"Best Pearl Harbor tour?" Topic

Going to Hawahi in October and wanted to see if anyone had suggestions on which tour to take of Pearl Harbor .
Thanks in advance for any tips.

The one by the Navy.

hokuhawaiitours.com

We did this one mate. They have a few options but we did the Beyond the Call of Duty tour. They give you lunch. Pick up and drop off at your hotel. We saw everything. All I can say is absolutely brilliant.

We also did the circle island tour with them. Also brilliant.

Honestly, rent a car and take the map from the rental agency. It is a very small island and everything is well marked. You can go at tour own pace. One fun morning thing to do is climb up inside Diamondhead. At the top you go through the old WW2 installation and end up at the top in the old observation area. Crawl out the slit and a few more feet and you see the whole island!

Get the pass for the whole memorial – before-hand. This is where we got ours.

link

We got Arizona option 1 and the passport. Do not call it a park – the staff will politely correct you. The sub, some museums, stores, food shacks, and the gate to the Arizona memorial are all within easy walking distance of each other and the (free) parking lot.

We got there about 8:30 and checked in in less than 5 minutes. We toured the sub (via the passport) and some of the smaller museums while we waited for our 10:00 Arizona slot. Get to the Arizona gathering area about 15 minutes before your slot.

When we were done with the Arizona we walked over to the Ford Island Shuttle (via the passport) and it took us over to Ford island. We walked the Missouri (via the passport) and then caught the shuttle again over to the air museum (via the passport). Be sure to see both buildings. Took the shuttle back and finished up around 3:00. That included a leisurely pace, plenty of time to linger in the museums, time to rest, snack breaks, potty breaks, and browsing some of the stores. There are food shacks at the Missouri as well.

No regrets here.

If you have a Navy connection, there is a VIP tour you can take. It is conducted by Sailors, includes a familiarization talk and film, and is free. It departs from a Navy yacht facility past the NPS museum. It uses motor whale boats that hold about 20 folks. It was a very special experience that I will not soon forget. Make sure you also tour the airfield and museum.

Obtw, military has free access to all the PH stuff at the NPS exhibits.

+1 Virtualscratchbuilder.

Did this late last year. Easy and well worth the money. Spent most of the day there, while the wife went shopping and to the beach.

Thanks guys

It is totally worth going to the submarine museum, though when my friends and I went we got a lot of amused chuckles from the staff (being submariner-pale, no sun for the last 6+ weeks).

We also got chuckles from the guides at the Missouri, as we were walking along and putting the caps back on the sound-powered phone jacks without even thinking about it.

Bumped into a gent at the Missouri in Coast Guard uniform with both a Submarine Combat Patrol Pin and a Strategic Deterrent Patrol pin, he was quite a character (served in WW2 and up until about 1962 in the USN, then went Coastie). Hope he is still alive, if you find him make sure to talk to him!

I could easily spend an entire day there.