Frommer's Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu

Early in December, when the cold cutting winds were blowing on the mainland, I headed over to Waikiki for a week of surf and sun. I took with me three guides but surprisingly I never got to use the other guides because Frommer's answered my questions and covered the angles. Kudos! I found the accommodations and restaurants in this guide to be reliable and fairly extensive. It is logical that no printed guide will be 100% current. Thus, you should cross-check any listing with tripadvior (or similar) on the internet. We stayed at the Coconut Waikiki Hotel (a very good hotel and good value). We were minutes from the Waikiki beach and we were surrounded by good restaurants, many mentioned in this guide. In the world of travel guides there are basically two types: those that are written for the wandering/explorer/backpacker people (i.e., Footprint, Let's Go and Lonely Planet) and those written for the traveler who like comfort and has money (i.e., Fodor's and Frommer's). Thus, in Frommer's their listing under inexpensive accommodations start at $125 a night for Waikiki. Frommer's recommendations of restaurants are reliable. The list is large, but those recommended are not inexpensive. One of Frommer's inexpensive restaurants, Cha-Cha-Cha (not recommended), cost $40 ( lunch for 2 with tip no drinks). Not inexpensive in my world. If you are going to explore Oahu or just vacation in Honolulu then this is a great guide. There are a few sections that worth the purchase alone: `The Best of Oahu' and `Suggested . . . Itineraries'. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars

For the real basics, I give this book a five. Come in November when the crowds thin out. I've given this book alot of stars because it's a good hotel finder along with hotels.com. Even if you're not thinking of leaving the Honolulu area, you should also have the guide Oahu Trailblazer with you. It takes on what Fromer's leaves out and delivers a complete tour of the whole island. Who knows, once you get here you might get the urge to venture beyond Waikiki. Take the drive to Kahuku and sample some of the shrimp.

I found this book made everything easy to find. Our daughter's wedding was our excuse to visit Oahu for the first time. Frommers made it easy to play tourist and wind our way through the streets of Honolulu without a hitch. Paid for itself many times over for its restaurant ratings alone. I personally give it high high marks for accuracy.

I am planning on returning to Hawaii for the first time in almost 15 years next year, and wanted to refamiliarize myself with Oahu and see what had changed. Most travel books cover the entire state, so I figured a book geared just towards Oahu would eliminate alot of superfluous info for me and it did. But I was really surprised and disappointed at how little the book had to offer me. I think a first time traveler might get a lot of use from this book because it does provide a very nice overview of highlights for the first timer. But, although I did find out some info that was of use to me, I was surprised by how much was glossed over if mentioned at all, especially since many shopping areas and beaches were mentioned, in detail in several sections of the book. With better organization the book could have contained a great deal more info in the same space. I was also surprised at how many restaurants, accomodations, and shopping places were missing (IE: There was absolutely NO mention of the International Marketplace, although it does appear on a Waikiki map) . I realize there isn't room for all of it, but I came away not trusting a book that seemed a little more biased than a guidebook should be.I found the informational parts, especially about the language very interesting and well written.Overall the book is average and has some very useful details and info, but if you really want to be well informed before you go, don't rely solely on this, you'll shortchange yourself if you do.

We used this book extensively when we were visiting Waikiki. This book is very easy to read and includes pretty much everything you need to know about the area. Accommodations and Dining sections could have been better but overall this is the book you need to take with you if you are going there. We also had "Hidden Oahu" with us but ended up using this book a lot more than "hidden Oahu". If you get this book you won't be dissapointed.