Honolulu Travel Forum

In addition to the USS Arizona Memorial tour, I noticed that one can also tour the USS Bowfin and/or the USS Missouri.

I'm wondering if anyone has toured either of these vessels. If so, what are your thoughts?

Robert

We toured both the so called 'mighty Mo' and the submarine. I would suggest that you do both, the latter taking just ten minutes or less. We paid extra to go on the most comprehensive tour of the battle ship. It took us into the inner depths of the huge ship...and certainly was comprehensive. However, we felt that it was all far too much info for the average tourist and we should have done the far less expensive basic tour.

When I went last year, we didn't do a "tour". Cost is free but you do have to obtain tickets (for some reason they have a process). More about visiting the Arizona Memorial on my Pearl City Page. Good tips on how to get your tickets and dealing with the waiting time. Definitely, worthwhile!

We've done all three. If you're a WWII buff, you'll LOVE them all!

A visit to the USS Arizona Memorial is a must to pay your respects.

One word came to mind while walking the bowels of the USS Bowfin: claustrophobic! I could not imagine living in there for months at a time AND fighting a war. After the tour, my respect for our fighting forces of the time grew 10 fold - and it was already very high.

The Mighty Mo was impressive. Standing next to a 2,700 lb., 16-inch wide "bullet" is not something you get to do everyday. And then to think that these mighty guns could fire that thing 22 miles and hit a target, for its day, it is pretty amazing. The day we were here, they had one of the 16-inchers leveled down with the cap off. I peered down the barrel, seeing the rifling disappear into the darkness, and imagined the power this and the other eight guns like it on this ship represented.

This ship did - and its replacments still do - represent the ingenuity and spirit of the great freedom-loving country that built it. And it reinforces the thought that good will always prevail over evil. It did then and does to this day!

The bowfin is right by the arizonia. get your free tickets for the arizona first and then go to the bowfin and or the missouri. I love the missouri. I guess rule of thumb, if you haven't ever toured a battle ship then do it. you don't need to pay extra for the guided, it is very well signed. it will take at least an hour to see. bowfin is fast. you have to take the shuttle to get from the arizona site to the mo, but it is cheap and easy and fast. park at the arizonia get your tiks and go