The USS Arizona Memorial sits directly above the sunken hull of the battleship that gives it its name, a stark white structure spanning the wreck without touching it, built to honor the more than 1,100 crew members who died aboard on December 7, 1941. It’s the emotional centerpiece of the broader Pearl Harbor National Memorial, and for many visitors it’s the single most moving stop on a trip to Oahu, a quiet, contemplative site rather than a typical tourist attraction.
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Top-Rated USS Arizona Memorial Tours & Tickets
What to Do and See at the USS Arizona Memorial
Take the Boat Ride Out to the Memorial
Access to the memorial itself is only by a short Navy-operated boat shuttle from the visitor center dock, a ride that sets the tone before you even arrive, with the harbor’s calm water and the outline of Ford Island passing by.
Look Down Into the Wreck
From openings in the memorial’s deck, you can look directly down into the clear harbor water at the ship’s rusted remains still resting on the seabed, an unfiltered, physical connection to the history that no photograph fully captures. Oil still occasionally rises from the wreck in small drops, sometimes called the “tears of the Arizona.”
Read the Wall of Names
Inside the memorial’s shrine room, a marble wall lists the names of every crew member lost on the ship, and many survivors chose to be interred with their shipmates after death, their names added over the following decades.
Explore the Visitor Center Museum Galleries
Before boarding the boat, two museum buildings walk through the road to war in the Pacific and the events of the attack itself using photographs, oral histories, and recovered artifacts, giving important context for what you’ll see on the water.
Watch the Introductory Film
A short documentary film screened before the boat departure recounts the attack using historic footage, and it’s included as a standard part of the memorial visit, helping first-time visitors understand what they’re about to see.
Best Time to Visit
Early morning slots tend to be less crowded and cooler for the amount of standing and waiting involved. The memorial is open year-round, and visiting around December 7 adds commemorative ceremonies to the experience, though it’s also the single busiest day of the year for the whole complex.
How to Get There
The memorial is part of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial complex, a short drive or bus ride from Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. Many visitors combine the trip with round-trip transportation booked through a tour operator, while others drive or take public transit and book their own timed-entry ticket in advance.
Good to Know
- Free tickets are released in limited daily numbers and typically need to be booked well ahead of your visit date.
- Strict security screening is in place, with bags and large personal items not permitted inside; lockers are available for storage.
- The full experience, from check-in through the film and boat ride, typically runs about an hour and a half.
- Weather and Navy operational needs can occasionally affect the boat schedule, so build in a buffer if you have other plans that day.
Few sites anywhere combine history, loss, and reflection as directly as the USS Arizona Memorial, floating in silence above the men who never left the ship. It’s a demanding stop emotionally, but an essential one for understanding both a single terrible morning and the war that followed it.
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