Best Pearl Harbor Tour Options

[cenmn18]

We have a 2 day stop in Oahu, Sunday/Monday in October and are looking for Pearl Harbor tour options that include both the Arizona & Missouri. The HOHO Trolley seemed as option but reviews were very mixed. Another tour company picked up at many hotels beginning at 6am and gave the impression that a lot of time was spent on the vehicle picking up. After some hours of searching I decided to inquire here versus reinventing the wheel. 

[CruiserBruce]

The first thing you need to check is whether the Memorial will be open. It has been closed for a bit...the dock needed major repairs. 

 

If it is open, just take a taxi or Uber over. You can tour for as long as you wish. No need for a tour.

[Beachiekeen]

Pearl Harbor "tours" provide transportation to and from PH and your boat ticket to the memorial (the memorial structure itself is currently closed for repair but you still get a boat tour around the Arizona).  There are several tours that have the option to add tickets to the USS Missouri.  But you can take a taxi or Uber and buy all the same tickets yourself and then you aren't on any time schedule.  There is also the public bus that can be used as transportation.

 

If you do pay for a tour, many will have the option to add the USS Missouri.

 

 

[czrunner]

Bus #42 takes you to Pearl Harbor (from Waikiki along Kuhio Ave.).  Day bus ticket is $5.50 or $2 for seniors with a U.S. medicare card.  The museum and the boat ride around the Arizona Memorial are free, but we splurged on reserving our tickets at $1 per ticket.  There is a small extra fee for Missouri, but you can add the tour on the spot. 

[Astro Flyer]

42 minutes ago, czrunner said:

Bus #42 takes you to Pearl Harbor (from Waikiki along Kuhio Ave.).  Day bus ticket is $5.50 or $2 for seniors with a U.S. medicare card.  The museum and the boat ride around the Arizona Memorial are free, but we splurged on reserving our tickets at $1 per ticket.  There is a small extra fee for Missouri, but you can add the tour on the spot. 

That’s the option we’ve used & some people will take a taxi or Uber in the morning & return by The Bus.  With 2 days in Honolulu cenmn18 has plenty of time so I’d take The Bus which is a good option to explore Oahu without driving.

 

http://www.pearlharborhistoricsites.org/

 

Here is the current estimate about the USS Arizona Memorial’s reopening & as stated the Visitors Center is open & tenders take people to see the Memorial.  As I recall it’s been closed a year for repairs & estimated opening dates have been delayed several times.

 

Repairs are projected to be complete by fall 2019 and in time for the next December 7 remembrance, provided no issues arise during the construction period.

 

https://www.nps.gov/valr/faqs.htm

[trish1c]

DIY is the best way to go.  No overpriced tour required.  

 

To use The Bus, Hawaii's public transportation system, use the map feature on your phone & click the public transit option.  Once somebody taught me that it was sooooo much easier!

 

Do check with the national parks service because as has been posted above, the Arizona Memorial is currently closed.  

[TwinMamainMN]

6 hours ago, trish1c said:

Do check with the national parks service because as has been posted above, the Arizona Memorial is currently closed.  

 

From what I understand, right now you can still go to the visitor center, see the movie/exhibits, and take the boat ride out to get a view of the USS Arizona. You can't currently get off the boat and onto the memorial, but you can still see it.

[dkata]

I just visited the Arizona memorial last week. Don’t take an overpriced tour. The main site is free as is the boat ride out and around the memorial. Its still closed to the public, so the boat ride out to see it, is the best that you will get.

take the #42 bus from downtown waikiki or take an uber or taxi

[WNCtourist]

I understand that if you aren't quick enough to get the free tickets 60 days in advance, there's a chance to walk up on the day of your visit and get tickets to the Arizona memorial. If those run out, can you still visit the Missouri, Bowfin, and other sights at Pearl Harbor?

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, WNCtourist said:

I understand that if you aren't quick enough to get the free tickets 60 days in advance, there's a chance to walk up on the day of your visit and get tickets to the Arizona memorial. If those run out, can you still visit the Missouri, Bowfin, and other sights at Pearl Harbor?

True. We have never purchased tickets in advance, there has never been a serious wait...maybe 30 minutes for an available slot.

[cenmn18]

What is the best way to contact for free tickets? There also has been mention of a small fee for a timed ticket slot, is that through the same site as the free tickets?

 

[trish1c]

Yes, it's through the official national parks service www.nps.gov.  The fee is about $2 for processing.  It's the same thing with the Liberty Bell & other attractions in other states but it's a real convenience.  Make sure you are on the dot GOV site.  Everything else is commercial / for profit.  

[dkata]

We got the timed tickets on the nps website and paid the nominal fee plus the fee for the narrated headset. Earliest tix were 1pm. We got there at 1030, to see the free museum and use our headsets. When went to retrieve our 1:00 pm tix, the desk attendant told me to exchange my tixs for an earlier time of 11:00, which they were handing out for free. No refund on the reserved tix, though.  So we had a half hour to wait. After the boat ride, we used our headsets to visit the free musuems. So it just depends on the crowd that day.

[alliecat44]

I just purchased the narrated headset Arizona tour. Now I am wondering if I need a separate reservation to enter the visitor center??

 

our Arizona reservation is for 1pm. Trying to do an activity at 5:15pm in Waikiki. I am hoping we can get to Pearl Harbor in the morning and be able to see everything we want to see and leave after the Arizona tour ends around 2:30 to give us some time to get back to our hotel and reflect for a bit. 

 

Does this seem possible?? Do I need separate tickets?? Or am I overthinking it?

[B-52]

If the Arizona memorial is closed, what do you get for your Arizona tickets

we pre paid for the “Heart of the Missouri” and the aviation museum, thus far 

also, why else do you need reservation tickets for?

want to cover all bases 

[Astro Flyer]

43 minutes ago, B-52 said:

If the Arizona memorial is closed, what do you get for your Arizona tickets

we pre paid for the “Heart of the Missouri” and the aviation museum, thus far 

also, why else do you need reservation tickets for?

want to cover all bases 

 

The the latest information from the National Park Service shows the Arizona Memorial is closed until Fall 2019 but every estimated opening date has been extended since it closed over a year ago.

 

Please be advised that the USS Arizona Memorial will not be accessible until the fall of 2019 as repairs are made to the memorial's visitor loading dock. In the interim, visitors with free USS Arizona Memorial program tickets will continue to see a 25-minute documentary film followed by a narrated harbor tour of Battleship Row on U.S. Navy vessels, which pass as close as possible to the USS Arizona Memorial. Visitors are also welcome to tour our two free museums, shore side exhibits, snack shop and bookstore, and all of our partner sites remain open and available. Updates on the repairs will be provided as they become available.

 

https://www.nps.gov/valr/faqs.htm

 

7 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

I just purchased the narrated headset Arizona tour. Now I am wondering if I need a separate reservation to enter the visitor center??

 

our Arizona reservation is for 1pm. Trying to do an activity at 5:15pm in Waikiki. I am hoping we can get to Pearl Harbor in the morning and be able to see everything we want to see and leave after the Arizona tour ends around 2:30 to give us some time to get back to our hotel and reflect for a bit. 

 

Does this seem possible?? Do I need separate tickets?? Or am I overthinking it?

 

I’m not familiar with the narrated headset Arizona tour but the NPS website I posted might answer your questions.

[czrunner]

The museum and the boat ride to and around the (closed) Arizona Memorial are free.  As I mentioned in my post of May 18 above, you can purchase additional tours (e.g. Missouri) onsite.  We reserved the "free tickets" for the Arizona boat ride for $1 each on the recreation.gov website as an insurance, in case there is an unusual number of visitors on that particular day.  The reservation was for the 1 p.m. tour, which seams to be the standard.  When we arrived a little earlier, we were offered an earlier trip, without any wait.  The reservation was not really necessary.  I suspect that the narrated headset or anything else that you prepay includes the Arizona boat ride, but check on the website or with whoever sold you the headset or Missouri reservation.

 

You should be able to make it back to Waikiki by 5:15 p.m. either by bus (#42) or a taxi.  Try to take an early boat ride to the Arizona memorial and then you can time your other activities at Pearl Harbor accordingly.

[alliecat44]

Thank you! So it sounds like I don't need a separate reservation to get into the visitor's center. Appreciate it! 

[Astro Flyer]

Here’s more information about the repairs & their hope to reopen in October after being closed since May 2018.

 

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/07/12/hawaii-news/key-progress-made-in-arizona-memorial-access/?HSA=4793b5dccd2227e60f0b16004a429e594e13f182

Edited July 12, 2019 by Astro Flyer