Do we have enough time to see Pearl Harbor if our plane leaves at 3:30?

[amylynn68]

My husband and I are leaving on our honeymoon on Pride of Hawaii in 3 weeks. I have been looking into excursions and the Pearl Harbor excursions say that they are for people with a 4pm or later flight. Our plane leaves at 3:30. I wish I had planned better. I wanted to see the Dole Plantation, and hubby really wanted to see Pearl Harbor. I can see a different pineapple plantation, but there is no substitute for Pearl Harbor. Does anyone have any suggestions? Our ship comes into Honolulu at 7am, but I'm sure with all the people it takes some time to get off of the ship. Plus our travel agent said to get to the airport 2 and half hours early. Any help would be great.

[beachchick]

A couple of ways you can try to do it:

 

1. Use the EZfly service if your airline qualifies. (Yes, it costs something like $20 p/p, but if it allows you to get to Pearl Harbor, consider it money well spent.) That way you won't have any checked bags to deal with or have to wait to pick them up, and they'll be all checked through at the airport. You would then get up early, have a quick bite, get your carryons and hightail it off the ship. If you're not renting a car, take a taxi to Pearl Harbor and get yourselves in line for tickets asap. (They are handed out free on a first-come-first-served basis beginning at 7:30 am; you have no choice about tour time and everyone must stand in line for a ticket, no exceptions.) If you can be at PH by 9 am, you've got a really good chance of getting a decent tour time. You will have to have a tour that begins no later than 11:30 (possibly noon at the outside, but that's pushing it a bit). The tickets have a number, not usually a time, but you can ask about when they think your tour would start. From there, take a taxi to the airport, and you're good to go to get in line for the interminable security wait.

 

2. Do self disembarkation and do not put your luggage outside your door the night before. True, you have to haul it all yourself, but you don't have to wait for it. Then you'd need to have a car rental reservation and drive out to PH yourselves. There's plenty of parking there. (I don't normally recommend leaving luggage in the car, but if that's your only choice, then just make sure everything is in the trunk.)

 

3. Do the self disembarkation, but go straight to the airport and see if you can check in. I think you're not typically allowed to check luggage more than a few hours before your flight, but I really don't know what the limitations are. You'd have to call in advance for verification. Then take a taxi to PH and hope you get a tour time that will work.

 

4. See if Robert's has a tour that will work for you. They would stow your luggage on the tour bus while you're at PH. And they will usually take you to the airport afterward, just like the ship's excursion.

 

5. Well, I actually can't think of a 5. So, I'll say this. Try to get to PH even if you are unable to get tickets to the memorial. It's worth the visit no matter what. There's more there than just the Arizona Memorial (which is, of course, very important and moving).

 

If at all possible, I urge you to try to do my suggestion number 1. It would be the most convenient and time-effective (while not the cheapest, I'm sure).

 

Good luck. I hope you can work it out.

 

beachchick

[amylynn68]

Thank you so much. I think option one is definitely the way to go. Do you by chance know how far it is from the pier to pearl harbor? Just wondering if it would be cheaper/faster to take taxi or rent a car. Thanks again.

 

Amy

[diverearl]

2. Do self disembarkation and do not put your luggage outside your door the night before. True, you have to haul it all yourself, but you don't have to wait for it. Then you'd need to have a car rental reservation and drive out to PH yourselves. There's plenty of parking there. (I don't normally recommend leaving luggage in the car, but if that's your only choice, then just make sure everything is in the trunk.)

beachchick

 

I agree with beachchick that self disembarkation is the way to go. Pack as light as possible and get off as soon as you can, with a car reserved ahead of the trip and a good ideal of how to get to the sight. Here is a map that will give you an ideal of the area then you can google up better directions, plus they can give you detailed directions at the car rental location you use and they will give you a good map there. http://www.google.com/maps?q=Pearl+Harbor,+HI,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=image

I would say that the effort to go to Pearl Harbor is well worth the trouble. To stand over the sight where more than a thousand sailors perished to ensure us the freedom to do so is unforgettable. It proved to be the one thing we considered to be a DO NOT MISS on our two trips to the islands.

[beachchick]

Thank you so much. I think option one is definitely the way to go. Do you by chance know how far it is from the pier to pearl harbor? Just wondering if it would be cheaper/faster to take taxi or rent a car. Thanks again.

 

Amy

 

It's about 9 miles from the pier to PH, and about 3 miles back to the airport from PH. Taxi to PH would probably run about $35 (just a guess) and then to the airport maybe $15. One thing to consider though is that if you rent a car, you still won't really have time to do anything else. The other (and this is the bigger issue to me) is that you would have to take the time to go to the rental company, rent the car, and then leave time to return it only a few hours later. The time it takes to get the rental car and get to PH and park could easily be the difference between being able to go out to the memorial. The longer it takes you to get there and get in line, the more you chance not getting a tour that will work for you time-wise.

 

I should probably have been more emphatic about this yesterday, so I will be tonight: If you can do EZfly, TAKE A TAXI and hang the expense--This is Pearl Harbor.

 

beachchick

[amylynn68]

Thanks so much for your help. We will definitely be using the EzFly service and taking a taxi to Pearl Harbor. This website is so great for planning. I never thought I would have so many choices though. Any other cruise I have been on, I did like one excursion and that was it. Its great to have you guys to get ideas.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

The key is getting there early. We got off the ship really early and went and got our rental car from the airport and arrived at PH around 9:30. By the time we went thru the kiosk to get our tour tickets, we got put on a 12:15 tour so we had a 2 hr wait. Taxi would definately get you there earlier and assure that you get an earlier tour time.

 

One thing to be sure of though is the EZfly is only available to certain airlines. I used United and it was accepted but I think you can't use the program if you use Hawaiiain airlines or Southwest etc. Major airlines like AA, Delta etc are ok. Worse case, take luggage with you on the taxi then store it at PH. I think I read there is lockers available there. Also lockers available somewhere near the pier for about $5/bag.