I felt I’d try to be respectful and figured I’d get by just fine with a normal travel guide…and I did! Just a personal choice but it’s an issue buyers should be aware of before they make their choice.

I was given the Maui one as a gift and read it from front to back like a novel. It’s that good! The conversational style of writing is very endearing, it’s like you have a friend telling you about the island!

In regards to the previous comment, not everyone who has this book will go traipsing through private property or unspoiled lands - I was actually more interested in what the writers had to say about more touristy stuff, like going to Molokini, or trips up to Haleakala - I wanted to find which outfits were the best, would make it most worth my time and money, and wouldn’t be too cheesy.

Anybody can buy a guidebook, and it’s a matter of human responsibility what you do with the information. People can trash the Louvre just as easily as they can trash a tropical waterfall.

Aloha from Maui! BaghdadBride is right–as a Hawaii resident, I would NOT endorse these guidebooks. In my humble opinion the publishers have no respect for the culture or people of Hawaii. They encourage unknowing visitors to encroach on private property and land that is sacred to the Hawaiian people, which only leads to negative confrontations between tourists and locals. The Hawaiians are wonderful, loving people whose culture centers around the land. Please don’t support these books.