This is simply the best activity oriented guidebook to Kauai you can buy! Its actually one of my favorite guidebooks... period. I wish the authors had the time and capacity to cover more places than just various Hawaiian Islands as I would buy their books and travel wherever they guide me!
Why is this book so good?
1) Maps - Lots of them and very detailed! Kauai is a small island but these maps were extremely useful.. especially since no other guidebook or information source had details on some of the out-of-the-way spots the book recommended
2) "Off-the-Beaten" Path Suggestions - they have dozens of hidden waterfalls, secret beaches, unmarked hiking trails and other non-traditional activities that I've never found elsewhere. Some of the waterfalls we hiked to based on this book literally were on NO maps and we never would have experienced their beauty without this book (warning... even with the book they were VERY hard to find!)
3) Local Knowledge Advice - the book has great restaurant, hotel, "shave ice", snorkel gear rental, helicopter tour, boat tour and other tourist advice Written by longtime residents, they give you the straight dope (sort of like Epinions!) on all the activities and things you might want to do. Especially thoughtful is their detailed review of the various helicopter tour companies (including service records) and boat tour companies.
4) Gets your Pumped! - Most importantly, the authors love Kauai so much that their enthusiasm and eagerness to share with you the gems and best things to do gets you pumped to go visit! Just rereading the book today makes me want to go back. While we were there, we literally opened the book up every single day and figured out what we wanted to do. We then kept it with us all day long, reading other things or plotting activities for later on. It was a bible and was a tremendous resource that made our vacation an order of magnitude better than showing up with a lame regular guidebook or trying to do things based off the cheesy brochures in the hotel.
Just a small aside, this hikes and other suggestions in this book are tough! Don't ignore their warnings when they say it is a "strenuous" hike to a remote waterfall... typically its worth it for the experience but make sure you know what you are getting into! One time my girlfriend and I drove to the middle of nowhere then hiked 30 minutes to a great swimming hole with a rope swing. We thought we had the place to ourselves when another tourist couple showed up. We were all surprised to see other humans until we realized that we each had copies of this book tucked under our arms! Definitely buy this if you want to have a great and fun Kauai vacation.
Check out my review of Kauai in the travel section as well.
Recommended:
