Don’t Book a Pearl Harbor Tour Until You Read This (Buyer Beware!)

Sadly, we live in a caveat emptor (buyer beware) society today and even things like Pearl Harbor tours aren’t immune to this. But since you (the buyer) might not always know what to beware when planning your trip, I’m here to help. I’ve scoured the long list of Pearl Harbor tours so I can show you why you don’t need them, what to look out for, and why most of them are borderline scams.

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The problem with Pearl Harbor

Personally, I love booking tours. I also love recommending tours to my readers that I think you’d really benefit from and enjoy. Most of the time they’re economical, time-saving, and stress-free ways to sightsee in a new place. “Most of the time” being the key phrase here; sometimes they’re just plain hustles (as in the case of Pearl Harbor tours).

While this is great for visitors like you and me, free admission is bad news for tour operators. (“How are we supposed to profit from the #1 attraction in the state if people don’t even have to pay to visit it??”) At least, it was, until they discovered they could still make tons of money by selling these free tickets at a high cost to clueless consumers.

Buyer beware! A little bit of clever wording, some “official” looking websites, and even some barefaced lies could have you dropping loads of cash on experiences that are otherwise free or super cheap. Don’t let them fool you. Read on so you know what to look for.

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Also check out my full post on what you need to know for visiting Pearl Harbor. It includes all the most important information and all my best tips!

The most popular sites are already free

For starters, the most popular Pearl Harbor sites are free to visit. This includes the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and the USS Arizona Memorial. These are the two sites that almost all of Pearl Harbor’s 2 million visitors visit. These are the places you imagine when you think of “visiting Pearl Harbor.”

The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center is run by the National Park Service. It has a museum, a film theater, information booths, a gift shop, restrooms, snack stands, a short walking route with memorials and artifacts, and more. Admission to all of this is free when you visit the Visitor Center.

A visit to the USS Arizona Memorial includes the short boat ride to the memorial, 15 minutes at the memorial myself, and the boat ride back to the Visitor Center. All of this is free, courtesy of the partnership between the National Park Service and the United States Navy.

Otherwise, you’re free to spend as long as you want at the Visitor Center, explore the museums, browse the gift shop, ask all your questions to the National Park rangers, and watch the 23-minute Pearl Harbor film. Hell, you can watch it three times if you want.

At the risk of repeating myself: Between the informative museum exhibits, the 23-minute USS Arizona Memorial film, and the knowledgeable park rangers, there’s no need to pay for a tour that will tell you (probably less of) the exact same stuff.

Take a look at this list of WWII sites on Oahu for more travel ideas.

The National Park Service, as well as the privately-owned Pearl Harbor sites, work hard to make sure you understand what happened on December 7, 1941. They have park rangers, tour guides, and docents on hand at all times to answer whatever questions you have. In short, everything you need or want to know about Pearl Harbor is already available to you.

The USS Arizona boat can be canceled at the last minute

Regardless of whether you reserve your own free ticket to the USS Arizona Memorial or book one of the Pearl Harbor tours, the same thing is true. Your boat to the USS Arizona Memorial can be canceled at the last minute in the event of high winds/bad weather. It’s unfortunate, but it’s also a possibility you need to be aware of.

If you booked your Arizona ticket yourself, this still sucks, but at least you’re only out $1. If you book a Pearl Harbor tour and this happens, there are still no refunds. And since you paid something like $70 per person, this sucks so much more!  

They expect you to tip

On top of paying tons more than your already free activities cost, Pearl Harbor tour companies also expect you to tip your “guide.” (And I think we can all agree that tipping culture has gotten way out of hand!)

I don’t have a problem with tipping tour guides, but I do have a problem with tipping people for something I could have done myself for free. Just beware this additional cost to the Pearl Harbor tours.

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The main thing you need to know when shopping for Pearl Harbor tours is this: In most cases, you’re really just paying for transportation to and from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. Literally, that’s it. Take out the colorful packaging and the fancy words and what you have is essentially a wildly overpriced taxi ride.

Allow me to elaborate on the three points I mentioned above…

Pearl Harbor tours are unnecessary

When I say “Pearl Harbor tours are unnecessary,” I’m mostly speaking to the fact that what these tours offer is already free for visitors. So why pay when you don’t have to? For example…

So, for $69 per person, you can get what you would otherwise get for just $1 per person + $7 to park your car. If you have 4 people in your party, you would pay $11 for all of the above if you drive yourself. If you book this tour, that exact same stuff will cost you $276.

Where’s the actual “tour?”

The thing is, where’s the actual “tour” part of the tour? The NPS does not allow tour guides on the boats to the Arizona, and you still have to take the (free) shuttle bus to the Battleship. From what I’ve been able to discern, they drive you to the Visitor Center and maybe show you where you go to do all the stuff. Then they bounce. Where’s the expert WWII historian leading you around all the sites and explaining the history? I would never be so bold as to call these “tours.”

These are just two examples of the many, many Pearl Harbor tours available on not only sites like Viator and Get Your Guide, but directly with local tour companies as well. I could show you at least 20 more examples that all sell similar basic itineraries. When it comes to booking Pearl Harbor tours, knowing that most of what they offer is already free is half the battle!

Regardless of how they word it or package it, the same thing is true for almost all of them: the only tangible thing of value they offer is transportation. If you’re thinking, “Well, I want the transportation!” then skip to this section where I address that.

Beware the “private” Pearl Harbor tour

Example: I especially like this Private Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial tour they’ve dubbed an “Exclusive Private Group Tour.” Sure, it sounds like you get a private tour of the Arizona Memorial (i.e., the memorial all to yourself).

But, in reality, you still have to visit the USS Arizona Memorial with the literal boat-load of other random people (who didn’t pay more than $1 for their visit). The only thing “private” about this tour is the ride to and from your hotel. And how is this any different from a standard taxi or Uber? (Other than the fact that it costs $200 per person.) Spoiler alert: it’s not.

Beware the nonexistent lines you have to wait in

Example: This $233 pp “private” Pearl Harbor tour includes the ability to “skip the long line for tickets to the USS Arizona Memorial.” Only, there are no lines. All Arizona tickets are reserved online in advance. This is the only way to get tickets. In fact, you even have to choose a specific time to visit, so there’s no waiting anyway. It couldn’t be easier.

Example: This Pearl Harbor & USS Arizona tour says: “Skip the line. Access by foot.” Well, again, there are no lines to skip so that’s not even a benefit at all. And the USS Arizona Memorial is over water; I think it goes without saying that you can’t “access by foot.”

I could go on, but these examples are just to show you how some tour operators use certain words and language to make you think you’re getting something extra worth paying for. And it doesn’t stop at these six tours. Almost all the tours I’ve found have some kind of trickery going on.

Some tour operators claim to be “official”

Similarly, some Pearl Harbor tour operators claim to be “official” and/or manipulate the optics in such a way that otherwise implies they are. Don’t be fooled by official-looking websites and company names. Most of the “Pearl Harbor” tour companies are not associated with the Pearl Harbor National Memorial at all.

The OFFICIAL Pearl Harbor sites

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial is managed by the National Park Service in coordination with the United States Navy. Some of the other attractions here are privately owned and operated but still “official.”

UNOFFICIAL Pearl Harbor tour operators

Here are some other tour companies that appear prominently in search results and that use language and/or visuals that imply they are officially sanctioned Pearl Harbor tour operators:

Pearlharbortours.com – The name alone implies they’re the main tour operator for Pearl Harbor. A priceless URL, indeed.

Pearlharbor.org – Don’t let the .org fool you! Their website tab literally says “Official Pearl Harbor Tours” but the bottom of their homepage tells the truth: “PearlHarbor.org is a non-government site that provides information and assistance to those interested in visiting Pearl Harbor. It is operated by Mauka Tours, LLC a licensed Tour Agency in Hawaii.”

Technically, yes, they are “officially” selling pearl harbor tours. But they are not actually associated with the Pearl Harbor National Memorial or otherwise “official” as the general public understands this term.

Pearl-harbor.info – Likewise, their website footer says: “Pearl-Harbor.info is a privately owned online site and is not owned, operated, or affiliated with any governmental agency.”

Pearlharboroahu.com – This one I have real beef with given the massive amount of false information I’ve found on their site. (Really, almost everything they say about visiting Pearl Harbor is falsified fear mongering.) But their footer also spills the beans: “PearlHarborOahu.com is owned & operated by Aloha Sunshine Tours under the Hawaii State Activity Desk License Number AD 1398.”

E Noa Tours – This company puts a seal on the photos they use for their Pearl Harbor tours on Viator that says: “Official Approved Certified Partner Pearl Harbor Tour Provider.” The only place this “official partnership” is mentioned on their actual website is on the image of another, completely different seal. No explanation, no proof = no foolin’ me. I know how to use Photoshop too.

Some tour operators flat-out lie to you

Besides simply manipulating their words or beating around the bush, some Pearl Harbor tour operators actually lie to you in order to sell tours. The folks over at pearlharboroahu.com give us countless examples in their FAQ section.

No tours required

They say: “Pearl Harbor has many other attractions such as the USS Battleship Missouri, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. Tickets are also required to enter these destinations. In order to get tickets to the parks and museums located at Pearl Harbor, you should book a tour.” 

But: This is 100% false. You do NOT need a tour to visit these sites. In fact, you don’t even need to book these tickets in advance. You can literally just walk up to these museums and pay your admission.

No such thing as walk-up tickets

They say: “If you do not reserve tickets in advance, you will have to wait in line for ‘walk-up’ tickets. In the busy season, it’s not uncommon for tickets to be sold out after waiting in line for several hours. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that all tours are reserved in advance.”

But: This is false. To get USS Arizona tickets you must reserve them online ahead of time. They do release last minute tickets the day before, but you reserve those online also. There are no walk-up tickets for the USS Arizona and no hours-long waits. While they did offer same-day walk-up tickets in the past, they discontinued that option years ago.

In August 2023, I booked my Arizona ticket the day before and didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes for my group to enter once I arrived at my predetermined time.

Civilians welcome!

They say: “Only authorized vehicles are permitted to cross the Clarey Bridge to Ford Island, where the USS Missouri, the Oklahoma Memorial, and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum are all located. Without military authorization, you will have to book a tour to see these sites.”

But: This is absolutely false! It’s true that only authorized vehicles are permitted to cross the Clarey Bridge to Ford Island. But, and I’m talking about a huge BUT here, you 100% do NOT have to book a tour to visit the USS Missouri, USS Oklahoma Memorial, and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.

The (free to visit) Pearl Harbor National Memorial also provides a FREE shuttle that takes non-military visitors from the PH Visitor Center to the Battleship Missouri / USS Oklahoma Memorial and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (and back). All for free. For any visitor, regardless of military affiliation, even (and especially) if they’re traveling independently.

These are just a few of the many examples of brazen lying I found on this site and others. I feel this perfectly confirms how useless Pearl Harbor tours actually are. If tours like these held any actual value for the customer, the offers would speak for themselves and these companies wouldn’t need to work so hard to trick people into buying them.

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Should you book Pearl Harbor tours just for the transportation?

OK, so earlier I mentioned that the only real benefit of booking Pearl Harbor tours is for the roundtrip transportation they provide to/from Waikiki. And sure, maybe that is something you want or need. But these tours charge anywhere from $55 into the hundreds per person.

Subtract the $1 USS Arizona fee and the relatively small cost of visiting the other museums and what you’re left with is an extremely overpriced ride to the Visitor Center and back. There are cheaper, easier, and faster ways to get here. Here’s why you don’t need to book a Pearl Harbor tour just for the transportation:

Driving and parking at Pearl Harbor

Chances are you’ll probably have your own rental car when you visit Oahu. (And if not, I’ve linked to the rental car company I always use so you can shop the Oahu deals.) It’s really the only/best way to get around the island. In this case, just drive yourself to Pearl Harbor.

Driving to Pearl Harbor is easy. It’s not too far away from the main areas and getting here is pretty straightforward. Once here, you can park right in front of the Visitor Center. Parking costs $7 for the whole day. (That’s total for the car, not per person.) Depending on how many people are in your vehicle, the cost to drive and park yourself at Pearl Harbor is virtually nothing.

Taking an Uber to Pearl Harbor

Even though the cost of calling an Uber can vary widely depending on a number of factors, most of the time it’s still a much cheaper and overall better option.

I’ve checked the cost of taking an Uber from Waikiki to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center many times over the past couple weeks. The average cost has been around $38 each way, with $50 each way being the most expensive I’ve seen. As I write this, the one-way cost is $27.91. (You can get a timely cost estimate here.)

Let’s say you travel during the peak time and it costs you $100 to Uber from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor and back. Now divide that between the number of people that are going. That’s still way less than what these tours cost. AND you have full control over when you leave and return.

Taking a taxi to Pearl Harbor

I can’t give you an accurate estimate of how much an on-the-spot taxi will cost you from your hotel to Pearl Harbor. But, TheCab‘s per-mile cost calculator estimates the 13-mile one-way trip to cost around $60. (That’s still less than most tours if there’s at least two of you.)

Waikiki hotels only

Another downside to booking these Pearl Harbor tours is that almost all of them only include transportation to/from Waikiki hotels. If you’re staying in Ko Olina or anywhere else on the entire island of Oahu, you’re out of luck. I literally found more Pearl Harbor tours out of Maui and Kauai than I did other parts of Oahu.

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Are Pearl Harbor tours ever worth it?

Overall, I can’t imagine any scenario when booking one of these Pearl Harbor tours would be worth it. You’re paying for stuff that’s already free; you’re overpaying for stuff that’s cheap; and you have almost no control over how you spend your time at Pearl Harbor. None of that sounds appealing to me, personally.

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Tips for booking Pearl Harbor tours

If, after all this, you still insist on booking a Pearl Harbor tour, here are a few tips for doing so and some important things to consider.

Always read reviews

Even though you should always be critical of reviews, they can seriously help you out here. And in this case, I urge you to read the negative reviews. People are great at convincing themselves they got a great deal for something they overpaid for. (Denial is a hell of a thing.) But the bad reviews are going to be the most honest ones.

In the negative reviews, look for consistencies. Most of the negative reviews for this tour mention that the company canceled the tour at the last minute and/or left the people stranded. So that’s something to think about.

Most of the negative reviews for this tour mention that the company never actually booked them any USS Arizona tickets and instead made them wait in the (former) stand-by line for hours. After selling them the experience and accepting payment for it. What. a. joke.

Always do the math

When shopping for Pearl Harbor tours, write down all the things the tour includes. Then, go here to see how much all Pearl Harbor tickets cost. See if what the tour company is charging is reasonable or a rip-off.

One example is the often advertised “Passport to Pearl Harbor.” This may sound like a great deal, but in reality it’s the same price as if you bought the tickets separately. And if you only planned on visiting two of the three sites, you’re now spending more than necessary.

Remember the price is usually per-person

The price you see listed for the Pearl Harbor tours is almost always the per-person rate. So while $250 may sound great for a tour for your group of 6, keep in mind that’s actually $250 per person.

However, taxi companies and other sightseeing shuttles you book privately usually quote you a group rate. Example: The taxi to Pearl Harbor that costs $48 includes the whole car-full of people.

Know the history beforehand

If you brush up on the Pearl Harbor history before you visit, you won’t need a guided “tour.” I’ve already mentioned how you’ll learn a lot of what you need to know at the Pearl Harbor museums and sites themselves. But, reading a book or watching a movie before you go is always a good idea to know the basics when you arrive.

Check out the post I wrote on the best Pearl Harbor books to read for your visit. This list includes something for all audiences (even kids!).

Documentaries and films are another great way to go. One of the best movies you can watch to learn all you need to know about Pearl Harbor is Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). This film is done in such a way that it’s super easy to follow and great for understanding why and how the Pearl Harbor attack happened. (Plus, the acting is just… let’s call it “entertaining.”) Highly recommend!

Always read the fine print

This should always go without saying, but never book anything without reading the fine print. There’s a good chance you’ll find something you’re not psyched about. For instance, only by clicking to reveal a pop-up box and scrolling all the way down does this tour mention that you may not actually get to skip the line like they advertise and that it will have up to 70 people on it!

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Pearl Harbor tours actually worth considering

While the vast majority of “Pearl Harbor tours” are a waste of time, money, and stress, there are still some good ones that are actually worth considering. If you’re looking to pay for an actual guided tour at Pearl Harbor, check out the following:

Bowfin Museum tours

In addition to the included audio tour at the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum, you can upgrade to the VIP Captain’s Tour. This is a 2-hour guided tour of the USS Bowfin submarine and outdoor exhibits led by a former Commanding Officer of an actual U.S. Navy submarine. ($600 for groups up to 6 people.)

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