Is there an affordable do-it-yourself trip to Pearl Harbor from WAikiki? We'll be staying there a few days without a rental car and we're looking for a good way to catch a bus or shuttle and see the memorial. Also, I hear you must get there early, what are the best tips for getting tickets? We'll be traveling in August. Any scams or lousy tours I should avoid?
thanks!

rick- Will you be in Waikiki? If so, catch the #42 city bus. #20 and City express #A also go there, but I'm not sure of their route. #42 leaves on the hour and half hour from the Zoo, then travels and picks up passengers along Kuhio Avenue (the middle street along Waikiki). Cost is $1.50 for adults, .75 for children. It will take you about an hour.
Get there as early as possible, (open 7:30- 5, last boat at 3) to have the shortest wait. On busy days, they run out of tickets around noon. BAD NEWS is that no purses, diaper bags, strollers with pockets, fanny packs etc are allowed, and there are no lockers! In other words, bring a car or travel very light.
There is a web site at www.NPS.gov\usaz or a recorded message at 808-422-0561.
From the AZ memorial, you can ride a city bus to Pearlridge center about 2 miles down the road, or even ride out to the north shore and circle back to town, all for $1.50! call the Bus 848-5555 for route numbers. It takes several hours, so don't start in the late afternoon!

I took the bus to Pearl from waikiki in December, and it does take you right to the front gate. I think it was the 20, that'd be easy enough to determine if the previous poster didn't say.
However, you have to try and avoid the bus through rush hour; it is, after all, public transit and takes a winding route through downtown Honolulu and it gets crowded and noisy and takes a long time to get where you're going.
As for getting early, we got there at nine and only waited twenty or thirty minutes. There's no point taking a tour unless you want the narrated bus ride that's sure to accompany the tour. And remember, only the US Navy boat can take you to the monument -- no one else.

Just one point of caution if taking public transportation. Since 9/11, Pearl Harbor does not allow the following items and they adhere to their policy with no exceptions. No purses, fanny packs, camera bags or any bags of any sort. People that came in on public transportation either had to split up, one stay outside with belongings or leave. We had rented a car and left everything in the car. They do allow cameras, just not the bags.

We took the city bus there (it seemed to take forever) and a Waikiki shuttle back. We would have gotten there a lot quicker if we would have taken the shuttle both ways. The shuttle wasn't too expensive and only included the ride from Pearl Harbor to the hotel. I'm sure your hotel will have details of several reliable shuttle services.

We will be renting a car for our stay in Oahu. Would it be smart to take our car to see Pearl Harbor or would it be smarter to take a shuttle. We're staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I would think it would be a lot easier for us to jump in our car and go. What are some thoughts on this?

Just got back from Hawaii yesterday. If you have a car, take it, and go early. Be there at 7 a.m. and you will be first in line - wait till 8 and you may have to wait another 2 hours to get out to the monument.

And it is true about no bags. You can take your camera and that is it - not even a purse. AND...thanks to the brilliant wisdom of our federal goverment, there are no storage lockers on site.

By all means drive your car; it'll take 20 minutes or less from Waikiki.

If you do have a wait exceeding 90 minutes, continue driving up Kam Highway for a few miles until you see Pearlridge Mall on your right. At about the next light, you'll see a round restaurant, Anna Millers, on your right. Best pies in town! We used to hope for long Pearl Harbor waits so we could go eat pie!