We took our kids to Hawaii for 3 weeks first stopping in Honolulu to get acclimated and then spent the rest of our time staying with friends in Kona. We brought several guidebooks along and opened this one first because it had a good map on the inside cover. We switched to the Moon book because it was denser and had better information every time. My wife didn't like the Revealed because it poked fun at the locals.

Hawaii The Big Island Revealed is not recommended by the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Service nor by its rangers. Safety concerns lead the list of reasons.

"Hawaii the Big Island Revealed" was a WONDERFUL companion to have with us on our honeymoon to the big island in June 2004. It was indispensible for us!! The ratings are right on. We chose our hotel based on reviews- they are so accurate on their observations. The recommendations, especially for beaches, activities and shopping helped us plan our limited time on the island with ease and without doubt. We ate at really delicious "holes-in-the walls" based on accurate information and location descriptions- delicious japanese food at Teshima's, shaved ice at Scandinavian and the best chocolate covered macs from Donkey Balls at Surfin' Ass. We brought along another travel guide but never even opened it. Highly recommend this book. I only wish the authors would travel EVERYWHERE on the globe and write review/travel books!!

We can't thank you enough for our wonderful, informative trip to the Big Island. Your book was absolutely a "must" for us. Especially helpful were the use of mile markers and maps. We loved your humor while writing and appreciated your honest opinions. Volcano Nat'l. Park is doing a disservice to their visitors by not selling your book within the Park. However, I did notice that most places outside of the park had your book available.

It is hard to decide which one of your "must see" and "real gems" pleased us the most because we loved them all. However, I must mention the delight we discovered when we got to the Queen's Bath north of Ai'opio Beach. We thought we were in heaven when we found the "scads" of turtles you talked about at Ai'opio Beach and then we came to the Bath! We were the only ones there and since we had our bathing suits on we couldn't resist the opportunity to go into the refreshing cool water and enjoy the solitude.

On our next visit to Kauai we will definitely purchase your other book.

Your book never left our hands while sight-seeing. Thanks for all of the time and effort you put into publishing a book that is a "must" for anyone going to the Big Island. Your talent of writing was our gain and we applaud you.

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.