Inter-island transportation: need your input.
 

We are staying overnight in Honolulu on our way to Kauai. Arrive Oahu about noon on a Tuesday. Would like to just wander around the rest of Tuesday, and go to USS Arizona early the next morning.

Question is about timing of flight to Kauai. Seems like there are several flights all day. Do I need to make advance reservations, or is it like a shuttle so you can just show up. I don't want to feel rushed to get to the airport if it isn't necessary.

"Do I need to make advance reservations?"

Yes. I would not arrive in Honolulu without tickets on an interisland flight. If you take a late afternoon flight on Wednesday to Kauai you will be able to do Pearl Harbor in the morning.

The most popular times, during the middle of the day will sell out, or be 2-3X the cost of other flights.

Showing up when you want to could mean you spend an other couple of hours in the HNL airport.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "shuttle" service. It's a regular airline/destination/route like any place else in the nation, so you should treat it like that.

Yes, you could fly "stand by" where you show up and hope there are available seats on the flight you want. If not, you'll have to wait till the next one. If you have bad luck, you could possibly miss them all and have to wait to try the whole thing the next day (plus go pay for another nights hotel). That plus the "fun" of hanging around the airport! ;)

I'd make reservations.

Thanks all; will go with the consensus of the experts and make reservations.

Over and out until the next Kauai advise request.