Awesome New Guidebook to the Big Island of Hawaii

If you’ve ever had even a passing conversation with me, I probably mentioned Hawaii … or was very likely wearing one of my many vintage made-in-Hawaii aloha shirts. I absolutely love Hawaii, wish I could spend more time there (like, at least half the year) and am borderline obsessive about virtually every aspect of Hawaiian and Polynesian life, culture, history and food.

Much of my love of the islands is the result of hanging out with my friend, Elizabeth Blish Hughes, a writer/editor who used to live in Hawaii. For years, Beth’s been an encyclopedic source of knowledge for any and all questions I’ve had about Hawaii. Her advice and understanding have helped me to make the most of my trips to Hawaii and to seek out and enjoy aspects of island living that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about. In particular, her tips really paid off when Emiana and I visited the Big Island of Hawaii for our honeymoon.

So I was really stoked when Beth informed me that her new guidebook, Hawaii's Big Island: Great Destinations: A Complete Guide (Great Destinations), is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Emi and I have reserved our copy and I’m really hoping we’ll be able to fully use the book soon! Beth’s a fantastic writer, with local – off-the-beaten-path – knowledge of and deep love for Hawaii, its people and its many wonders. Mahalo Beth for sharing your expertise with the world!

Lonely Planet in Chinese

Lonely Planet on the Front Page of the Financial Times
(or China, yet again, is on the front page for drastically changing the dynamics of an industry)


China moves into Lonely Planet's orbit
By Leora Moldofsky in Sydney and Justine Lau in Hong Kong
Financial Times, Jan 14, 2006


Here's an excerpt from the front page - first section article:


Lonely Planet guides, companions of English-speaking tourists the world over, are to be translated into Chinese in a sign of the importance of the country's outbound tourism industry. About 17m Chinese travel abroad each year, a figure expected to soar to 100m by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

Let WePlanYourTrip help: If you anticipate traveling in the near future and want to make the most of your time away, please contact us. We will be more than happy to assist with your trip planning and travel research.