Pearl Harbor and a Tour of Honolulu. And we're moving to Waikoloa. And Grocery Shopping.
The original plan, as all plans normally do, has changed. We decided that by the doing the Pearl Harbor and Honolulu tour on the same day as our move from Maui to Kona, we could save a little money and free up a day while we are on Maui. So, new plan!
The morning starts at the Kahului Airport when I drop off Nancy and Brenda at 5:00 am for their flight to Oahu at 6:00 am. The ladies will pick up a car at the Honolulu airport and drive to the Pearl Harbor Memorial where they'll visit the Arizona Memorial and tour the grounds. NOTE: new security rule - NO BAGS at any Pearl Harbor facilities. Next is a bus trip to Ford Island to tour the battleship, USS Missouri. After the bus ride back to Pearl Harbor Memorial, they'll pick up the car and take a short drive north to Restaurant 604. Lunch is on their pier with a view of Pearl Harbor.
The afternoon begins with a drive to the Iolani Palace and 2:00 PM audio tour. After the tour, there's time to take in some of the sites and places to visit around the Palace. They'll then drive up to the Punchbowl Crater and take a self-guided free tour of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Then it's time to drive back to the airport for a 6:45 pm flight back to Maui.
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I originally had included the Dole Plantation in the itinerary for today, but it was just one too many places to visit and things to see in one day. It was the schedule casualty.
OGG to HNL
Nancy and Brenda fly from Kahului to Honolulu this morning.
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Hawaiian Airlines​ flight: HA 105 OGG to HNL
Duration: 37m, Aircraft: Boeing 717
Depart 6:00 am, Tue, Jan 16, 2025 Maui - Kahului, HI (OGG)
Arrive 6:37 am, Tue, Jan 16, 2025 Oahu - Honolulu, HI (HNL)
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Nancy L Hibbard: 13A, Main Cabin
Brenda L. Jacobs: 13B, Main Cabin
Enterprise Rental Car at Honolulu Airport
Confirmation Number (in Nancy's name): 1666247612
Toyota Corolla
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Pickup Honolulu Airport 1/16/2025 at 7:00 AM
Return Honolulu Airport 1/16/2025 at 6:00 PM ​
Budget Day Trip to Pearl Harbor - More Sites to See, Half the Cost
This day trip starts at Kahului Airport at 5:00 am with the flight to Oahu at 6:00 am. The flight from Honolulu arrives in Kona at 7:32 pm. This trip adds an audio tour of the Iolani Palace and extra time at the Palace grounds and extra time at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. This tour itinerary adds about 2 hours to the tour time as compared to the packaged tour.​​​
Pearl Harbor Day-Trip Itinerary
5:00 AM Take GPS out of car and give it to Nancy
5:10 AM Drop Nancy and Brenda off at the Kahului Airport
6:00 AM HA105 flight to Oahu
7:10 AM Get rental car and put bags in the trunk
7:20 AM Drive to Pearl Harbor parking
7:30 AM Arrive at Pearl Harbor - register for tour
7:45 AM Pearl Harbor Memorial Theater (second show)
8:45 AM Tour Arizona (second tour)
10:00 AM Bus to Ford Island (every 15-20 min) NO BAGS
10:30 AM Tour battleship (35 min guided tour)
11:30 AM Board bus back to parking memorial parking lot
11:31 AM Once on the bus, call in lunch or brunch order at Restaurant 604 - 808-888-7616
11:45 AM Pickup car and - drive to 604
​11:50 AM Lunch at 604 Restaurant (1 hour w/preorder)
12:50 PM 20-Drive to Alii Place parking (CASH ONLY)
1:20 PM 5-minute walk to Iolani Palace
1:25 PM Tour Gift shop and square
2:00 PM Iolani Palace Audio Tour (2 pm latest on Thursday)
3:10 PM Continue tour of Iolani square
4:00 PM 5-minute walk to Alii Place Parking
4:10 PM 10-m drive to Punchbowl Crater
4:25 PM Take outer drive & park in back of Lady Columbia
4:30 PM Tour memorial area, then drive to scenic overlook
5:00 PM Check out scenic overlook
5:10 PM Begin 15 to 30-minute drive to airport
5:45 PM Turn in the rental car & take shuttle to Terminal 1
6:45 PM HA548 Flight to Kona
7:45 PM Terry picks up the tired campers at the airport​
Hawaiian Airlines - OGG to HNL to KOA (2) Enterprise Rental Car w/gas topoff
Pearl Harbor Memorial Parking
Pearl Reservations (3 sites 2 people)
Audio Tour of Pearl Harbor (2 people)
USS Missouri Entrance (2 people)
Alii Place Parking (2.5 hours-CASH ONLY)
Iolani Palace - Audio Tour (2 people)
TOTAL (2 people)
$158.00
$112.68
$7.00 $6.00
$22.00
$74.88
$4.50
$58.22
$442.88
Hawaiian Airlines reservations:
1/16/2025 HA105 to Oahu from Maui at 6:00 am and HA548 to Kona from Oahu at 6:45 pm. Note: The $158 cost for the flights shown above is the additional cost based on the original trip cost for the flight from Maui to Kona.
Iolani Palace audio tour reservations are available, but I'm going to wait for a month or so to see if docent tours become available.
You can contact their office directly at (808) 522-0832 or email palacetickets@iolanipalace.org for more detailed information.
To pick up the car when you arrive at Terminal 1 at the Honolulu Airport, catch the Rental Car Center shuttle at the center median outside baggage claim 1-11. The shuttle will take you to the Consolidated Rental Car Facility, where the Enterprise Rent-A-Car counter is on the 2nd floor.
Confirmation Number: 1666247612
Toyota Corolla
Pickup Honolulu Airport 1/16/2025 at 7:00 AM
Return Honolulu Airport 1/16/2025 at 6:00 PM
To return the car, follow the signs for Rental Car Return at the Airport. The Enterprise return lanes are on the First Floor of the Consolidated Rental Car Facility. From there, get on the Rental Car Center Shuttle and go to Terminal 1. That's where the Hawaiian Airlines inter-island gates are.
604 Restaurant
604 opens at 10:30 am and closes at 10:00 pm. It's just north of the Pearl Harbor Memorial parking lot on the feeder road.
This is a very convenient location for lunch for both the proximity to the Pearl Harbor and the timing of leaving the USS Missouri and when 604 opens.
Remember to preorder lunch once you get on the bus back from Ford Island and ask for seating on the patio with a view of the harbor.
Iolani Palace and Palace Grounds
The audio tour of the Iolani Palace is $58.22 for two people and is available to be reserved on the quarter hour from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Thursday January 16, 2025. Although we can book at this time, Nancy would prefer a docent tour so I want to wait a month or so to see if the schedule changes and docent tours become available on the 16th.
The Iolani Palace is downtown Honolulu where it shares space with many state government buildings.
King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center
The Judiciary Center Museum in on the first floor of the building which is at the southern end of the square. Admission is free.
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This may be a casualty of the tight schedule. A picture of the statue may be all the time you have.
Stops Around the Square near the Iolani Palace
Shown below are pictures of some of the things you might want to see or visit. The Iolani Barracks is where the Palace gift shop is located so save time for that. Also the library has a gift shop you might want to visit. The pavilion and the Link statue would be a quick visit and picture.
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
The NMCP opens at 8:00 am and closes at 6:00 pm. The cemetery is located in the Punchbowl Crater which is northeast of the Iolani Palace.
At first, I included the Punchbowl Crater on the tour for Nancy and Brenda because it was mentioned on the other day tours to Pearl Harbor. I then left it on because it had a scenic view area that I thought would be a fun to visit. A little more investigation showed me that there was more to see at the memorial.
Except from National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific - National Cemetery Administration (va.gov) website:
The memorial was established by American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to honor the sacrifices and achievements of American armed forces in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean War. The memorial grew in 1980 to include the missing of the Vietnam War, and it expanded further in 2012 with the addition of two new pavilions. One pavilion houses an orientation map of the memorial and the other includes two mosaic battle maps depicting the Vietnam War.
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I'd make time during a visit here to take a closer look at Lady Columbia, shown to the right, and the Courts of the Missing and the chapel near her and the stairs before her.
