First trip to Oahu next month. We are staying on the west side about 40 min form Honolulu. Planning a trip to Pearl Harbor/Arizona. How much time should I allow at PH for 2 adults? Any other recommendations for Oahu would be great. Thanks.

We were there for a total of about 4 1/2 hours and felt like we needed more time.

We toured the Missouri, went to the Arizona Memorial, sub museum, and toured the sub. I would have liked to have visited the aviation museum.

For me a 1/2 day at PH is plenty unless you are a WWII history buff.

Agreed....I way underestimated my alloted time there

What is the order that I should plan on? My son is an AF C-130 pilot so I def will want to see the aviation. I need to get my ticket tonight for the Arizona. Should I plan to do that first or does it matter? I will need to allow time to drive into town & get parked. I was thinking of going M-F but now I am wondering if Sun might be better since I heard the locals will pack the beaches on the weekends.

I did some more research today. I see there is no particular "order" to go in at PH. It does look like it is better to get an early start. I am going to try to get tickets for a Sun am but they won't release more tickets till the day before.

I believe you do have to set a time for Arizona portion.

I took this photo from the Arizona Memorial on Sept 11, 2012. Pearl Harbor is quite a place.

They have boats leaving from the Arizona like every 15 min. Just buy a ticket to the Arizona when you arrive and walk the grounds until you are ready to board the boat. Total round trip to the Arizona is an hour max, may be closer to 30 min…it's a 10 min boat ride, 10-20 min at the memorial (it is very small), then 10 min boat ride back to shore. The rest of the time is walking around the museum.

Very humbling…..been lucky to go twice, once before and after the renovations. Got our picture taken with a survivor in 2009. That was awesome!


https://www.pacifichistoricparks.org/pearl-harbor-national-memorial

Currently they have discontinued getting same day tickets.

We did the Arizona, sub mueseum, Missouri, and aviation museum and basically got their when it opened and left at close. This included reasonably hurrying through the aviation. If you're museum people its gonna take a day and I'd save the sub museum for last. The Arizona and then going on the Missouri to understand the size and explore were definitely the highlights for us.

The leave Oahu asap for the big island/Kauai

And for timing, I'd do the Arizona right as it opens, you can actually see oil still rising from it with the calm water. Then the bus takes you to the Missouri, aviation museum (in that order) on base, then back where you could finish with the sub if that's interesting to you.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Thanks!

Not sure your budget, but I'd recommend a helicopter tour and/or a land tour of the entire island.

This way you'll get to see the entire island from above and on the ground.

My son started flying planes when he was 16 yo & is now a AF Captain & flies the C-130. He also flies for American Eagle. When he was a HS senior he flew me around Maui. It was incredible! Ironically I will not get in a helicopter so I will just have to see the island by car. Thanks for the suggestion!

I enjoyed our trip to Punchbowl Cemetery - beautiful grounds
WWII and Korea and Vietnam Medal of Honor guys and many more

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

You need to get tickets to the AZ ahead of time to be assured of a spot. IMO the rest of PH is in desperate need of an update. Exhibits look like they were made 50 or 60 years ago and never updated.

If you want to check out the Missouri and have access to Ford island you can just drive out to the ship and park right next to it bypassing the bus ride from the Arizona.

Jock 07 said:

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If you want to check out the Missouri and have access to Ford island you can just drive out to the ship and park right next to it bypassing the bus ride from the Arizona.

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Great view of the Arizona from there, too. Really surreal.

FYI, an Aggie is the curator of the submarine exhibit at the Pearl Harbor museum. He posts on Texags every once in a while. I don't remember his username, though.

For the average person, 1/2 day is a good estimate of time needed at PH.

Good idea staying outside of Honolulu.My favorite thing to go on all of the islands is to get a good guidebook and make sure you circle the entire island. We found plenty of cool and beautiful spots all around Oahu outside of Honolulu.

A couple of suggestions from my memory:

I'd recommend driving counterclock wise past Honolulu and take your time making your way to Kailua. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a popular and worthy snorkeling site. Just north of there there is a great blowhole on the rocky beach. One of the best beaches is Bellows on the east side, but you'd have to have a military friend to get you access. The Pali lookout is a can't miss photo op on the east side just west of Kailua.

The drive back to Honolulu on H3 is spectacular, and if you time it so that you go just after an afternoon rain, you'll be treated to numerous waterfalls that appear after a short downpoor.

There are numerous things to see and do all along the hi way 83 as you drive around the NE and north side of the island. I'd do every inch. I recommend the guidebook "Oahu Revealed" for a mile by mile description of what you can find along the road.

Do a luau at Paradise Cove. Best luau on the islands. I would also take a self-guided tour around the north side of the Island using the app called "Shaka Guide". It is great and gives you a lot of the history of the islands as you drive.

Definitely go to the North Shore. Whenever we get a chance to return we'll only stay at Turtle Bay unless we did a rental. Beachfront cottages ther are very nice and what you see the characters staying in in the movie "Forgetting Sara Marshall".

A lot of the movie is filmed at themTB resort.

NS is much closer to your image of Hawaii than Ko Olina or Honolulu/Waikiki.

• Ditch the fancy footwear and buy some Locals slippahs from any Longs or ABC Store.
• I would say spend an evening in Waikiki playing in the waves (during low tide there is a nice sand bar offshore) while watching the sunset and listening to Hawaiian music as hula dancers perform for the tourists at Kuhio Beach, but it looks like performances have been canceled due to Covid.
• Take surf lessons from the original Beach Boys and ambassadors of Aloha in Waikiki.
• After a day at the beach head to a 7-Eleven and get a Slurpee and spam musubi.
• Get some malasada from Leonard's on Kapahulu.
• Go early to Waimea Bay to get parking and jump off the rock. Stop at Laniakea to see the honu.
• Stand in line at Matsumoto's in Haleiwa for some shave ice. On your way, buy something for yourself at Surf N Sea.
• Watch everyone get pounded in the shorebreak at Sandy's. Continue heading around the Windward side and stop at Makapuu for some more manageable waves. If Makapuu is too much, continue and there is Sherwoods in Waimanalo, Bellows is open to the public on weekends, then Lanikai and Kailua beach parks.
• Germaine's is a good luau close to where I think you're staying. I'm not sure how much things have changed though. When we visited I was friends with a performer who also trained their hula dancers.

Visited Oahu twice while our son was stationed there. The first time we rented a condo next to Waikiki beach, the second an AirBnB that was a 2 minute walk to Kailua Beach. Enjoyed both trips but Kailua was a more relaxing experience.

• Diamond Head is worth the walk/hike to the top. Go in the morning and take water.
• Waikiki is very touristy but you should go because it's so iconic and just to say you've been there. Try to plan that on a Friday afternoon/evening and enjoy a decent fireworks show put on by Hilton(I believe) While you are there the Hilton Hawaiian Village is fun to walk around for a bit but again, touristy shopping. Lappert's Ice Cream is good and we bought way too many cookies at the Honolulu Cookie Company.
• While in Waikiki/Honolulu ABC Stores are your friend. They are everywhere.
• We loved Kailua Beach. Walked it every morning down to the https://kalapawaimarket.com/ for breakfast. The kid and I did the kayak adventure. It was a workout but a great experience. Ate at a number of local restaurants. All good. Kailua also had a farmer's market around the weekends which had some great food and local products. The Pillbox hike is awesome but you need to be in decent shape as it's fairly rugged.
• If you want to have a more budget friendly meal try Zippy's. It's like a Hawaiian Denny's only better. Loco Moco for the win!
• Yes we stopped at Dole Plantation. Again, touristy spot but the kid and I had fun navigating the maze and the Dole Whip frozen treats are awesome.
• Love Northshore. We made it a point to make our Northshore excursions on weekdays to avoid weekend traffic on the advice of our daughter-in-law.(She's a native islander.) I could spend forever listening to/watching the surf at Sunset Beach and Banzai Pipeline and I highly recommend you catch a sunset at either one. That surf is no joke so watch yourself. Agree you need to get a Matsutomo Shave Ice. There's numerous shops around the immediate area as well if you like that kind of stuff. I like the Kahala shirts and shorts. Not cheap but they last forever. Ted's Bakery @ Sunset Beach is worthwhile. You'll see slices at ABC Stores but just buy a whole pie at Northshore and take it to the beach. Plenty of food available along the Northshore. Our favorite place is https://www.haleiwajoes.com/