Bishop Museum in Honolulu, HI

This is a nice museum to spend a few hours if you are interested in learning more about Hawaiian and Polynesian history and culture. The museum was relatively quiet on the weekday afternoon we visited. Parking was ample, but you’ll need to pay through your phone.

With an adult ticket price of about $35, we almost didn’t go, but SO glad we did. Museum is spread out over several building, and we managed to go through them all. This museum has worked hard to retrieve many Hawaiian artifacts from other museums around the world, and was very complete. Our favorite part of the museum was a demonstration in the science building where they headed up rocks into a molten form…. Basically making lava. Really interesting. Important - do not buy your tickets through Tripadvisor. The front desk staff could not figure them out and eventually just let us in (after about 15 minutes of discussion)

The exhibit was not that interesting. I recommend that you visit if you are in the area and you need to kill an hour. It is a little bit out of the Waikiki area.

We had heard of the Bishop Museum and were in the area one afternoon. So, we parked paid for the parking, noticed the sign said parking hours ended at 10 pm. So we walked up to the door. We had no idea the museum closed at 5pm. We walked in and were told there wasn't enough time to tour the museum and they wouldn't sell us a ticket. I guess it was around 4pm when we showed up. I know bad planning on our part, it turned out it was the only opportunity to visit the museum and leave. After we got back to our hotel room my wife called about a refund on the parking fee. She was told that they only give a half hour grace period to request a refund. But they were nice and refunded the parking fee anyway. We were looking forward to the visit while in town mainly because of the artifacts on display and comments made during a circle island tour about what was there to see. (an episode of the Classic 60's Hawaii FIve O might have had some influence too). Nevertheless, we didn't get in. Something to remember next time in town (if it ever happens again).

I am glad we were able to visit the Bishop Museum. The original building itself is beautiful and reminded me of the Natural History Museum in London. The Hawaiian culture is so rich and unique that it deserves at least half a day of your vacation time You may need extra time to visit separate exhibits housed in another building and/or to visit a children's section.

Visiting the Bishop museum on my trip was really special! There's the main hall with tons of Hawaiian history and some modern art which was perfect to learn more about the culture and its past. Then, there's also a science hall and the planetarium which both seemed a little more geared toward children but cool to check out regardless. In the main hall, there are so so many artifacts, paintings, and models to see, and it felt a bit overwhelming to attempt and read them all. So, be content with grazing the surface for 2 hrs or so, or set aside 3+ hours if you like being thorough. I consider this a must if you're visiting O'ahu because it will contextualize a lot of cultural practices and give you a greater appreciation for their preservation. ALSO! No one told us about this beforehand, but, regularly admission is $33 per person (a little steep), however if you're staying at certain Honululu hotels, you're able to get 3 people in for $35 total!! Not sure what the discount would be for groups of 2 or 4+, but this was so helpful, and we almost didn't even get the discount until the museum entrance happened to ask where we were staying. The Moana Surfrider is where we stayed, but ask your hotel if they offer anything because they had an extensive list for the discount.