Hawaii Travel Brochure: Your Guide to Free Island Tourism Brochures
- Go Hawaii, the state's official tourism organization, publishes free brochures covering all four main islands — downloadable as PDFs or mailed on request.
- Each island runs its own version too, so a general statewide brochure and an Oʻahu-specific one aren't the same document.
- Brochures are good for a first pass — attractions, lodging categories, a festival calendar — but thin on logistics. Pair one with our trip-planning guide.
- Want it mailed instead of printed at home? See our page on the free Hawaii travel guide by mail.
A brochure is a strange little artifact these days — half advertisement, half cheat sheet. Hawaii's tourism boards still print millions of them every year, because a folded map with photos does something a search engine result doesn't: it gives you a shape for the whole trip in one sitting.
Accessing Hawaii Travel Brochures
Download or Print Hawaii Travel Brochures
Go Hawaii runs the central hub for this. The organization hosts PDF versions of its statewide brochures for free download, no signup wall in most cases, and it'll mail a printed copy if you'd rather have paper. Printing at home works fine for the shorter island flyers; the full Official Visitors' Guide runs sixty-plus pages and is better ordered by mail or read on a tablet.
- Visit the island or statewide page you want and look for a "visitor guide" or "brochure" download link.
- Save the PDF locally before your trip — cell service on rural roads (looking at you, Hāna Highway) can be spotty.
- Request a printed copy weeks ahead if you want it mailed; expect a few weeks in transit.
Exploring Hawaii's Attractions
Must-See Attractions in Hawaii
Every Go Hawaii brochure leads with the marquee names: Waikīkī Beach, Haleakalā, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the Nā Pali Coast. The state tourism board curates these lists deliberately, tilting toward sites that are safe, accessible, and photogenic for a general audience. That's useful shorthand, but it also means quieter spots get left out — a brochure won't tell you about the tide-pool beach two towns over.
Unique Offerings of Each Hawaiian Island
Oʻahu brochures lean urban: Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, North Shore surf culture. Maui's push hard on Road to Hana and whale season. Kauaʻi markets itself almost entirely on the Nā Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon. The Big Island brochure has the widest spread of anything — active volcanoes, snow-capped Mauna Kea, black-sand beaches, coffee farms — because the island itself is just bigger and geologically wilder.
For real itinerary planning past the marketing copy, our island hubs go further: the Oahu Travel Guide and the Maui Travel Guide cover neighborhood-level detail no brochure has room for.
Accommodation and Stay Options
Best Places to Stay in Hawaii
Brochures list accommodations in broad categories — beach resort, condo, B&B, budget hotel — usually through paid listings from local travel board affiliates rather than independent reviews. That's worth knowing: a hotel's spot in a brochure often reflects a marketing relationship, not a quality ranking.
| Source | What You Get | Format | How to Request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Hawaii | Statewide brochure, attractions, lodging categories | Free PDF + mailed booklet | Download or request form on gohawaii.com |
| Island tourism boards | Island-specific maps, activities, festival calendars | Free PDF + print | Island bureau website |
| Resort brochures | Property amenities, room types, package deals | Print or PDF, often emailed after inquiry | Direct request via resort site |
| Airline in-flight/vacation packets | Destination overview bundled with a booking pitch | Mailed or handed out pre-flight | Ask when booking a flight package |
Cultural and Historical Insights
Cultural and Historical Sites in Hawaii
Go Hawaii and the state Tourism Board both weave Hawaiian history into their brochures rather than treating it as an afterthought — Pearl Harbor's USS Arizona Memorial, Hawaiian monarchy sites like ʻIolani Palace, ancient heiau (temples) scattered across several islands. It's a light touch, a paragraph or two, but enough to point you toward deeper reading before you visit sites that carry real weight for Native Hawaiian communities.
Activities and Events
Planning Activities and Tours in Hawaii
Snorkeling, luaus, whale watching, volcano hikes — brochures list the categories, and local travel board affiliates fill in specific operators. Booking tip: brochure-listed tour companies pay for placement, so cross-check reviews before committing, especially for boat tours and anything involving cliffs or lava fields.
Local Events and Festivals in Hawaii
Merrie Monarch Festival on the Big Island, Aloha Festivals statewide, various island-specific luaus and cultural weeks — these get their own calendar page in most official brochures. The Tourism Board updates this seasonally, so a brochure printed in January may already be stale by summer. Digital versions stay more current.
Travel Tips and Safety Information
Essential Travel Tips and Safety Information
Ocean safety gets real space in Go Hawaii's materials — rip currents kill more visitors than sharks ever will, and brochures generally say so plainly. Sun protection, hiking gear for volcanic terrain, and hurricane-season awareness (June through November) round out the practical section. None of it replaces checking current conditions before you go; brochures are printed months ahead and can't track today's surf report.
For more day-to-day advice, see our Hawaii Travel Tips hub, which updates more often than any printed booklet can.
What is a Hawaii travel brochure, exactly?
It's a printed or digital booklet from a tourism board, airline, or resort summarizing attractions, lodging, and activities for a destination — part information, part advertisement.
Are Hawaii travel brochures actually free?
The official ones from Go Hawaii and island tourism boards are, yes. Resort and timeshare brochures are free too, but sometimes come bundled with a sales follow-up call.
Can I pick up a brochure in person once I land?
Yes — visitor centers at major airports and hotel lobbies stock them, along with racks at rental-car counters. Handy if you didn't plan ahead.
See also our companion pages: Free Hawaii Travel Guide hub, the Free Hawaii Vacation Guide, and the full Visitors Guide to Hawaii. Official source: Go Hawaii. Historical site info: National Park Service.