"Revealed" books

[ssbeard1]

Just received my "Revealed" books that were so highly recommended on these boards. I have always relied on Frommer's for our trips (which I purchased for Hawaii - a big waste of $$). Only had a brief moment last night to look through them, but WOW. These books are awesome, so detailed. He must have known "directionally challenged" people needed help. I did notice that the islands are broken up into North, South, East, and West. Since we will have limited time on the islands, could someone recommend which area on each island to concentrate on. On the Hilo side of the Big Island we plan to drive to VNP. But the other's are open. Sorry for these crazy questions. The crusie is last minute and I have practically no planning time. :(

[monobrow1]

Maui- drive up the volcanoe

 

Try the OLd Lahiana Luau

 

Tuesday- Hilo Drive to the volcanoe

Wed- Fairwinds or Capt Zodiac

Thursday- Na Pali Explorers - we are on that leaves at 1:30PM

 

Drive along the east coast check out the site on the way

[beachchick]

Maui: IMO, Haleakala is not a must-do (especially because you are going to VNP). Concentrate on the west and southwest for beaches, snorkeling, and fun. Concentrate on upcountry (it's in the Haleakala section of the book) for different scenery and Tedeschi winery. Around Kahului, check out Iao Valley/Needle. The road to Hana is also not a must-do in our opinion. Do this only if you are willing to devote pretty much the entire day and only if you are really into long, scenic drives (and a tired driver at the end of the day). Hana is listed as it's own section in the book (I think).

 

Are you overnight at Maui? If so, then Old Lahaina Luau is an excellent choice if you are looking for one. Lahaina is on the west side. It's extremely popular and may well be sold out at this late date. You will not have time to do a luau on any island unless your ship is overnight or doesn't depart until 10:30 (at the earliest).

 

Hilo: VNP, absolutely.

 

Kona: Kealakekua Bay snorkel trip (west/southwest) or up the Kohala coast (northwest) for beaches and scenery (if you have a car). Alternately, Kona coffee tasting (southwest) if you have a car.

 

Kauai: Either north to Princeville and Ke'e for snorkeling and beaching or south (nearer the pier) to Poipu for excellent beaching, swimming, and snorkeling. Drive to Waimea Canyon (toward the west and then up the middle of the western portion of the island). There are many sights along the way. Also consider a boat or helicopter of the Na Pali coastline (inaccessible by motor vehicle). Don't know where the trips depart, but Na Pali is along the west/northwest/north shore of the island.

 

Many of these places (such as Kona) are listed by their basic location ("Kailua-Kona area"), so you can look for them that way too. We love the Revealed Books, even though ours are several years out of date now. They sure were helpful when I was a novice visitor and my DH was relearning the islands.

 

Aloha and have a great cruise.

 

beachchick

[ssbeard1]

Beachchick - Thanks for taking so much time in giving me these recommendations. The Revealed books were awesome. Love the detailed driving instructions. It will be just me and my DD (who is now an offically unemployed college grad!:o ) and we neither one have a great sense of direction. We have OLL already scheduled (on the wait list for mat seating) and a helicopter flight at Kauai. We both love to snorkel and she loves hiking (I can keep up). Of all of the islands, which area do you recommend for a "don't miss" snorkel? Yes we will have a car on each island. We do plan on renting snorkel equipment on Oahu for the week.

[tray]

Can I get them in my local book stores or do I have to order them online?

[sceptic]

The bookstore chains in my area (Borders, B&N, etc.) carry all the Revealed books.

 

They might be less expensive online.

[Suebee]

You should be able to get them at the larger book stores. You can also find them at Amazon or on their website.

 

Sceptic, looks like we posted at the same time! :)

[GreytRacer]

My husband and I also rented snorkel equipment for the week of our cruise, and of all the places we went (many), Kealekekua Bay (Kona) was the most amazing! We took the Capt Zodiac trip through the ship (only shore excursion we booked through the ship). It is a wild, fast, crazy ride, but lots of fun. I was sore the next day, like I had been riding a horse, but it was definitely worth it, as you get there before the crowds, if you go on the a.m. trip. I would recommend that one, as it usually rains in the afternoon, or so our Captain told us. You can also take a Catamaran sail trip there as well.

 

We did the Road to Hana one day, and it is exhausting, but so beautiful. Just start early in the day so you're not driving back down in the dark. We spent day 2 in Maui at the beach at the Sheraton/Black Rock. Beautiful!

 

If you're overnight in Kauai, go to the Kilauea Lighthouse Rd for the most amazing view of the sunset. It is so worth it! Local folks park along the road and the view is just unbelievable!

 

We have always used Fodor's books in the past, but for this trip "Hawaii for Dummies" was great.

 

Have fun and aloha!

[redheddad]

The bookstore chains in my area (Borders, B&N, etc.) carry all the Revealed books.

 

They might be less expensive online.

 

don't waste your money. use the library. our branch by me has 2 copies of each. i took them out once about 2 months before cruising and then took them out the week i left and had them on hand for the whole cruise. save a tree, use the librareeeeeee!!

[Suebee]

Great way to save money....however we keep our books and refer to them years later, write in them etc.

Thats what I like about the revealed guides...they are keep-able.

 

However, other guides, we take out of the library....good point redheaddad

[sceptic]

One thing about the Revealed books. They're great for, uh, bathroom reading. Little snippets here and there - open one up at random from your favorite isle. Restaurant reviews. Funny (or mean!) condo/hotel reviews. Some amazing Adventure (gotta go on that Mauna Ulu hike!) For a few minutes, you're transported back to the islands.

 

Yes, libraries have their place, and on a recent trip to the southern caribbean we had a couple of small library books with us (I wonder if the next person who checked them out wondered why they smelled of the beach! Hey, they probably thought - nice to get these pages smelling like Barbados!) But those Revealed books are really a fun addition to your home's bookshelves.

[beachchick]

ssbeard1: Glad to be of assistance. You two are in for an awesome time.

 

For snorkeling, I suggest:

 

Maui: Honolua marine preserve (and Slaughterhouse beach, which is the next cove south and in the preserve); Airport Beach, really nice facilities and super easy entry; Kapalua for easy entry when the ocean is calm and it's just a pretty beach; Black Rock at Ka'anapali; in front of the Maui Prince (it's southwest, I think in Makena); and an excursion to Molokini (we like Maui Dive Shop because they have a no-frills, small boat excursion that leaves mid-morning and pretty much misses all the party boats; they're less expensive as well).

 

Kauai: We don't have too much experience here because we've only been in the winter (during and after storms, not the greatest conditions). Poipu is good; the little cove next to the Beach House restaurant (sorry, can't remember the name); Ke'e all the way north is supposed to be very good; Lydgate on the east is good.

 

Big Island: Again, not as much experience here because of winter visits and last trip was almost exclusively at VNP and Mauna Kea. I like Honaunau quite a bit; the beaches on the northwest are good, but I don't have much experience with them. We've stopped but not snorkeled at Kahalu'u. Sounds like it might be getting kind of crowded and overused, but I don't really know. (No snorkeling out of Hilo.)

 

Kealakekua Bay is a must (we've not done it yet, but I'm determined to this fall). You can't drive there and park to get to the bay (unless you want a long, not fun hike that will consume a good part of your day). You need to either book an excursion (such as Captain Zodiac for a "thrill" ride, but no shade and, I've heard, no bathrooms or something like Fair Wind II, which is a cat with all the "stuff" and, as I recently learned, not cheap) or you need to take a kayak excursion (or rent kayaks if you are experienced kayakers) and kayak into the bay to snorkel. There is no land "landing" so all snorkeling is from the boats or kayaks. The Revealed book has a section about K-Bay as I recall.

 

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure locals will have more good ideas for you.

 

It's a great idea to rent for the week. Spring for the good package (silcone skirt mask, dry or semi-dry snorkel, etc.). It's well worth the extra. Most places have diopter lenses (for a bit more $) if you need them. If you really like to snorkel, I highly recommend that you invest in some decent gear. It's so worth it to have a mask that fits perfectly and has diopters (close enough to my prescription, no way I was going to pay that much more for my actual prescription), a snorkel that never goes in anyone else's mouth but mine, short power fins that fit right and really work, and all the little stuff (no fog, gear bag, etc.) that just make a snorkel more enjoyable. I do think that renting for week is better than renting by the day; not just because it's cheaper to rent for the week, but because I think you can make sure the gear is thoroughly clean before you use it.

 

Have a wonderful time in the lovely islands.

 

beachchick

 

p.s. We agree that it's well worth the money to have your own set of Revealed books. Ours are all marked up with pages dog-eared. They're about 7 years old, so they're kind of out-of-date, but they still come with us on our visits.

[redheddad]

One thing about the Revealed books. They're great for, uh, bathroom reading. Little snippets here and there - open one up at random from your favorite isle. Restaurant reviews. Funny (or mean!) condo/hotel reviews. Some amazing Adventure (gotta go on that Mauna Ulu hike!) For a few minutes, you're transported back to the islands.

 

Yes, libraries have their place, and on a recent trip to the southern caribbean we had a couple of small library books with us (I wonder if the next person who checked them out wondered why they smelled of the beach! Hey, they probably thought - nice to get these pages smelling like Barbados!) But those Revealed books are really a fun addition to your home's bookshelves.

funny thing , the revealed book on kauai had a two for one massage coupon in it for a place right next to our hotel in wakiki. someone used it for a bookmark...and we used it for a wonderful massage!:D

[ssbeard1]

The library wouldn't take too kindly to all of my hi-lighting and folding of pages. I ordered my books from Amazon. Our BAM or Barnes and Noble didn't carry the books in the stores, they could order them, but saved a few $$ from Amazon and they arrived within 3 days to my house, no extra visit to the store. Am really excited about our trip and appreciate all of the great advice

[redheddad]

beard, another one i took out at the library was Hawaii for dummies. this book covered a lot of things revealed didn't. although i imagine you could read ad infinitum on the subject . dummies book had maps that revealed didn't and vice-versa. have fun!!!! we loved it

[benchmarklearning]

The Revealed books are the best! We used them for Maui and Kauai. I still take them off the bookshelf and found them.

 

The restaurant reviews were right on target and they led us to the best pancakes in the world in downtown Lihue. Wish I could remember the name. Went there 3 times in a week.

 

Snorkeling on the north side past Princeville is fantastic.

[Spikesgirl]

When we decided to take our wedding party to the Big Island for our 25th anniversary, we sent everyone copies of "Big Island Revealed" and had them make lists of what they want to see or do, restaurants they wanted to try and the like. It was a great time saver that first night at dinner in the Hilo Hawaiian to go around the table and hear what everyone had chosen.

 

A word of caution on the hike out to Pu'u O'o, it is muddy and really nasty if it's been rainy. Being on the Hilo side, it's usually just rained, we ended up going down to the lava flow instead.

 

Charlie

[smch916]

I just purchased my "revealed" books for Maui, Hawaii and Kauai for $10 each. Plus, for making a purchase over $25, I automatically got free shipping. The list price for each book at the bookstore is $15.