ALOHA!
So you’ve got Hawaii on your mind!
And you’re almost certain that you’re headed to Hawaii for your next vacation… or thinking pretty hard about it!
So in addition to all the free information available online, which Hawaii travel guidebooks may be worth getting?
Here is the quick list of travel guides to help plan your trip to Hawaii for the best vacation ever:
- Free travel guides from the Hawaii tourism department
- Guide to choosing the best Hawaiian island for you
- Possibly the best selling Hawaii travel guidebooks
- Hawaii travel guidebooks with PDF
what to wear in hawaii >> what to wear hiking – what to wear snorkeling
Free travel guides from Hawaii tourism department
Among the best resources for planning your trip to Hawaii just might be the state tourism department!
Although here’s a good spot to find the best short hikes on Oahu. 😉
The Hawaii tourism department of course wants you to visit their state, and they’ll give you plenty of goods reasons to do so!
They have a number of travel guides available that are free. One for each of the islands. The travel guides for the main islands are magazine-style. (That’s for Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.) For the smaller islands, it’s a smaller brochure. (That’s for Molokai and Lanai.) For the magazine-style travel guides, this means you can expect gorgeous blown up images that will make you dream of Hawaii even more!
You can order the free guides here.
This link will prompt you to download an electronic version of the Hawaii travel guide as a pdf. At the bottom, you can also order your free printed copy of the Hawaii travel guide by mail too. It might take a few weeks to arrive.
If that link doesn’t take you to the right place, try a search on the official Hawaii tourism department’s website.
Side note!
See about the best shoes for hiking in Hawaii and what to wear snorkeling in Hawaii! And for Hawaii vacation ideas, see the best things to do in Waikiki that will give you Hawaii vibes!
Best selling Hawaii travel guidebooks
One of the most popular series of Hawaii guidebooks for each of the main Hawaiian islands is this series of guidebooks.
The books in the Hawaii Revealed series give you a lot of information about your chosen island, and you’ll be given loads of ideas of things to do to stay active in Hawaii.
One of the negatives about this series is that you may find recommendations for trespassing in order to get to certain places. It may be best to not follow this kind of advice, or if you do so, do so at your own risk! Hawaii does have a lot of areas that are deemed off limits but seem to be frequently visited by locals, and even some tourists. Use your best judgement, and always respect the land and the people.
That said, it’s very possible that you can have the best Hawaii vacation ever with a Hawaii Revealed book! These guidebooks often receive high praise from visitors.
Read the reviews of the Hawaii Revealed series.
The Hawaii “Revealed” series includes the following islands:
Hawaii travel guidebooks with PDF
Now, one of the things about guidebooks is that they can be bulky.
What if you want a Hawaii guide, but you don’t want the weight or space required in your carry-on bag that goes with it?
There’s an e-book for that! 😉
There’s a good chance that you’ve heard of the Lonely Planet series of travel guidebooks. Lonely Planet is known for providing high quality and useful information for travelers planning trip to destinations around the world. And they also have some Hawaii travel guides too.
In addition to the print version, these all come with the option of getting the book as a pdf:
There is also the Discover Hawaii Travel Guide if you’ll be visiting more than one island, or you’re still deciding which Hawaiian island to visit. This doesn’t come with a pdf option though.
See all Lonely Planet travel destinations here.
Things to do on Oahu: Kailua Beach
HAPPY TRIP PLANNING WITH YOUR HAWAII GUIDEBOOK!
things to do on oahu | map >> waikiki beach – north shore – east oahu
best short hikes on oahu – best snorkeling spots on oahu
what to wear in hawaii >> what to wear hiking – what to wear snorkeling
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🐠 Here are things you must consider packing!
- Swimsuit or swimming shirt aka rash guard
- rash guard: swim set for women and swim shirt for men
- Water shoes
- Waterproof phone case (so you can capture pictures of fishies underwater!)
- cheapo phone case OR waterproof camera
- I also have this "camera" wrist float to attach to my cheapo waterproof phone case so my phone won't sink to the bottom of the ocean in case I somehow let go of it. (Mine does stay afloat - test this for yourself before completely trusting it!)
- Swimming goggles or snorkeling mask set
- Reef-safe(r) sunscreen
- lightweight travel towel:
- walking sandals:
I also don't go snorkeling without a personal swim float buoy. Not only does it help to keep me visible, but it makes for a perfect way to rest out in deeper water! Oh, and it also serves as a dry bag so I can take stuff into the water with me.
Another way I have taken valuables into the water with me is to wear a travel money belt that I don't mind getting wet with salt water (it's not waterproof but I have several so I just use one of them) and then I put things in a ziplock freezer bag, and put that freezer bag in the money belt.
There are also designated waterproof waist pouches that you can store your valuables and take into the water with you.
see more:
- What to wear hiking
- What to wear snorkeling