Museums in Honolulu

5 of Honolulu’s 18 museums are always free. The rest cost $5 to $45 for an adult, Hawaiʻi residents get two free Sundays a month, and most museums close on Monday or Tuesday.

Always free5 museumsCapitol Modern, Pearl Harbor, Army Museum…

Paid admission$5–$45Adult; kamaʻāina rates lower

Free SundaysHoMA 3rd · Palace 2ndHawaiʻi residents with ID

Open Monday9 of 18HoMA and Capitol Modern are closed

Every museum, with prices and hours

Adult price and kamaʻāina rate on each row. Pick a day or what you’re after.

Art · Makiki / Thomas Square
Honolulu Museum of Art
Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun 10am–6pm · Fri 10am–9pm · closed Mon & Tue
$25 adult · $15 kamaʻāina
The deepest free tier of any paid museum on the island.
History · Kalihi
Bishop Museum
Open daily 9am–5pm · closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s
$33.95 adult · $19.95 kamaʻāina
Bishop Museum prices are dynamic — they move with the day of the week and seasonal demand, which is why every rate above is a range.
Check first
Art · Downtown / Capitol District
Capitol Modern
Wed–Sat 10am–4pm · closed Sun–Tue and most federal holidays
Free is the whole model.
Free
History · Downtown / Capitol District
ʻIolani Palace
Tue–Sat 9am–4pm · closed Sun & Mon · docent-led tours Wed & Thu mornings, audio tours the rest of the week
$28 adult · $11.95 kamaʻāina
Kamaʻāina Sundays, the second Sunday of most months, are free for Hawaiʻi residents with ID.
Military history · Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor National Memorial
Visitor center open daily 7am–5pm · closed Thanksgiving, 25 December and 1 January
Boat trips can be suspended or cancelled in high wind or rain, and dock repairs occasionally cut availability.
Check first
Military history · Ford Island, Pearl Harbor
Battleship Missouri Memorial
Open daily 8am–4pm · closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day
$39.99 adult
A Passport to Pearl Harbor covering four sites is listed at $99.99 adult on the Missouri’s site and $89.99 on the Aviation Museum’s.
Check first
Military history · Pearl Harbor
USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
Open daily 7am–5pm, last admission 4:30pm · closed New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas
$25.99 adult
The submarine has steep ladders, tight spaces and low clearances, and is not wheelchair accessible.
Check first
Military history · Ford Island, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
Open daily 9am–5pm · closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day
$25.99 adult · $19.99 kamaʻāina
Two historic WWII hangars, still bullet-scarred from 7 December 1941
Art · Black Point (tours depart from HoMA or Bishop Museum)
Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
Tours Thu & Fri from HoMA and Sat from Bishop Museum, at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm
$45 adult · $20 kamaʻāina
Closed through September 2026 for conservation work; HoMA says tours resume in October.
Check first
Military history · Fort DeRussy, Waikīkī
U.S. Army Museum of Hawaiʻi
Tue–Sat 10am–5pm · closed federal holidays, and the Tuesday after a Monday holiday
Completely free, and it sits in the middle of Waikīkī.
Free
History · Downtown
Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives
Tue–Sat · self-guided 10:30am–2:30pm, guided tours at 11am, noon, 1pm and 2pm · closed Sun & Mon
$10 adult · $8 kamaʻāina
The cemetery grounds are free and open every day, 10am–4pm, even when the houses are closed.
History · Nuʻuanu
Queen Emma Summer Palace
Wed–Sat 10am–3pm, last entry 2:30pm · closed Sun–Tue and major holidays
$16 adult · $12 kamaʻāina
Hawaiʻi’s first historic house museum, and one of only three royal residences left standing
History · Downtown / Capitol District
King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center
Mon–Fri 8am–4pm · closed weekends
Free, and it is inside Aliʻiōlani Hale — the building with the gold Kamehameha statue out front that everyone photographs and almost nobody goes into.
Free
History · Mōʻiliʻili
Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi
Gallery and gift shop Wed–Sat 9am–3pm
$10 adult · $7 kamaʻāina
Okage Sama De — the multi-generational story of Japanese Hawaiʻi from the 1868 immigration onward, told through artifacts and oral testimony
For kids · Kakaʻako
Hawaiʻi Children’s Discovery Center
Tue–Fri 9am–1pm · Sat & Sun 10am–3pm · closed Mondays
$15 adult · $12 kamaʻāina
Rainforest Adventures closes 30 minutes before the rest of the building.
Check first
Science · Waikīkī
Waikīkī Aquarium
Open daily 9am–4:30pm, building closes at 5pm
$12 adult
The Hawaiian Monk Seal Habitat is temporarily unavailable and some exhibits have been removed.
Check first
Garden · Chinatown edge
Foster Botanical Garden
Open daily 9am–4pm · closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
$5 adult · $3 kamaʻāina
The cheapest ticket in this guide — $3 for residents, $1 for a child.
Garden · Mānoa
Lyon Arboretum
Mon–Fri 9am–3pm · closed weekends and state and federal holidays
Weekdays only, and you cannot turn up without a booking.
Check first

Museums open on Monday →

Free days for Hawaiʻi residents

Honolulu Museum of Art — third SundayFree for residents every third Sunday. Children 18 and under are free every day, and SNAP/EBT cardholders plus three guests get in free.

ʻIolani Palace — second SundayOne free ticket per resident with ID, gates at 8am. Coming up: November 8, December 13.

Blue Star Museums — May to SeptemberFree admission for active-duty military and up to five family members, from Armed Forces Day to Labor Day.

Before you go

Closed Mondays9 of 18 museums, including HoMA. Capitol Modern is closed Sunday to Tuesday; ʻIolani Palace Sunday and Monday.

Shangri LaTours were due to resume in October after conservation work. Tickets release on the first Thursday of each month at 10am HST and go quickly.

Waikīkī AquariumOpen during renovations, so some exhibits may be off view.

Questions people ask

Which museums in Honolulu are free?＋

Capitol Modern, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, U.S. Army Museum of Hawaiʻi, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center and Lyon Arboretum never charge admission. The Honolulu Museum of Art is also free for children 18 and under every day, and for Hawaiʻi residents on the third Sunday of the month.

Which Honolulu museums are open on Monday?＋

Bishop Museum, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Battleship Missouri Memorial, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, Waikīkī Aquarium, Foster Botanical Garden and Lyon Arboretum open on Mondays. Closed on Mondays: Honolulu Museum of Art, Capitol Modern, ʻIolani Palace, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design, U.S. Army Museum of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Queen Emma Summer Palace, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi and Hawaiʻi Children’s Discovery Center.

Which Honolulu museums are open on Sunday?＋

Honolulu Museum of Art, Bishop Museum, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Battleship Missouri Memorial, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, Hawaiʻi Children’s Discovery Center, Waikīkī Aquarium and Foster Botanical Garden open on Sundays. Closed on Sundays: Capitol Modern, ʻIolani Palace, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design, U.S. Army Museum of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Queen Emma Summer Palace, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi and Lyon Arboretum.

Are there free museum days in Honolulu?＋

Yes, for Hawaiʻi residents with ID. The Honolulu Museum of Art is free on the third Sunday of every month, and ʻIolani Palace runs free Kamaʻāina Sundays on the second Sunday of most months — next: November 8, December 13. Capitol Modern, Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the U.S. Army Museum are free to everyone, every day they open.

Free things to do Rainy day First Friday Where to eat nearby

Every figure was read from the museum’s own website on Aug 12, 2026. Where a museum doesn’t publish something, we say so rather than guess. See how we verify.

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