Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend USA Today calls it, "An authoritative and in-depth look at all that the island offers." The author is a resident who personally and anonymously reviews every facet of Maui. From restaurants to helicopter companies to scuba to beaches to trails, he sees it all and shows you the best Maui has to offer. Product details and pricing info |
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332 Customer Reviews Posted
- Guidebook that is a must for Maui
- I bought this based on reviews from friends for my upcoming honeymoon in Maui. It is informative and the author has a great sense of humor.
- 2008-06-14, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Everything you could possibly want to know!
- We just got back from celebrating our 5th anniversay with a week in Maui yesterday and this book was an indespensible resource that never left our side. Each day we were there, we explored a new part of the island or went on a new tour or trip and this book helped us through every part. If you are like us and like to pack every day of your vacation with new and fun things, then you should buy this book right now. But even if you prefer to just relax and visit a few places and restaurants, this book has reviews that will help you choose.
The author is a native, and is cynical and has a *very* dry sense of humor. However, for someone who is making recommendations, this is really a good quality. I personally don't want someone who is willing to give everyone and everything 5 stars. I prefer and appreciate someone who will tell me the negatives of each choice so that I can evaluate those and make a decision instead of just hearing the bubbly positives of every option.
We got to our hotel on Sunday night (we stayed at the Mahana in Ka'anapali and would recommend it for anyone, btw). We were on the island for a week and loved it.
*Monday: We went around NW Maui and used this book for sightseeing. Excellent!
*Tuesday: We learned to surf and went to a Luau. Both places were reviewed in this book.
*Wednesday: We took the road to Hana. This is where this book really shined. He identifies every sight to see along the way using mile markers and tells you right where to turn off to not miss a thing.
*Thursday: We went on a boat trip to Molikini based upon the review in here and loved it!
*Friday: We went up Haleakala and traveled around the Upcountry visiting the spots he recommended. Beautiful sights and great food!
*Saturday: Surfing and snorkeling again.
We saw several people with printouts of stuff from the internet that they were using to navigate, and we saw some people that actually hired locals to tell them where to go. I can honestly say that this was the best $15 we spent on the whole trip because it provided us the freedom and convenience that those other options couldnt provide. We loved our trip and will continue to buy books from the "Revealed" series when we visit other islands or other locations on vacation. Thanks Andrew!! - 2008-06-09, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- maui revealed
- Newest edition looks exactly like the older ones with identical pictures and captions. Some relevant new information makes the book worth buying.
- 2008-05-27, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Great overview, but leave the book in your room (except for snorkeling spots...)
- This was the only book we considered (at first) for our first trip to Maui, based on the author's excellent Kauai Revealed book, which was fantastic on an island where much is hidden unless you're in the know.
I read Maui Revealed cover to cover before leaving, but wound up checking out Frommer's from the library as well. Maui Revealed is a great overview of the island, with some terrific details, plus it will get you very excited about traveling there, but using it on Maui proved to be utterly pretentious and annoying for us, for two reasons:
1. When taking a road trip, or sight seeing, we found it to be thoroughly annoying that the maps, though detailed, are not on consecutive pages, and one has to keep finding the map of the area and then finding what page the map continues on, it seems like constantly (not a problem with the Kauai book.) Of course, we bookmarked the pages, but this book just seemed all over the place in this regard, it seemed we could never locate what we had read the night before when we needed it while driving ("Was that in the 'Beaches' chapter, or under 'Snorkeling'?); and
2. This is really over-zealous at many times. We know the author is proud of his adoptive(?) state, but he seems to think that almost every single thing on Maui is EQUALLY wonderful (save for pretty good info on snorkeling spots.)
The Road to Hana chapter is ridiculous, with so many "Waterfall Alert!"s and "Diversion Alert!"'s it made me seasick. And there was one waterfall the author raved about that said it was accessible by such and such a trail, but this access was fenced up with barbed-wire and menacing keep-out signs - no mention of this, though, in this over-detailed book. Okay, so maybe there are a lot of waterfalls - a VAST MAJORITY of them are hidden and must be hiked to, and quite frankly, really aren't that great! I mean if you're from Kansas and you're never seen a mountain or a lake or a curvy road, I suppose you'd might be flabbergasted with each and every over-described detail, but over all, it's water flowing over rocks and they are nice, but please tone down your over-enthusiasm for every single one of them. Don't get me wrong, I am a true nature lover. I am an avid hiker, I ooh and aah at waterfalls. The Road to Hana IS magical, it IS the destination! It's just that the author is clearly over-enraptured by small waterfalls and banana bread stops, yet there was little mention of the breath-taking majesty of the jaw-dropping bamboo forests! As a matter of fact, if one were to follow the Road to Hana chapter, while driving it, you would SEE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, because you would be so busy reading each and every possible detail of it from author's experience of it - Don't be one of those people that videotape their entire vacations and don't end up being present themselves for any of it, because they're too busy VIEWING IT from their lenses! Put the book down for the Road to Hana, and BE THERE NOW, and experience it for yourself, it is truly memorable.
What this whole book and especially this section really needs, is a starred system (or something of the sort -how about hula girls?), to indicate, for example, that this is a 5 star waterfall, this one, a 2.
We did enjoy the restaurant recommendations, and found them to be sound.
At the beginning I though this would be the definitive guide book on Maui, but find it too disorienting and weakly organized, and although there are some great photos, the book is laid-out poorly, graphically speaking. This last detail may sound unimportant, but it contributes to a sense of confusion, and disorientation while reading and searching; I found surprising welcomed relief by the practical organization and graphic layout of info in Frommer's.
Maui Revealed is a great read-thru with info you probably won't find in other guidebooks. Definitely read thru it at home and make a few notes and get excited about your trip. Leave it in your room when you're there and Be Present in Your Vacation- don't spend it reading the book! - 2008-05-20, 6 of 9 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Most informative Maui travel guide.
- I have used the third edition of this guide for the past two vacations to Maui and have received the fourth edition for my next trip a week from now, 4/18/08. Of the guides I have previewed at the book stores, I have found this one to be the easiest to navigate. The information is given in a narrative form for the most part. Humourous in places, it is nice to have a guidebook written by people who actually go to the restaurants, luau's and shops without revealing the nature of their visit, thereby receiving special attention. In simple terms their reviews are without bias. They are also extremely accurate. Though I find that the maps in the guide could be a little more detailed, at least the written directions are spot on. Color photography throughout. Yes Maui IS that beautiful! You will enjoy every minute.
- 2008-05-19, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
