Hello! We will be in Honolulu off the Carnival Miracle from 11am-11pm on Friday, Oct 21st. I have been researching for several days now, and am less overwhelmed now, and feel like I'm getting my bearings. I'm reading a lot of great advice from some of you and have learned a lot, but still want some more guidance/advice. Our group's one ABSOLUTE must-do is Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona and Punchbowl Cemetery (my great uncle is buried there so this is non-negotiable for me). I'm having a hard time understanding how long it will take to do the Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona portion. It says you have to be there an hour before your timed entry to the Arizona. It sounds like the whole thing will take several hours. After then doing Punchbowl, I feel like it will practically be evening. I wanted to do Diamond Head but I see that they close around 6pm, so I think we'll have to drop that. So I thought maybe we could go to Waikiki, see the beach, go to dinner and drinks and just explore that area until we decide to get back to the ship. Is my concept of time accurate here? Am I overestimating how long it will take to do Pearl Harbor?
I have other things on my wish list: I wanted to see the Iolani Palace (just the outside, no tour necessary) and King Kamehameha statue. I'd love to see the capital and maybe go inside. A scenic overlook would be nice. But I understand our daytime hours there are limited.
The second part of my question is about transportation. At first I wanted to hire a tour operator to shuttle us around. It would cost $800 for our group. But I just priced rental vehicles and can't believe how cheap it is for the day. But then I'm overwhelmed by how long it will take to get to the car rental agency, do the paperwork, actually get the car and then get to Pearl Harbor. I want to be as efficient as possible without spending tons of money on an Uber... I saw that parking is free at Pearl Harbor and the Punchbowl. But Waikiki parking sounded difficult and expensive.
I'm asking so many questions, I realize! I'd love some insight from some of you Hawaii experts. TIA
