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2008.02.07

Comments

Kerry

Oooh, this is an interesting point to me because it seems so obvious that while the Travel Channel thinks that its product is entertainment and therefore not worthy of archiving, it really is information and worthy of cataloging. It's the old pulp paperback argument transferred to the video age!

But hey, Lisa--my sisters have both been to Hawaii in the past year, and one is going this month to a wedding in the company of massive Hawaii hounds. I can see if they have any leads.


Maria

I am a Rick Steves girl, myself, but that won't help much with Hawai'i.

Becky

I've been to the Big Island twice, and used Hawaii The Big Island Revealed, by Andrew Doughty. I can't whole-heartedly recommend it, as the organization of it can be frustrating, and the tone can be annoying, but their information is really damn good. Lots of details about the best tucked-away beaches and hikes and so on.

I love the Big Island -- the volcano, the rain forest, snorkeling with sea turtles, everything.

Stephanie

Wow, that is a terrible web site! (Travel Channel's, I mean.) You're right, they're really missing out on web-using audience participation/reference!

Erin

If you go, you gotta look out for the 6-gilled giant monter shark.

http://swimatyourownrisk.com/2008/02/06/monster-6-gill-shark-caught-on-film/

Eeeeekkkkkkk.

Lisa S.

I LOVE that you're still reading that site. That kills me.

I saw seven-gill sharks at Monterey last weekend!

Jen

Oh, I totally recommend the Farmer's Market in Hilo. Wednesdays and Saturdays I think. They have these coconut filled buns that are amazing. My sister and I went with her two boys, who were 18 mos and 3 yrs old at the time. We reserved the first and last nights and camped the rest, roaming the Island in a minivan. Both boys were in diapers and bottles, and it was certainly an adventure. I wish we could've spent more time at the Volcanoes National Park, but given the age of the boys, that wasn't doable and much of their camping facilities were too primitive for us - we needed running water at least. You'll have a blast regardless.

cirocco

I wanted to second the recommendation for Andrew Doughty's books, although I have only read his Maui and Kauai guides and the Big Island one may not be of the same quality. I find his tone to be a little too peppy sometimes and read like marketing copy, but he knows Hawaii like the back of his hand. The books are durable and have good maps, and if an attraction is overhyped, he will be honest and tell you that it's not worth your time and/or cash.

He presents redundant information in different chapters, but he's just slicing the data in a different way. For example, the same beach may be mentioned in the section on snorkeling and the section on Poipu, but I find that useful. Sometimes I'm in Poipu and I want to know what's there, and sometimes I want to snorkel and want to know where I should go. This felt intuitive to me, but I can see how it might look disorganized.

And it's full of color pictures. I love reading words, but when I'm choosing where to spend my limited vacation time, I want to have a clear idea of what I'm getting into. Maybe other people like seeing a waterfall for the first time when they get there, though.

Maxwell

Eric's mom lives on the Big Island. I agree that Big Island Revealed by Andrew Doughty is the best Guidebook I've seen. My two favorite things are going to watch the lava flow into the ocean at Volcanoes National Park and hiking in Waimea. However the lava views vary and last year the Waimea trail was closed when I went. It doesn't matter though, there's a lot to do.

Billie

I couldn't agree more. The Travel Channel website is terrible. My husband and I are finally starting to travel now that our children are a bit older and I would love to have access to info from "Girl meets Hawaii", "Great Hotels", etc. But there's nothing on the TC website. I've even tried to buy the series on DVD. Target and Amazon have "Great Hotels" for sale but it's currently listed as "unavailable" and has been for months and months. I've spoken via phone to a customer service rep at the Travel Channel. He seemed both uninformed and uninterested. If anyone knows where I might Samantha Brown DVDs please post the info. It would be a great EBay opportunity for someone. Wake up Travel Channel execs!!!!! There's money to be made.

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