Top Travel Guidebook for Hawaii
Whenever two or more seasoned travelers are gathered, you’re bound to hear the one question on everyone’s mind: “Where are you going next?” or “What’s your next trip?” Wanderlusters love to share their travel tales, for better or worse, and inspire each other to keep on moving.
We also love to talk about our recommended guidebooks.
For my recent trip to O’ahu, I browsed through the selection at my favorite travel bookstore in Seattle, Wide World Books & Maps, before settling on two: DK Eyewitness Travel Hawaii (in the hopes that I’ll be visiting the other Hawaiian Islands in the not-too-distant future) and DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Honolulu & O’ahu, which also comes with a nifty fold-out map in the back pocket.
The store employee suggested I might also want to consider O’ahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide to Honolulu, Waikiki & Beyond. I took a quick peek but stuck with my first choices. I love the compact size of the DK Eyewitness series and their photos are second to none. Plus, I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of packing yet another guidebook in my carry-on bag.
A few days later a friend offered to loan me her travel guide for O’ahu. The title? You guessed it. O’ahu Revealed. Okay, fine. I decided to take another look. Boy, am I glad I did.
This became my guidebook of choice for the entire weeklong stay on Hawaii’s most famous island. Here’s why:
- The author, Andrew Doughty, provides a candid, personal assessment of attractions, restaurants, hotels and activities. You know you’re in good hands when the guidebook writer “lives” his book as he tell us in the introduction.
- I appreciated (and needed) the highly detailed maps with suggestions of best routes to local destinations, despite what the road signs say.
- The author’s vivid descriptions of specific locations on the island tell it like it is. Here’s one example any of us could relate to describing the difficulty of capturing an aerial photo of Turtle Bay Beach & Resort on the Northshore due to wind turbulence:
“Trying to hold the camera steady and flying the pitching aircraft while screaming and crying for mama is a bit awkward . . . “
Once on O’ahu, we found copies of O’ahu Revealed everywhere, outnumbering any other guidebook, including the popular Lonely Planet series. Having referred to the guide throughout our stay on the island, I can highly recommend it for your future travels to Hawaii. The good news is the series extends to The Big Island, Kauai and Maui. My hopes were dashed, however, to find that the series only extends to Hawaii. The rest of the world will have to wait.
What’s your favorite guidebook to the Hawaiian Islands, Wanderboomers?
18 comments
Nancy, I’ve traveled a lot…all over the world, but I’ve never been to Hawaii. For some reason, it never appealed to me. It just seemed too layed back and boring. Now that I’m a senior, however, I can feel those beaches beconing. I’d love to know more about Maui. I’ve become somewhat intrigued with the idea of a visit there.
I know what you mean, Nancy. I’d been to Maui some 20 years ago and loved it, but Waikiki was never on my travel list because I assumed it would be too touristy for me. But I’m so glad to have made the trip. I loved the beauty and energy of Waikiki as much as I loved the less developed North Shore area. Thanks for stopping by, Nancy ~
Nancy, thanks for sharing. I haven’t been to Hawaii for close to 30 years because other places have drawn me and I too thought Hawaii was too touristy for me and didn’t offer budget travel opportunities. However, it seems that everyone I speak to recently is going there or have just returned. I am going to have to rethink and plan a visit there – thanks for reminding me of what a beautiful place to be.
Thank you Nancy! Great post. A trip to Hawaii is in my not-too-distant future though we are travelling to the Big Island and to Maui. I love travel planning!
I’m planning on taking my Boomer mother on a vacation and she has always wanted to go to Hawaii. I’m definitely on the lookout for ideas.
My pleasure, Carol Ann! I hope you do plan a visit back to Hawaii soon. Such a beautiful place on our planet . . . Thanks for your comments ~
Hi, Astra ~ For sure check out the other travel guides in this series for your trip to the Big Island and Maui. I’m ready to go back any time, and when I do, I’ll be sure to pack the other books in the “Hawaii Revealed” series. That reminds me – I have another post on travel planning coming up soon ~ Thanks for stopping by!
As a WanderBoomer mom, Lauren, I’d be happy to offer my ideas for a heavenly Hawaiian vacation. I’ll be in touch!
Hey, Nancy!
I haven’t been to Hawaii, so I can’t really say. I love guidebooks that add off-the-wall tips, things you wouldn’t expect from the run-of-the-mill. Great post!
One more beautiful location to add to your list, Christopher! Nice to hear from you here ~
I like the “Revealed” guides, i.e., ‘Oahu Revealed,’ or ‘Kauai Revealed.’ Written by locals & non-touristy, I found out things I didn’t even know when I was living in Hawaii!
I live in Hawaii but still use the various travel guides when I need to recommend things for friends to do. For some reason (and I’m probably in the minority here) I’m not a huge fan of the Revealed series – the layout isn’t as user-friendly in my opinion. But I’ve heard time and again that it’s the “best” as far as content. I personally use Lonely Planet guides when I travel elsewhere, so their format is easy for me to adjust to in the Hawaii Guides. My favorite guide so far though is the Frommers Day by Day guide.
I am a freelance writer who was raised on Maui and has lived here for 23 years. While the “Revealed” series is wildly popular for visitors, it is easily the most loathed book ever published for locals here in Hawaii. It’s not so much the fact that it divulged local secret spots (which are now closed off to the public due to liability concerns so now no one can enjoy them), but more so the pretentious voice with which the series is written lacks any sense of aloha or Hawaiian spirit. We’re a small community here on Maui and we don’t talk down on one another. The “Maui Revealed” book, however, seems to take a twisted sense of joy in berating an establishment in a voice which isn’t funny. The book has little to no regard for Hawaiian history and culture and what this island means to the people who live here. I advise all tourists I meet here that if they are going to used the “Revealed” series to be respectful of the sites they visit and avoid leaving it on the dashboard of their car—lest they become a target.
Wow, Kyle . . . I appreciate your chiming in with your take on the “Revealed” series. It’s good to get a different perspective, especially from locals, like you. Yikes. I’ve only had experience using the Oahu guide and found it immensely helpful. I wonder if Oahu residents feel the same way about that guide as you do about the Maui “Revealed” book. Is there another Maui guidebook that you would recommend?
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Malia. I think that’s why I was put off by the “Revealed” series initially, too. I didn’t find the layout particularly user-friendly. But the substantive content and winning writing style won me over in the end.
Glad to hear you recommend the series, too, Lenore. Wish there was a similar series for travel to other parts of the globe.
I don’t agree with Kyle on the series and I am also a resident. Reading the series there is a lot of respect for culture in it. And much of the complaints that residents had are no more, and many hidden gems are all over Internet anyway – so who knows why people go certain places? I live here too and find a lot of people using the books and I loan them out to save myself the hassle of telling friends what to do. I have a recent edition and much of the old complaints that people had are gone. I think maybe the above commentator has or owns a company that got a bad review… or so it sounds to me, anyway. Yes, they can be pretty harsh – but when people come visit me, I am not afraid to tell them what I think is a bad restaurant or bad company to deal with and that is what the revealed books do too.
I appreciate your insights, Lani. Speaking for myself as a tourist, I appreciate a honest assessment of best places to visit and those to avoid from a local’s perspective. As a travel writer, I strive to give my readers a true view of a destination from my personal experience, for better or worse ~