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Pearl Harbor costs nothing to enter. The USS Arizona Memorial program is free too, but you need a ticket, and each one carries a $1 booking fee on recreation.gov. The ships and museums out on Ford Island are separate and charge their own admission.
We have done Oahu with nieces and nephews along, and I would build the Pearl Harbor day around one thing: the Arizona boat. Book that first. Add a second site only if you still have energy afterward. It is a quiet place, and groups tend to lower their voices without being asked.
Is Pearl Harbor free?
Mostly, yes. The National Park Service says there is no entrance fee to Pearl Harbor National Memorial, and that covers the visitor center, the museum galleries and the grounds. The Arizona program is free as well.
What costs money is everything around the edges. The Battleship Missouri, the USS Bowfin submarine and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum are run by a nonprofit and sell their own tickets. Parking is $7 a day for personal and rental cars, and storing a bag costs a few dollars more.
You can fill half a day without paying anything but parking. The catch is that the free Arizona program is the one thing here that sells out.
USS Arizona Memorial tickets
The program lasts about 45 minutes. It runs as a safety briefing, a Navy boat ride out to the memorial, time on the memorial itself, and the ride back. The 23-minute park film is separate and you can watch it before or after.
Reservations go through recreation.gov, and the booking fee is $1 per ticket, non-refundable. Tickets release at 3 pm Hawaii time, eight weeks ahead, with a smaller batch the day before at the same hour. One reservation holds up to 10 tickets per day.
Everyone in your group needs to be on the reservation, babies included. Tickets cannot be transferred or resold, and you should arrive at the park at least an hour before your program. Boats start at 8 am, run about every 15 minutes, and the last one leaves at 3:30 pm.
Nobody sells walk-up tickets. The fallback is the standby list: you sign up at the audio tour booth with a name, a phone number and your party size, then wait for a text with your standby number. On busy days that wait can run several hours, and a seat is not guaranteed.
The park often sees more than 4,000 visitors a day at the memorial. That is why I would book the earliest program that fits, set an alarm for 3 pm Hawaii time, and not count on standby.
Battleship Missouri tickets
The paid sites sit on Ford Island, and the shuttle from the visitor center to the Missouri is free. These are the adult (13 and up) and child (4 to 12) prices on the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites ticket page in early October 2026. The table adds the free sites so you can see the whole day in one place.
| Site | Cost | Time to plan | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor center, galleries, grounds | Free | Film is 23 minutes; galleries at your own pace | No ticket |
| USS Arizona Memorial program | Free, plus $1 per ticket | 45 minutes; arrive 1 hour early | recreation.gov, 8 weeks ahead or standby |
| Battleship Missouri | $44.99 adult, $19.99 child | 1 to 2 hours onboard for most people | No reservation needed |
| USS Bowfin Submarine Museum | $25.99 adult, $14.99 child | Not stated by the operator | No reservation needed |
| Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum | $29.99 adult, $17.99 child | 40 to 60 minutes self-guided | No reservation needed |
| Passport to Pearl Harbor | $99.99 adult, $49.99 child | Valid two consecutive days | Tickets from the Historic Sites page |
The Passport bundle covers the Missouri, the Bowfin and the Aviation Museum, plus a self-guided multimedia tour of the Arizona Memorial and one VR experience. It does not include the Arizona reservation, which you book separately. It makes sense if you will spread the sites over two days.
Only the Arizona program needs a reservation. The other sites can be visited without a reservation, which makes them easy to add or drop on the day. If the schedule runs behind, the Missouri is the one I would keep.
Pearl Harbor visitor center
The visitor center is the free anchor of the day, and it is better than a waiting room. Two exhibit galleries, Road to War and Attack, hold personal memorabilia and artifacts. A theater shows a 23-minute documentary at 15 and 45 minutes past each hour, and the bookstore carries more than 120 titles.
Outside, the Remembrance Circle honors those lost and includes a bronze 3D map of Oahu. Ranger programs run first come, first served, with times posted when you arrive. Give these a slow half hour while you wait for your boat.
Hours are 7 am to 5 pm every day. The center closes on Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1, and it may close early or without notice in bad weather. The busiest stretches are summer, the winter holidays and spring break.
Pearl Harbor bag policy
The bag rules are strict, so settle this before you leave the hotel. The park bans any bag that can hide its contents and is bigger than 1.25 by 2.25 by 5.5 inches. That list includes purses, backpacks, camera bags, diaper bags and luggage.
Allowed are a wallet or small clutch, a bag whose contents are plainly visible, medical equipment bags and pouches fixed to a stroller or wheelchair. A clear bag works the way it would at a football game. Knives, multitools, alcohol, skateboards, bikes and scooters stay out as well.
Storage is run by the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum near the visitor center entrance and charges for every size, luggage included. The fee is small but changes, so check it at the booth. Cheaper still is to leave the daypack at the hotel and carry a clear bag, and the rest of your Hawaii packing list can stay behind with it.
Only clear water is allowed in the boarding room, on the boats and at the memorial. Cameras, water bottles and silent phones are fine.
How to get to Pearl Harbor from Waikiki
Driving takes about 45 minutes from Waikiki, and parking is $7 a day, payable by mobile app. TheBus runs routes 20 and 42 to the area, and the park notes that the westbound stop at the Arizona Memorial is closed. Boarding at the Kamehameha Highway and Kalaloa Street stop works instead, so check TheBus.org for current schedules.
Licensed tour companies run shuttles and bundled tours from Waikiki, and they range from plain transport to a full day with extra stops. A rideshare is the easy middle option. If you are based in Waikiki with children, our Waikiki with kids guide covers the home base, and this page covers the trip out.
Once you are at the visitor center, the Missouri and the Aviation Museum are a short shuttle ride away. The Missouri shuttle is free and leaves about every 15 minutes, and the Aviation Museum shuttle runs about every 15 minutes from 8 am to 4 pm. Budget about 30 minutes each way for waiting, boarding and the ride.
How long do you need at Pearl Harbor?
Plan on half a day for the Arizona program and the visitor center, and most of a day if you add the Missouri. The Missouri is open daily from 8 am to 4 pm, the Aviation Museum from 9 am to 5 pm, and the last Aviation shuttle back to the visitor center leaves at 5 pm. The Missouri closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
A day that works: take the earliest Arizona program you can get, watch the film while you wait, then ride the shuttle to the Missouri. The Aviation Museum’s Hangar Cafe opens at 11 am if you want lunch on Ford Island. Add the Bowfin or the Aviation Museum only if you are a submarine or aircraft person. I would not try to do all three paid sites in one day.
The park also runs a Ford Island bus tour to the USS Oklahoma and USS Utah memorials, with reservations required through recreation.gov. It reaches areas the general public cannot enter. Fit it in only if you are ready for a long day.
Slot all of this into your Oahu itinerary as a morning start, before the heat builds.
Is Pearl Harbor worth visiting?
I would not skip Pearl Harbor, even on a short Oahu trip. The Arizona memorial is a white structure that spans the sunken ship, and you stand over the hull. The program is short, quiet and unhurried.
Be honest about the logistics. It is a half-day commitment with a morning boat, a bag rule that catches people out, and a ticket worth grabbing the moment the window opens. Do the booking early and the rest takes care of itself.
Dress for the heat and keep the tone respectful. Shoes and a shirt are required for the Arizona, and phones should be silent. Children of every age are welcome, as long as they are on the reservation.
Pearl Harbor FAQ
Can you get Pearl Harbor tickets the day of?
Not reliably. A small batch of Arizona tickets goes on recreation.gov the day before at 3 pm Hawaii time. After that, the only option is the in-person standby list, and a seat is not guaranteed.
Can you bring a backpack to Pearl Harbor?
No. Backpacks, purses and camera bags that hide their contents are banned if they are larger than a small wallet. You can store a bag near the visitor center for a fee, or carry a clear bag instead.
Is the USS Arizona Memorial free?
Yes. The program costs nothing, and recreation.gov adds a $1 non-refundable booking fee per ticket. Parking at the park is $7 a day.
Do kids need a ticket for the USS Arizona Memorial?
Yes. Visitors of all ages are welcome, and infants and children should be included in the reservation because of boat capacity and life jacket rules.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
Published October 15, 2026.
Photo credits: (1) featured, The white USS Arizona Memorial spanning the… — NPS Photo, U.S. Government work, public domain, via National Park Service; (2) Pearl Harbor Visitor Center building and… — NPS Photo, U.S. Government work, public domain, via National Park Service; (3) USS Bowfin submarine moored at the Bowfin… — U.S. Navy, U.S. Government work, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; (4) The USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island… — NPS Photo, U.S. Government work, public domain, via National Park Service.