I highly recommend you have polarized sunglasses for your Hawaii vacation. I like to say that seeing Hawaii through polarized sunglasses is like seeing Hawaii in high definition.
To illustrate what a difference polarized glasses make, I want to show you a couple of photos that were taken from basically the same spot with iPhones. Andy took the first photo by holding his polarized sunglasses over the lens of his iPhone.
I took this next photo within feet of same spot with my iPhone. The only difference was I didn’t hold my polarized sunglasses over my lens. Well, there was that difference and the fact that I didn’t have my horizon straight, but you know what I mean. 
They’re both good photos, but as you can see with the polarized version, the colors are much more vibrant. You can also see more of what’s in the water.
If you don’t have polarized sunglasses, here are some suggested brands:
- Foster Grant makes decent, budget-friendly, polarized sunglasses and we’ve found them on on Amazon.
- Tifosi is another quality brand that won’t break the bank and we’ve also purchased them from Amazon.
- For more upscale, polarized sunglasses, Ray Ban and Maui Jim are two top brands.
Do you use polarized sunglasses on your Hawaii vacations?
Sheila Beal
4 comments
I’d always seen and heard about polarized sunglasses but never tried them, and a friend of mine had a pair on one day when we were at Laniakea (aka Turtle Beach) on the north shore… She passed them over to me so I could see what she was seeing and all of a sudden I could see tons of turtles swimming in the water, from all the way up on the beach. I couldn’t believe what a huge difference it made. All I can say is WOW!
Oh, I bet that was cool to see the turtles in the water! Thanks for commenting with your experience, Malia. It’s amazing how much glare polarized sunglasses cut out.
Polarized sunglasses are a must! Have you seen the new HD sunglasses? I wonder if they are polarized or what makes them HD. Cool tho.
Big difference in the two pics!
I did at Mauna Kea beach and it astounded me! I posted it on my blog: http://smalltowngal13.blogspot.com/2011/09/big-island-polarized.html (posted just for you hehe)