Pacific

A "MUST HAVE" book for anyone planning to visit Hawaii who plans on flying/touring the Hawaiian Islands. It is the most thorough guide to flying in the Hawaiian Islands I have seen to date. Highly recommended for kamaainas (locals), as well ... they too will find much useful information in this handy, easy to take along book.

Full of information very useful in planning and preparing for your island flights, especially if you are not familiar with the various island airports/airfields or the local terrain & common conditions and the potential hazards to avoid.

This book is very thorough and contains many insightful tips including important safety considerations, best time of day for flights explained, typical and uncommon Hawaiian Island weather conditions and how they can affect your flight, as well as areas and conditions to avoid flying in and why, and much more.

The section highlighting sights to see is conveniently broken down by island. The most impressive sights are quite nicely summarized so you can quickly become knowledgeable as a tour guide for your passengers. The photos showing many of these impressive sights in the book are a nice touch.

Some other nice features in this book, besides the scenic photos, are the runway/airfield diagrams & photos for each of the airports/airfields, as well as some approach/departure routing diagrams. These are quickly found in Appendix A, along with all the important information you will want to know about each airport/airfield, such as elevation, runways & lengths, lighting, communications frequencies, services available, and more. Also a handy reference, is the listing of all Fixed Base Operations in Appendix B, with all the important information listed for each.

This book is full of lots of useful information, photos and diagrams summarized in a compact book that is easy to take along & refer to.

Highly recommend this book, without hesitation, to anyone flying in the Hawaiian islands or considering it! It is worth more than it's price in valuable tips, important considerations and as a handy reference.

This book contains a great list of places to stay and eat with prices. Some of my favorite sections of book include the following: Listing of Best Unspoiled Small Towns, which include Kodiak, Petersburg, and Cordova; Listing of Strange Comunity Events which include Cordova's Ice Worm Festival, Fairbanks' Midnight Sun Baseball Game nad Nomes Polar Bear Swim/Bathtub Race. If you are going to Alaska's number one destination, Denali National Park, make sure you pick up a copy of Discovering Denali.

This is an excellent guide to the city, especially for a first-time visitor. A lot of helpful information. I went to several of the recommended restaurants and enjoyed all of them. This book directs the traveler to many out-of-the-way places you'd never find on your own.

Escape To The Hawaiian Islands is a breathtaking compendium of Bob Holmes outstanding photography, enhanced with Paul Wood's informative text and the combination makes for an ideal guide for what to do and see when visiting the Hawaiian Islands on pleasure or business. From hiking through a bamboo forest to stargazing on a mountain top to the excitement of a hula festival, Escape To The Hawaiian Islands is as entertaining as it is informative. If you are planning a trip to the islands of Hawaii, begin with browsing the pages of Wood and Holmes' Escape To The Hawaiian Islands!

This travel book is excellent. The best thing about the Fodor's series is that they give you great ideas of what to do with your days traveling around places. Obviously this one deals with Hawaii, and it deals with it quite well.

Places to eat, places to sleep, places to surf, this book has it all and the information is easily accessible to the layman who does not know Hawaii very well.

I am very impressed with Fodor's and this version in particular.

Joseph Dworak

i bought this book along with fodor's guide to b and b's in the pacific northwest. this guide is a good one, both for residents who haven't had time to really see the area and for tourists. its the only one of the guidebooks that i browsed that has accurate information on doing a circle tour of the olympic peninsula. and it has a section that recommends itineraries for one, three, and seven days.

I have lots of travel books. I prefer Fodor's. But, this one is a standout! I truly felt that it was written by people who are familiar with the city. The descriptions and information highlighted the best of the city. Buy it without trepidation.

As a Marine just stationed in San Diego, this book has proved invaluable. For starters, it showed me exactly where MCAS Miramar (my base) was in the San Diego area. So I bought this book before coming here determined to see the sights and to know the city itself. Whenever I leave base, I like to make the most of my time and know where I are going. For that matter, even to know WHERE to go. Now, I just read about a part of town and off I go.

At my earlier duty stations, I would go out looking for things to do in the city and often find nothing. Worse, sometimes I would try one thing only to learn later there was something better I could have done instead. And that is with me living in the area! I have no idea how someone could fully appreciate a city during a vacation without these travel guides.

Without this book, I would never have known I arrived during Whale Watching season until it had ended and the public transportation system would have taken me much longer to learn. Also, I would still be clueless about Balboa Park, which is now my favorite place in San Diego! As it was, I could have done all of this in a weekend, but I took two because I was in no hurry.

I plan on using this book on many outings during my stay in San Diego. It gives me something to do other than go to the Mall and spend money (but it can help do that as well).

Something for the first time traveler: Restaurants come and go, with some changing names and the admission prices to events and theme parks change as well. In the course of the year, nothing is too drastic but nothing is written in stone either. Nonetheless, the information in this book was always relevant.

Steve Crouch is that rarest of photographers: a true artist in the medium of photography whose writing skills are equally gifted. You may need a dictionary at times to keep up with his lyrical flow of English, but, after all, isn't reading supposed to be a learning experience? Don't be intimidated. Crouch's precise English adds much to his description of one of the most beautiful places on the planet: the Monterey Coast and Big Sur of California.

Crouch became a resident of Carmel years ago, and begins his tale of the region with how that decision took place. This delightful anecdote is followed by others equally evocative. Mr. Crouch reviews the place itself, the human communities and their history, and closes with a fine, thoughtful epilogue.

The photography is in color, and absolutely outstanding. In addition to the usual brilliant seascapes, forest and mountain vistas, etc, the author also offers a beautiful panoply of microphotography about local plants, houses, and the way of life in this Eden. Here is an artist with a purpose.

I bought this book a while back. I have since vacationed in the area four times. One of the delights is to attempt to catch things in the same photographic light as Mr. Crouch did. Not an easy task, but, surely, the enjoyment lies in the attempt.

You will love this book from the moment you first see it. Do yourself a favor and get it now.

I am an avid biker (http://www.sujee.net/outdoors/biking/) and this book has found a permanant place in my camel-back! I have read/bought my share of biking books in Northern california. But I liked this one better b/c

A) rides are clearly classified mountain or road : this seems trivial, but more than once I had turned up to a trail with my road bike, just to find out the trail is not paved / dirt.

B) Every ride has clearly marked 'how to get there' 'difficulty' and 'elevation maps', etc.

C) All rides are neatly catogorized into locations and a very easy to use reference / Table of Contents

D) Plenty of rides for every level. Most of them have a little 'insider tips' as well.