Michael Brein's Guide to Honolulu & Oahu by The Bus (Michael Brein's Guides to Sightseeing by Public Transportation)

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Summary: A great guide for those renting cars as well!
Review: Although I rented a car while visiting Oahu, and did not use public transit, I found this map a useful - even essential - guide in helping me find my way about the island. My AAA map seemed almost useless, as it designated the roads by number rather than by name. Michael Brein's Guide highlighted many interesting places to visit, and made it a simple and easy task for me to find my way to them. Whether you use public transport, or rent a car, I highly recommend this guide.

Rating:
Summary: A great guide for those renting cars as well!
Review: If you are planning a trip to Honolulu/Waikiki or the rest of the island of Oahu, throw away all your other maps. This is the only one you will need. Pick the attraction you would like to visit and this map will tell you where to catch the bus, the number of the bus, where to get off the bus, how to get to the attraction once you leave the bus, and where to catch the bus for your return trip. Only a human personal guide could be better. The map is easy to read and packed full of information. I highly recommend it for your trip to Oahu as it will save you valuable time in planning your sightseeing. Michael Brien also has maps for other major cities of the world with the same easy to follow direction, please check them out too.

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Summary: This was the best planning tool to have for Oahu!
Review: If you are planning a trip to Honolulu/Waikiki or the rest of the island of Oahu, throw away all your other maps. This is the only one you will need. Pick the attraction you would like to visit and this map will tell you where to catch the bus, the number of the bus, where to get off the bus, how to get to the attraction once you leave the bus, and where to catch the bus for your return trip. Only a human personal guide could be better. The map is easy to read and packed full of information. I highly recommend it for your trip to Oahu as it will save you valuable time in planning your sightseeing. Michael Brien also has maps for other major cities of the world with the same easy to follow direction, please check them out too.

Rating:
Summary: Misrepresentation
Review: This item has been wrongly labeled as a paperback book. It should be better labeled as a map. And as a map it is extremely overpriced. The contents are in very small print which means that it is difficult to read The pictures themselves look like they were done on the cheap. VERY DISAPPOINTED. I was not amused when I received this item in the mail.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Useful, But A Marginal Value
Review: This map is useful for negotiating the bus schedule of Honolulu and Oahu, but it has three principal drawbacks: the maps themselves are fragmentary and not good for overall awareness of where you are going, although in mine the bus route numbers had just been updated (as had the price); the map is expensive for what you get; and the map presents little text information about using the bus, and leads users to believe that the round the island bus tour is a viable option (most people would disagree and would recommend taking a day tour, which are abundant in Hawaii.)

On the positive side, "TheBus" is much easier to figure out with this guide, and the information is kept very up to date by the publisher. "TheBus" is suitable for travel around Honolulu; if you are going to venture further, skip it (and this map) and rent a car or take a tour. A much better overall alternative to this map is the Nelles Maps "Honolulu and O'ahu" map. It is not specifically as useful for bus riders, but for most travelers, it is perfect: detailed, user-friendly, and complete. Unless you only care about bus travel, I recommend the Nelles map instead.


Rating:
Summary: Save your money!
Review: We just got back from Oahu and had a great time. We tried to follow Brein's guide, and found it of limited value. TheBus 4-day pass is now $20/person, and it's hard to get enough use out of it to justify the price. TheBus is OK for a few miles, but the stop-and-go and the bone-jarring suspension will take all the fun out of long trips. Using TheBus for the around-the-island tour or the Polynesian Cultural Center does not work, pay the difference and get one of the packaged tours.

To use TheBus to see the Bishop Museum, Pearl Harbor, and the other close-in spots, just ask your desk clerk which bus to take.

P.S. Don't miss Duke's Barefoot Bar, the food is great and the prices are reasonable.