Pearl Harbor Visitor Center: Hours, Tickets and What Is There

Hours at a Glance

The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center keeps National Park Service hours, and it is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving Day, December 25 and January 1. On all other holidays it keeps normal hours. The Arizona boat program runs shorter than the grounds, so a late arrival can mean a full visitor center and no boat.

The Missouri, the Aviation Museum and the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum each run independent hours, and the free Ford Island shuttle links the visitor center to the two Ford Island sites from 8 am. Figures below come from the National Park Service, the Missouri, the Aviation Museum and the Submarine Museum.

Two Hour Conflicts to Know

The National Park Service lists the visitor center open until 5 pm and the park film running until 4:15 pm, but the last Arizona boat departs at 3:30 pm. Do not plan a memorial visit on a late afternoon arrival, because the boat program is done even while the grounds are not. The second conflict is on the Missouri, which lists last admission at 3:00 pm while guided tours run until 3:30 pm.

The ship itself closes at 4:00 pm. The safe rule for both is to enter well before the stated last admission, and the Missouri asks visitors to arrive at least one hour before closing to see the highlights. Bad weather can also close the park early or unexpectedly, with notices posted on the park website and social media.

How Early Should You Arrive

The National Park Service recommends arriving early, especially if you hold reserved Arizona tickets. Peak seasons are summer, winter holidays and spring break, and the park lists Pearl Harbor among the top three most visited sites in Hawaii. On a busy day the standby line for the Arizona program can take several hours, though you can watch the film or see the galleries while you wait.

For the first 8 am boat, arriving when the gates open at 7 am leaves time for security, ticket checks and the restroom, because there is none on the boats or the memorial.

The Two Galleries

The visitor center has two exhibit galleries covering the War in the Pacific and the Attack on Pearl Harbor. They are free to enter with no reservation, and you can walk through them in any order at any point in the day. Only water is allowed inside the museums, so finish any coffee or snacks before you go in.

The galleries are the best filler while you wait for a boat program or a film showing, and the official planning page suggests you can fill anything from two hours to a full day across the site.

The Theater and the Park Film

The 23-minute park film shows in Theater 1 at the Memorial Theater and is separate from the Arizona Memorial program, so you can watch it on its own without a boat ticket. Showings run at :15 and :45 past each hour, with the first at 7:15 am and the last at 4:15 pm. The film is not available online, so the theater is the only place to see it.

Note that some guided tours list a small fee for the film and the shuttle as an exclusion, for example the Star of Honolulu Deluxe Coach Tour at $59.23 lists a $1.57 film and shuttle fee.

The Waterfront

The visitor center opens onto a waterfront lawn looking out over the harbor toward the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits above the sunken hull and is reached only by Navy shuttle boat. Many of the crew of the Arizona remain inside the hull, which you can see eight feet below the memorial openings. The park asks for appropriate dress because this is a place of remembrance and a final resting place.

Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the grounds, and benches are placed throughout the site. The park is fully accessible and ADA compliant, and motorized mobility devices are welcome on the grounds, on Navy vessels and at the memorial.

The Audio Tour

The National Park Service Audio Tour has 27 stops and is narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis. It is available in multiple languages and is bought on site or through Recreation.gov, so it is the one thing at the visitor center that costs money beyond parking and food. The official passport planning page allows about 1 hour for the audio tour.

If you are short on time or traveling with kids, the park also runs a Jr. Ranger program that gives children something structured to do across the grounds.

Food, Restrooms and Bag Storage

Jake's Street Food at the Submarine Museum, next to the visitor center lot, is open 10:00 am to 2:30 pm. Food and water are allowed on the grounds if they are not concealed in a package, but only water may be taken into the museums, the theater, Navy vessels and the memorial. Restrooms are at the visitor center, and that matters: the National Park Service says there is no restroom access once you leave for the memorial, and none on the boats or the memorial itself, so go before you board.

Bag storage is run by the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum near the visitor center entrance and charges a fee for every size including luggage, with tours listing it between $6 and $10. The full rules are in the Pearl Harbor bag policy guide. Strollers stay in the pre-boarding area at the Park Theater, so bring a baby carrier if you are taking a small child to the memorial.

How Long to Allow

The Historic Sites planning page says you can see the site in two hours or fill a full day. For the visitor center alone, the planning page's two hours is the figure to use, with the 23-minute film and the 1-hour audio tour as add-ons, and longer if you are waiting on standby for an Arizona boat. The Missouri advises about 3 hours for a brief visit of the Arizona Memorial and the museums, and a full route across all four historic sites needs 6 to 8 hours once the Ford Island shuttle time is counted.

Parking at the visitor center is $7 per day, paid by credit card through QR codes in the lot with no cash option, so have your licence plate ready. Driving times and bus routes are covered in the guide to the bus to Pearl Harbor from Waikiki.

Time Budgets at a Glance

The visitor center itself is free and open seven days a week from 7 am to 5 pm. A quick look can fit into two hours, while the official historic sites page says the whole area works with two hours or a full day. Use these planning times to match your visit to your schedule.

Arrive Early

The NPS recommends arriving early, especially if you hold reserved Arizona tickets. The first Arizona program starts at 8 am, one hour after the gates open at 7 am, so an early arrival leaves time to clear security, watch the galleries and find the theater. Pearl Harbor ranks among the top three most visited sites in Hawaii, and the park is busiest in summer, winter holidays and spring break.

On a crowded day standby for the Arizona program can take several hours, and the standby sign-up works by text message from tablets in front of the Audio Tour booth. If you have not booked, the Pearl Harbor tickets page explains the free daily reservation release at 3 pm Hawaii time, 24 hours and 8 weeks ahead. Standby is the fallback and it is not a promise.

Getting here by bus or car is covered in the getting to Pearl Harbor guide.

Tours That Stop Here

Most tours from Waikiki and Honolulu build the visit around the visitor center and the USS Arizona Memorial program. The Salute to Pearl Harbor Tour from E Noa Tours costs $59 per person for 5 hours and covers the visitor center plus the Arizona shuttle, subject to Navy operations. The USS Arizona Memorial Tour is the cheapest at $51 for 4 hours.

The Star of Honolulu Deluxe Coach Tour runs $59.23 for 5 hours with city sights, and the Pearl Harbor and Punchbowl Tour from Polynesian Adventure costs $58 for 6 hours. The Private Pearl Harbor and City Tour at $233 per person also includes the visitor center among its stops.

What a Guide Can and Cannot Do

Tours include transport and, on the multi-site options, the paid admissions, so the $157 Small-Group Arizona and Missouri Tour carries the Missouri ticket and the $156 Arizona and Battleship Missouri Tour lists the visit to the Missouri. Some listings say the guide stays out of the park sites. The Small-Group Arizona Memorial Tour states that guides cannot go inside the Visitor Center or the memorial, the Private Pearl Harbor and City Tour guide takes you into the Visitor Center for an orientation but does not escort you on the memorial, and the Star of Honolulu coach tour says its driver-guide gives wayfinding only inside the park.

The Arizona program is run by the National Park Service and the US Navy, and the visitor center exhibits and film are self-guided, with the NPS Audio Tour as the narrated option. No tour can guarantee a landing on the Arizona Memorial, and some listings say the shuttle depends on Navy operations. Tickets for the Arizona boat ride are covered separately on the Pearl Harbor tickets page.

Tours with bags in mind note the storage cost, since lockers run about $6 to $10 near the entrance and the full bag policy applies to tour guests exactly as it does to walk-in visitors.