Hi all.

I am considering a very quick trip to Pearl Harbor during a layover on the way to Maui this September. Our airfare from the mainland is not direct so we would have a marginal amount of time on Oahu.

Our flight is scheduled to arrive at HNL airport at 12:45pm on Sept 23rd. My understanding is that the last tour for Pearl Harbor starts at 3pm. Is this enough time to get there seeing as we have to get our luggage and all? Also, how much time do we need to enjoy Pearl Harbor before we can hop on over to Maui later that night? I am sure we could arrange for a later flight over to Maui from HNL.

For that matter is Pearl Harbor worth seeing? My fiance and I were originally planning to arrive in Maui by 3:40pm Sept. 23rd and leave Maui at 7:30am the morning of the 29th of Sept. So in short we would have 5.5 days in Maui. The addition of Pearl Harbor would wipe out that extra .5 of a day.

If you just want to see Pearl Harbor from a distance it doesn't take any time but if you want to go on the tour it is first come first serve. Tickets are handed out in the morning for the tours. If you show up later, you may or may not get the tour. We showed up early and still had to wait a couple of hours for our tour. It is a sobering experience.
But I would really suggest that you just enjoy Maui. It takes a lot of time and frustration to island hop. I think the last flights to some islands end before 5. Last year the last flight out of Hilo to HNL was at 4 something. Check out the flight schedules.

I would say that if you have never seen Pearl Harbor, go see it. Take the tour. Make the time to go see it. Just looking at it from a distance doesn't give you the full experience and meaning of it. If you're worried about losing a half day in Maui, don't. Yes, Maui is incredible and I know you'd like to spend as much time as you can there, but how many times will you get the chance to see Pearl Harbor? It is a powerful experience. Take care.

Thanks to you both for your above opinions.

Jolie,

I will already have to Island hop to Maui that day anyway, so it is really a question of 1)Is it worth it to take the tour at Pearl Harbor instead of going straight to Maui, and 2)How long would it take to see the Arizona Memorial.

I will look into how late of a flight I can get from HNL to Maui, maybe that will put an end to my thought of Pearl Harbor right there, if later interisland flights are not available.

My fiance has spoke of an interest to see Pearl Harbor. That is why I am considering adding it in. Neither of us have been to Hawaii before.

At any rate (1 for: 1 against) so far. Any other opinions out there?

I think you missed a key point of one of the previous posters. The tickets are handed out on a first come first serve basis in the morning. You will not get to Pearl Harbor until 1:45 at the earliest with the last tour at 3:00. It is very possible, even probable, that there will be no tickets left by the time you arrive. You can get a commericial tour of pearl harbor but none of those are allowed to dock at the Arizona Memorial. Given your time constraints I personally would skip oahu and go directly to Maui. Save oahu and pearl for a later date when you have more time.

We went to hawaii three times before we went to pearl and I'm kind of glad. It is a very heart wrenching tour. I'm glad we finally went but also glad we passed when we were on our honeymoom.

As far as your luggage: if you are traveling on a major carrier to honolulu you should be able to check your baggage straight thru and not pick it up and recheck it on oahu. We flew AA to honolulu in Jan and purchased our tickets to Maui independently on Aloha and were able to check straight thru to Maui.

It is a moving place to visit but there are many sights that reflect native history and are equally moving that people don't give a second thought about skipping. If you can make it find but I would not squeeze it in. It is hot out there and very crowded.

Don't miss Pearl Harbor if you are going to Hawaii. You will be disappointed if you don't go. Hope this helps and have fun

I kind of agree with the previous poster who said Pearl is heart wrenching. It's too much to squeeze into a short time. Plus you'll not get tickets if you get there that late unless it's really slow. Although, last time I was there, we only had to wait forty minutes or so.
That said, Pearl is one of those places you have to see. You'll be impressed by the size of the harbor; the shows and documentaries make it seem so small. It's one of the most impressive things we have here in the USA.

I admit that I, too, waited until about my 4th trip. However, that was good because I was more familiar with what one could do on a layover in Honolulu. We did it on the way home, not on the way to Maui. Unless they've changed, the last flight for Maui leaves dinnertime or later. Took a $10 taxi to Pearl; it's a short drive. We got there around 1 pm, had around a 45 minute wait, during which you can look at other exhibits, wander around outside. It IS a very emotional experience and I think it should be mandatory for all Americans to see it! But, I'm the "last of the war babies"!

Pearl Harbor is up there with the most moving places that I have been to. Ranks up there with Normandy, the Vietman Memorial in Washington, and Gettysburg.

We just returned from Oahu and I just posted this on another site. I would not recommend Pearl Harbor if you cannot get there prior to 12 noon. We arrived at 11:00 a.m. and there was a 3 1/2 hour wait. Did not help that on that day 3 cruise ships had docked. The other strict regulation is NO BAGS, that means backpacks, fanny packs, pocketbooks, camera bags etc. They are very strict and no exceptions. We did see some people in groups that gave one person all their belongings and that person waited outside. Since we only had four days on Oahu, we just walked through the museum but did not take the ride out to the AZ.

Dave would you vistit Normandy before you would visit important French sights. I don't know I have been to France several times and I always go to older churches, castles and other French historical sights. I don't see out what the Americans where up to while they were in the country. Rarely meet someone that puts aside Paris for Normandy, why do people treat Hawaiian History differently?

Meant to say, I don't seek out what Americans were up to while they were in the country.

I think that Don might be okay since he is traveling in Sept. Sept tends to be the off month for travel to Hawaii. We went last Sept (before Sept 11) and got into the next available tour (5 minute wait). Perhaps when he arrives at the airport he could call the memorial to check ticket availability. Unless he is planning to visit Hawaii again, it would be a shame to miss the Arizona. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We also enjoyed the other attractions at Pearl Harbor, but there is no way to fit all of that into a few hours.