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About Hawaii-Guide.com

Learn about our Purpose, Mission, Goals and Team

Hawaii Guide logo

Hawaii-Guide.com / HawaiiGuide.com was developed to provide Hawaii visitors with everything they’ll need to create the perfect Hawaii trip. This website is dedicated to being the one-stop resource for all things Hawaii.

Since 2002, our Hawaii website has virtually assisted tens of millions of visitors in the process of planning and booking the Hawaiian vacation of their dreams.

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John & Victoria Derrick

Victoria and John Derrick

We strongly believe in the promotion of responsible travel and sustainable/regenerative tourism. We encourage our website visitors to be pono travelers and malama Hawaii!

Today, HawaiiGuide is humbled to be the leading and highest-trafficked* independent Hawaii travel resource on the web. Each year, we currently help up to 15 million travelers plan their trip(s) to the Hawaiian Islands.

Our team is committed to assisting visitors with what we refer to as ‘the four essential steps’: to Plan, to Book, to Pack, and ultimately – to Go!

*Based on web traffic, visitor analytics, and website rankings from both SEMRush and SimilarWeb. 

Top right image and corresponding photo by Aly Dove

John & Victoria Derrick

John & Victoria Derrick - Editors

Our Story

Hawaii-Guide.com (HawaiiGuide.com) was developed by John & Victoria Derrick, two certified Hawaii destination experts, to provide Hawaii visitors with everything they’ll need to create the perfect Hawaii trip.

GuideofUS was founded in the summer of 2000 by John C. Derrick - in the pursuit of providing free travel information to visitors online. In 2002, Hawaii-Guide.com was created as part of that broader vision. Today, through the continued development of our website, ebooks, email campaigns, and media packages, our dedicated Hawaii team of experts assists millions of Hawaii travelers annually.

Our team recognizes that we are each truly blessed to be here, to exist in a pono way, and to serve both the visitors of this website and the Hawaiian community we represent. Our sincerest mahalo for your support!

Hawaii Destination Specialists & Experts

Our team members are Certified Hawaii Destination Specialists & Experts with the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Hawaii Destination Expert & Specialist Badges

Hawaii Destination Expert & Specialist Badges

Our Leadership Team

Victoria & John Derrick - Photo by: Aly Dove

Victoria & John Derrick - Photo by: Aly Dove

Victoria C. Derrick

Victoria C. Derrick

Victoria C. Derrick
President & Publisher

Like her husband, Victoria has been captured by the glowing spirit of Aloha. It fits her personality well; in fact, she was born with the Hawaiian mentality in mind - laid back, calm, loving, and caring - truly Hawaiian Style at heart.

Victoria has a sincere love for writing about the Hawaiian Islands and capturing and publishing material digitally through content, photos, and video so that she can share it with others.

Before taking on HawaiiGuide full-time with John in 2016, Victoria worked in graphic design for a local weekly newspaper and contracted as an SEO consultant. Victoria has extensive knowledge in SEO, publishing, editing, and email/content marketing. She currently runs the day-to-day operations of HawaiiGuide and manages both our content and marketing teams.

Victoria's interests include staying fit ('Barre3' shoutout), reading, animals (especially dogs and parrots), gardening, and cooking healthy. You can reach Victoria on LinkedIn or by email at [email protected]

Headshot photo by Aly Dove

John C. Derrick

John C. Derrick

John C. Derrick
Editor-in-Chief / Founder

For the last 20+ years, John has been an avid fan of Hawaii; his passion for all things Hawaii began after his first trip in 2002, at age 21. A seasoned traveler, having visited each of the previous 49 U.S. states by the age of 19, the islands of Hawaii made a significant impact on John after his first visit. 

Today, he continues to enjoy studying many aspects of Hawai'i, ranging from the cultural and historical to the flora and fauna of the islands. Of course, this website is also a testament to his genuine love of Hawaii.

Having traveled within the U.S. extensively from a young age, John truly believes, 'Hawaii no ka oi' or 'Hawaii is the best.'

Before taking on HawaiiGuide full-time in 2014, John previously worked as a front-end web developer and VP of Operations for a local web firm, where he gained extensive experience with content marketing, SEO, web development & design, and business strategy. John continues to work on the editing and further development of this site, in addition to managing our web development and financial teams. John is interested in landscape photography, gardening, traveling, technology, web development, birds (parrots), and hiking.

Headshot photo by Aly Dove

Our Mission

Hawaii-Guide.com's mission is to provide Hawaii visitors with pertinent travel information about viable and sustainable attractions, thereby promoting conscientious services and contributing value to the local community so that the islands of Hawaii Nei will endure as a place to authentically experience for generations to come.

Our Objectives

To Provide information we feel necessary to empower Hawaii visitors with the best possible experiences. 
To Promote local business and destinations within Hawaii.
To Preserve the ideals and customs of Hawaii so that future generations can equally experience the beauty of the islands.

Our Company & Services

We sincerely believe we are one of Hawaii’s most complete travel websites; providing an abundance of information on the most amazing places found within the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaii-Guide.com is privately held and owned by Guide of Hawaii, LLC and is currently managed and operated by GuideofUS, LLC — publishers of America's Travel Network. In partnership with GuideofUS Media, our national travel media-marketing group, we create genuinely original and shareable travel media and complement the creative content with intelligent marketing for local business services. Our main office is located just outside of the capital city of SC, Columbia; though we typically stay on the road moving around the U.S. in our mobile travel trailer. We visit Hawaii regularly and have visited countless times over the last 20 years. We genuinely believe we have one of the best jobs on earth, promoting and helping others visit some of our favorite destinations.

Hawaii-Guide.com exists with a binary focus of assisting potential Hawaii visitors in the process of planning, researching, and booking their trip while also developing and maintaining targeted and value-driven marketing/advertising campaigns for local business owners operating within the state of Hawaii.

Our Visitor & Traveler Related Services

Since 2002, Hawaii-Guide.com has been providing future travelers unprecedented ease in organizing, planning, and booking their ideal Hawaiian vacation: from activity reservations to luxury accommodations, dining to horseback riding, leis to luaus, and anything you can think of about the Hawaiian Islands.

Today, Hawaii-Guide.com publishes some of the most widely utilized Hawaii travel content in the world through our exclusive guides: Hawaii-Guide.com: Kauai, Hawaii-Guide.com: Oahu, Hawaii-Guide.com: Maui, and Hawaii-Guide.com Big Island. Our proprietary 'Guidereview' ranking algorithm also aids visitors in selecting the top tours, attractions, and lodging.

Our Hawaii destination experts want to introduce visitors to the very best activities, and accommodations, all of the incredible things to see and do, and ultimately make visiting the state of Hawaii the journey of a lifetime.

Our Business Related Services

Since 2007, Hawaii-Guide.com has had the pleasure of working with a large and diverse assortment of local businesses and vendors throughout the Hawaiian Islands, as well as a variety of accommodation and activity providers.

Hawaii-Guide.com helps promote and advertise local businesses by assisting with content syndication, destination marketing efforts, display advertising, cost per event campaigns, tourism-related research, our exclusive 'Guidelink Marketing' system, and highly targeted lead generation. A key objective of our marketing/advertising process is to accurately refer and guide potential visitors to the most optimal choice of activities, tours, and accommodations.

We are focused on generating real & measurable value for our advertisers, and we believe our extensive list of Hawaii business partners, some of whom have worked with us for over a decade, provide ample evidence we're achieving our client's marketing and advertising goals.

Hawaii Memberships

Hawai‘i Visitors & Convention Bureau

Hawai‘i Visitors & Convention Bureau

Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association

Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association

Hawai‘i Pacific Parks

Hawai‘i Pacific Parks

Hawai‘i Nature Center

Hawai‘i Nature Center

Our Support for the Hawaii Community

As a perpetual part of our mission, a portion of our earnings is regularly provided through sponsorships to local Hawai‘i charities aiding in cultural, natural, and environmental causes within the Hawaiian Islands. Most recently, we've given back to: 'The Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF),' 'The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA),' 'The Hawai‘i Nature Conservancy,' the 'Hawai'i Wildlife Fund,' and 'Waterkeepers Hawaiian Islands.' 

Want to help give back to Hawai‘i? Here is a list of Hawaii causes we recommend supporting. See here for donations to those impacted by the 2023 Maui wildfires.

Our Support for Sustainable Tourism

We are also a proud member of the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawaii.

Victoria & John Derrick

Victoria & John Derrick

Feedback & Comments

As always, we genuinely welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions. Email us at [email protected]

Support & Donations

Donations by our readers help support the addition of new great Hawaii travel content. You can donate anytime by visiting our Donations page. Mahalo for your support!

Photo by: Aly Dove

Terms of Use & Disclosures

This website's use is your expressly conditioned acceptance of the terms, conditions, and disclaimers found within our Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability page without any modifications. Your use of this website constitutes your acceptance of all the terms, conditions, and disclaimers posted herein. If you do not agree with any part of these terms and conditions, you should not use this website. We also receive a small commission from travel partners for some of the links found on this website. All partners and related links comply with our Advertising Disclosures. For example, as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. These links do not cost you anything and help provide the necessary funding to maintain this website. Mahalo!

Download our Hawaii Map Packet

Includes most major attractions, all major routes, airports, and a chart with estimated driving times for each respective island.

Our popular Summary Guidesheets are now included.

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