Pearl Harbor Heroes Tour: Oahu Heroes Deluxe Experience

Included in the $214

The listing includes the driver and guide, bottled water, local treats, a full-service lunch, hotel pickup and drop-off from select Waikiki hotels, a Navy-operated boat tour to the Arizona Memorial, a docent-led tour of the USS Missouri, admission to the USS Bowfin Submarine campus and museum, and entry to the Aviation Museum and Ford Island Observation Deck. That is every gate fee in one price, which is why this tour carries the Most sites badge in the comparison.

The listing's inclusions do not mention gratuities.

What You May Still Pay or Carry

Almost nothing is left to pay on the day, because admissions, lunch and water are covered, and gratuities are not mentioned in the inclusions. The main extra cost is the bag rule. The no bags policy at the Arizona Memorial and Visitor Center bars purses, backpacks and any concealing item, so pack valuables into pockets, since the listing says not to leave valuables on the bus.

Anything left at the sites goes into the paid storage facility near the visitor center, which the sources put at $7 per bag and $10 for oversized bags and luggage, and that is your own expense if you cannot leave items on the bus. Bring a passport or government photo ID, because adults without proper ID cannot cross to Ford Island, and wear shoes and a shirt, since swimsuits are not allowed on the memorial.

How the $214 Compares

This is the most expensive shared coach tour in the comparison, and the price is explained by the four sites and the included lunch. The Best of Pearl Harbor Full-Day Tour covers the same four sites over 10 hours for $208, while this listing adds a full-service lunch at the Hangar Cafe to its inclusions. The Arizona and Battleship Missouri Tour at $156 skips the Bowfin and the Aviation Museum in a 6 hour day.

At the budget end, a half-day USS Arizona Memorial tour runs $51.

Waikiki Pickup to the Visitor Center

The coach collects you at one of 11 Waikiki stops and drives to Pearl Harbor. The National Park Service puts the visitor center about a 45-minute drive from Waikiki through Honolulu traffic, and the listing flags the tour as likely to sell out. At the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center you see the artifacts and exhibits about the events of December 7, 1941, when 353 Japanese aircraft struck in two waves, killing 2,403 Americans.

The visitor center grounds are free to enter and open 7 am to 5 pm daily.

The USS Arizona Memorial

A Navy-operated launch takes the group across the harbor to the white memorial that spans the sunken USS Arizona, where the remains of many of the 1,177 crew killed on the ship are still inside the hull. The boat program is time-sensitive on any tour, and the listing does not promise a reserved ticket in writing, so a booked seat depends on availability on the day. High winds can suspend the Navy boat rides entirely, a Navy call that applies to every operator, and boats resume when the wind eases.

USS Missouri on Ford Island

The coach takes you to Ford Island and the battleship where the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on 2 September 1945, ending World War II. A docent leads the tour. The Missouri is 887 feet long and open daily from 8 am, with last admission at 3 pm, so the visit must land inside those hours.

Bring photo ID or a passport, because adults without it cannot cross to Ford Island.

USS Bowfin, Lunch and the Aviation Museum

The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum campus follows, where you step aboard the USS Bowfin, the submarine nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger. This stop is self-guided, and children under 4 cannot board the submarine for safety reasons. One reviewer found the day too rushed to reach the submarine museum properly, which is the honest trade-off of squeezing four sites into 9.5 hours.

Lunch is a full-service meal at the Hangar Cafe inside the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, surrounded by historic aircraft. The museum's two hangars hold the warplane collection, and the optional Ford Island Control Tower observation deck gives views over the harbor before the coach returns to the same 11 drop-off points.

Families with Very Young Children

Children under 4 are not allowed on the Bowfin submarine for safety reasons, so a baby or toddler in the group means skipping that part of a tour you have paid to include. If the submarine is the reason you booked, look at the Best of Pearl Harbor Full-Day Tour only if every child is 4 or older, or pick a shorter day without the Bowfin such as the Arizona and Battleship Missouri Tour.

Travellers Without the Right ID

US citizens need a government-issued photo ID and international visitors need a valid passport. Adults without the proper ID will not be allowed to cross over to Ford Island, which cuts out the Missouri, the Aviation Museum and the Control Tower, most of what the $214 buys. Leave the passport at the hotel and you lose most of the day.

Anyone Who Needs Bags, or a Secured Memorial Slot

The no bags policy at the Arizona Memorial and Visitor Center bans purses, handbags, backpacks and diaper bags, and only pockets and small cameras are permitted. The listing also does not state that the Arizona ticket is held in advance, and high winds can suspend the Navy boats on any operator's day. If your own reserved memorial slot matters most, read the USS Arizona Memorial guide and consider booking the free $1 Recreation.gov reservation yourself, then join a city day such as the Pearl Harbor and Punchbowl Tour afterwards.

Short-trip Travellers and Wheelchair Users Should Still Check

Nine and a half hours with no return time stated is a long day, and the coach makes city sights drive-bys at most, since this itinerary does not list any downtown Honolulu stops at all. The tour is listed as wheelchair accessible, but the listing gives no detail on the Bowfin submarine, so confirm specifics with the operator before booking. If a shorter day with a real city component appeals, the Pearl Harbor and Honolulu City Tour covers Pearl Harbor and downtown in 5 hours for $69.

Doing the Sites Yourself

The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center is free to enter with no reservation, open 7 am to 5 pm daily. The USS Arizona Memorial program is also free, reserved only through Recreation.gov with a $1 non-refundable fee per ticket, released at 3 pm Hawaii time in 24-hour and 8-week windows. Infants need tickets too.

The Missouri, the Submarine Museum and the Aviation Museum each sell their own admission, and a Passport pass covers the three non-park sites. From Waikiki the drive is about 45 minutes via H-1 West to exit 15A, never the Naval Base exit, and visitor center parking costs $7 per day by credit card. TheBus routes 20 and 42 also serve the area.

Adding Honolulu Around the Tour

This tour leaves downtown Honolulu out entirely, so if you want the historic district, add it on another day. The Iolani Palace guide covers the only royal palace on US soil. The Punchbowl Cemetery guide explains the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, which opened to the public in 1949 and sits in an ancient volcanic crater.

The Ford Island sites on this tour, the Missouri, the Aviation Museum and the Control Tower, need the bridge crossing that only base access or a booked tour provides.