Pearl Harbor Honolulu: USS Arizona Memorial & Visitor Center Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.74 (8,903 reviews) 88% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/16

Duration5h

GroupUp to 70

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

The USS Arizona Memorial: What the Shuttle Boat Ride Reveals

You drive from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor, watch a 23-minute documentary about the 1941 attack, then board a shuttle boat to stand on the USS Arizona Memorial above the wreck. You explore the Visitor's Center, museums, and waterfront memorials with a certified guide who handles the historical context and timing. Hotel pickup and guide are included; plan for security screening and dress code requirements.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Pearl Harbor Memorials and Historic Sites

Watch 23-minute Pearl Harbor documentary
Take shuttle boat to USS Arizona Memorial
Explore Pearl Harbor museums and memorials
Drive by historic Aloha Tower

The Experience

You're driving out of Waikiki toward the harbor, the morning still cool, the road narrowing as you approach the water. Your guide points out the Aloha Tower as you pass—that iconic symbol sitting there on the waterfront with its own layered history—and then you're at the Visitor's Center, where the day shifts. Before you board the shuttle boat to the USS Arizona Memorial, there's a 23-minute documentary about December 7, 1941. It's not long, but it changes how you stand on the memorial itself. The footage is actual attack footage. You see it, and then you walk out onto the water.

The shuttle boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial is the centerpiece of this Pearl Harbor tour from Honolulu. You're standing on a floating platform directly above the wreck, 1,177 feet below. The memorial itself is spare—white, geometric, designed so you're looking down at the ship and the oil that still rises from it sometimes. Your guide walks you through the names, the scale, what happened in those minutes. Then you move through the museums and waterfront memorials at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, where you can see more footage, more artifacts, more of the story that the documentary started. It's not rushed. The certified guide handles the pacing and the weight of it.

The whole experience includes your hotel pickup from Waikiki, so you're not negotiating parking or timing the shuttle yourself. Dress code is smart casual—shirt and shoes required on the memorial, no swimsuits or high heels. The Navy enforces security restrictions, so no large bags; there's storage available for $7 if you need it. On rare occasions, if the Navy suspends boat operations due to weather or mechanical issues, you can still see the USS Arizona exhibits, the film, and the visitor's center grounds. The route can shift based on what your guide thinks will work best for the day and the group.

What’s included

Your tour includes hotel pickup from Waikiki, a certified professional driver and guide, entry to the Pearl Harbor Visitor's Center, the 23-minute documentary about the December 7, 1941 attack, and the shuttle boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial.
You'll also explore museums, view actual attack footage, and see waterfront memorials at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, plus a drive-by of the historic Aloha Tower.
All transportation is wheelchair accessible.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by E Noa Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want the main Pearl Harbor sites in one morning without arranging your own transport, timing the boat shuttle, or navigating security alone—the guide handles all three, which is what makes the memorial itself feel less logistical and more reflective.