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Summary: Maui from the inside
Review: We have traveled to Maui enough times to think that we knew the island well. This book reveals many hidden secrets on Maui that even the seasoned visitor will find it of value. Over the course of our visits to the Island, we have had an opportunity to take part in a large number of activities with many of the different companies that serve the tourist trade on Maui. Doughty and Friedman's evaluation of the different activities and their providers is fair and accurate. They give accurate, and often funny evaluation of restaurants and locations (my favorite being the Mexican restaurant about which they state "...we now know what hospital food must taste like in Mexico." You often wonder if travel writers are paid off to say what they do about mediocre activities and hotels. These writes call it like it is. My only regret is that they have revealed many of the places that took us years to find (and are relatively hidden), meaning that they will probably be more crowded in the future. If you want to avoid tour rip-off's and enjoy your time while on The Valley Isle, make sure you add this book to your luggage.
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Summary: The best guidebook for Maui!
Review: Simply put, this is the best guidebook there is for Maui. My wife and I spent a week in Maui a few months ago, and in preparation for the trip, she bought a number of travel books about Maui/Hawaii. The difference between the other travel books and this one is that the authors of "Maui Revealed" actually present opinions -- positive AND negative -- with explanations of their opinions. If a place has bad service, the authors say so. If a place is bad for lunch but good for dinner, they say so. You may not end up agreeing with all of their opinions, but at least they attempt to help guide you throughout the island. Not only that, it comes across that the authors had fun writing the book, and there are parts that are pretty funny. The book also tells you a lot about parts of Maui that you wouldn't get from other travel books or from airport leaflets -- for example, on the famous road to Hana, there are a number of waterfalls. You can see many of them from the road, and people stop to take pictures. But the book also tells you about a number of hidden waterfalls -- including one underneath a bridge that makes for a fantastic picture of the top of a waterfall. I have to disagree with the reviewer below who felt that this book offered nothing more than what was contained in the airport hand-outs.
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Summary: Over rated.
Review: I bought this book because of its glowing reviews. Most of the information matched the contents of the free publications given away at the airport and visitor racks in front of supermarkets. It is more of an advertising piece than a real guidebook.
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Summary: I LOVE This Book!
Review: This book made it possible for me to actually feel like I really knew my way around Maui, though I'd never been before. We wanted to explore the full island and know where to stop and what to see -- we were never steered wrong. We knew everything that was coming up on the roadside and where to stop and what to check out. I left the rest of the books I'd purchased at home, 'cause I knew I'd only need this one. VERY honest reviews... Great recommendations! We had a perfect vacation, and I know we owe a great deal of it to the purchasing of this wonderful book.
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Summary: Like Having a Friend living on Maui
Review: We just got back from our trip to Maui and this book was our tour guide. To us it was like having a friend that lives on the island. The authors have personally visited and reviewed most of the things they write about (restaurants, dive excursions, activities, etc). Like a good friend they will tell you all your options and then recommend their favorite and we found that their favorites were also ours. They must have spent weeks on the Hana highway pulling over at every turn out to see if there was something interesting. This book is a must have. You won't regret getting it!
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Summary: Another great, personal travel guide
Review: Maui Revealed has wonderful insights into non-typical things to do on Maui. I used the authors' "Ultimate Kaua'i Guidebook" on a trip last year, along with a couple of other Kaua'i books, and found the "Ultimate" book by far the best. Their Maui book looks just as good, and the web site for the book has lots of good reviews and pictures of the not-so-well-known hotels and condo. You won't go wrong with this one.
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Summary: The best Maui book
Review: This is the best book out on Maui. The authors lived on the island while writing the book, and they know there stuff. The maps are excellent and the hidden spots (even on the touristy west side) are well worth the price. This book is great to have if your are planning to travel the famous HANA ROAD. We got to see a waterfall no one else new about. You should have seen the looks on the other drivers when the drove past us, wondering why we were stopped (if they only knew what they were missing). Since this book is new, the hidden spots are really hidden. When on Kauai, we kept meeting people at the hidden spots (listed in the equally excellent Kauai guidebook published by the same authors). The common phrase was "you must have the blue book". We didn't meet anyone at the hidden spots on Maui, since this book is so new. We also purchased the Moon guidebook. This book is much better. If you are going to Maui, by this book.
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Summary: Beautiful photos and honest opinions
Review: This is a great book for many reasons. The cover has a gorgeous areal or satalite photo of the island. The book is printed on quality glossy paper and is loaded with many color photographs. The author tells about bad as well as good places. For example he says a certain restaurant is so bad that it is better to go to the grocery store across the street and buy pita bread and cat food. He honestly states that many places over charge and informs us that the Costco and K-Mart are great places to shop on the island (bring your Costco card). He steers us away from certain rip-offs like gardens that are half dead and others that charge for seeing only someone's back yard. He has an internet site for users of the book which has reviews of all the hotels including areal photos. It also has web addresses for all the businesses and has book updates. What other book can offer this? Good maps and road descriptions are included. Some locals do not like this book because of its complaints about certain businesses and "attractions" on the island but we visitors need this informaiton to fend off rip-offs. We want to read of the bad as well as the good. We are preparing to go and feel that this is a very useful book to read in advance. It is a beautiful island as the author states and well worth visiting but be prepared.
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Summary: Finally Some Facts....
Review: My first trip to Maui was in 1973 and I've been every year since then. This is one of the better guide books I have read due to its fresh approach and basic honesty. Let's face it, some places aren't all that great and others are pretty fantastic. They try to "tell it like it is" in Maui Revealed. If anything, I believe they are a little too gentle with some of the reports (e.g., they give a restaurant "ono" when it might not be consistent, etc.). Beach descriptions are excellent. On the other hand, they are right on when they describe milepost 14 as a lousy snorkeling location.... Obviously, you are tempting fate when you take on the establishment in Maui. Overall it is a good guide book with accurate information (especially for first time visitors). Any visitor (or local) will find something they didn't know it this guide. Definitely worth the read!
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Summary: Looking forward to reading this book!
Review: I read their Kauai guidebook and it is fantastic. I will append my pre-review as soon as I've finished reading this one.
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