Seeing Pearl Harbor while at Aulani

[MELSMICE]

We have a trip planned to Aulani over Christmas. There are 9 of us, 8 adults and one child. What do we need to do to see Pearl Harbor? Do we get tickets before hand and if so, what's the best way to do this.

Also, tell me about other attractions that are must do's while we're there.

 

[Halle]

I purchased tickets on th government website. I have read that it is necessary to book in advance.

 

[Jimsig]

Here is the official Pearl Harbor web site from the NPS

Pearl Harbor NPS

There are some other sites that will offer you a tour, but if you have a car you can do it on your own. That's what we did when we were in Hawaii visiting friends.

 

[Jimsig]

Also Hanauma Bay and Diamond Head are must sees IMO

Diamond Head

Hanauma Bay

 

[MELSMICE]

Thank you. Anyone been to the zoo there? I read something that says you can go at night with flashlights.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with a previous poster that getting the tickets for Pearl Harbor on the website is the best way, and I would further advise you to try for one of the first tour times of the day (8:00-9:00 time range). The reason for this is that the museum gets extremely crowded after about 9:00, and it becomes very difficult to see the very well worth it exhibits. We also really enjoyed both the Missouri and the Bowfin, so plan accordingly for that as well. Even having our tour right at 8:15 AM, we didn't finish with everything until about 2:30 PM.

One more word about buy the tour through "groups" instead of on your own. You will see and do a LOT more if you do it on your own. The "groups" tend to skip the best parts.

I also second the idea of hiking Diamond Head, but you want to do that early in the day too. It gets very crowded and quite warm if you wait until midday.

We enjoy museums, so we like the Bishop museum and also the palace.

 

[carlbarry]

I saw Pearl Harbor during my stay at Aulani last year. Yes, order tickets before hand. And get there early. I did, and saw how very quickly it gets extremely crowded.

 

[DenLo]

Drive the north shore. And see the sea turtles. The concierge at Aulani will supply you a map where the sea turtles are coming ashore.

December might be a little early but the female humpback whales and their babies hang out around the islands from December until March each year. Although they are mainly in the channel between Maui and Molokai and Lanai some actually come to Oahu too.

I picked this information up from the Go Hawaii website:

u can also spot whales from Oahu’s many beaches and from southeastern Oahu spots like the scenic Makapuu Lighthouse, Hanauma Bay, and along the seaside overlooks near Leahi (Diamond Head). Whale watching tours and cruises depart from various ports along Oahu’s southern and western harbors.

There is an excursion listed on the Aulani website that mentions whale watching seasonally.

 

[Jenn]

If the gov website is already sold out, does anyone have a tour company they can recommend? We are heading there in 2 weeks and realized about a week ago we needed to order Pearl Harbor tix in advance. All days and times sold out. I understand there are several tours we could book through.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Drive the north shore. And see the sea turtles. The concierge at Aulani will supply you a map where the sea turtles are coming ashore.

December might be a little early but the female humpback whales and their babies hang out around the islands from December until March each year. Although they are mainly in the channel between Maui and Molokai and Lanai some actually come to Oahu too.

I picked this information up from the Go Hawaii website:

There is an excursion listed on the Aulani website that mentions whale watching seasonally.

You can actually see sea turtles right near Aulani! Just walk past the Marriott timeshare and onto the beach. The turtles are usually in a small bay/beach area there. We even saw a monk seal on that beach one day. We usually walked down there every morning to check it out.

 

[knewton64]

We have a trip planned to Aulani over Christmas. There are 9 of us, 8 adults and one child. What do we need to do to see Pearl Harbor? Do we get tickets before hand and if so, what's the best way to do this.

Also, tell me about other attractions that are must do's while we're there.

Like shaved ice, macadamia bannanna nut pancakes - ya name it, they have it.




Pearl Harbor, "Grand Island Circle tour", seeing sunsets.......




Q: Have you thought of island hopping while there??




ENJOY.






T.T.F.N.

 

[MELSMICE]

Thanks everyone.

Also, any good recommendations on local restaurants to try?

 

[WDW_Diane]

If the gov website is already sold out, does anyone have a tour company they can recommend? We are heading there in 2 weeks and realized about a week ago we needed to order Pearl Harbor tix in advance. All days and times sold out. I understand there are several tours we could book through.

We are going to KoOlina starting June 11th and ran into the same problem. Apparently the tour groups scoop up the tickets when they become available. Grrrrr
I've heard they have a few walk up tickets daily as well, we are hoping so.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We are going to KoOlina starting June 11th and ran into the same problem. Apparently the tour groups scoop up the tickets when they become available. Grrrrr
I've heard they have a few walk up tickets daily as well, we are hoping so.

If you are going to try for the walk up tickets, get to the museum BEFORE it opens (I'm going to suggest 7:45) and stand in line so you are the first in the gate when it opens just before 8:00. THEN you have a chance at standby tickets.

 

[WDW_Diane]

If you are going to try for the walk up tickets, get to the museum BEFORE it opens (I'm going to suggest 7:45) and stand in line so you are the first in the gate when it opens just before 8:00. THEN you have a chance at standby tickets.

I had heard to arrive at 7 am, do you think that's too early?

 

[carissa1970]

We were there at Thanksgiving last year, went to PH on a drizzly Sunday morning around 9:00. We expected a bit of a wait, but we were on the tour within 20 minutes, no joke. My DH had the tickets before I'd even parked the car. There was hardly anyone there! Afterwards, went across the street to the swap meet. I highly recommend it!!

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[OKWJan]

We just got back from Aulani and did the Pearl Harbor tour through the resort. I left at 7:30 and came back about 2:00. It was very convenient and you did not have to worry about traffic or getting the tickets. It took us through the Punchbowl National Cemetery, the Missouri, and to the Arizona. Nice big bus with a local driver who was a great tour guide. I would recommend it.

Aulani was awesome!

 

[Cinderpamela]

7am would be a great time to arrive, you will get a good parking space that way and have a better chance at tickets if you were not able to reserve ahead of time on the Gov't website.

We arrived about that time (7am ish) and got a nice shady spot for our car... let me tell you, when we were leaving the folks who got our parking spot were super happy!!

I also recommend to do Pearl Harbor on one of your first days in Hawaii, that way the time difference helps with the getting up early part!

 

[dianeschlicht]

7am would be a great time to arrive, you will get a good parking space that way and have a better chance at tickets if you were not able to reserve ahead of time on the Gov't website.

We arrived about that time (7am ish) and got a nice shady spot for our car... let me tell you, when we were leaving the folks who got our parking spot were super happy!!

I also recommend to do Pearl Harbor on one of your first days in Hawaii, that way the time difference helps with the getting up early part!

I totally agree about doing it early in the trip because of the time change. We were up at 3:00 am that first day, so getting to PH by 7:00 was easy.
I still think the best way is to reserve your tickets on the gov. site EARLY and be sure you do it early in the day.

 

[WDW_Diane]

7am would be a great time to arrive, you will get a good parking space that way and have a better chance at tickets if you were not able to reserve ahead of time on the Gov't website.

We arrived about that time (7am ish) and got a nice shady spot for our car... let me tell you, when we were leaving the folks who got our parking spot were super happy!!

I also recommend to do Pearl Harbor on one of your first days in Hawaii, that way the time difference helps with the getting up early part!

Yes, we are trying this our first day because do the five hour time difference from home. Plus, if we can't get in, we'll know to keep trying. Sigh.