Discover Hawaii Tours Blog

When most visitors think of historic Pearl Harbor, they are most likely to focus on the USS Arizona Memorial. Less widely known but frequently visited is another historic museum at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Aviation Museum. Located on Ford Island, the Pacific Aviation Museum houses numerous aircraft from around the world. Two of the most notable aircraft here are a Japanese Zero plane – the Grumman Wildcat – utilized in the WWII surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the Stearman which was flown by the youngest aviator at that time, President H. W. Bush.

Japanese Zero Plane

Recently, local news stations have announced that there will be some new arrivals to the Pacific Aviation Museum. Flown in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, a collection of fighter jets: two F-86 Sabres, an F-4 Phantom, an F-102 Delta Dagger, and a Soviet MiG-15 will join the list of historical aircraft available for viewing at the museum. With exciting news like this, a trip to the Pacific Aviation Museum during your stay in Hawaii is sure to be enjoyable and memorable.

Delta Dagger

We offer daily tours to the Pacific Aviation Museum with included hotel pick up in Waikiki and airfare from Maui (Kahului and Kapalua), Kona, and Kauai. If you are interested in visiting the Pacific Aviation Museum, join our 42: Pearl Harbor War Memorials Tour. Included in this one-day long adventure to Pearl Harbor is a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, the USS Bowfin Submarine, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. Also, you will enjoy a deluxe Honolulu city tour featuring the Iolani Palace, King Kamehameha Statue, and Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific. Throughout the whole tour, listen to your guide as he/she offers narration filled with intriguing historical and cultural facts. What you get from a guided tour, you can never achieve on your own.

Grab a seat on the Discover Hawaii Tours mini-coach to Pearl Harbor and be one of the first to see these new aircraft at the Pacific Aviation Museum!

F-86 Sabre Fighter Jet

Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai is a truly unique spot on the Earth in terms of its stunning geography and natural beauty. Historically, this place has an amazing story to tell as well. During the time of the Hawaiian Monarchy in 1866, King Kamehameha V authorized the establishment of a settlement of leprosy patients at Kalawao on the eastern end of the Kalaupapa peninsula. Saint Damien arrived in 1873 to care for the patients before contracting and succumbing to Hansen’s Disease himself in 1889.

Trace the path of Saint Damien in Kalaupapa

With this background information in mind, my day began with a flight on a private chartered plane departing from Honolulu. The aircraft had wide windows on both sides of the plane, offering a panoramic view of the Hawaiian Islands on the way to Molokai. The sights of Oahu’s leeward coast stretched underneath, and the islands of Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and the Big Island were all visible ahead. My final destination of course was Molokai; after stopping in Kapalua on Maui to pick up some more guests we took off toward Molokai’s northern coast.

The northern coast of Molokai, home to the tallest sea cliffs in the world

On our approach to Kalaupapa, even at an altitude of 1500 feet the tallest sea cliffs in the world stood high above me. The sheer rock face to the left of the aircraft gave way to valleys cut into the ancient volcano and in the distance was Kalaupapa. Upon exiting the plane, I had ample opportunity to snap photos of the Molokai Lighthouse, all while waves crashed into the coastline surrounding the airstrip. The Saint Damien tour bus pulled up to the airport and the ground tour began. On the road to the Kalaupapa settlement, the guide pointed out a beach where endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals like to rest; we were lucky enough to see a couple!

Kalaupapa settlement viewed from the sea cliff above

The tour itself includes a number of stops, starting with St. Francis Church, a Catholic church built in 1908 that has beautiful gothic-style stained glass windows. Continuing with the drive around the small town our guide pointed out various important buildings, including guest residences and the recently-constructed health clinic; the old one burned down almost two decades ago and some of its remnants still stand. Across the street from the ruined hospital is the monument to Mother Marianne. She is not as well-known as Saint Damien, but she worked just as selflessly for the patients of Kalaupapa and she carried on Damien’s work after he had passed. The last stop here is at the local bookstore, which gave everyone a chance to buy some souvenirs and books about Kalaupapa and Saint Damien to take home.

St. Philomena Church, built by Saint Damien

The tour then shifted, taking us to the other side of the peninsula to the old settlement location at Kalawao. On the way the guide made sure to dispel some misconceptions regarding Hansen’s Disease, and also enlightened us as to the possible future of Kalaupapa once the remaining patients pass away. One stop on the road included the remains of an ancient Hawaiian heiau, an important place of worship, before we finally arrived at St. Philomena Church. Saint Damien himself erected a portion of this church, and this is where he was initially buried following his death; no doubt devout Catholics may take the opportunity to pay their respects at his grave marker in the cemetery. The final stop for lunch offered everyone on tour some time to think about what they had seen and experienced that day, all in the very location where Hansen’s Disease patients over a century ago came ashore after being dumped into the rough waters.