No Worries Hawaii by Janine Sprout, Jerry Sprout (2007)

In my work at Guide to Travel Guides, we concentrate on finding excellent travel books from smaller publishers, books that travelers may not yet be familiar with. No Worries Hawaii, newly published in late 2007, is just such a book. Really a travel planning guide without peer. Its 160 pages are fabulous stuff, chocked full of helpful information and some of the loveliest color photos around. If you play ball with the Sprouts, they'll help you zero in on the greatest island vacation you've ever had. The Sprouts are veterans of the Hawaii guidebook scene. Their deservedly much-praised Trailblazer series includes four titles on the islands of Hawaii: Kauai Trailblazer, Maui Trailblazer, Oahu Trailblazer, and Hawaii the Big Island Trailblazer, all of which focus on outdoor activities of every kind: walks, hikes, bicycle rides, snorkeling, driving tours and on and on. In No Worries Hawaii they use their expertise to help you decide the type of vacation you want, the setting you want, the activities you value most, and where best to find them. Moving from an armchair voyage in which you envision and clarify your wants and needs to a clever, simple self-test to help you prioritize your wish list, No Worries Hawaii then relates all this homework you've done to a highly detailed, 36-category Best of Hawaii section. If you spend the time, the system really works. If you are too lazy, just focusing on the Best of Hawaii section, plus a good look at the Best of Hawaii scoreboard to see which island ranks highest for your needs will take you a long way toward paradise. Practical information abounds, with lots of money saving advice and a wonderfully detailed "Wiki Wiki Phonebook" for all the contact information you'll ever need. This is one great travel planning guide--if only other travel destinations had something this good.