Hawaii - For one day in HNL, do I need a rental?

I'll be flying into HNL for a day. Arriving at 0700 and departing at 1830. The intent is to cover the Pearl Harbor Memorial, USS Arizona and the Bowfin submarine. I do need to get to a good place to eat (vegetarians in the party) and most seem clustered around Ala Moana.

For this schedule, do I need to get a rental car or can I manage on the public bus routes #20, #40, #42 (i think)?

It's doable on TheBus, but the car would be more convenient and time efficient .

I agree that it would be a bit much to do both Pearl Harbor and Ala Moana via TheBus on a layover. One or the other would be fine but not both.

Concur.

If you do take The Bus, airport to Pearl Harbor visitor center is 18 minutes on the #20. #A express bus goes from the street outside the Pearl Harbor visitor center (Kamehameha) to a block away from the Ala Moana center (Kapiolani) in 37 minutes. From the Ala Moana center (Ala Moana Boulevard) back to the airport on the #19 or #20 is probably about 40 minutes, depending on time of day.

See http://www.thebus.org for route maps and schedules. Note: "no luggage" on The Bus -- everything you bring is supposed to fit on your lap or under the seat (basically think carry-on bags or less).

The Ala Moana center and the Pearl Harbor visitor center both have parking, but parking can otherwise be a hassle in the area around the Ala Moana center.

That does seem like a pretty packed schedule for 0700 to 1600, since you could easily spend a lot of time in the Arizona memorial (1 hour), Bowfin, submarine museum, Pearl Harbor museum, and Missouri. While they say 1 hour for the Bowfin and submarine museum, you could easily spend more time than that; the same is true for the 2 hours that they say for the Missouri. Any backpacks, bags, etc. must be checked for a small fee before going to the attractions.

Thanks. Booked a rental car. Schedule advice about being packed, noted. Will try to drop a few things.

Thanks. Booked a rental car. Schedule advice about being packed, noted. Will try to drop a few things.

Hope you can get a good lunch place in as well--something that wouldn't be too easy if taking TheBus.