Pearl Harbor and Honolulu City Tour

By Saint Greg

October 17, 2025

I hadn’t planned on booking a guided tour in Honolulu but when I missed out on the free USS Arizona tickets, I started looking around at tours that included entry to the USS Arizona.

I booked this tour for $49 ($63 after taxes and fees) which includes a city tour and a ticket for the USS Arizona. I picked the 9:30am tour and paid an additional $10 for them to pick me up at the pier.

The meeting place is Hawaii Pacific University which is to the left of Aloha Tower.

The white van down there is my ride.

They used to dive for pearls in Pearl Harbor. The king named it the water of pearls. That’s why we named it Pearl Harbor.

Water is included in the tour.

Tour guides aren’t allowed on the property for more than five minutes so she’s going to give us a quick intro and leave us. She will pick us up under this covered area at 1:45. It’s 10am now.

You can see the USS Arizona Memorial straight ahead.

I had about 15 minutes to kill before I could get in line for the Arizona Memorial. They are very strict about when you can get in the line.

A lot of people from the stand by list were getting on the boat before mine. If you didn’t get an Arizona ticket, you’ll likely be able to get in as a stand by. Since I didn’t know if or when I would ever be back here, that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.

While I was waiting I starting looking at one of the museums they have here.

It’s time to visit the USS Arizona.

For full coverage of the USS Arizona, please check out USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

I was the last out of the memorial which meant I was last on the boat. That meant I had the worst seat on the boat and was among the last off.

There’s a film in theater 2 on Pearl Harbor that you want to see. Everyone headed straight there. Since I was one of the last ones, I didn’t get in. People in front of me were just waiting for the next showing.

I didn’t want to waste 30 minutes standing in line so I looked around the area some more and checked back later. I was able to get a front row seat at the next showing.

After the video I finished the two included museums.

This is a torpedo that was used in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I still have time left but not enough to do everything I want to do. I want to tour the USS Missouri which is an additional ticket and out by the USS Arizona.

I also want to tour the Bowfin submarine which is an additional ticket but it’s located on this side of the harbor in the Pacific Fleet Museum.

I decided to go with the Bowfin now. Then hopefully one day when I come back I can do the USS Missouri.

For full coverage of the USS Bowfin submarine, please check out USS Bowfin at Pearl Harbor

After touring the Bowfin, I looked at as much of the Pacific Fleet Museum as I had time for.

This propeller is from a Japanese Midget Sub.

I was able to get through WWII but not all of the Cold War.

There’s a museum store.

I have five minutes to get back to my van so I’m heading out.

I got there right at 1:45. Our guide she was about to called me. “Why? I’m right on time!” Everyone else was in the bus. I guess I’m the only one who maximized my time. They were probably hoping to leave early like the people at the crater last night.

They gave us a drink, snack, and a Hawaii T-Shirt. I’m guessing since I was last I got the last T-Shirt. It’s the wrong size.

We are heading to Punchbowl crater. On the way we got a good look at Diamond Head where I’ll be heading on my own later.

We actually won’t be stopping at Punchbowl because public vehicles aren’t allowed to stop but we will be driving through slowly.

Punchbowl is a volcanic crater that is home to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

All veterans with an honorable discharge are eligible to be buried at Punchbowl. If a veteran is buried here, their spouse is also eligible to be buried here with them.

After Punchbowl we headed downtown.

This is an eternal flame for Pearl Harbor that has been burning since 1944. There’s another one down the street for 9/11.

Washington place was the home of Queen Lili’uokalani. It is the only Governor’s home in the U.S. That was also home to a monarch.

This is the Palace. We have a 15 minute stop here. If I had time I wanted to tour the Palace then get my own transportation to Diamond Head. But it doesn’t look like I’m going to have time to do both. This will be on the list for the next time I come to Honolulu.

Across the street from the palace is a familiar building for Hawaii Five-O fans. The building that was used as the headquarters in that series serves as the Hawaii Supreme Court in real life.