Cousin Gonzo was great from start to finish. On the ride from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor he gave us interesting facts about Honolulu as well as Pearl Harbor. He shared that he was former Navy and has great insight into the history of the attack on Pearl Harbor. When we arrived at the memorial we were greeted with coffee and malasadas from Leonard’s . The tour lasted about 3 hours and included a boat ride out to the USS Arizona Memorial. Due to damage of the pier, we weren’t able to visit the memorial, but the Navy boat steered us around it for a 360 view. It was a very touching and informative trip. After we left Pearl Harbor we had a small tour of Honolulu, including the statue of King Kamehameha and Punchbowl Crater (Pu’uwaina). 10/10 stars.
This was an amazing tour, cousin Nate give us a lot of information and make the tour very interesting. We really enjoyed.
This is an expensive way to see Pearl Harbor. The cost of admission to the memorial is actually not very high, but by taking a tour, they provide the transportation and a ride around the city. If you don't plan to rent a car or take a public bus to see the town, a tour like this is the best. We bought through a Groupon so was worth the money. Cousin Maia told us a lot of cultural history. I wasn't totally sure if I should believe everything he said (he's related to everyone including Obama and two football quarterbacks), but it was certainly entertaining. A lot of info I would never have known or heard (Sanford Dole actually helped overthrow the monarchy and annex Hawaii). The actually Pearl Harbor exhibits have changed in 30 yrs. The memorial site was not accessible due to some construction. This was too bad as I remember the feeling of standing on that white platform 30 yrs ago. The museums, however, weren't as full and informative as they are now. There is especially poignant parts regarding the reconciliation of native Hawaiian of Japanese descent as well as some meetings between American soldiers and their "Japanese enemies" some 60 yrs after the events of the 2nd world war. We enjoyed the drive in an air-conditioned bus as it was quite a hot day.
John Jr. did an awesome job! He didn’t just drop us to Pearl Harbor, but he took the time to drop some Hawai’i knowledge on us with a brief history! His comedic personality made for a light drive, given the somber visit to Pearl Harbor. Highly recommend this tour!
So much, we booked another tour with them for later in the week!
In our two weeks in Hawai'I, we went on 5 tours with varying companies. This one was the best. Our guide, John Jr was fantastic. He had a great sense of humor and even played the ukulele for us. Would highly recommend!
