The USS Arizona Memorial has a dress code that isn't official in the traditional sense but rather an understood protocol that every visitor is expected to follow carefully. If you show up in a bikini top and shorts, you'll be asked to cover up respectfully. If you bring a child who runs across the memorial structure, staff will intervene. If you show disrespect toward the space, you'll feel it from other visitors and from the staff.
Most first-time visitors don't know this protocol before they arrive, and they've typically read general Hawaii travel guides that mention wearing comfortable shoes and bringing sunscreen without explaining what the USS Arizona Memorial specifically expects from visitors. Most tourists learn the rules by accidentally breaking them on their first visit.
If you're planning a Pearl Harbor visit, here's what actually matters and what doesn't require your concern.
How Clothing Gets Evaluated
The USS Arizona Memorial is a war grave and also a functioning National Park Service site managed for 1.7 million annual visitors, so the official NPS guidance is clear about respectful clothing and covering your shoulders and knees. In practice, this means no bikini tops and no short shorts and no visible undergarments at all.
Why this matters is important to understand because the memorial floats above the USS Arizona, a ship that still rests on the harbor floor with 1,177 men who went down with it on December 7, 1941 still inside. The dress code exists because visitors are in front of a tomb, and while the physical structure might be a public walkway, what that walkway represents demands respect in the way you present yourself.
What this actually means in practical terms is that you should wear shorts reaching your mid-thigh and wear a shirt with sleeves or a tank top with straps and wear pants or a sundress or athletic clothes. What you wear hiking or to a casual restaurant is fine, but what you wear to a beach is not appropriate for this space.
The NPS doesn't enforce this with fines or penalties but instead staff will politely ask you to cover up if you're visibly violating the code. Other visitors will notice if you're dressed inappropriately, and you'll be the person on the USS Arizona boardwalk reshuffling your clothes because you didn't dress for the occasion.
Footwear That Works
Official guidance says shoes are recommended but not required, yet in practice no one visits the USS Arizona without shoes because the boardwalk is metal grating that gets hot in Hawaii sun. The Visitor Center has air conditioning, but the outdoor boardwalk reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit by noon and barefoot travel is not comfortable. Walking barefoot also reads as disrespectful in the context of a war grave and a solemn historical site.
Good walking shoes are better than flip-flops because the boardwalk has a noticeable tilt and you'll be standing for 10 to 15 minutes total. Comfortable shoes matter far more than fashionable shoes for this environment.
Photography Rules That Apply
Photography is allowed everywhere at Pearl Harbor except inside the USS Arizona boardwalk itself, so you cannot take pictures while you're standing on the memorial. You can take pictures from the Visitor Center and from the water taxi before and after the memorial visit and from surrounding sites like the Battleship Missouri.
The reason is that the USS Arizona boardwalk is a place to be present rather than a place to document because taking photographs would turn the space into a photo backdrop. The protocol exists to preserve the space as a place for reflection instead of a place for Instagram moments and personal branding.
This isn't aggressively enforced by anyone but the protocol is clear, and other visitors will notice if you're photographing the USS Arizona boardwalk instead of experiencing it fully.
How Children Should Behave
Children run and kids get excited in new spaces and move fast, which is completely normal but at Pearl Harbor this behavior is noticeable and uncomfortable for other visitors reflecting on the site. If you're bringing children, manage their energy levels thoughtfully and teach them that the USS Arizona Memorial is not a playground and ask them to walk rather than run and explain to them why the space matters.
The National Park Service provides junior ranger programs specifically for kids, which helps frame Pearl Harbor as an educational site instead of a tourist attraction and makes kids invest in understanding the place. Taking 15 minutes to help your child understand what they're seeing will change their behavior and improve your entire experience.
Loud conversation is also noticeable in this space because Pearl Harbor is busy with 1.7 million annual visitors but the USS Arizona boardwalk feels quiet because voices carry over water. A quiet group feels respectful while a loud group feels like tourists who didn't get the memo.
What Actually Doesn't Matter
Your outfit doesn't need to be dressy or special or perfectly put together because military families and tourists and school groups and senior citizens and international travelers show up in every variation of casual clothing. The code isn't about fashion at all but about basic respect for the space and what it represents.
You don't need to be somber throughout your visit because you can smile and talk to other visitors and have a positive experience entirely. Respect isn't the same as sadness because Pearl Harbor isn't a funeral but a historical site that demands respect for what happened there during wartime.
You don't need to spend hours at the memorial because you can move through it quickly and 15 minutes on the USS Arizona boardwalk is a complete and meaningful experience. You don't owe the site an extended visit if you've seen what you came to see and absorbed what matters.
Getting Prepared
Before you visit Pearl Harbor, bring sunscreen because you'll need it and bring water because the sun is intense. Bring a light jacket for the Visitor Center air conditioning that will feel surprising after outdoor heat. Wear shoes that won't hurt after standing and wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for respect. Bring a camera if you want to photograph the Visitor Center and the surrounding sites but understand that photography on the USS Arizona boardwalk itself isn't part of the actual experience there.
Arrive early at the site because it opens at 7 AM and gets crowded after 9 AM, so a 7 AM arrival gives you space and peace while a 1 PM arrival gives you crowds and heat. If you're visiting Pearl Harbor as part of a guided tour, your guide will walk you through these protocols and expectations before you arrive. If you're going independently through your hotel or recreation.gov, your guide will still explain the dress code and behavior expectations when you arrive and you won't be expected to memorize these rules beforehand.
Why Protocol Matters
The USS Arizona Memorial receives 1.7 million visitors annually from around the world, and if every visitor approached the space as a personal tour rather than a shared memorial, the experience would collapse into chaos completely. The dress code and the photography protocol and the behavior expectations exist because the space has to work for everyone simultaneously and serve its purpose as a meaningful place.
When you follow these expectations, you create the experience for yourself and for every other person on the boardwalk and you preserve the space as what it actually is, which is a place where history and respect intersect. Visit Pearl Harbor guided tours that explain protocols and history to book tours that transform Pearl Harbor from a checklist item into a shared experience.