Hand-picked by our editors — only the best 5 experiences from 240 reviewed.
Verified partners for every tour, free cancellation where available, and instant confirmation on every booking.
4 hr
Journey to the historic site of the 1941 attack with reserved boat access to the Arizona Memorial
Reserve
5 hr
Discover Oahu's most significant WWII sites and capital landmarks on this comprehensive half-day excursion
Reserve
5 hr 30 min
Journey to Pearl Harbor's memorials and explore downtown Honolulu's wartime landmarks
ReservePrices from verified partners. Availability updates in real time at checkout. Free cancellation policies apply where shown.
The landmarks, rooms, and views travelers on this tour remember — all visible on a single visit.
The white structure spans the sunken battleship, serving as a solemn final resting place for over 1,100 sailors. Viewing the oil still seeping from the wreck is a common, sobering experience.
Two museums detail the events leading to the attack and the aftermath, featuring personal artifacts and dramatic photographs. These galleries are free to enter.
Walk the grounds for views over the harbor and interpretive waysides that explain the timeline of December 7, 1941. This area provides quiet space for reflection.
The 23-minute film provides essential historical context before visitors board the Navy shuttle boat. The theater is kept quiet to maintain a respectful atmosphere.
Located in the shrine room, this wall lists the names of the 1,177 sailors and Marines entombed within the ship. It is a focal point for many visiting the memorial.
The USS Arizona provides a solemn, meditative experience, whereas the Battleship Missouri offers an expansive, immersive walk through naval life; most visitors conclude that these Honolulu landmarks complement one another.
| Feature | Top pick USS Arizona Memorial | Battleship Missouri Memorial |
|---|---|---|
Experience type |
Commemorative site | |
Emotional tone |
Solemn and reflective | |
Depth of historical access |
Focus on 1941 events | |
Required time commitment |
2–3 hours | |
Activity level |
Low impact walk | |
Accessibility |
ADA compliant shuttle | |
| See tickets → |
Verdict: Select the pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour for a quiet tribute, or the Battleship Missouri if you desire deeper technical insight with your pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour tickets and pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour tour variants.
Choose your ticket, select your date, and reserve in under two minutes. Secure checkout handled by our verified partner.
Instant confirmation by email, with a mobile voucher you can save offline. No printing, no queuing at a collection desk.
Arrive at the entrance, show your voucher on your phone, and walk in. Most tickets include priority or skip-the-line access.
Practical details for your visit straight from our verified partners — hours, access, rules, and how to get there.
1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, HI 96818
Primary check-in for pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour tickets
Take bus 20 toward Pearl Ridge which stops near the entrance
Follow signs for exit 15A on H-1 West; use the provided address for accurate navigation
Visitors should dress modestly for this site of remembrance. Swimwear, revealing clothing, and profane slogans are not permitted, and military personnel must wear Class B or better uniforms.
Strict security measures are in place; bags that provide concealment are prohibited. Small clear bags are permitted, but most personal items should be carried in pockets or stored at the nearby facility.
Photography is allowed at the visitor center and on the USS Arizona Memorial, but visitors must remain respectful and avoid staging inappropriate poses. Do not use flash inside the theater during the documentary film.
The visitor center, museum exhibits, and Navy shuttle boats are fully wheelchair accessible. Please note that wheelchairs are not available for rent on-site.
Families are welcome, but children must be closely supervised as this is a solemn gravesite. Note that infants still require a ticket for the boat program.
Only clear water is permitted in the theater and on the shuttle boats. A snack shop is available at the visitor center for quick refreshments.
1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, HI 96818
Primary check-in for pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour tickets
Get directionsBest time to go, insider tips, nearby landmarks, and the cancellation fine print — flip through to skim what matters to you.
How crowds, weather, and events shift across the year.
March through May offers mild temperatures and lower humidity before the summer heat.
June through August is peak season; early arrival is essential to avoid midday heat and large crowds.
September through November is generally less crowded with pleasant weather.
December through February brings cooler temperatures, though holiday periods can be busy.
Small details that turn a good visit into a great one.
Plan to be at the visitor center between 07:00 and 08:00 to avoid peak crowds and heat.
Save your Recreation.gov confirmation email or QR code for easy entry access.
If you have a bag, allow extra time to store it at the facility near the entrance before your program.
Maintain a quiet, solemn demeanor throughout the visitor center and on the memorial to honor the fallen.
Wear comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes as there is significant walking required across the grounds.
Much of the area is exposed to the sun; bring sunscreen and a hat to stay comfortable.
Non-bookable sights within a short walk — free to visit, easy to pair.
Explore a historic submarine and naval history exhibits
Visit the site where World War II officially ended
View historic aircraft in authentic World War II-era hangars
A poignant memorial located on Ford Island dedicated to the crew
Flexible, no hidden fees.
Reservations for the pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour program are non-refundable. The $1 reservation fee applies for USS Arizona Memorial boats.
Hand-picked options within walking distance — pick a district for vibe, or a specific hotel for convenience.
Prime hotel district with high-end resorts and beach access
Urban hotels convenient for city-wide exploration
Practical lodging options located close to Pearl Harbor
The USS Arizona still leaks between two and nine quarts of fuel oil a day, more than eight decades after 7 December 1941. Visitors call the slick the black tears. It surfaces in slow, iridescent coins beside the white memorial that spans the sunken hull. Pearl Harbor was not always a naval base. Hawaiians knew the lochs as Pu'uloa, a fishery guarded by the shark goddess Ka'ahupāhau, its shallows thick with pearl oysters that gave the harbour its English name. Dredging began in 1900. The channel was cut deep enough for battleships by 1911, and the Arizona herself was launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a Pennsylvania-class dreadnought of 185 metres. She was moored at Battleship Row when a bomb detonated her forward magazine. She sank in nine minutes. Of 2,403 American dead that morning, 1,177 were her crew. Just over 900 remain within the hull. Alfred Preis designed the memorial that opened in 1962. An Austrian-born architect who had himself been interned on Sand Island as an enemy alien, he shaped a 56-metre structure that sags in the middle and rises at both ends — a form he described as depression at the moment of the attack, ascending confidence afterwards. Seven windows on each side and seven overhead admit light onto the shrine room, where the names are cut into Vermont marble. The structure touches the ship at no point. A pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour that includes the boat programme crosses the water by Navy launch to reach it. The wider site is now the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, administered by the National Park Service at 1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, HI 96818. Two museum galleries, Road to War and Attack, hold recovered artefacts, aerial reconnaissance photographs and the harbour's own topography seen through glass toward Ford Island. Nearby sit the Battleship Missouri, on whose teak deck the instruments of surrender were signed in Tokyo Bay in 1945, and the USS Bowfin submarine. Most Honolulu historical landmarks tours pair the harbour with Iolani Palace, the King Kamehameha statue and the Punchbowl crater cemetery, tracing the city's layered record of monarchy, annexation and war. Entry to the memorial itself is free, though a $1 reservation fee applies for USS Arizona Memorial boats. Operators bundling a pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour tour with those civic sites treat the day as one continuous argument about how a place remembers.
"The memorial sags in the middle and rises at both ends, and it touches the sunken ship at no point."
A step-by-step walkthrough of the visit — what you'll see, how long each stage takes, and the details that matter.
You reach 1 Arizona Memorial Place inside the 07:00–08:00 arrival window, when the lot is still half empty and the trade wind has not yet gone slack. Gates open at 07:00. You clear the bag check — no purses, no backpacks, nothing with a pocket — and collect your voucher for a pearl harbor uss arizona honolulu city tour with boat access, the $1 reservation fee already paid. You walk the shoreline path past the anchor, then into the Attack gallery, where a wall of aerial photographs shows Battleship Row seventeen minutes before it burned. You stand at the glass and find Ford Island across the water, close enough to read the control tower stripes. A ranger calls your boarding number. You sit through the 23-minute documentary, then file onto the Navy launch. The crossing takes five minutes. On board you stop talking, because everyone does. Inside the shrine room you read down the marble, 1,177 names in raised columns, and look through the floor openings at the barbette of Turret No. 1 breaking the surface. Oil beads upward. You have roughly fifteen minutes before the return launch. Back on shore, if your itinerary continues, a coach carries you toward the Missouri's teak deck or into Honolulu for Iolani Palace and the Punchbowl overlook.
The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center is open daily from 07:00 to 17:00.
General admission to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial is free, including the visitor center and museums. There is a $1 reservation fee for the boat program.
You can reserve tickets on Recreation.gov or join the standby line at the visitor center for the boat program.
Bags are generally prohibited; only clear bags are permitted, and storage is available for a fee.
Yes, the visitor center, museum galleries, and shuttle boats are fully wheelchair accessible.
Arrive between 07:00 and 08:00 to avoid crowds and ensure better availability for boat programs.
Yes, small cameras without cases are allowed at the memorial and throughout the visitor center.
Only clear water is permitted in the theater and on the boats, though a snack shop is located in the visitor center.
Reservations are non-refundable, and the $1 booking fee is not returned if a tour is canceled.
You can easily combine your visit with the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, Battleship Missouri, or the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.