Pearl Harbor Complete Guide: USS Arizona Memorial, Battleship Missouri and Ford Island

On the Sunday morning of 7 December 1941, waves of Imperial Japanese carrier aircraft launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet moored inside Pearl Harbor (Wai Momi, meaning 'Waters of Pearl' in Hawaiian). Within two hours, twenty-one American naval vessels were sunk or damaged, 188 aircraft were destroyed, and 2,403 American service members and civilians lost their lives, drawing the United States directly into World War II. Located twenty minutes west of Waikiki along the southern lagoon shore of O'ahu and reached easily by car, rideshare, or TheBus Route 20, Route 42 or the W Line, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial is the most visited historic site in the Pacific. Because the complex spans four separate attractions split between the mainland Visitor Center and restricted Ford Island, understanding the security rules and ticket windows beforehand makes the morning smooth.

The Strict No-Bags Security Rule and What to Wear

Pearl Harbor remains an active United States Navy base (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam), and National Park Service security at the main entrance gate enforces a strict no-bag policy for every visitor. No backpacks, purses, waist packs, camera bags, nappy bags, tote bags or camera cases larger than a flat wallet are permitted through the security arches, unless items are carried inside a clear plastic stadium bag. You may bring your mobile phone, compact camera, wallet, government photo identification, medication and a clear bottle of water in your hands or pockets.

If you arrive carrying a daypack or handbag, you must check it at the paid luggage storage tent outside the Visitor Center entrance before joining the gate queue; check the official site for current per-bag storage fees. As detailed in our Honolulu clothing and footwear guide, wearing shorts or trousers with deep pockets lets you walk straight through security without queuing at the bag tent. In addition, wear closed-toe walking shoes or trainers rather than flip-flops or heels, which are unsafe on the steep metal ladders of the historic naval ships, and dress respectfully in a sleeved shirt and trousers, shorts or a dress, as swimwear without a cover-up is not permitted on the memorial boat.

The Mainland Visitor Center and Booking the USS Arizona Memorial Boat

Walking through the main gate into the waterfront Pearl Harbor Visitor Center is completely free of charge and requires no advance ticket. On the mainland grounds, you can spend an hour walking through two free museum galleries (Road to War and Attack), viewing recovered artefacts including one of the original ship's bells of the USS Arizona, listening to survivor histories, and standing at the shoreline contemplation circles overlooking Battleship Row.

Stepping aboard the white United States Navy launch that shuttles visitors across the harbour to the USS Arizona Memorial requires a timed boat reservation. Designed by architect Alfred Preis with a dipping roofline that symbolises initial defeat followed by ultimate resolve, the white concrete structure spans the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it. Beneath the water directly below the viewing well rest over nine hundred of the 1,177 crewmen and Marines who perished when an armour-piercing bomb detonated the forward ammunition magazine. Tiny droplets of oil still rise from the hull decades later, spreading rainbow rings across the surface known as the Black Tears of the Arizona. In the marble Shrine Room, the names of all 1,177 fallen crew members are engraved alongside surviving crewmates who chose to have their ashes interred inside the ship. Secure your boat seat in one of two ways:

• Advance Online Reservations at recreation.gov: seats on the forty-five-minute boat programme are free, subject only to a nominal reservation fee on the federal booking portal. The primary batch of tickets opens eight weeks in advance in the morning Hawaii Time, and a secondary batch opens twenty-four hours before the visit date.
• The Walk-In Standby Queue: if you miss both online windows, arrive at the Visitor Center early in the morning and register your mobile number at the courtyard Standby Desk. The National Park Service fills every unclaimed seat from the standby list, and morning visitors frequently board within an hour.

Crossing the Bridge to Ford Island: Battleship USS Missouri and Aviation Museum

Two of Pearl Harbor's four historic sites sit across the water on Ford Island, an active military airfield in the centre of the harbour where private civilian cars cannot park. From the mainland Visitor Center courtyard, free air-conditioned shuttle buses depart every fifteen minutes across the floating bridge to two paid partner museums (check the official museum websites for current admission rates):

• The Battleship USS Missouri Memorial ('Mighty Mo', Allow Two Hours): moored just astern of the sunken USS Arizona so that her sixteen-inch guns watch over the fallen ship, the 270-metre Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) represents the end of World War II just as the Arizona represents its beginning. Walk the teak planks of the Surrender Deck to stand beside the bronze plaque marking the exact spot in Tokyo Bay where General Douglas MacArthur, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and Allied representatives accepted the formal Instrument of Surrender from Japan on 2 September 1945. Below deck, self-guided routes lead through the crew mess, bakery, officer wardrooms and the kamikaze strike dent.
• The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (Hangars 37 and 79, Allow Ninety Minutes): housed inside two authentic World War II seaplane hangars that survived the 7 December 1941 strafing runs, this museum displays nearly fifty Pacific theatre aircraft, including an authentic Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, a B-17E Flying Fortress, a P-40 Warhawk and Cold War jets. Look closely at the blue glass windows of Hangar 79, which still bear the original 1941 bullet holes.

Submarine USS Bowfin and Pairing Your Afternoon with Royal Downtown

Back on the mainland side immediately adjacent to the Visitor Center sits the fourth partner site: the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum and USS Bowfin (SS-287). Launched on the first anniversary of the attack on 7 December 1942 and nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger, the Balao-class submarine completed nine wartime patrols across the Pacific. Visitors with separate museum admission can walk through the torpedo rooms, diesel engine bays, periscope station and crew bunks, followed by the indoor submarine history gallery.

Visiting the USS Arizona Memorial plus the Battleship Missouri takes roughly four hours; adding the Submarine Bowfin and the Aviation Museum across all four sites takes six to seven hours. As outlined in our multi-day Honolulu itinerary, most visitors finish their Pearl Harbor morning around midday and ride TheBus Route 20 or 42 (or drive fifteen minutes east) straight into Royal Downtown Honolulu to tour 1882 'Iolani Palace, the King Kamehameha Statue and the Bishop Museum before returning to Waikiki Beach for sunset.