Honolulu · The one you don't miss
Pearl Harbor — USS Arizona Memorial
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The memorial as you see it arriving by boat.
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Up close at the memorial, looking out over Pearl Harbor.
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The classic postcard view, from the water.
- Hours
- Park 7:00am–5:00pm daily · boats 8:00am–12:00pm & 1:00pm–3:30pm
- Admission
- Free · $1 per-ticket fee via Recreation.gov
- Reservations
- Required — online only at recreation.gov
- Best days
- Midweek mornings · earliest slots · arrive 1 hr early
About this place
Standing over the USS Arizona is one of the most moving things you'll do in Hawaii. The memorial straddles the sunken hull of the battleship where 1,177 crewmen lost their lives on December 7, 1941 — and you can still see oil slowly seeping from the wreck, droplets the survivors call "the tears of the Arizona."
Getting in is the part everyone gets wrong: it's FREE, but you MUST reserve online at recreation.gov — there are no walk-up tickets anymore. Tickets drop daily at 3:00 PM Hawaii time in an 8-week window and a 24-hour window, and they go fast in peak season.
Boat programs run 8:00am–12:00pm and 1:00pm–3:30pm, departing about every 15 minutes. Plan at least 2 hours for the full visit: the visitor center exhibits, the 23-minute park film (a separate experience, not part of the boat program), and the memorial itself. Clear bags only — bring a small one or budget for the lockers ($7 small / $10 large). The Navy can pause boat departures for wind or safety, so the earliest slots give you the best odds of a full program.
The memorial is one stop in a much bigger Pearl Harbor: the Battleship Missouri, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, and the USS Bowfin Submarine each charge their own admission (the Aviation Museum runs $29.99 adult / $17.99 child 4–12, and the Passport to Pearl Harbor bundle at $99.99 adult does NOT include the Arizona boat). If you've only got one day, do the Arizona first — it's the one that stays with you.
