Your Ideal Hawaii Island Vacation

Your Ideal Hawaii Island Vacation is a travel guide that describes over 150 spectacular locations on the island of Hawaii. Over 200 photographs (black and white) accompanied by descriptions give you an impression of the island's unique places. Detailed driving directions make it clear how to get to each site. Every site is accessible by a regular car and most are only a short walk or can be seen from the car. The travel guide covers the entire island of Hawaii with maps of each area. Many areas in East Hawaii, barely mentioned in other guides, are covered in great detail from the authors' personal experiences of living there. Guided driving tours and walking tours familiarizes travelers new to the island with the most populated areas of Hilo and Kona. Descriptions of beaches and shopping centers near the South Kohala resorts and Kona hotels are provided for newcomers to the island. The guide describes places in the remote areas of Kau, North Kohala, and Puna that returning visitors and residents may not have heard of before. The guide showcases incredible beaches where Hawaiian royalty lived, coastlines where historic battles were fought, ancient temples, ranches where the Hawaiian cowboy culture was born, and historic towns built during Hawaii's sugar boom. Stories are told from early visitors such as William Ellis, who walked around the island in 1823, and Lucy Thurston, who lived in Kailua-Kona in the 1820's. The historical and cultural settings of each site is organized with descriptions to appeal to both seasoned and armchair travelers. The guide also showcases what is happening now at Kona coffee plantations, macadamia nut factories, and cattle ranches. The guide includes places near the resort complexes, unique island businesses, and recent lava flows. In the chapter on "Driving Hawaii Island" tables with realistic driving times between major sites are included. The driving times take into account areas of low speed limits and traffic congestion. Information about Saddle Road and driving to the Onizuka Astronomy Center on Mauna Kea are included. The guide has no ratings of hotels, restaurants, or tour companies. The authors believe that the most up to date customer reviews of restaurants and resorts are on the internet. The authors, Tyler and Chris Mercier, have lived on Hawaii Island since 2007. They lived in Hilo for two years before moving to the west side of the island near Kona. The authors researched each site using original materials from early explorers and Hawaiian historians to provide the most accurate view of what happened. They visited every site in the book and took thousands of photographs to document every location. The authors created regional maps and tour maps to allow visitors to plan their trips each day and select the sites they want to see. The authors' hope that the guide shows the immensity and variety of Hawaii Island to every visitor and encourages them to return.