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We read the entire book before even starting to book our trip. This is the ULTIMATE guide for Hawaii. My only negative is that they only do Hawaii - how about New Zealand, Australia, Bali, etc.Cheers All the reviews are honest as they do not let the vendors know they are travel writers; from food to lodging to outfitter - this book never let us down. We have used these same series of guide books for Kauai and Maui and Now the Big Island. They are a MUST have.
It took us to some hidden gems around the island. Took this book on our trip to Hawaii and it came in handy.
Highly, highly recommended. Hawaii, The Big Island Revealed is a terrific resource for anyone visiting the big island. Whether you spend your time on the Kona side, the Hilo side, or both, you will find numerous suggestions and ideas for things to do and ways to save money.
Go as fast or slow as you want to and see the things that interest you. It is like a guided tour, but you don't have to wait for anyone else. Great book. If you are travelling to the Hawaiin Islands you need to get one of the "revealed" books. They have written one for every island, and you will find the hidden beauty of each with this book.
But this author sends you there and tells you they're the most interesting parts of the island. The Big Island Revealed purports to be up-to-date, carefully researched and unbiased. Knowing the Big Island well I had the opportunity to evaluate the book when visiting friends used the book, along with other guidebooks, to find things to do and see while visiting Hawaii. Happy trails.
Try Lonely Planet or Moon Handbooks. we looked at those too and found better information, less hype and more reliable information. Unfortunately these undiscovered places are simply places you wouldn't normally choose to go except the author tells you they're "special" (also can be read as trespassing, too dangerous, or more trouble than they're worth). Author wants to sell his book by looking "edgy and adventurous and finding "special places" others don't know about".
but spots we looked into were out of business or not as described (many of the "gems" were duds) and it seemed the author recommended some very poor alternatives. Perhaps this just reflects a difference in opinion between myself and the author's idea of a great place to go, but from my limited experience with this book, I would say choose another guidebook.Bottom line. Well not exactly. Some of the places were so bad it was almost like he was sending my friends to places as a "joke on them".
The author makes it sound like he's "revealing" something really interesting that you wouldn't otherwise have found, but in some cases he's putting you in places residents and government caretakers don't want you to go for safety and/or liability reasons. Our experience was not favorable with the Big Island Revealed guidebook.The copy had just been purchased at Costcom and a current edition. making me suspicious that this guidebook may have paid reviews.Also peaved that this author thinks that highlighting and giving directions to spots that are dangerous to visitors or trespassing on private property is a service to his readership.
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