Lonely Planet Hawaii: The Big Island (Regional Travel Guide)
by Conner Gorry, Luci Yamamoto
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Book Reviews of Lonely Planet Hawaii: The Big Island (Regional Travel Guide)
Book Review: The BEST guidebook in existance for the Big Island!
Summary: 5 Stars
I live on the Big Island and work with tourists, so am always reviewing the new guidebooks that come out to see which one to recommend (and which one to use myself for finding new things to do). This guidebook is without doubt, the BEST guide ever written for the Big Island! The author exposes many wonderful things that other guidebooks have never covered and also delivers material in a concise, easy to read (and enjoyable) format.
If you are familiar with Lonely Planet books, this one has changed format somewhat - for the better! There's more pictures, more maps, and a whole new focus on green and eco travel. INVALUABLE as tourists should really think twice about minimizing their travel footprint.
The author's accommodation picks are also right on. Go here first for an unbiased review of the many many accommodation options. She will lead you in the right direction and really focuses on value vs price (also giving price ranges from budget to more expensive).
I am very very delighted for the first time to be able to recommend a Hawaii guidebook without having to give reservations or apologize for things the author did wrong!!!! Mahalo Lonely Planet - you got this one RIGHT ON!
Book Review: Experience Hawaii like the chill bros writing this book.
Summary: 2 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
For anyone who has seen "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", this book is something like listening to the surfer dude talk about the magic of the islands and how you too can get some of the regurgitated maholo that will rock your world. Lonely Planet Guides always are mired in hipsterisms, but this itinerary approach really takes the concept too far by potentially hijacking your actual daily routine to measure up to the cool folks.
All guidebooks simply have to tell you where to go and eat, about accomodations etc. so Lonely Planet gets a couple of stars for this, but honestly, like a lot of other reviewers have pointed out all you really get is a shallow, pithy take on gazillions of places. Personally, I have found the Footprint guidebooks to be much more appealing in the way they carefully avoid spoiling experiences with too-familiar, predigested opinions and help retain the individual character of destinations so people can have their own experiences.
Book Review: A Volcano of a Volume - The Big Island Beckons
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The Big Island is almost twice the size of all of the other islands that comprise the State of Hawaii and this Lonely Planet guide updated in fall of 2008 is a trip unto itself. The guide contains tons of information, interviews with locals and lush photos. We are planning another trip to Hawaii in 2009, when we only had a day on the Big Island during an island cruise two decades ago (but did see the spectacular lava flow from the ship during the middle of the night). The compact and very portable guide book devotes chapters to eight areas of this unbelievably diverse destination. Each area has much to offer and this full color book is itself a trip. The authors have thoroughly explored every cultural or recreational activity featuring their own "picks" of what to do in each area. This is a book to be enjoyed by all travelers including the armchair variety.Book Review: Not going to be a favorite
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
We are planning our second trip to Hawaii, first time to The Big Island. I found this book poorly organized for someone who had NO clue about this particular island.
I was suprised to find the "Planning Your Trip" section located in the back of the book, versus first thing. The maps seemed small and hard to navigate for someone unfamiliar with the island. I also would've liked to have seen more options for accomodations listed with more detailed descriptions.
I did appreciate that the book is color coded based on the area of the island. I just was looking for more of a clear idea of what made each area unique and worth visiting, especially since they mention that The Big Island is too big to conquer all of it. They DO offer island itineraries, as in "in 3 days", "in 5 days", etc.
My search continues for guides on The Big Island!
Book Review: Informative with Nice Photographs - A Great Travel Guide
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I have not been to Hawai'i, but after browsing through The Lonely Planet's Hawai'i guide, I have a lot of good reasons to visit! I really enjoyed that the guide was detailed without being exhaustive, the images were clear and inviting, and that there were "insider tips" on things that only the locals would seem to know. My husband, who visited Hawai'i before, flipped through and was impressed as he found that a lot of places that he now wants to visit but didn't know about before.
While some people might complain that the book is small, I think that it's an appropriate size for travel - small enough to fit into a shoulder bag/purse, but big enough to contain all of the information that you'd need while traveling. My family and I are planning of visiting Hawai'i some time next year, so I can't wait to bring this little gem along!