I've been sensing some hostility here...

As a person (and family) in love with the Islands, I was overjoyed a few years ago to find such a comprehensive series of guidebooks. Then, I started reading things about the book being banned in places such as the VNP visitor center, and various grumblings from locals about pristine spots being overrun by tourists.

So, I thought I'd start a thread here to get Fodorites' opinions. I love the books for their detailed maps and access info, but we want to tread lightly on Hawaii when we visit...

Hi gigib - your senses are correct, there's lots of grumbling for good reasons.

See my following post from February:
Date: 02/14/2006, 05:14 pm

kopp - there's been quite a bit of debate on this site about the "Hawaii Revealed Blue Books". Some of us hate them, and some of us love them, and some of us realize there's both good AND bad information in them. I could only find the posts I contributed to. Let me just say that I own all of them, and while the hotel info is good, the hiking info can be bad; rather suspect. You may have to cut and paste the following:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34609863

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34510246

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34543770

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34696725

I think people should be responsible enuff not to need a guide book tell them please do not throw your filtered cigarette butts or paper coffee cups with plastic tops still on them on the NaPali Coast or Polihale Beach. #39;(

I think some people just don't want to share their "secret" favorite places with the readers of the revealed series. We found many new places to visit through the book, and the food/lodging info is very good. HOWEVER: I also think they push boundaries vis a vis private lands and access. People should not ever disregard private postings, unless they are very sure that what they are doing is legal (go through this guy's gate, be sure to close it, hop the fence, and then you see the trail to the waterfall---highly suspect!)

I have gladly burned my books, but I couldn't part with the bra. I visited Hawaii for over 20 years before those books were published and managed to have a pretty good time, and will probably manage just fine without them.

-Bill

yeah, but bbq baby, you got all us to tell you where to go!!!!!!!!!

Aloha gigib!

Why do we travel?

I too thought what wonderful books and own Maui, Kauai, and BI copies, which I used to share with friends. Over the years, I have seen the fallout from Andrew and Harriett's success and it is very disturbing to me personally.

If life works out, and I have a vacation next summer in Hanalei, you and all fodorites are all invited to my "Burn your Blue Book/BlueBible and Bra Bonfire and Fireworks BBQ. Hey just the fact that people call these books bibles is disturbing...and that coming from a heathen like me!

Not all travel destinations should be shared. For it is in the discovering thru interacting with the local population that those hidden gems are found, shared and rejoiced.

The authors have taken the middle man, the local out, and put many amzing places in jeopardy. No Sylvia, those of us who are offended by the books are not trying to keep our favorite places secret. We are remembering a time when the joy of discovery for those who took an active part in exploring.

Picture if you will, you own a lovely yard. Then one day everyone who visits your town reads about an amazing pond in your backyard that has access next to your property. Now a hundred people a day are traipsing thru your backyard leaving trash, making noise and acting irresponsably.

That is what has happened to many in Hawaii.

Now if that is not bad enough, the authors have crowned themselves the "ChristopherColumbus of Hawaii" claiming to have discovered "Hidden Gems" And it is quite possible that, due to their discovery, people have died.

"When WE revealed it in our first edition, Queen's Bath was an unknown gem accessible via a vague trail through the jungle and exlusive to our readers. I guess we're a victim of our own success...."Kauai Revealed

HELLO!!!! Many of us had no problem finding their hidden gem years before they discovered it! Problem is, since their discovery, many people have died, unnaware of rogue waves and the dangers that exist. Each and every time I visit a place that they discoverd, I seem to witness naive tourists putting themselves at risk.

Hidden jems are for those who search them out. They are not for the massmarketed tourist, and should never be used to sell books at the cost of the local population or tourists lives.

Am I over dramatic? Oh yeak. That's because I've witnessed first hand the damage an overly eager tour guidebook can do.

They on the other hand are reaping such financial rewards that they are blind to the damage they have done to a people they so respected and their land. It is everything that is not aloha.

Just my humble opinion.
sistahlou

oooops aloha kamahinaohoku! great threads you posted.....mahalo! G

Having traveled to Hawaii in a un- Revealed state, I found their =D> maps very helpful on subsequent visits over what the rental car agency or other guidebooks provided.

sista, maybe you should read past the first line of my post (wherein I did use the word "some") to where I questioned the authors touting places to visit to which access was suspect.

I used the Revealed books in planning my upcoming trip to Big Island and Oahu. I found it extremely useful in terms of restaurant reviews, hotel photos, and pictures of the different destinations. Without pics, it's hard for me to imagine the difference between, say, Kiholo Bay and A-Bay and decide which one I want to visit. With pics, it's much easier, and the Revealeds have more pics than other guidebooks.

That said, I also think I'm smart/respectful enough to ignore the suggestions that include gated roads, private protery, or anything that includes the phrase "...no matter what the locals say, it IS state property." I don't want to tread on anyone's turf -- I just want photos and recommendations to help me with my planning (and get me in a vacationing mood!) and found the books helpful in that regard.

Protery? Property. I"m a little sleepy this a.m.

As an island resident, my primary complaint about the book is their blatant failure to _consistently_ warn folks about dangerous hiking and beach areas.

Yes, they slapped a "be careful" disclaimer at the front of the book -- but a large "DANGER" notice needs to be added before many, many activities they recommend.

sistahlou - Mahalo nui loa to you.

The following was buried in one of those posts I listed. Some people would say that the people involved are responsible for the actions that lead them to this problem...but if they hadn't read the book, they never would have been there in the first place...
http://mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=3302

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I also like the photos, Karameli; I think that's what made me buy the first one for a Kauai trip in '02. DH ran ("ran") the Powerline trail one way on that trip, we drove up to the end of the road above Kapaa, then I picked him up at the other end near Princeville. Wouldn't have known about it if not for the book.

I completely agree auntiemaria. The standard "dangers" passage in the front of the book does not cut it when you're telling people about tidepools and crossing streams on hiking trails, etc.

And if anyone wonders why Hawaii residents are always so quick to point out the dangers of an activity or location, it's due to hearing of all the tourists who die each year. In the year I lived on Oahu I was at first shocked by the deaths, then as time went on I was saddened by them, then I just got angry. There was a two-week span when four visitors drown, two of whom were parents who left behind a young son who had to wait for relatives from the Mainland to come get him. A lot of the tourists who die in Hawaii would be alive today if they had been more cautious.

No disrespect intended sylvia! And I agree with those who find their maps and pictures to be a very useful tool in trip planning. It's too bad they feel the need to push the envelope to include things they really shouldn't reveal.

Sistah--No umbrage taken; you are absolutely right--and I'll add one oddity that I remember from one of the books (I think Maui Revealed)that didn't involve physical danger to the tourist, but had a notice to this effect: "if you take this road, be on the lookout for children and dogs and chickens, who are all playing on the unpaved road, and pay no attention to the (dirty) looks." Who in their right mind would undertake that little jaunt, knowing how disruptive it would be to those who live there?!

Ahhhh one big Kauai LUUUUVFEST
>-

Smack back at ya Kahuna!