What You Should Know Before Visiting Pearl Harbor
Over 8.3 million people visit Hawaii each year. After all, Hawaii has so much to offer: great weather, beautiful beaches, surfing, and of course, Pearl Harbor. With 1.8 million visitors a year, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is one of the most visited sites in Honolulu. Visiting Pearl Harbor is a must when in Oahu. Here's what you should know before visiting Pearl Harbor.
What You Should Know Before Visiting Pearl Harbor
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a date which will live in infamy," caused the US to join World War II.
The two-hour attack damaged all eight Navy battleships, sinking four, including the USS Arizona which remains underwater today.
The USS Arizona Memorial was built in 1962 to honor and remember the 1,102 military personnel who died on board. In 1989, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. And is considered the Pearl Harbor Memorial.
With so much to see here's what you should know before you visit Pearl Harbor.
1. Book Your Ticket in Advance
You can visit the USS Arizona Memorial for free. But a ticket is required.
Every day 1,300 tickets are given out on a first-come, first-served basis at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center ticket counter.
USS Arizona Memorial tickets are included in Pearl Harbor tours like a Day at Pearl Harbor.
Tickets have a pre-assigned visiting time from 7:45 am to 3 pm. If it's crowded or you get there late, you might have to wait 2 or more hours. So get there early!
Pro-tip: Pre-book a free ticket on the Recreation.gov website.
There's a $1.50 fee for each ticket booked in advance. Totally worth it to avoid waiting in line and guarantee that you get a ticket.
You can pre-book your ticket up to 2 months in advance. Up to 12 tickets per day can be reserved online.
Pro-tip: If you couldn't pre-book your ticket, there are a limited number of next-day tickets released at 7 am Hawaii time. So check the Recreation.gov website 24 hours before your visit.
2. Book a Tour
There's so much to see at Pearl Harbor:
- USS Arizona Memorial
- USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
- Battleship Missouri Memorial
- Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor
Plan to spend an entire day at Pearl Harbor. Everything is family-friendly and there's plenty to keep you occupied.
Even if you don't think you'll be interested in seeing the other attractions, you might change your mind once you're there. Jeff did and wanted to see everything.
Because we already had our USS Arizona Memorial tickets (pre-booked online), we bought Passport to Pearl Harbor tickets ($65 for adults, $35 for children ages 4 to 12) at the ticket counter.
Pro-tip: Only Passport to Pearl Harbor tickets purchased on the Recreation.gov website include tickets to the USS Arizona Memorial.
If you buy your Passport to Pearl Harbor tickets at the visitor center, you still need tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial.
Pro-tip: If you want extra time, you can use your Passport to Pearl Harbor ticket for a second visit within 7 days by paying a fee of $10 (adults) and $5 (children) at the ticket counter.
3. No Bags or Purses Allowed
Pearl Harbor is home to the US Navy's Pacific Fleet and is a military base. Security is strict and you will go through a metal detector.
You can't bring any type of backpack, bag, or purse. Not even a diaper bag.
Bag storage is available for $3 per bag maximum of 50 pounds, regardless of size. So you could come straight from the airport or go to the airport after your visit.
You can bring a:
- Wallet
- Camera
- Cell phone
- Clear water bottle
Pro-tip: Wear clothes that have pockets. Or you have to hold everything in your hands.
4. Wear Comfortable Shoes
Wear comfortable shoes especially if you decide to visit all the attractions. There's a lot of walking and standing around.
5. Wear Sunscreen
Hawaii is hot. The sun beats down something fierce. And you'll outside for parts of the tour.
Put sunscreen on before you get to Pearl Harbor. Or in the parking lot before you get out of your rental car. Because you can't bring sunscreen into Pearl Harbor.
6. Dress Appropriately
The USS Arizona Memorial is an underwater grave. So bathing suits are not allowed. Board shorts for guys will probably fly as long as you're wearing a shirt. But no bikini's for the girls.
7. No Restrooms or Strollers
There are no restrooms at the USS Arizona Memorial. So visit the bathroom at the visitor center before you get on the shuttle boat.
Strollers are not allowed on the shuttle boat. You have to park them at the theater.
Pro-tip: Remove all valuables from your stroller.
Conclusion
These seven tips will prepare you for what you should know before visiting Pearl Harbor.
- Book your ticket in advance
- Some Pearl Harbour tours, like the Day at Pearl Harbor, include USS Arizona Memorial tickets
- Leave bags purses, backpacks and diaper bags at your hotel
- Wear comfortable shoes
- Put on sunscreen
- Cover up if you're in a bathing suit
- There are no bathrooms on the USS Arizona Memorial
Do I leave anything out? What tips or suggestions would you recommend on what you should know before visiting Pearl Harbor?
Pearl Harbor
1 Arizona Memorial Place
Honolulu, Hawaii
808-422-3399
Pearl Harbor Visitor Center
7 am to 5 pm daily; closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
Read other posts on Oahu:
5 Things you didn't know about Oahu
5 Reasons why you should rent snorkel gear in Oahu
How to stand up paddle board
I hiked Koko Head Crater and Lived
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I used to live in Hawaii, and Pearl Harbor was a huge tourist draw. The most important thing of all for everyone to remember is WHY it's so historic, and the heavy, heavy weight of that.
I am a huge history buff! This is one place I have always wanted to visit. This is a great list of things to keep in mind!
If you have a chance to listen to one of the veterans' lectures, you definitely should. World War II veterans are getting more and more scarce, as you can imagine. When our family visited Pearl Harbor, there was a veteran sharing his first-hand experiences of being at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day (the bombing). It really touched our children in a way that nothing else could!
Wow Such Great Tips I Love The No Bathroom One It's A Tip That You Should REALLY Know!! LOL! I Always Wanted To Go Hear I Must Take The Family Really Soon Thank You!!
This is one memorial I would love to visit!! This is great information on the tickets I never would have realized to order them before hand.
Pearl Harbor is on my bucket list for sure! This was a really helpful travel guide!
Wow! These are all great tips! I can only imagine just how amazing it must be to visit Pearl Harbor. I would love to go one day - there is so much history and knowledge to be learned there!
I want to visit historical places.. One day I will going to visit Pearl Harbour. Such a wonderful place.
We did read the history of pearl harbor in our school time and since then I have been wanting to visit here. Great tips on booking and planning the travel
Love to hear the places that is historical and can gain knowledge. Very interesting place to visit.
These are great tips!! I'm dying to visit Pearl Harbor - I've never been but it's definitely on my bucket list. There's so much history I'd love to experience there. Saving this one!
Your posts are always so informative! I would love to visit Pearl Harbor one day with the family. It is definitely on the must visit one day list. Thanks for sharing your tips. You are my travel expert for all things travel.
Thank you so much for all of these tips! Pearl Harbor is my son's dream trip. He is a huge history buff, yes even at 10, LOL! I really hope I can take him someday!
I would love to visit one of these days. I know that pearl harbor played a huge part in our history. It is good that security is tight, they don't want the memorial damaged or defaced.
I would love to go on this tour with my Dad. He would love to learn all the history.
I would love to go here and visit. I've wanted to go for some time now. I would really love to learn more about it.
It's crazy how many people ignore advice given by the site and show up doing all of these things. I can't tell you how many people I've seen angry because they didn't follow the rules when visiting the memorial.
Great advice!!! We went to Pearl Harbor a few years ago when we were in Hawaii. We booked a tour and it was part of it!
How interesting. My husband would love to visit. It's weird you can't even have a diaper bag. I don't think I could do this with a new baby, lol.
Sounds like such a wonderful place to visit, history is so important and it's so reasonably priced to visit. Love that it's all family friendly.
Thank you for the tips! My husband is a history buff and visiting Pearl Harbor is definitely on his bucket list.I would love to go there too! And today is actually the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack! He told me so. 🙂
I would love to visit Pearl Harbor one day so thanks for all the great tips. The one about no purses being allowed is definitely an important one for me to know since I carry everything in my bag.
thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to remember them if I ever get the chance to visit Pearl Harbor! No bathrooms huh? can't bring my little ones then...lol just kidding!
Thank you for posting this, especially for your awesome pro-tips. I think the entire world was remembering the fate of Pearl Harbor yesterday. I will definitely have to go and check it out soon.
Lot's of great information here. I wish I had had the time to visit the memorial when I was in Oahu. It seems like a truly moving place.
I went to Hawaii a few years back but didn't visit Pearl Harbor due to the lack of time. Having read this post, I will definitely include it in my itinerary if I happen to visit Oahu again. Thank you for such a detailed visitor's guide!
I have always wanted to travel to Hawaii and my friend would have her destination wedding there next year. We're still thinking because the airfare is expensive plus the hotels too. But if we were to pursue it, I'd definitely put this in my bucket list! Looks so cool! I haven't heard about Pearl Harbor museum until I visited your site. Lovely!
Thanks for the great advice on Pearl Harbor. The pro tips are so specific and helpful. Especially for the free tickets!
Pearl Harbor is a watershed moment in American and World history and hence a very important place to visit. Hope to get there someday. The tips are great to ensure a smooth experience at the historic site. The tip about pre-booking is definitely very valuable as who would wish to spend hours waiting in a queue for a ticket.
I particularly liked your reminder to be an dress respectfully.
After all, the harbour is a watery grave for many American and some Japanese servicemen...
Those are some really useful tips... No bags and 3 dollars for a locker. And no rest rooms... Definitely need to keep these in mind. Thanks
I think a few people misunderstood the whole restroom thing. There ARE restrooms by the gift shop and museum area. You have to take a boat over to the actual site of the Arizona memorial, where there are no restrooms. There is no cell phone use while actually on the Arizona memorial (what you take the boat to see) ... it's about respecting al the lives lost there. I think the article was also a bit misleading in another respect... you don't need tickets to get into the national park, you need a timed ticket for the boat ride over the Arizona memorial. If you don't want to go to the Arizona then just don't get a ticket. I would also not say that the national park is NOT part of the military base. Yes, it's very close to the military base(s) but it's not part of the base. Believe me, if it was part of a military base you would need to show ID and have a special pass ... not just walk through metal detectors. I would also suggest bringing the national parks passport book if you have one. There are many stamps available at this national park, the stamps are located just to the left of the entrance and is right by the gift shop. I go here all the time and see and/or learn something new every single time I go over there.
Yes, as Meg said there ARE bathrooms, just not on the USS Arizona memorial. There is also a food court to grab lunch so of course there are bathrooms. You can also check your bags, don't have to leave them in the car, and anything you need to bring in that you can't just carry in your hands you can purchase an (inexpensive) bag from the bag check area to put all of your necessities in. I do remember putting sunscreen on my daughter inside the gates, so we were either allowed to being it in, or we purchased some from the gift shop, but that too is possible to have inside the gates. Definitely put it in your list, don't go to Oahu without planning a day at Pearl Harbor.