Pearl Harbor Tips: 10 Visitor Insights
If you’re planning a trip to Oahu, chances are you’ll want to know some insider Pearl Harbor tips from visitors.
In this post, we’ve combed through Pearl Harbor tips on TripAdvisor, Yelp and our own archives to compile a top ten list of visitor insights to help you enjoy your visit to Pearl Harbor.
Here are the top 10 Pearl Harbor tips from visitors:
Book tickets online the day before at 7am
We booked our tickets the day before at 7am and had our choice of time for visiting the memorial. 1,300 Walk-In tickets are available daily on a first come first served basis at the Park Visitor Center. Each day at 7:00 am Hawaii time on-line ticket inventory is released for the next day at Recreation.gov
Well worth the money to get the audio tour
The feeling you get while standing on the Arizona Memorial and viewing the ship under your feet is one you will never, ever forget. To truly get the most of out of the visit, consider doing the audio tour to understand the entirety of what you’re experiencing.
Give yourself enough time
Don’t leave Pearl Harbor wishing you could have stayed at least for another few hours. There was so much reading and comprehending that can be done, so take your time and enjoy learning about history and remember those lost.
Get your tickets months in advance
Get your free tickets before you come…months in advance. We arrived at 7:15 and couldn’t get entrance tickets to the Memorial until 1:15. All other attractions here cost extra. There is a standby line to gain entrance but they usually don’t start having opening until after 10.
Check Groupon
Check for discounts on Groupon! I bought 2 entrances in price of one! Its worth going there. Especially for visits to the Pacific Aviation Museum and other tours.
Do the unconventional
If you’re looking to have an experience unlike any other, consider seeing Pearl Harbor from the seat of an authentic World War II aircraft. Pearl Harbor Warbirds offers a Pearl Harbor flight adventure tour that immerses you in the details of the infamous attack and soars above the important sites that played a part in the “Day of Infamy.” Learn more at Admiral’s Warbird Adventure or with the Ensign’s Warbird Experience.
Get a locker for $3
No bags, not even a hand clutch with a shoulder strap…but if you hold it in your hand…MAYBE they’ll let you in. But they have lockers for $3.
Strollers
Strollers are allowed in the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, but not in the theaters or on shuttle boats to the USS Arizona Memorial. While strollers may be parked at the theaters and picked up once the visitors return from the Memorial, NPS is not responsible for monitoring strollers or other personal items left behind.
Prioritize
Personally I would put the priority in this order:
1) Arizona Memorial
2) Missouri
3) Pacific Aviation Museum
4) Bowfin Museum
Do not miss it
The best Pearl Harbor tips echoed one thing: don’t miss it, and do it if you were to do one thing in Oahu. Pearl Harbor is a special place that you must experience on a visit to Hawaii.
What are your best Pearl Harbor Tips?