Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum: WWII Aircraft & Control Tower

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.25 (67 reviews) 60% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellation

1/12

Duration9h

LanguagesEN · JA

Mobile ticketAccepted

The Control Tower That Watched the Attack—Now Open to You

You get general admission to the museum's two WWII hangars, a free audio tour in your choice of six languages, access to 70+ restored aircraft, and a guided ascent of the 168-foot control tower with a 360-degree view of the attack site. Complimentary shuttle service from Honolulu hotels is included, so you arrive without the logistics of base entry or parking.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum

Enter Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor
Discover Pacific aviation history
Visit historic Ford Island hangar
View Hawaii’s largest aircraft collection
Watch film narrated by survivors
Use free audio tour headset
Shop at museum store
Relax at Hangar cafe

The Experience

The Ford Island Control Tower stands 168 feet above the water, and for the first time in decades, you can ride the vintage elevator to the top. From up there, you see the exact angles where Japanese aircraft came in on December 7, 1941—the flight paths, the harbor layout, the whole geometry of that morning. It's not a metaphor; it's the actual view the operators had, and the guided portion of the tour walks you through what they saw and what they did. The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum sits in one of the two hangars that survived the attack, and that detail alone changes how the place feels.

Inside, there are more than 70 restored aircraft spread across the two hangars—fighters, bombers, transport planes—each one with a story tied to the Pacific war. You move through at your own pace with an audio tour (available in English, Spanish, Japanese, French, Korean, and Mandarin), so you can linger on the ones that hold you or move past the ones that don't. There's a film with actual footage of the attack, narrated by survivors, and it's the kind of thing that sits with you after you leave. The museum doesn't try to be grand about it; it's straightforward and respectful, which somehow makes it more powerful.

The shuttle runs from Honolulu hotels to Ford Island and back, so you don't have to navigate the base yourself or worry about parking. The whole visit takes a few hours depending on how deep you go with the audio tour and whether you do the control tower climb. There's a cafe if you need coffee, and a shop for books or aviation gifts on the way out. Wheelchair access is available throughout, and kids under four get in free.

What’s included

Your visit includes general admission to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, a free audio tour headset in one of six languages (English, Spanish, Japanese, French, Korean, or Mandarin), access to more than 70 years of Pacific aviation history across two WWII-era hangars, complimentary shuttle service to and from Ford Island, and a stirring film featuring actual footage of the December 7, 1941 attack narrated by survivors. The museum also has a cafe and gift shop on-site.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcome

Operated by Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum

Is this one for you?Best for anyone visiting Honolulu who wants to understand the Pacific war through the aircraft and the people who flew them, without arranging base access or transport—the shuttle and audio tour handle both, leaving you free to move through the hangars at your own pace.