Hawaii the Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook

I bought this book to keep in commemoration of my & my husband's recent trip to Hawaii. This book so beautifully captures all of the majesty and wonder of the Big Island as we will always remember it. It looks great displayed in our living room for all of our guests to see and just to flip through to reminisce.

Beautiful book! Some of the photos are of areas we couldn't get close enough to take. My only question is...when will the books for the other islands be published?

"This is a land that has ten of the world's fifteen types of climatic zones," so writes Andrew Doughty in the Introduction of HAWAII DREAMSCAPES REVEALED, a stunning collection of photos of the "Big Island." I went to Oahu a few years ago and was completely blown away by the beaches, the mountains, the ocean. It is one of the few places that not only lives up to the photographs but actually surpasses them in many ways. Paul Theroux, the international best-selling author of "The Mosquito Coast" and some of the greatest travel narratives of all time, moved to Hawaii after kayaking around the islands for his book, "The Happy Isles of Oceana"--and this was a guy who has literally been EVERYWHERE. (He went on to write "Hotel Honolulu" as well). So obviously these are enchanting islands that can get under your skin and draw you back. I expected great photography of the beaches and lava in HAWAII DREAMSCAPES REVEALED but I was also blown away by other unexpected scenes: an empty black beach covered by so many white pieces of coral that it looks like patches of snow, a cattle ranch beneath a range of mountains that HAS snow on its peaks (in Hawaii!), a high-altitude terrain above the clouds that looks like the surface of Mars. There's one wild shot of lava cooling in smooth orbs on the ground (I expected the liquid-metal Terminator to stand up out of them). The shots of lush forests and waterfalls and reefs are also striking and well-chosen. I will definitely be getting the Oahu volume since I'd like to see what this photography couple have done with an island I've seen. From what they've shown me of the Big Island, I will try to go back someday soon.

I bought this book (and "The Ultimate Kaua`i Guidebook") on the recommendation of several people on a travel message board. This was our forth trip to the Hawaiian Islands and my wife and I were going there to spend a week on The Big Island and a week on Kaua`i. We wanted to see the most we could and we felt these books might help us make better plans to do just that. And did it ever! We ended up finding that one week on each island wasn't enough and we are already planning our next trip. Their off-the-beaten-path places are just awesome. From exploring a lava tube that empties out 20 feet over the water near Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park to driving (with a 4WD SUV) down into Waipio Valley; from touring the top of Mauna Kea (the highest point in all of Hawai`i) to hiking out to touch the molten lava flowing from Pu`u O`o; from seeing a "lava tree" at Lava Tree State Park to tasting some organically grown fruit at a roadside stand.....you'll find the details in this book. And their accurate maps and directions to the out-of-the-way places will keep even the most wayward soul from getting lost.My wife and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you like to explore the places you visit, this book is for you. Well worth it's weight in gold....well, almost. :)

This book is well written with lots of cultural and historical information as well as a lot of humorous comments that kept us laughing. The Volcano National Park quit selling this book because of all the "inside" information it reveals that they don't want travelers to know about. It took the authors over 2 years to put this book together, not 6 weeks like most other Travel Guides. These folks live here and know the ropes! The book has broken the Big Island down into geographic sections with sights, places to stay, dining(prices ranges and ONO recommendations), and beaches for each. It also includes sections on activities, and adventures such as snorkeling, scuba, whale watching, etc. We found that a lot of roads were not marked, but this book lays out "secret" beaches, how to get to them (mile markers), and even tunes you into how not to get "taken" by the locals. Example: When visiting the Green Sand Beach, the locals try to charge $5 for parking and make you walk the 2 1/2 hike. The authors tell you they do not work for the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands and have no right to charge this fee (also, there was an incident where signs were posted to keep out-Private Property, but the book revealed that you CAN use the road to get to the beach. Without that information, we would have not ventured down that road!) They highly recommend that you rent a JEEP to get around the Island. Invaluable advice! Sure saved us a lot of walking! Throughout the book, there are sites marked with "A Real Gem" Icon, "Diversion Alert!" and "Not to be Missed!" signs. The maps are accurate, the pictures are plentiful and vivid; and we found the information true and accurate. The only thing we think needs updating is the section on Saddle Road. The authors make it sound like the road from Hell, and try to discourage you from using it. We found this road to be in better condition than most of the others and we found a few other "sights" along the route. We noticed a lot of other traveler's with this same book. Before going on our trip, we purchased Hawaii for Dummies and Hawaii the Big Island (and older version, of course!) This book blew them all away and was the one we referred to the whole trip. In our opinion, this book was "A Real Gem!!!" Now we are planning a trip to New Zealand and wish these authors had a "Revealed" book for it.