About Wizard Publications, Inc

Wizard Publications, Inc. is a small Hawaii-based publishing company that specializes in a unique form of guidebook. Most guides are put together by travel writers after a few weeks of visiting the location. They compile notes which are sent back to a publisher on the mainland and a "comprehensive guidebook" is created by staffers that may not have even seen the place they are describing. Guides at Wizard Publications are different. They take years to produce. The authors see and do everything described in their books. For instance, their Big Island book, Hawaii The Big Island Revealed took over two years, full time, to compile. Every beach, trail, restaurant, hotel, scenic spot, etc. that they describe is from their direct experience. All are described with their unique blend of humor, candor, and easy reading style with full color on every page. (Black and white photos do an incredible disservice to Hawaii.) The authors live in Hawaii, live the experiences, and live to write about it.

In their own words...

We first came to Kauai as tourists and were immediately smitten. We had no idea that a place like this could exist anywhere in the world. Now as residents of the islands, traveling between them and living around the state, we marvel at its beauty every day.

Longtime locals have been stunned at some of the items described in our books. We have found many special places that people born and raised here didn't even know about. Visitors will find the book as valuable as having a friend living on the island.

Our objective in writing these books was to assist you in finding the bliss that can accompany a Hawaii visit. We recognize the effort people go through to visit here, and our goal is to expose you to every option imaginable so you can decide what you want to see and do.

We took great pains to structure our books in such a way that will be fun, easy reading, and loaded with useful information. Our books are not a bland regurgitation of facts arranged in textbook fashion. We feel strongly that guidebooks should present information so that you don't have to read through every page every time you want to find something. If you are here on vacation, your time is extremely precious. You don't want to spend all your time flipping through a book looking for what you want. You want to be able to locate what you want, when you want it. You want to be able to access a comprehensive index, a thorough table of contents, and refer to high-quality maps that were designed with you in mind. You want to know which helicopter, scuba, boat tour, or lu‘au is the best on the island. You want to be shown those things that will make this vacation the best of your life.

A quick look at our books will reveal features never before used in a guidebook. Let's start with the maps. They are more detailed than any other maps you will find, yet they omit extraneous information that can sometimes make a chore of reading a map. We know that people often have a hard time determining where they are on a map, especially here, so we have included landmarks. Most notable among these are mile markers, which you will notice on main roads around the island. At every mile on main roads, the government has erected numbered markers to tell you where you are. We are the first to put these markers on a map so you can use them as reference points. We also made every effort to place north at the top of the page. It can be confusing when you see a map with south pointing up or to the right. Only a few trail maps deviate from this rule. Additionally, we repeatedly drove every inch of every road on the maps. This is important because many of the roads represented on existing maps have been shifted, moved, or eliminated. We can't tell you how many times we went to find a beach or other scenic spot using existing maps, only to be frustrated by not finding them. Only by observing some by air could we determine a method for getting to certain places. So we purchased a powered hang glider. Now we have the ability to fly over an area, take photos, and explore even more. (Plus it's lots of fun but don't tell the IRS.)

Slick (and not so slick) free magazines and publications are strewn throughout the islands. Most claim to point you to assorted wonders. There's nothing wrong with that. But the adage, "You get what you pay for," applies. Let's put it this way. If all the companies in our books were companies that we had to solicit for advertising, how much candor do you think we could provide? That's why you pay for the book, not the companies we describe. We're free to be as brutally honest as we want to be. Since we accept no advertisements, our allegiance is to our readers, not advertisers. Nonetheless, these free publications can be useful for the coupons that advertisers put inside.

As you read our books, you will notice that we are very candid in assessing businesses. Unlike some other guidebooks that send out questionnaires asking a business if they are any good (gee, they all say they're good), we've had personal contact with the businesses listed in this book. We accept no payment for our reviews, we make no deals with businesses for saying nice things, and again, there are no advertisements in our book. If we gush over a certain company, it comes from personal experience with the company. If we rail against a business, it is for the same reason. All businesses mentioned in our books are here by our choice. None have had any input into what we say, and we have not received a single cent from any of them for their inclusion. (In fact, some would probably pay to be left out of our books, given our comments.) We always approach businesses as anonymous travelers and later as guidebook writers if we need more information. This ensures that we are treated the same as you. (We were once anonymously reviewing a restaurant when a writer from another guidebook walked in, told the manager their identity, and asked for food. Not surprisingly, the food was "great." But ours was lousy!) What you get in our books is our unbiased opinion on how companies operate-nothing more, nothing less.

Our books are intended to bring you independence in exploring Hawaii. We don't want to waste your precious time by giving you bad advice, or bad directions. We want you to experience the best that the island has to offer. In the end, it's probably fair to say that our ultimate objective is to have you leave Hawaii shaking your head saying, "I never knew a place like this existed."