Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed

What else can you say about this book other than, "WOW...what a great book." My wife and I just returned from 5-nights on Kauai and 4-nights on da Big Island. My only regret is that I bought the Kauai Underground book instead of Kauai Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook. For The Big Island we bought The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook. This book coupled with our portable GPS with updated maps made this the most productive Hawaii trip I have ever made. (I have been to the islands about 8 times. Usually, flying by the seat of my pants.) This trip we really wanted to do things "Island Style" and see more of what usually just the locals experience. The Kauai Underground book was really nothing more than a big advertisement for outfitter guides and owners of businesses I would suspect are the owner's friends. They would tell you about great stuff to do, but then point you to the outfitters, not making it easy for you to do yourself. Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook was really the best guidebook I have read. It offers detailed maps that even include the highway mile markers, so you know when you are approaching where you need to pull-over and turn. When we were heading down a lonely 4-wheel drive road, it was often just my wife and I, and occasionally we would see another vehicle--usually with the co-pilot referencing this very same book. We would not have found or even known about many of the Hawaiian Archeological Sites without this book. The US and Hawaiian Government do a very poor job of letting you know how to find these sites. (It may be more by design than accident.) Andrew Doughty does an excellent job letting you know how to get there. I will caution one thing, you might want to check into local laws and heed signs that are posted. We skipped a few things because there were official government signs posted saying no 4-wheel drive where he says you can 4-wheel. Either we were "lost" or a few places may have now banned the ability to drive to a few of these locations. When in doubt, we errored on the side of safety and chose to fore-go the site or just hoof it. The GPS is a key to find a lot of these sites. Many roads are not marked by a sign, but show up on the GPS. The GPS will also give you a nice accurate time of how long it will take to get to a certain location, barring backed up rush-hour traffic. I would not hesitate to receommend this book to anyone wanting to really see The Big Island. If your plan is to just go to the beach, skip the book. If you are adventuresome and really want to "experience" the island, take Andrew and his book along with you...it will be the best investment you can make. Just buy the book a month before you go and really plan your days so you can pack in the really important stuff you want to do (and leave a little time for the beach). I know I am heading back to this island again!

These people write the most useful guide books to the islands available. We go to Hawaii every year and have for at least 16 years. I found this series two years ago and I love it. They really write for almost every demographic, they tell about the hidden stuff but also don't put down the big resorts, they just take them at face value, lots of fun if you like that kind of thing. These books also cover the other side of the spectrum, all levels of cost and experience. They are locals and as such know some very cool places, restaurants, acitvities and activity providers like the most informed and freindly dive shops, great traditional local food, the best splurge restaurants, and coolest hidden historical sites. These folks take some pretty hard shots at tourist service providers with bad attitudes, everyone from rude restaurants, cattle car dive boats, Park Rangers who are misinformed and have lost the Aloha spirit or never had it, and they keep going back to give these establishments second and third chances to upgrade their reviews. They have a great deal of respect for the true local people and the native hawaiian culture and history. They give tips on how to experience it and how to respect it. The cool thing is they do not respect the squatters, mainland self proclaimed hippies, folks who have taken up residency in the wildnerness who never had any sense of aloha, and just want a free ride in paradise. To this end they tell you how to find the hidden places, how to get there, which bogus warning signs to ignore, how to respect the place when you get there and how to preserve it for the rest of us. If I was a local I don't think I could be that honest, the islands are a small place. I read guide books as a hobby, and buy new ones every year to keep current with the changes and come up with new things to do. I think I have a pretty good idea of the different styles of books, the most useful layouts, maps you can actually use, and the ones with the most useful and up to date info. If you're only going to buy one guide for the island you are going to this is the one, if you are going to buy another one buy one of the Moon publications, eg. Hawaii Handbook, Maui Handbook, but only after you have one of these.

I like these guidebooks. I borrowed the Kauai one from my brother when I went there, then bought this one the first time I visited the Big Island. I loaned the Big Island book out and it was never returned, so I bought it again for my next trip. I even bought the Maui one even though I've been there several times. I think the best parts of these books are the detailed instructions on how to get to some less-traveled areas. You have a chance to see some of the things you might not find in other guidebooks. The author is a resident and tells it more from a local's perspective as opposed to a tourist. If beach time is your thing, most beaches have detailed descriptions of location, facilities, (seasonal) surf conditions, crowds, etc. It even gives instruction on how to get to some of the hard to reach beaches that some resorts or landowners don't want you to access (remember, there are no "private" beaches). You might piss off some people, but even as a tourist you have the right to access the beach. The restaurant section is also pretty good. The author gives the "ono" (tasty) mark if they find the food to be really good or a really good deal, but that's all a matter of opinion. It would be impossible to cover every single restaurant on each island, but it does a surprisingly thorough job. Even giving reviews to hard to find food stands (the Makena Grill on Maui comes to mind; never would have found that on my own). Restaurant locations are divided up by region and it's a lot quicker than Yelping everything. Overall, I think these are the best guidebooks that I've ever used going anywhere, hence the five stars. The language can be a little informal and some attempts at humor come off as a bit cheesy, but very helpful nonetheless. A great reference guide. Bring it on your travels around the island. Unless you're staying for months, pick and choose the things you want to do most as opposed to rushing to get in as much stuff as you can. Have a relaxing trip and come back later if there's still stuff you wanted to do.

This is a great book. Overall, its the best I could think of. Of course, a little bit more maps with a little bit more markers wouldn't harm. There's always room for improvement (especially in terms of pictures of the destinations). Couple of don't: 1. Champagne pond -- *DON'T* go there! It doesn't worth the trip. I don't know what the homeowner's society did to Andrew Doughty but he marked this spot as "Don't miss!". Honestly, you should miss it. First of all, the road is not easy there and will take lots of your time. Second, I really can't think of anyone who could enjoy a swimming in a pond under hateful eyes of the homeowners. Yes, the pond doesn't belong to them but still, I find little pleasure in experiencing it as it is now. And third, the pond just doesn't worth it. It's just a tiny little pool of hot water. When I visited it, it was flooded with ocean water (high tide!) and it didn't look appealing. And it will get crowded closer to the evening. I just can't justify all the hassle it took us to get there with the experience I've got from that pool. Nearby Ahalanui hot water pond is thousand times easier to reach, friendlier, has public facilities like restrooms and showers and much better overall. All I can say about "Champagne pool" is that it's a very rude joke that Andrew made on homeowner's society. That's it. 2. Green sand beach -- this is not a road at all. Not even 4WD. Maybe a tank could traverse that road ok but not a Jeep. I couldn't made it. I should've found another quiet beach nearby that I can enjoy all by myself (the big black sand beach was overrun by crowds plus 2 buses with schoolkids arrived. Ouch!) 3. Waipi'o Valley is a must. I spent a night at the beach and it was magestic. Probably, the highest experience of my trip. Of course, some locals were saying that I'm not allowed to stay there (but then the beach belongs to the state, isn't it??) as well as some kids were telling horrible stories that locals come down at night and burn tourists tents -- so I could give a free ride home to those kids :) Yeah, it's that easy to fool me! Anyway, it's a great place and I would like to retire there! 4. You *don't* need to cross the stream when you're looking for the trailhead to Hi'ilawe falls. The trailhead is right between telegraph table and the stream, closer to the stream. Just park there and go. It's a hard hike but well worth it! Beautiful and gigantic falls -- and you *must* experience it no matter what. Here's some pics from there: [...] The last picture is the photo of the stream that you shouldn't cross (looking west, toward the falls). The trailhead just to the left of this stream. What else? You don't have to pay to camp in Big Island. Spencer was closed for some party when I was there so we stayed on the hills next to Hapuna beach. Nice place except some jerks parked next to us and listening loud music until I screamed. I highly recommend Ho'okena beach park for camping -- nice and serene place, nice sand and pretty safe. No cell phone coverage, though (is that a plus or a minus?) Also I would rate as recommend Jackie Rey's Ohana Grill. It's good and well worth the visit. And Jackie is the friendliest restaurateur I've ever seen :) Another thing: you will *need* some kind of a diving certificate (worth [...]) before you can go diving for Manta Rays. Without it they can offer snorkeling which is rather stupid, given the tiny price difference. We didn't have certificates and we didn't know we need ones before the very last minute. Surprisingly, no one on the team mention them and I even started fitting equipment for us. But then one French blond guy showed up and said that we should possess a certificate (what's for??). Well, most likely, he wanted to have some more business for the Big Island Divers but instead they lost us. I've got impression that the whole team silently hated him for mentioning it (well, it's kind of recession out there and we were about to part with [...]!) but couldn't say anything. So beware: be prepared and download some kind of a certificate from the internet before you go. I'll do that next time for sure! I didn't do many of tropical vacations so far (just Egypt, Spain, Dominican republic and Hawaii) but I like the Big Island the most. It's a wonderful place to visit and really great overall. When I grow old, I want to live there, for sure. That's it so far. Maybe I'll add some more later! Stay tuned! ;)

An excellent reference if you're traveling to the Big Island, especially if it's the first time. Very thorough and objective in its reviews, and seems to rely almost exclusively on actual personal experience of the author(s) rather than on hearsay. Unless your stay is lengthy, the book covers more than you'll ever be able to see/experience. However, the indexing and referencing is very good, and it's reasonably easy to find comments/recommendations on almost any travel-related interest. And on subjects where there are many options, such as beaches for example, they offer as "Gems" their own researched or experienced recommendations, with full explanations on why. The book includes many helpful maps for easy location referencing. Sometimes it's a little difficult to move from one map to the next or to find more detail in inserts. But overall, the mapping is much better than you'll find on any of the local travel racks. As with any guide, we didn't always personally agree with their assessment of subjects. For example we found the section on the Volcanos National Park to be totally over-hyped by suggesting that they simply skipped the designation of "Gem" features within the park because everything within the park qualified for that rating. To us the Park was interesting, but redundant after we'd seen the first crater, and crowded, with the most sought-after features, such as the active crater and active lava flow almost inaccessible except by full-day hikes over rough terrain, or very expensive non-Park commercial alternatives like helicopter or boat. We understand the need for separation from some of the dangerous areas, but their exclusion should be made a part of the discussion, and suggest even more of a need for rating the accessible features. Overall it's a very useful guide, and being written with a dose of humor and "tongue in cheek", it's very readable. We bought it before our trip to Hawaii because the owner of our condo rental recommended it. In fact she kept one in all of her rentals because they are so useful, but we bought our own so we were prepared and felt comfortable taking it out with us.

I just returned from 9 days on the Big Island and found this "Revealed" book and the Moon Handbook to be my two best resources (I brought a total 5 guidebooks with me). I used the Moon Handbook predominantly on the windward side while I was staying in Volcanoes Nat'l Park and the "Revealed" book predominantly on the leeward side while I was staying in Kona. I used the dining recommendation from both books. I had pre-booked my accommodations, so I did not use that section of the book, although I looked up my condo and found their review accurate. Contrary to the comments of another reviewers (probably written a couple of editions ago) I did not find that the authors encouraged illegal or unethical activity, although they do emphasize that public beach access is the law in Hawaii. However, as noted, I did notice that many, many of the other tourists were carrying around copies of this book. This book was particulary helpful when trying to find beaches to play & snorkel - they are listed in order as you drive up or down the coast and the "gems" are truly noteworthy, although all the beaches were crowded since the local schools had let out for the holidays. The detailed maps were terrific. I used them quite a bit to get around. They also have a website that lists current updates and changes to their book, such as closures due to the earthquake last fall. The only critique I would have is that I could have use a bit more description of the hiking/walking required to get to each of the sights. Distance, elevation change/steepness (or stairs), terrain descriptions would have been helpful since I had a mobility-impaired grandparent with me. (Rather than "15-20 min hike" because that's dependent on physical status). Overall, I would highly recommend this book if you were only taking one with you to the Big Island.

This book is really the best. This book helps us find many places and plan our tours in Hawaii. The author is so truthful to the facts that he shows the actual pictures of the lava that should be generally expected, in the book. This book doesnot exaggerate the pictures. For ex: The book suggests that we should not believe in all those helicopter rides where you see pictures showing red color lava (in day time-with full of sunlight)with the helicopter so near by. Do you really think that the helicopter goes so nearby to the volcano !!! and the lava looks so red in bright sunlight !!! Let me tell you...during day time, it is almost impossible to see red color lava even if you are in few feet distance. You can only see the steam coming out of the vents...from such a distance. It is only during the nights or after sunset, you can see red color lava flowing.It is better to inquire with the volcano park to know the status and plan to go there.Because some times, even in the night you can't see anything except the steam. About the helicopter tours, I would say it is not a good idea to take the helicopter tour in Bigisland. It was worth taking the tour in Kaui though !! and that's what the book says too !! I liked the book so much that I tried to go to all the restaurants that were suggested in this book. It says about a restaurant ' U-TOP-IT'...which was a hawaiin style food... yet really tasty and you can have your own toppings. The food was really good. But, be sure to go either for lunch or breakfast. Because the restaurant is not open for dinner (atleast when we went). The only drawback in this book is the lack of complete maps. It would really complete the book if they can give the complete maps. But, I don't think this is a reason to reduce the stars/rating. Because, you can still manage with the information available in this book.

This book, along with the other Hawaii "Revealed" books, are by far and away the best and most honest travel books written about Hawaii. We had only been to the Big Island once before -- 19 years ago -- and were impressed that the book was so very up to date, citing recent volcano eruptions and how they changed the roads and landscape. One invaluable tip that we didn't know on our last trip was to begin the Kilauea Iki trail from the "far side" of the caldera because it would be easier to hike down that way than up. That made a HUGE difference. The changes in the last 15 years on the Big Island were nowhere near as dramatic as those on Kauai, but the book is very accurate and up to date on what HAS changed. I would recommend this book -- and the series -- to anyone wanting honest reviews and useful information about Hawaii.

Está muy muy bien. Además de explicar brevemente la historia de Hawaii, está muy bien en cuanto a lugares a ir, indicaciones, recomendaciones..... No és la típica guia impersonal, ya que los autores han "investigado" todos los lugares que recomiendan (ya sea de paisaje, de hotel, de restaurante, o para hacer actividades) y no reciben pago ninguno por recomendar nada. Me está gustando mucho.

Ein sehr detailliertes und informatives Reisebuch mit wertvollen Tips, Wanderungsvirschlägen, Photos. Eignet sich ideall für eine spannende Reise und die Planung der Reise fällt ganz leicht.

Veramente super dettagliate. Sul posto sono preziose perchè molto accurate. Difficile fare una scelta di massima sull’itinerario perché sono un po’ dispersive

I love this series and it's been the only guidebook I really use for the Hawaiian Islands. Thanks to this series I have ended up on many fun adventures, respecting local laws, finding uninhabited roads and private waterfalls to hike to and enjoy. I have been using and recommending the Revealed series to family and friends for 10 years now! I have loved every adventure it has sent me on: even if I had to turn around due to overgrowth, road conditions, or floods. If you like fun and adventure this is the only guide book you'll need! FYI The only spot this book wasn't up to date was the information on options to hike to the see the active Lava. Definitely go through the park and spend time there because it's spectacular, but with the current lava flow you can actually approach it from the East side of the park (Pahoa) and rent a bike to take down the gravel road with only a short hike (100 feet?) on the treacherous lava. We did not know this and you can imagine how it felt to hike out from the park side for a gruelling and dangerous (but amazing!) 8 miles, seeing people covered in blood from falls, to finally arrive at the best viewing point and see close to a hundred bikes lined up with most people only having to walk a few feet! Then you can imagine how it felt to know we had to return the same way for another 8 miles in the dark! Hahah but we still loved every second! Such an amazing Island!!

great book, full of very good information , places to say, hotels , where to visit, what to do, lovely maps Etc ,love this series of books, good price