We will be in Oahu for only two days. I am wondering what the best way to see Pearl Harbor is- we will have a rental car, so do we just go early in the morning or should we book a tour through out hotel? We are staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Thanks!

Drive yourself, no need to book a tour. Once there,the only way to get out to the memorial are the park boats anyways.

We just got back last week from Oahu. Since we didn't have a car, we booked a bus tour. Use the car, get there early, then plan other sites for the day. We were done by 10 am with Pearl Harbor. Also enjoyed the Iolani Palace downtown.

we found that when we were leaving around noon the crowds had died out and people arriving then had a shorter wait for the boat to the memorial. maybe you could do some thing else in the morning and go to the memorial around midday. i second the idea of the palace as well. don't bother to climb diamond head.

When we visited in July, a sign went up about noon that tickets were gone for the day.

From The USS Arizona web site:

http://www.nps.gov/usar/pphtml/planyourvisit.html

Interpretive programs, including a documentary film about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the boat trip to the USS Arizona Memorial, begin at 8:00 a.m. (7:45 a.m. in summer). The last program each day begins at 3:00 p.m. Visitors should expect crowds. Daily visitation to the park is about 4,500 people. Tickets for the free movie and boat ride to the Memorial may be gone as early as noon. The tickets are given on a first come, first served basis and each individual must pick up his/her own ticket. Program waits may reach upwards to two hours.

We went two weeks ago (the saturday after Thanksgiving). We had a rental car, so we just drove there. By the time we got there, it was around 8:00 or 8:30, and we were given the 10:15 movie. M=y advice would be to get there around 7:30 to minimize the wait.

If you like pie and coffee, I highly recommend a brief side trip to Anna Miller's on the corner past Pearlridge Mall just beyond Pearl Harbor on Kamehameha (Kam) Highway. It's on the right side, a round building, over a bar (The Round House?) Banana Cream pie and every other pie you can think of, spectacular!