Hawaii for Dummies by Cheryl Farr Leas Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.88 You Save: $17.11 (86%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Hawaii for Dummies
Book Review: Hawaii For Dummies
Summary: 5 Stars
Great book for those of you who have never been to Hawaii and don't have a clue as to where to start in planning a vacation there. Easy to use, you can skip around to whatever section you're interested in, and no matter where you go in the book, it's going to be easy to follow. They even include post it flags to mark important sections as you go along. I love this book.Book Review: A Very Good General Reference
Summary: 4 Stars
"Hawaii For Dummies" is a good general reference, especially for first time visitors to Hawaii. I visit Hawaii on business about four times a month, and have found the information in this guide to be generally quite accurate. In any guidebook there are obviously things that are out of date, and that's especially true in a guide this compendious. Most of the inaccuracies are prices that have increased, though in my personal experiences none of the increases I have seen has been ridiculously out of line with inflation. I find that the diagrams are good for general planning, but a dedicated map of the island you are visiting is necessary for navigation.
The book has several useful features including the Post-It flags to mark pages of interest (a very useful feature) and a "Quick Concierge" section in the Appendix which is a quick reference to important phone numbers and Internet addresses. The book discusses customs, weather, selecting things to see, and choosing an island. I think the author does a quite good job of explaining the pros and cons of different areas. For example, in the chapter on the Big Island, she explains that Kona is dry and has excellent beaches, while Hilo is wet and tropical and the beaches (such as they are) are places generally to avoid (although I personally love the retro feel of the city of Hilo.)
I spend more time on Oahu than anywhere else in Hawaii, and the discussion of Honolulu and the rest of the island is a strong point of the book. I found the author to be generally excellent in her observations about specific venues (especially restaurants), and her choices of "Best of the Best" in all categories are generally on the money.
I am amused at many of the lower-rated reviews. People should buy this guide to expose them to the basics of a new travel experience, in this case, Hawaii. This book does not have detailed travel maps for route planning, nor is it geared to eco-tourists or others who only want to see obscure and offbeat places, nor is it useful for driving while consulting the text (all criticisms levied against it in one form or another.) What it does do very well is give an average new visitor a lot of useful information that would be of assistance to a person who needed to take a survey of the highlights of Hawaii. In that regard I think it excels, and in my fairly large experience with the Hawaiian Islands, I think the author has done an excellent job of diligently serving her core market.
I gave the book four stars largely for illustration issues. There are no color illustrations (except maps on the inside of the covers) and the general map coverage outside of Wakiki should be improved. Despite these issues I recommend this book for people traveling to Hawaii: it is a great resource for planning a trip (especially for those going to Hawaii for the first time); it is likewise an excellent resource to review plans and itineraries in the hotel room at night.
Aloha!
Book Review: Excellent References
Summary: 5 Stars
We are planning our first trip to Hawaii with our best friends who live far away. So coordinating day trips was not an easy task. She found your book, and I also purchased it. Now we can coordinate trips and talk about what's on page 237, tag it for future reference, etc..... We definitely think this book will be an excellent reference material for all you who are thinking of a trip.... I'm sure Ms. Leas has many other books out there for other places, but we're just excited to get to Hawaii first. Book Review: All Puff
Summary: 1 Stars
Hawaii for Dummies was not usable and light when it came to driving details. We should have splurged and bought a book for each of the islands we visited: Kauai, Oahu and Maui. Now you know.Book Review: The best travel book I've ever owned
Summary: 5 Stars
I have traveled a lot, and own a lot of travel books, but have never felt compelled to write a review of one-- until now.
Three years ago, while planning our two-week honeymoon to Maui and Kauai, I bought a LOT of Hawaii books. In the planning stage, I kept finding myself returning to this book. Unlike Fodors and Frommers, the author actually makes JUDGMENTS about places and activities and tells you what the BEST of each category are. Imagine that-- rather than just providing a rote listing of the hotels on an island with a short description (and maybe a star or two), the author actually tells you which hotels to go to if you want serious romance, which are best for families, and which rooms to request (or not). Rather than listing activities, the author actually tells you which are the safest and most reliable helicopter companies, which are the best companies to to take for a private, romantic and uncrowded sailing trip. There are "heart" symbols to denote the most romantic lodging, restaurants, and activities, and they never steered us wrong. (I specifically remember one romantic restaurant, for which the book said to be sure to make a reservation, and ask the hostess to seat us outside at exactly sunset. It was a perfect suggestion, and I will never forget that evening.) Once we arrived on the islands we were visiting, we used the book almost exclusively (our other books found their way to the backseat of our convertible and stayed there). It was incredibly accurate.
Since that first trip, my husband and I have returned to the islands multiple times, and our book has been put to such good use that it is practically falling apart. The other Hawaii books are still in pristine condition!
(As an aside, I also highly recommend www.fodors.com for planning Hawaii travel-- go to the message boards, which are searchable. Forget the other books; this book and fodors.com are all you need for a perfect trip!)