No Worries Hawaii: A Vacation Planning Guide for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island

Required Reading

One of the most important things you can do before you leave on your Hawaii vacation: read this book. There are so many good ideas packed inside. It changed our preconceived ideas about Hawaii and provided all the do's and don'ts.

The authors have done an excellent job researching every island. It will get you revved up to go.

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Plan A

No Worries guide to Hawaii is full of good ideas. Normally I don't buy guides but my girlfriend wanted to speed up our island pick. We were struggling with going to Kauai or Maui. Good bye uncertainty, hello decision time. All the photos sure helped and good news, we are back from Maui and happy that was our choice. Definitely it was this guide that turned the corner for us. Their itinerary options gave us so may possibilities and we felt like seasoned visitors when we landed at the Kahalui airport. Hawaii delivers, a very laid back place, there was sheer beauty around every corner. No second guessing with the No Worries with all their worthwhile tips. Both of us feel their book made our stay in Hawaii a better experience.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

In the groove from Day One

The No Worries guide primarily served as our itinerary checklist. I'm not a prepackaged tour fan so this book was the key to traveling to Hawaii independently. NW offers loads of choices, activity rankings for each island (best trails, places to snorkel, etc.) and definitely took the confusion out of our trying to make major planning decisions. The book also contained resourceful maps and plenty of color photos. Virtual Hawaii delivered in 160 pages.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Our Hawaii fling

We got a cheapo flight deal from L.A. and hopped to two islands for two weeks. We used this guide for an overview of what to do and what not to do. The advice inside was right on. If we read it before we left we would have even saved more money. It's primarily a book that covers all the bases if you've never been to Hawaii before and want to know what each island looks like and what the authors recommend for your specific tastes in sports and sightseeing prefs. We tested out snorkeling and ziplining for the first time on Kauai. Staging each day's outings was critical and their Maui Trailblazer and Kauai Trailblazer guides took care of the details and directions.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

energized

Hawaii is an easy hop for us even when we're looking for a 4-day escape. This time we really needed to look at pictures and get inspired by reading the guidebooks out there and we're happy we spotted this one. Sample itineraries were inside and great ideas which met our vacation expectations.

No more indecision or maybes, we reached our decision easily this time and made snorkeling on Maui our fantastic getaway. Direct flight, saw so much and really relaxed Hawaiian style. These authors have dug deep and sure know the islands. Very nice layout.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Winning combo

Trailblazer guides: a big score. We initially planned our trip using the ideas in the No Worries and combined it with their Maui guide for our on-the-go daytrip adventures. We were the envy of our seatmates on the plane. Knowing all about Hawaii and Maui islands before we went made all the diff.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

No Worries

Our first trip to Hawaii and we had so many questions. Finding out info that was reliable on the internet was sketchy so we combed online bookstores for help. This guide is indispensible. The descriptions of possibilities along with practical advice helped us turn the corner on just exactly where we wanted to point our compass. A clever test inside - which we both took independently - got us to reach our decision amicably.

You get a true picture of each island and all the outdoor wonders. Kauai was our number one choice since we are hikers and the Big Island came in second since we like geology and diving. We spent one week on each and our time was well spent hitting the trails and getting the lay of the land on drives. The book is heavy with color photos.

We bought their Trailblazer guides for each island - the Kauai Trailblazer and the Hawaii Big Island Trailblazer that went into even more detail. This series certainly captures the essence of the islands with amazing detail and accuracy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Just in time

We always dreamed of going to Hawaii on our honeymoon and left the trip booking decisions until the last minute. This guidebook had all the necessaries so neatly packaged we easily put together an itinerary in a day. After deciding Maui was THE island we went about planning the sightseeing according to what we could afford and how much energy we wanted to expend. Their advice to call the hotel directly got us a room upgrade and we organized our daily routine around the freebie activities (snorkeling, hiking) they suggested. It sure stretched out our days and our budget. It made the week seem like a month. Staying on one island instead of trying to see two was also valuable advice. The guide is all in color and because you can flip through the index so easily, beats the internet as a resource.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An affordable necessity

We were tipped off to No Worries Hawaii by an online travel reviewer. This guide offers a wonderful lineup of advice, tips and solid information for all the islands. Clued us into understanding just what each island has to offer with photos to show us the stretches of beaches and trails and jungles and towns along the route. We opted for laid-back Kauai for serious hiking and our second week on Molokai for serious relaxation. No regrets, paradise found.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A fresh approach to Hawaii

Having traveled to the islands six years ago on a cruise, we needed good guidance before returning for our 10th anniversary. Luckily friends turned us on to this great resource. It certainly speeded up our research and answered so many practical questions we had like, where's the best snorkeling. It served as a checklist, as a tool for getting the best deals. It actually streamlined our vacation days and made it all happen. The way it's organized gets our vote for solid gold value. Follow it up with one of their individual island guides, we bought the Kauai Trailblazer, and you've got it made.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Well prepared for vacation

The No Worries Hawaii exceeded our expectations with all sorts of pertinent travel advice for each island. There's a self test on one of the pages that my girlfriend and I took and it automatically narrowed down our choice of island to the two that we ended up visiting.

Seeing their gorgeous photos of the Big Island beaches and Kauai hiking trails really got us going. The vacation was rewarding, action packed and very memorable. Two weeks was all we could stay but we packed so much in it felt like a month. Understanding the destination before arriving there made all the difference.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Planning is everything

Well done. Anyone who is considering vacationing in Hawaii should read this book first. Their clever test inside sure helped us pinpoint the right island. Safety was a big issue for us. We aren't expert hikers or swimmers. They lay all the do's and don'ts right on the line.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Right choice

Full of charisma and passion for every island, that's what this guide has. We were tempted to visit them all but could only get away for 12 days. We like to snorkel and Maui paid off. A bargain when we think of all the money we saved by planning our itinerary ourselves and knowing how to get the best deals on room reservations.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Big help

Planned it entirely by ourselves using this guide. Because the authors have checked out every island and experience by themselves you feel that every recommendation and evaluation they've made is solid and trustworthy. Made our 3-island in 3 week vacation really F U N !!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Saved us $$$

We found this to be a jewel for planning everything, right down to the perfect condominium on Maui. We winnowed down our island choices logically using the test they included in this guide. There's lots of good advice for getting the best rates and understanding the local ways.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Hit

Arrived in just a few days and is now our wish book. The photography is outstanding and so are the hundreds of recommendations. It definitely has made planning our vacation in September easier.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I found the easy way to make all the Hawaii vacation decisions f

I found the easy way to make all the Hawaii vacation decisions facing me - the No Worries Hawaii guide. It puts it all in perspective and clearly describes Hawaii in a straight-shooter fashion. The authors give you their expert scoop on all the adventures possible according to the sport you might favor. We like hiking and could go through their choices island by island. This handbook is a real time saver with all its pictures and maps and advice you can't find on the internet. Our kids like reading it now that we're back home - they're preparing us for a new island excursion this summer.

Family trip

Searching the internet for Hawaii advice was far too complicated as most took us to tour companies or hotel sites. We found a blog that mentioned this guide, bought it and our two teenagers composed our whole itinerary with it. The layout is logical and step by step the authors make it easy to choose the island that's right and what to do when you're there. The kids wanted to surf and we wanted to try stand-up paddling, Kauai seemed perfect, was perfect.

Hiking was also on our list. Their book, Kauai Trailblazer, filled in all the blanks with all the trails and beaches. We got full value and all of us want to return next year to explore one of the other islands in their series, probably Maui.

Hawaii - Take Two

After thoroughly enjoying our vacation to Oahu we are ready for more in spring 2010. No Worries outlined all of the islands so incredibly well and Kauai popped up as first choice. Enjoyable, compelling, informative, funny, and well-written planning handbook. Thanks B&N for extending the offer to buy it at Member's Price.

Perfect choice for us, the right guide

Whenever you're going somewhere new, the hardest thing to do is find accurate information about the place. There are so many conflicting opinions on the internet. This guide gives you a leg up since it is written by authors who know all the nooks and crannies. If you're in the planning stage by all means buy it. We got to our island well briefed by the No Worries guide and want to pass along our thumbs up here. It made a good drive along guide, we missed nothing.