If you are visiting the beautiful Hawaiian Island of Kauai, you’ll have lots of amazing things to see and do on the Garden Isle. But, perhaps you might be wondering if it’s possible to take a day trip, island hop to see Pearl Harbor. The good news is yes, it is possible!
A visit to Pearl Harbor is on most visitors’ bucket list of things to see when they travel to Hawaii. We have visited Pearl Harbor numerous times and can say that it is indeed worthy of your time and budget. It is both educational and emotional to learn the history of Pearl Harbor.
Logistically, it is possible to plan your own flights and make your own reservations to visit the historic sites within Pearl Harbor. I will say that it is a lot of work coordinating those plans on your own. I’ve done it myself and it’s stressful and very time consuming to do the research and planning. But, stay tuned….there is an easier option we’ll get to below…
When most people generally think of Pearl Harbor, their thoughts tend to go to the USS Arizona Memorial, which is the sunken battleship with the hovering memorial structure. That’s what most people have highest on their list of places to see. These days, visiting the USS Arizona Memorial requires reservations that are timed and limited to a certain number per day. So, it can be tricky to secure reservations. For this reason we recommend an organized, packaged trip to Oahu.
A reputable day-trip, island-hopping tour company that we recommend is Polynesian Adventures. That’s who we booked on our first Maui vacation for out day trip to Oahu. It was a seamless process. All we had to do was get to the Maui airport and Polynesian Adventures handles all the flights, transportation, reservations and, tickets to the Pearl Harbor attractions. We certainly had a memorable day.
Polynesian Adventures is currently the only tour company that offers these day trips from Kauai to Oahu to tour Pearl Harbor. From these links, you can learn more about the specific tours they offer.
Kauai to Oahu day trip: World War II Deluxe Pearl Harbor Tour. This tour includes all four Pearl Harbor attractions, plus a scenic drive past the top downtown Honolulu spots. This tour is best for those who want to know all about Pearl Harbor and who have a greater interest in the history of it.
Kauai to Oahu day trip: Pearl Harbor Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri plus other Oahu sightseeing. This tour includes two of Pearl Harbor’s top attractions, plus a scenic drive past downtown and to Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery. This tour is best for those who want a great introduction to Pearl Harbor’s top two attractions and who want to see more of Honolulu.
To be sure, these tours are not cheap. We once spent a high price to take this guided tour ourselves. For the peace of mind to let an expert do the organizing, planning and driving, we don’t regret that expense — especially considering what a memorable day we had.
