Guides · United States
Honolulu tickets
Ticket and booking rules for Honolulu: timed entries, closing days and official links, checked September 2026.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Honolulu
Bookings and opening rules
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Honolulu itinerary.
Tickets, reservations and opening days
- Pearl Harbor National Memorial's visitor center, museums and grounds are free and open 7:00–17:00 daily. The boat program to the USS Arizona Memorial is also free but needs a timed ticket reserved on recreation.gov; programs run from 7:30 to 15:00 and last about 80 minutes, and you should arrive an hour before your time.Source: National Park Service · checked Sep 2026
- The Battleship Missouri Memorial on Ford Island is open 8:00–16:00 daily; adult tickets are $34.99. It is reached only by the free shuttle from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, every 15 minutes with the last return at 16:05, and visitors may be asked for photo ID (foreign visitors carry a passport).Source: Battleship Missouri Memorial · checked Sep 2026
- Out-of-state visitors need an online reservation for Diamond Head State Monument, bookable up to 30 days ahead: $5 per person to enter and $10 per car to park, in one-hour entry slots. The last hike reservation is 16:00 and the gates are locked at 18:00.Source: Hawaiʻi State Parks · checked Sep 2026
- Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is closed every Monday and Tuesday and closes at 16:00 on other days, with the beach cleared half an hour before. Non-residents reserve a time slot online two days ahead from 7:00 Hawaiʻi time; a limited number of walk-in tickets are issued when the gate opens at 6:45.Source: City and County of Honolulu · checked Sep 2026
- ʻIolani Palace is open Tuesday to Saturday 9:00–16:00 and closed on Sundays and Mondays; docent-led and self-led audio tours are sold online only.Source: ʻIolani Palace · checked Sep 2026
- Bishop Museum is open daily 9:00–17:00, with entry bookings for arrivals between 9:00 and 16:00; ticket prices vary by day and season.Source: Bishop Museum · checked Sep 2026
- The Waikīkī Aquarium is open daily 9:00–16:30; general admission is $12.Source: Waikīkī Aquarium · checked Sep 2026
- The Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail is a 2-mile round trip with 500 feet of climb, paved all the way; it is periodically closed on Tuesday mornings until 11:00 for maintenance.Source: Hawaiʻi Division of State Parks · checked Sep 2026
On the day
What to watch at each stop
Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the USS Arizona Memorial
- Free; reserve the boat program on recreation.gov; Missouri tickets $34.99
ʻIolani Palace
- Tuesday to Saturday 9:00–16:00; tickets online only
Bishop Museum
- Daily 9:00–17:00; last entry booking 16:00
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
- Closed Mondays and Tuesdays; reserve a slot two days ahead; closes 16:00
Questions
Quick answers
What do I need to book ahead?
Three things: the free USS Arizona Memorial boat program on recreation.gov, the Diamond Head entry and parking slot on the state parks site, and the Hanauma Bay time slot, which opens two days before at 7:00 Hawaiʻi time.
Which days should I plan around?
Hanauma Bay is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and ʻIolani Palace on Sundays and Mondays, so the plan works best when day one falls Tuesday to Saturday and day three Wednesday to Sunday.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in Honolulu
Honolulu's sights are spread along the south shore, so each day sticks to one stretch: day one goes out to Pearl Harbor for the USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri, then back to ʻIolani Palace, the King Kamehameha statue and Chinatown; day two climbs Diamond Head early, comes down through Kapiʻolani Park to the aquarium and Waikiki Beach, and ends at the Bishop Museum; day three is a drive around the south-east corner of the island, from Hanauma Bay to Lanikai Beach and the Pali Lookout. Pearl Harbor's boat program, Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay all need advance reservations, and Hanauma Bay is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
