A rainy day in Honolulu
STOP 1 OF 8
Bishop Museum
Honolulu · Paid entry
The best place on the island to learn Hawaiian history. Give it a morning.
2–3 hours · $34–39 adults, $26–31 kids 4–17 (kamaʻāina rates); parking $16
EThe editors
A rainy day in Honolulu
Seven indoor stops, from Hawaiian Hall to the only royal palace in the US.
8 placesA full dayRead the guide ↓
- 1. Bishop MuseumThe best place on the island to learn Hawaiian history. Give it a morning.HonoluluPaid entry2–3 hours$34–39 adults, $26–31 kids 4–17 (kamaʻāina rates); parking $16
2. ʻIolani PalaceBook the audio tour; the throne room and the queen’s quilt are the highlights.HonoluluPaid entry1–1.5 hoursAudio tour $28 adults, $13 kids 5–12
3. Capitol Modern, the Hawaiʻi State Art MuseumThe state’s art collection, free, across from the palace.HonoluluFree to visit1 hourFree
4. Honolulu Museum of ArtArt from Hawaiʻi, Asia and Europe around quiet courtyards. Open late Fridays.HonoluluPaid entry1.5–2 hours$25 adults, 18 and under free
5. Queen Emma Summer PalaceQueen Emma’s summer house in the cool of Nuʻuanu Valley.HonoluluPaid entry1 hourPaid entry
6. Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & DesignDoris Duke’s house of Islamic art on the ocean. Tours leave from HoMA.Waikīkī & Diamond HeadTour only2.5 hours with the shuttlePaid tour
7. Pearl Harbor Aviation MuseumTwo hangars of planes on Ford Island, with the 1941 bullet holes still in the glass.CentralPaid entry2 hoursPaid entry
8. Hawaiʻi Children’s Discovery CenterFor small kids: a whole morning indoors.HonoluluPaid entry2 hoursPaid entry per person, adults included
The guide
How to do it: A rainy day in Honolulu
Rain on Oʻahu usually means the windward side and the valleys; Honolulu often stays dry. When it doesn’t, the city’s museums are some of the best in the Pacific, and a wet day is the time to see them.
Pick two: Bishop Museum and ʻIolani Palace make a full day of Hawaiian history; HoMA and Shangri La make a day of art.
- The order to do it in
- Morning at Bishop Museum, lunch in Chinatown, the palace and Capitol Modern in the afternoon. For art, HoMA then the Shangri La tour from there.
- When to go
- Palace tours run Tuesday to Saturday; HoMA is closed Monday and Tuesday; Shangri La tours must be booked.
- Getting there
- Downtown and HoMA are a bus ride from Waikīkī. The Aviation Museum is reached by the shuttle from the Pearl Harbor visitor center.
- What it costs
- Bishop Museum about $34–39; palace audio tour $28; HoMA $25; Capitol Modern free.
Worth knowing
- Book the palace online; there are no same-day tickets.
- Bishop Museum parking is $16; TheBus #2 stops nearby.
Started from the pins on The Hawaii Vacation Guide’s rainy-day list. Places, notes and the guide checked and written by us; prices and opening times change, so check before you go.