Pearl Harbor Bag Policy: What You Can Bring, Store and Wear

What Is Allowed and What Is Refused

The core of the Pearl Harbor bag policy is concealment. Bags, packages or containers that offer concealment and exceed 1.25 by 2.25 by 5.5 inches are not allowed. That is the figure on the NPS safety page. The NPS FAQ page carries a slightly different figure, 1.5 by 2.25 by 5.5 inches, so the two official sources disagree by a quarter inch on the first dimension. The safe move is to plan for the smaller, stricter figure. Bags whose contents are readily visible are allowed, in the same way bags are handled at football games.

In practice this means a regular purse, tote or solid backpack fails the test once it is bigger than a small wallet. A clear see-through bag passes, because its contents are visible, but the NPS still says every permitted bag is inspected and tagged as screened at entry. A camera bag follows the same general rule: if it offers concealment and is bigger than a small wallet it is refused, while camera gear carried openly or in a clear bag is screened and admitted. The one stall of bag storage at the site can be used for visits to all Pearl Harbor Historic Sites, so you only pay once even on a full day. The table sums it up item by item.

Bag Storage: Where It Is and What It Costs

The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum runs the bag storage facility near the visitor center entrance, and it charges a fee for all sizes, including luggage. Storage costs $7 per bag, and $10 for oversized bags and luggage. The facility sits on the right as you enter the memorial area, so you will walk past it on your way in. One storage stall can be used for visits to all Pearl Harbor Historic Sites, which matters if you are doing the Arizona first and the Missouri later, because you do not pay twice.

The $7 and $10 fees are separate from your admission. The USS Arizona Memorial reservation itself is free with a $1 Recreation.gov fee. Some tour listings name the same fee explicitly, so budget it either way. The Pearl Harbor, Dole and Polynesian Center Day Tour, for example, lists bag storage at $7 each among its exclusions, and the Best of Pearl Harbor Full-Day Tour lists $7 to $10 at the visitor center. The Salute to Pearl Harbor Tour names nearby lockers at $6 in one part of its listing and $7 in another, so check what your operator offers before you arrive.

If You Arrive with a Refused Bag

A refused bag has to be dealt with before you enter. Your options are the paid storage described above or returning the bag to your vehicle. The NPS asks that vehicles in the lot be locked and states it is not responsible for stolen items, so anything you leave in the car should be out of sight and the car locked.

Build extra time into your morning for the screening line, and more if you are carrying a medical bag that needs to be declared. The bag rule applies on a tour too, so check your operator's listing, as several name storage fees. The half-day Pearl Harbor tours from Waikiki are compared on the homepage.

When Photo ID Is Needed and When It Is Not

Pearl Harbor National Memorial itself needs no ID and no NPS pass, because entry and the Arizona Memorial tickets are free once reserved. The ID rules attach to Ford Island. On the Ford Island shuttle to the Battleship Missouri or the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, guests may be asked for a government photo ID, and foreign visitors should carry a passport. The bag policy applies to everyone on that shuttle too, so the same wallet-size and clear-bag rules govern your ride across the bridge.

The NPS Ford Island Bus Tour to the USS Oklahoma and USS Utah memorials needs a government photo ID from the ticket buyer at check-in. That tour can also be cancelled at short notice for base security reasons, so do not build your whole day around it. Visitors without military ID use that bus. On any Ford Island day, including a guided one such as the Arizona and Battleship Missouri Tour at $156, carry your passport or license, because the shuttle may ask for it.

What to Wear

The NPS asks for appropriate dress because the site is a place of remembrance and the final resting place for many of the USS Arizona's crew. A shirt and shoes are the baseline. Beachwear belongs at the beach, not here, and the same standard applies elsewhere on Oahu, since Iolani Palace requires shirts and footwear, provides shoe coverings, and does not permit beachwear. If your day pairs Pearl Harbor with a city stop, dress for the stricter venue and you will be fine at both.

The NPS recommends comfortable footwear, a hat, sunglasses and reef-safe sunscreen, which suits the open walkways of the visitor center. Uniformed military visitors must wear Class B or better to reach the memorial. The Battleship Missouri asks for respectful attire and lists comfortable walking shoes, with sandals allowed, and lightweight clothing for the warm decks. Oahu daytime highs run from the mid-70s to mid-80s F year round, so light layers work at every site on Pearl Harbor tours from Honolulu.

The List

Each item below traces back to the NPS or the Historic Sites guidance, so you can pack with confidence and clear the screening line on the first pass.

• A small clutch or wallet within the 1.25 x 2.25 x 5.5 inch limit, since anything bigger that conceals is refused
• A clear backpack or clear sealable bags if you need to carry more, contents visible and ready for inspection
• Water, allowed if not concealed in a package, and only water is permitted inside the museums, theaters, Navy vessels and the memorial, with fountains throughout the park for refills
• Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, the items the NPS itself recommends
• Comfortable footwear, with sandals permitted on the Missouri's decks
• A baby carrier instead of a stroller for the Arizona program, because strollers stay at the Park Theater pre-boarding area and do not board the Navy boats or the memorial
• Photo ID or a passport if your day includes Ford Island, since shuttle guests may be asked for a government photo ID
• Patience for screening, since every permitted bag is inspected and tagged, and declared medical bags need extra time

Children and Accessibility

Families manage fine within the rules. Diaper supplies travel in a clear sealable bag under the stroller seat, which satisfies the concealment test while keeping supplies at hand. Baby food jars are the exception to the glass container ban, and tempered glass water bottles are allowed too. Leave the stroller behind for the boat ride itself and carry the baby instead.

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial grounds are wheelchair accessible with mostly flat paths and no hills, though the park does not rent wheelchairs, so bring your own. Navy boats have wheelchair locks for the crossing. On Ford Island the picture varies. The Missouri offers complimentary wheelchairs at its main entrance, its shuttle has at least one wheelchair-lift vehicle, and the Aviation Museum is fully wheelchair accessible with free wheelchairs first come first served. The USS Bowfin submarine itself has steep ladders, tight spaces and low clearances and is not wheelchair accessible. If accessibility shapes your day, a coach option such as the Star of Honolulu Deluxe Coach Tour, rated 4.9 from 5,031 reviews at $59.23 for the 5-hour version, lists a lift vehicle on request with 24 hours notice, and the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center guide covers the layout in detail.