Our driver was great and very informative. We all enjoyed the trip. My only suggestion is to let folks know that they should bring snacks and won't necessarily eat until 3-4 pm.
Going to Pearl Harbor was amazing. I recommend that for everyone staying in Hawaii. The USS Missouri was also a lesson in history. Lunch at the harbor on the dock is awful so save your appetite for dinner. We didn't get a chance to look at punchbowl outside the bus, just a drive through. Honolulu was not that exciting with just a place or two to stop for pictures. The traffic there is much heavier than in Maui. The final stop was about an hour at Waikiki beach, just enough time to grab dinner and take a pic on the beach. We ate at Duke's and the fish was awesome. Don't take a backpack, you won't need one. You can save money by not taking a pocketbook, either. You would have to check that into a locker at Pearl Harbor. This tour was good as they picked us up at the hotel and returned us at night. The bus drivers were great. It is a long day trip, but worth it to get back to Maui the same day. You will not forget seeing Pearl Harbor. If you do not want to plan a day trip to Oahu yourself, taking this tour is easy planning so you can relax. I priced it out separately and the cost was the same if we rented a car, bought plane tickets and tour tickets. The benefit to the tour is that you don't have to drive through the traffic, someone else does! You just have to make sure that you don't hold up the group getting back to the airport after dinner. If you don't mind being on a set schedule, then you should do this. Just remember that you will be up at 5 am and back to the hotel after 9 pm.
We loved the tour at Pearl Harbor and the tour of the Missouri and the Bowfin Sub. The guide was excellent.The only thing we did not like was our return trip back to Maui. The Island Air flight was delayed for about two hours. Therefore we were back in Maui at 10:30 and we still had a 45 minutes drive to our condo.
We should have been back at 8:00 and it would still have been light outside.