USS Arizona: Advice on getting there, time it takes, etc.

We%26#39;ll be staying overnight in Honolulu before flying to Maui the next day. Would like to see the USS Arizona before catching a shuttle flight. I need to know approximately how long it takes to see the memorial (without feeling like you%26#39;re rushing) so I can make shuttle plane reservations. Also need advice on a good place to stay that%26#39;s close to both the airport and memorial, and the best way to get to the memorial.

By the way, we%26#39;ll be there on a Saturday, if that makes a difference.

USS Arizona: Advice on getting there, time it takes, etc.

2 hours minimum...which includes the movie before you go out to the memorial, transit to the memorial (and to answer your other question, the ONLY way to get out to the memorial is by Navy launch and you need a ticket, they are free)....can%26#39;t help you on where to stay but I am sure someone will pipe up on that. Best bet is try to get there by 7AM (the tour buses start arriving about then) get in line for your ticket then poke around while waiting for your boat ride.

USS Arizona: Advice on getting there, time it takes, etc.

I%26#39;m going to go against popular opinion here and suggest that you not get there early. I%26#39;ve been to the memorial 4 times (as recently as June 2007), and each time it was in the early afternoon (between noon and 2:00) and I had zero problems getting in. At most I had to wait 30 minutes.

My in-laws went to the memorial in April and they got there at 7:00 am and waited in line in the hot sun for hours.

It seems like everyone says ';get there early to miss the lines'; and now everyone gets there early and creates the lines.

But even if you do end up waiting for a long time, it%26#39;s well worth the wait.

I%26#39;m one who always recommends going early.

If you wait until noon, all of the tickets for the day may be already given out, you may not have to wait long, or you may have to wait just as long as if you would have if you had went early. You just never know.

At least if you go early, you will get a ticket. You%26#39;ll probably have to wait up to an hour to get the ticket.

You are obviously staying on Oahu just for the USS Arizona Memorial. Go early %26amp;

Once you get the ticket, you may have to wait up to an hour to get into the tour. While you are waiting for your tour, you can visit the museum, the gift shop %26amp; the back lawn. If your wait is longer, you can go over to the submarine monument area across the paring lot. The monument area is outside of the Bowfin/Missouri ticket office and is free %26amp; worthwhile spending a few minutes. You can also take turns going to the submarine memorial area while waiting in line for your USS Arizona tickets.

The USS Arizona Visitors Center museum is also free, but it is not actually part of the tour. The tour consists of about a 20 minute film %26amp; the ferry to %26amp; from the memorial %26amp; the time on the memorial. The actual tour is about 1 hour.

If your flight gets in fairly early (6pm or so) you can get a Waikiki hotel. If your flight gets in late (8pm or later) then get one of the three airport hotels:

Best Western, The Plaza Hotel

Honolulu Airport Hotel

Pacific Marina Inn

You can make reservations to go to Maui anytime from noon on. If you make later reservations, then you can spend a few more hours on Oahu.

Lots of info including some good sites for all islands %26amp; a couple of Maui sites:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29222-i37-k647862鈥?/a>

We stayed at a hotel in Waikiki (Marriott) and used Reliable Tours for transportation to %26amp; from the memorial. It cost $12 per person, round trip. We were picked up at 6:15 AM and arrived at 6:45. The doors open at 7:30, so our wait wasn%26#39;t too long and we were on the second boat over to the Arizona. We then went on the the battleship Missouri (a separate site with an entrance fee).

If you use Reliable %26amp; just go to the Arizona, ask the driver how much time to allow and they will pick you up whenever you want.

Are there any priority reservations for the USS Arizona Memorial?

M (fmr LCDR, MC, USNR - 8.5 years active commissioned service)

';Are there any priority reservations for the USS Arizona Memorial?';

No

Thanks dusty,

Didn%26#39;t mean to insult anyone, but never hurts to ask since my family has served in the US military for now six generations.

Fortunately, my 3 children and my grandchild have avoided same.

Hope you and yours did also.

M

I would also recommend getting there early in the afternoon. We did this about two weeks ago and had no wait to get our ticket, then spent about 40 minutes until we could watch the movie and take the boat out to the memorial. We spent the 40 minutes looking at the displays, went and saw the movie and went to the memorial, then came back and finished looking at the displays. There was no waiting in line at all.

We talked to others who went to PH the same week as us and they went early and waited in line for a LONG, LONG time to even get their tickets, then had a lot of time to spend before they could see the movie and ride the launch to the memorial.

It is a wonderful place to visit and I%26#39;m glad we went. I%26#39;m also glad we didn%26#39;t have to spend alot of time in line!

If you are going to go early I recommend getting there even before 7am. We got there at around 6 am and there were people there that had been there for about a 1/2 hour longer than us. By 7 am, the line was already long. Even though it was tough to get there super early it was great to be the first group on the memorial. Actually my husband and were actually the first off the ferry to step into the memorial and it was very moving and silent. Plus if that is your first day you%26#39;ll probably be up early anyway because of jet lag. :)