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Pearl Harbor


Mitch

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Have done it twice but fly in on land vacations.  By car is how I visited. 

Lock all valuables and suitcases in the trunk out of sight.  Like any place in the US, large parking lots full of cars can be target for thieves just as they can be in any big city in the lower 48.

Expanding what @arebee was saying:

https://www.nps.gov/valr/faqs.htm

Visitor access to the USS Arizona Memorial has been suspended for several months due to movement of the loading dock and corresponding movement of the loading ramp to the memorial, which poses a safety concern for our visitors. While repairs are made, the USS Arizona Memorial will remain closed. Updates will be provided on our website and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/valorNPS). 

In lieu of USS Arizona Memorial programs, visitors will be taken on a 30-minute narrated harbor tour of Battleship Row and the area around the USS Arizona Memorial. Tickets are still required. Visitors can get walk-in tickets at the visitor center on a first come, first served basis, or reserve tickets online at 
www.recreation.gov. 

The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, museums, and bookstore are still open as usual from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week. Our partner sites – the Battleship Missouri Memorial, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, and the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor – are also open as usual.

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In addition to Pearl Harbor, if you have the time on Oahu there is a guided bus tour that goes around the island and there are some beautiful and amazing sights, some on the back side. It was something I'll never forget.....especially the stop at the Dole pineapple fields hospitality house....there was an ice cold drink inside a frozen hollowed-out pineapple that was really good!

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  • Matt changed the title to Pearl Harbor
On 2/26/2019 at 9:25 PM, Mitch said:

We are going to Hawaii. When we end the cruise in Honolulu there is nothing listed to see Pearl Harbor. Does anyone have ideas on how we can visit this landmark. Our flight out is at 9:30 at night. We have all day to do see it.

We spent a few days in Honolulu after our RCL Hawaii cruise two years ago. Going to Pearl Harbor was a big bucket list item while we were there. As much as a quintessential luau and splurging to stay in the same Hilton our grandparents stayed in on their Hawaiian trip of a lifetime.

There are seemingly dozens of companies that offer Pearl Harbor excursions. Walk into the lobby of any of the big hotels and they assuredly have their preferred vendor's literature. Their deal is this: they will pick you up in their small bus at or near that hotel, provide an escort of sorts that will tell you all sorts of background info during the ride there (I'm thinking it took 45 minutes from the Hilton), they will give you an entry ticket to the park, and then they will take you via bus back to that hotel. For some unknown reason these tour operators like to pick you up at ridiculous times in the morning so you can be waiting in line at the Harbor at a vacation ridiculous 6:30 in the morning. It's not like you are beating the rush, as a matter of fact we we visited two years ago, leaving at about 10:30 there were no lines to get in what-so-ever. I scratched my head.

If you are getting off a ship and have time to spend before an evening flight, I would think you are better off just getting there on your own.

Importance of the Arizona Memorial? While it is an iconic piece of American architecture, it by no means is the entire Pearl Harbor experience. If it happens to be under construction while you are there--so be it. Is it raining that day? You still need to go. It is what it is. Pearl Harbor is an important part of American history even though it exposed our worst management. The self guided tour through the museum gives an excellent account of what led up to Dec 7; what exactly occurred that day and the days following; and tells both sides of the story. It is very well done, much the same way as the Book Depository is in Dallas. No guarantees but often you will find a survivor or two near the book shop.

I think our excursion was about $125 a person (?). Some easy internet searches will tell you what the entry fee actually is and what the going rate is for the tour operators and their ridiculous hours. A simple internet map search will tell you where the port is in relation to Pearl Harbor and what taxi, Uber, rent-a-car, or scooter rental might be a better option for your circumstance. Don't let a perceived high price get in the way of going; it's Hawaii, everything is going to be expensive.

Lastly, everyone leaves Pearl Harbor somber. An afternoon of beach balls, surfing lessons, and foo foo drinks will not be what you are in the mood for. It's a hard punch in the gut. 

 

 

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