My friends and I just returned from Maui and this book was sent from the heavens! If you are thinking of traveling to Maui or Lanai, this is the guide for you. It is very detailed and extremely helpful from where to stay, where to eat, where the best beaches are and how to get to them, to even what type of vehicle to rent so that you get the most from your vacation. I have purchased guide books in the past and have been a little disapointed on the lodging portion; but this book was very accurate and gives you plently of choices. We stayed at several that were in the book and we were thrilled! And as far as what to see or where to go while your in Maui or Lanai, this book is right on the money. It will even let you know to which locations you should pack a lunch!

This is the best,most comprehensive and accurate guide book for the Hawaiian traveler. The book is easy to read and makes planning your vacation activities a breeze. The dining guide in particular is outstanding.If your time on the island is limited,the itineraries section can be very helpful,with 1,3 or 5 day "must see" ideas. The book is reasonably priced and worth every penny !

Required reading for anyone who has visited Hawaii and fell in love with the island and it's people. These short stories eloquently tell the tales as woven from a Japanese American young woman's perspective. Readers will enjoy the snippets which are rich in cultural history and tradition.

After reading reviews from everyone about this book, I had to purchase it myself before a trip to Maui. This book was an indispensable guide! It offered great advice about snorkel equipment and safety which was VERY helpful for us beginners. The authors rate snorkeling places according to quality and difficulty. Maps and detailed information are provided so that even the most remote places are easy to find. We did the "'Ahihi-Kina'u unmarked trail" and loved it! It was amazing to have a beautiful cove all to ourselves. I definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to snorkel in Maui.

We bought the Maui/Lanai version of the book and found it was the book we used most once we got to Maui. We spent 6 days snorkeling in the mornings and this book gave us exact information about where to go! Some of the sites were wonderful and off the beaten path.(None of the other books or the dive shops had ALL of this information.) Well worth the small investment!

This book made our trip to Maui! So much more detail about the good places to snorkel, and how to find them, than any other guidebooks. We loved all the tips about how to have more fun snorkeling. Lanai made a great day trip, too, just like the book says.

We have recently returned from a week in Maui and a week in Kauai. This was our Maui guidebook, and although it did lead us to the perfectly beautiful Kapalua Bay, it was not worth the volume and weight it added to my luggage. Another guidebook, "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook", Doughty/Friedman was smaller and lighter, yet packed with valuable information. I'm stll searching for the ultimate Maui guidebook. Next time, I'll leave this book on the shelf.

I reviewed the 8th edition of this book in an earlier review. Now that we are planning a second trip, I shelled out the pukas to buy the 9th version! I was so impressed by the authors' accuracy I knew in advance that I would not be disappointed.

If you are a returning visitor to the islands, spend the money and get the new version. A lot has changed over the years, so why risk missing something important? Compare the price of the book to the price of your trip, and you'll see that it's one of the best investments you'll make. And there are a lot of uses for the book, too! We made notes in our book during our trip. Re-reading the book later brings back memories, almost like a scrap book.

Don't listen to anyone else that slams this book. Heck, maybe they work for the competition!

;) Steve

accurate and extensive information. right on the money! felt it was WELL worth the space and weight in the suitcase.

We just returned from Maui, having taken the family there for 8 days. We also took 3 guide books, so I was able to compare all three books in real time while on the island. We disliked Fodor's book, but found Frommer's to be very good.

The information is well-organized, up-to-date, and very helpful while on the island. But the best of the tour books was: "Maui and Lana'i : Making the Most of Your Family Vacation (8th Ed)" by Early and Stilson. This is the book I recommend.

This book has a great clor map and online travel directory.

Traveled to Maui for our Honeymoon in January 1999...the Frommers 1999 Maui guide gave us the scoop on the entire island. Because of this book we learned all about the hidden waterfalls and took pictures of awesome "off the beaten path" paradise spots on the road to Hana. We now buy Frommers books for all of our vacations!

This book offers great information on the different hiking trails and backpacking trails in Kauai.

I found Mr. McMahon's suggestions excellent. Especially when using the guide for our "Road to Hana" trip. There are Audio cassettes available all over the Island to guide your course along the way, but we found this book much more enlighntening. We had several tour books and local guide books and ended up only using "Adventuring" for our entire stay!!

Until Andrew Doughty's "Maui Revealed" was released, this Moon handbook was the best you could get. We used it on our first trip to Maui. Like other Moon Handbooks, it is rich in history and background info, but the practical detail can't compare to "Maui Revealed." We now use this Moon Handbook mainly as a supplement for historical background -- still useful but not our first source. (Most other Maui guides are superficial rubbish.)

You're spending 1,000-2,000 bucks to go to Maui -- go ahead and spend 20 bucks to have your own in-depth personal tourguide.

This handbook helped make for one of the best vacations of my life. The "insider" information is absolutely indispensible. For instance, there are many, many beaches on Maui, but there are many, many different kinds of beaches. Some with murky water. Some with huge waves. Some not navigable unless you swim beyond volcanic rocks. But there are one or two absolutely perfect beachs. And the Moon Handbook explains it. My girlfriend and I found the beach in front of the Sheraton at Ka'anapali to be the best all-aorund beach. We waded out into the calm waters and swam with sea turtles, right there in front of the Sheraton. This handbook explains, though the "little" details like, parking is difficult near the Sheraton so where to park, what the rates are, even shortcuts between buildings and such. This kind of info is just completely impossible to get anywhere else.

There are discussions of the personalities of various snorkle tour boat crews -- from adventurous, to laid-back. Some snorkle boats provide lunch, others don't. All this info is in the Moon Handbook.

We checked out Haleakala Mountain and Red Hill. With the handbook, we found how to get to Iao Needle. We found which Luau Party was the best for us, etc. Which restaurants to go to. Where to shop in Lahaina. The Sugar Cane Train for an easy-going afternoon. A drive out by the blow-holes on the NW end of the island.

I highly recommend this book before going to Maui. If you don't feel like shelling out 20 bucks, another option is always looking into your local library. Most good public libraries carry Moon Handbooks and they're absolutely free. A must before traveling to Maui, the Valley Island! (the 6th edition also includes info on the islands of Lana'i across the Auau Channel and Moloka'i)

Happy vacationing!

Stacey

This book is written for intelligent and inquisitive tourists who want to really understand what Mauai is all about. It outshines Mauai Revealed by 100%. I found myself using it every day as it offered a far more indepth look at places not found in any other tourist publication. If flash and hype are not your style, buy this book. Good index, well written, excellent maps. It had plenty of things to do to keep me amazed every day of my two week vacation.

This is a good place to start if you're thinking about going to Maui, though if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, I highly recommend Maui Revealed by Andrew Doughty, which goes into a lot more candid reviews about restaurants and lodgings. Read this to get the scope of the island and decide whether you want to go (of course you do!) - read Maui Revealed after you've booked the airfare.

We took our family and went to Maui. Armed with 3 guide books, I was able to compare the content and accuracy of them while on the island.

I found Frommer's book to be a little outdated. More to the point, I found it to be lacking a lot of information that the other two books had. I do not recommend that anyone purchase this book. Maybe their tour books for other islands are better...