Pearl Harbor Tours
If youʻve never been to Pearl Harbor, there are two ways to go about it: Book an online tour or go on your own. A tour is worth it for the transportation to and from Waikīkī and the guaranteed access to the USS Arizona Memorial. But if you already have a rental car, scored a USS Arizona Memorial reservation and don’t mind handling a few logistics, going on your own works great too. If you’ve chosen the former, this article will help you choose the right tour.
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What's the best Pearl Harbor tour?
The best Pearl Harbor tour is the one that takes care of everything from transportation to tickets for every exhibit, including the USS Arizona Memorial, which can be challenging to get on your own. But there are other factors to consider too, which is why we have chosen more than one option below.
| Best For: | Tour | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour — E Noa Tours | With a 4.9/5 rating on Viator from 6,100 reviews, this is the highest rated Pearl Harbor tour. The length of the tour is not too long, but long enough to see at least two sites at Pearl Harbor, plus a quick tour of downtown. ~7 hours. $112+tax |
| Best value | Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS Arizona — E Noa Tours | This highly rated tour provides transportation to Pearl Harbor and a reservation for the USS Arizona Memorial. If that is all you want to see at Pearl Harbor, this is the best value. 3-4 hours. $62+tax |
| Best for families | Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial & Battleship Missouri — Karma Tour Hawaii | Reviewers on Viator specifically call out the kid-friendliness aspect of this tour. Keeping the tour to two Pearl Harbor sites versus four makes it manageable for kids. Includes USS Arizona Memorial and pickup/drop off. ~6 hours. $149+tax (adult), $109+tax (child 3-12), $59+tax (infant 0-2) |
| Best if short on time | Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor & Honolulu City Tour from Waikiki — Aloha Sunshine Tours | You have time for the USS Arizona Memorial and at least one other museum, plus a quick tour of downtown in half the time as the all-day tour. ~6 hours. $70+tax. |
| Best full-day / all sites | Complete Pearl Harbor Experience Tour Departing from Waikiki — Aloha Sunshine Tours | This tour picks up and drops off at your hotel and includes tickets to every museum, including USS Arizona Memorial, plus a quick tour of Punchbowl National Cemetery and downtown historic buildings. 10-11 hours. $175+tax. |
- Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour — E Noa Tours Check Availability
- Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS Arizona — E Noa Tours Check Availability
- Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial & Battleship Missouri — Karma Tour Hawaii Check Availability
- Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor & Honolulu City Tour from Waikiki — Aloha Sunshine Tours Check Availability
- Complete Pearl Harbor Experience Tour Departing from Waikiki — Aloha Sunshine Tours Check Availability
Types of Pearl Harbor tours
Multimedia Tours
These tours are self-led using recordings by Jamie Lee Curtis, along with National Park Service historians and Pearl Harbor survivors, to highlight the most important moments and locations at Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. You must book a reservation for the USS Arizona Memorial in advance, or sign up for the standby queue, in order to enjoy this tour. Once you arrive at Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, you’ll check-in at the Narrated Tour Desk and receive an audio device, tour map and earbuds. $7.99 per person. Reserve Now
Deluxe/Combo Tours
This tour includes everything from multimedia tour with the addition of a virtual reality experience “where you are placed on the deck of the USS Arizona during the December 7th, 1941 attack.” $16.99 per person. Reserve Now
Half-day Tours
Half-day tours generally include transportation and enough time at Pearl Harbor to visit two of the four sites, including a reservation for the USS Arizona Memorial. Most tours end with a quick drive by Punchbowl National Cemetery and historic buildings downtown with historical commentary along the way. These tours can run anywhere from 5 to 7 hours long.
Full-day Tours
Full-day tours provide transportation and give you enough time to visit every site, museum and gift shop at Pearl Harbor, including the USS Arizona Memorial. All tickets are reserved and purchased for you ahead of time. These tours also tend to end with a quick drive by Punchbowl National Cemetery and historic buildings downtown with historical commentary along the way. These tours can run up to 11 hours long.
Private Tours
With a private tour, youʻll receive transportation, a local guide exclusively for your group, reservations for the USS Arizona Memorial and customizable stops after you are finished at Pearl Harbor — anywhere from downtown to North Shore. Some also include lunch. Pacing of the tour is more flexible according to your needs. These tours can be as short or long as you’d like, usually 5-8 hours. They can run anywhere from $233 per person to $385+ per person, depending on the tour operator and itinerary. Here are two reputable companies to choose from:
Private Pearl Harbor & Honolulu City Tour
Pearl Harbor & Scenic Oahu Private Tour
Transportation Only
If all you need is a ride to and from Pearl Harbor you can book those here:
Transportation to Pearl Harbor from Waikīkī
Transportation to Waikīkī from Pearl Harbor
Cost and what's included
Prices vary widely depending on the tour. You could spend as little as $7.99 for a self-led recorded audio tour without transportation or reservations to the USS Arizona Memorial, or as much as $385 per person for a custom, private tour where you will get into all of the Pearl Harbor sites and enjoy a tour around the city. Tours that include transportation generally include reservations to the USS Arizona Memorial and run from 5 to 11 hours long, depending on if you are purchasing a half- or full-day tour. Half-day tours generally include two sites at Pearl Harbor, full-day tours include all four sites. Most tour operators offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour, with a full refund.
Gratuity
Gratuity is not included in tour pricing. Hawaiʻi, like the rest of the U.S., is a tipping society. Workers in the service industry (including tour guides) make the majority of their living from tips. The standard in Hawaiʻi is 20% off the total price of the service.
Should you book a tour?
Booking an online tour with transportation will cost more than if you do Pearl Harbor on your own. The tradeoff is that you will not have to plan any of the logistics, you are guaranteed a USS Arizona Memorial reservation and your transportation is taken care of, eliminating the time and stress of planning this excursion on your own.
Staying in Waikīkī?
Most Pearl Harbor tours include round-trip Waikīkī hotel pickup. Expect a pickup window up to an hour before your scheduled tour start time. Transit time to Pearl Harbor from Waikīkī is about 30 minutes, depending on traffic.