Consolidated "Going to Pearl Harbor -- Questions & Suggestions" thread
Consolidated thread for asking questions or offering suggestions about touring Pearl Harbor
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What's best way to see Pearl on 1-day trip from Maui?
Greetings,
We'll be on Maui in Feb. in the Kaanapali area. Since we live in Japan, my 13-year-old son and I would like to take advantage of being in Hawaii and go see Pearl Harbor and tour the Missouri. I've found some package tours from Maui that include air, but they seem to be a bus tour that includes some sights that we don't care to see. We've been to Waikiki and Honolulu many times, and only really want to see Pearl Harbor and other similar things. Would it be best to book a flight from West Maui airport, rent a car, and purchase tours via the internet individually? Are there other ships to tour besides the Missouri? Especially, is there an aircraft carrier open for tours? Thanks. |
One other option may be a one-day fly/drive package offered by some travel agencies. Whether it's cheaper than booking everything separately probably depends on individual circumstances. Here's a link to one such offer.
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Unless there is an open house with some of the active ships, Pearl Harbor's ship tours are the U.S.S. Missouri, the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, and the U.S.S. Bowfin, the latter of which is a Balao Class WW II sub and directly adjacent to the U.S.S. Arizona vistor's center.
If I had to rank them, I'd do the Arizona Memorial first, if I had time, go on the Missouri, and then the Bowfin if I wasn't totally exhausted. |
Originally Posted by FlyinHawaiian
If I had to rank them, I'd do the Arizona Memorial first, if I had time, go on the Missouri, and then the Bowfin if I wasn't totally exhausted.
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I think you could probably pick up a few cheap flights (in today's economy) from OGG-HNL for roughly $70. Do you have NW/UA miles? That's 5k for a roundtrip ticket on Hawaiian/Aloha respectively. 10k AA/CO miles will pick you up a roundtrip with Hawaiian as well. Then, just find yourself a cheap rental (using one of the codes listed on Flyertalk or Priceline) and you're set without the limitations of taking a tour.
In regards to taking the West Maui (Kapalua) Airport, that all depends on flight frequency and whether or not you're willing to fly on prop planes. The only jets you'll find are at Kahului (OGG) Airport. The drive time from Ka'anapali to Kapalua is a significantly shorter drive than to Kahului so take the above into consideration. There's a bunch of great places to eat along the way in Honolulu, but not too much in the name of restaurants in Pearl Harbor. Try eating at the Airport Trade Center (right off the airport before getting on to the Freeway) for L&L or Byron's right around the corner. There's some pretty ono (good) local food at those two establishments. The only problem you might encounter with the Arizona is an extended wait time. Admission is free but is first come first served. They'll pass out a ticket to you with a number on it and they only allow so many to pass through at a time. It's best you either get there really early or really late (but again, you're risking this by not being able to get in if you get there too late). So, it'd be best to get there early, take two numbers, take the car and go for lunch somewhere (maybe Pearlridge area?) and come back. As for the Missouri, there's a coupon, IRRC, in the Hawai'i Entertainment Book for reduced admission. Good luck! aloha |
Originally Posted by slippahs
I think you could probably pick up a few cheap flights (in today's economy) from OGG-HNL for roughly $70. Do you have NW/UA miles? That's 5k for a roundtrip ticket on Hawaiian/Aloha respectively. 10k AA/CO miles will pick you up a roundtrip with Hawaiian as well. Then, just find yourself a cheap rental (using one of the codes listed on Flyertalk or Priceline) and you're set without the limitations of taking a tour.
Originally Posted by slippahs
In regards to taking the West Maui (Kapalua) Airport, that all depends on flight frequency and whether or not you're willing to fly on prop planes.
Originally Posted by slippahs
The only problem you might encounter with the Arizona is an extended wait time. Admission is free but is first come first served. They'll pass out a ticket to you with a number on it and they only allow so many to pass through at a time. It's best you either get there really early or really late (but again, you're risking this by not being able to get in if you get there too late).
It looks like we could catch an early morning flight out of Kapalua, but then have to get back by 5:00PM or so (before it gets dark?). Would it be reasonable to leave Maui at say about 7:00AM, pick up the car and eat breakfast in Honolulu, then drive to Pearl and be first in line, after the Arizona eat lunch, after lunch go through the Missouri and maybe the sub, and then back for our 5:00PM flight? |
Originally Posted by nishimark
That's a good idea! I have WorldPerks miles. That seems like a good use for them.
Originally Posted by nishimark
Do you happen to know what time they open?
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Thanks to all for the good info. I'm going to try to get the flights reserved right away. Maui in February! I can't wait.
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I just took the Arizona Memorial tour & I suggest getting there as early as possible as it tends to back up for hours. We had to wait 1.5 hours and got there around 9.
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Originally Posted by Sirecca
You probably will want to call soon to try to score inter-island awards. I tried getting these via NW for an early Feb 2005 trip and couldn't find availability. (I was flying into OGG, so you may have better luck traveling out of Kapalua).
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Originally Posted by nishimark
Would it be reasonable to leave Maui at say about 7:00AM, pick up the car and eat breakfast in Honolulu, then drive to Pearl and be first in line, after the Arizona eat lunch, after lunch go through the Missouri and maybe the sub, and then back for our 5:00PM flight?
If you go somewhere else and THEN go to the Arizona, you're guaranteed a line. My boyfriend and I arrived at 8 am on a Tuesday (which presumably would be less busy than on a weekend) and there was a short line already (maybe 40 people or so) and still we didn't get a tour until at least one hour from then... I think our tickets were for 9 or 9:15. In that time, I toured the signs/museums/shops and the time went quickly so the wait wasn't bad. I would say that if you have the advantage of arriving into Oahu early, head straight to Pearl Harbor... the longer you take to get there, the longer the lines, and the longer the wait for tickets to be called. (But the visit is worth the wait, of course). Good luck! |
Tuesday?
As to the day of the week.
This can be counter intuitive. Often visiting sites like this on the weekend results in shorter lines in the islands. Reason - most visitors arrive Friday - Monday and depart on the same. On arrival days they tend to stay close to the hotel or the airport. Therefore, other sites which don't pull resident visitors can be less busy on weekends (this excludes beaches obviously). Anyway you will have an impressive visit. Aloha, Lihue 1k |
... All I know is we meant to go another day but then saw the big cruise ship was there. My friend who lives in Oahu, upon looking at the ship's itinerary (arrival/docking) alerted us as to when the cruisers would likely be there so we avoided that at all costs! :D
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Pearl Harbour
Our boys are really excited about visiting Pearl Harbour. Do you have to buy tickets from a 'tour group' and spend up to 7 hrs with a group (which I don't think the boys and frankly we could handle) or can you just go to Pearl harbour and get tickets for the Arizona Memorial and the Mighty Mo as well as the film that they show?
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