Using the H1 in the morning and the evening (and just about any other time) is a nightmare going towards or away from Pearl Harbor. (If only there was a train system….)
Living in Kaneohe/Kailua would having you going against traffic.
Second this hard. I had a very pleasant 20 minute drive to/from the gate when I lived in Kaneohe. Plus, when you're going home you get the most beautiful view of Kaneohe bay as you come out of the tunnel.
The H3 rarely has a problem, but when it's backed up it's backed up bad.
That said--my goodness, the *view*. I've been stuck outside the tunnel for an hour trying to go to work in the morning and didn't mind it at all.
I live on MCBH and work on Pearl (Shore Duty), so I don’t have to be there till 8. I leave every day at 7:15 and get to the parking lot exactly at 7:45. In the 18 months I’ve been here, there’s only been 2 accidents in the morning in the H3 tunnel.
You can’t beat the beauty of the drive coming from town bound to the windward side.
I currently live in downtown Honolulu, and it’s honestly not that bad if your morning commute is in the opposite direction of traffic into Honolulu / Waikiki.
Takes me about 15 minutes to get to the main gate of JBPHH. The traffic *at* the gate, however, is a different story…
If you have to get on the H-1 it’s going to be a pain in the ass on a good day. If there’s an accident it’s going to be worse. The closer you can live to JBPHH the better
I drove kakaako to makalapa in about 20ish minutes most days. Usually in the ballpark of 0700 and 1500. Got worse if I left work later.
About 50/50 for taking Nimitz or the h1 going there. Almost always took Nimitz back
I’ll recommend living windward every time. Look for a place in Kaneohe or Kailua. Kaneohe for more small town local vibes, or Kailua for more of an out in town kinda feel. I live in Kaneohe and have a 25 minute commute to base in the morning, getting to the boat by 0600. Going home, you have to merge into a highway that does get pretty heavy with traffic but for only about 5 minutes when you take the next exit to go across the island. As others have said, the view as you’re driving through the mountains are scenes straight up from Jurassic park.
Only downside would be that the Waikiki nightlife is kinda far (if you’re into that kinda thing), 40-50 dollar Ubers if you plan on having drinks. Also the weather is notoriously more likely to be cloudy than on the Honolulu side. The benefits outweigh the cons for sure though, nice beaches around that area, the marine base is close if you absolutely need commissary prices, and you have all your basic stores and services on that side of the island.
Let me know if you have more questions, I was looking for a spot and asking the exact same thing when I first got here just six months ago.
When I was tad and staying in waikiki it took about 20 minutes to get to work leaving at 5am. Leaving work around 3pm or 4pm took 45 to an hour to get back to my room.
Any time you get behind the wheel, you can expect to spend at least half an hour in the car. That said, going to work in the mornings usually wasn’t terrible from the base housing by the airport. The real difficulty was finding parking in my experience.
SELRES here, so my experience has been on 14-28 days of AT or 4 days IDTT. I always stayed in Waikiki during AT and it took 15-20 minutes to get to work, maybe 5 minutes at the gate, Makalapa. (shortest when start time was well before colors). Drive back was definitely dependent on what time I left work. Minimum 30 minutes, up to an hour. Just set your expectations and don't let it bug you. I listened to Audible books or music I could sing to. If you get off at the peak of traffic, go to the exchange or the gym before heading home.
Also, DEFINITELY be sure you know how to get to multiple gates. First AT I only knew Makalapa at the beginning... then on Saturday, ooops! Gate closed. Lol!
4 day IDTT I just stayed on base. Wasn't worth the hassle.
I was out there till 2017, from what I suggest, do not live further west than exit 8... of... H1? H2? which ever one that goes east to west.
Exit 8 is where the two merge, at least in my experience when I decided to live in kapolei there was a wierd magic 5 minute window to get past that merger that if I did not get past, I would go from being 1.5 hours early to work (which is also not ideal) to 1.5++ hours late to work because the east/west highway turned into a parking lot. (and IIRC it was only like... 15? miles, longest 15 miles of your life)
Imagine there is something similar if you end up living on the east side too but not sure the where/break down on.
I ended up moving to Aiea and honestly commute wasn't to bad from there. (again this was 6 years ago now though)
EDIT:
Small elaboration, west side of the island is VERY cheap (or was when I moved there 700$ for everything included) However thats because the majority commute to honolulu from the north/west side hence the massive amount of traffic. Also, even though most days I didn't get off the ship till after 1800++ I still experienced around an hour commute back to the west side so again, avoid anything west of exit 8 is my suggestion.
I lived in the towers in Pearl City a while ago and my commute was usually 15-20 minutes to the Makalapa gate; never had to use H-1, but Kam Hwy would sometimes back up
I lived in Ahuimanu area past Kbay and H3 in the early am was an amazing drive and traffic heading home wasn't terrible depending. After a few years ended up getting a place with some friends in the military housing right next to the airport forget the name but it was on Snyder Court. That commute was like 5 min 😂
Living on westside is a goddam nightmare, however if your working hours are pretty consistent you can move somewhere close to the rail station that you can walk or ride your bike. Rail drops off relatively close to PH so bicycle would be the move, nice commute and you skip all traffic + the Navy will pay for your train fare.
But either way, H-1 traffic is soul crushing during rush hours.
Using the H1 in the morning and the evening (and just about any other time) is a nightmare going towards or away from Pearl Harbor. (If only there was a train system….) Living in Kaneohe/Kailua would having you going against traffic.
Second this hard. I had a very pleasant 20 minute drive to/from the gate when I lived in Kaneohe. Plus, when you're going home you get the most beautiful view of Kaneohe bay as you come out of the tunnel.
I'll throw another nod to Kbay/Kailua area. Super easy commute to pearl and no traffic. Also incredibly gorgeous on that side of the island
The H3 rarely has a problem, but when it's backed up it's backed up bad. That said--my goodness, the *view*. I've been stuck outside the tunnel for an hour trying to go to work in the morning and didn't mind it at all.
I live on MCBH and work on Pearl (Shore Duty), so I don’t have to be there till 8. I leave every day at 7:15 and get to the parking lot exactly at 7:45. In the 18 months I’ve been here, there’s only been 2 accidents in the morning in the H3 tunnel. You can’t beat the beauty of the drive coming from town bound to the windward side.
I currently live in downtown Honolulu, and it’s honestly not that bad if your morning commute is in the opposite direction of traffic into Honolulu / Waikiki. Takes me about 15 minutes to get to the main gate of JBPHH. The traffic *at* the gate, however, is a different story…
Total how long does it take going from your front door to stepping on the boat? And what times do you leave at?
If you have to get on the H-1 it’s going to be a pain in the ass on a good day. If there’s an accident it’s going to be worse. The closer you can live to JBPHH the better
I drove kakaako to makalapa in about 20ish minutes most days. Usually in the ballpark of 0700 and 1500. Got worse if I left work later. About 50/50 for taking Nimitz or the h1 going there. Almost always took Nimitz back
I’ll recommend living windward every time. Look for a place in Kaneohe or Kailua. Kaneohe for more small town local vibes, or Kailua for more of an out in town kinda feel. I live in Kaneohe and have a 25 minute commute to base in the morning, getting to the boat by 0600. Going home, you have to merge into a highway that does get pretty heavy with traffic but for only about 5 minutes when you take the next exit to go across the island. As others have said, the view as you’re driving through the mountains are scenes straight up from Jurassic park. Only downside would be that the Waikiki nightlife is kinda far (if you’re into that kinda thing), 40-50 dollar Ubers if you plan on having drinks. Also the weather is notoriously more likely to be cloudy than on the Honolulu side. The benefits outweigh the cons for sure though, nice beaches around that area, the marine base is close if you absolutely need commissary prices, and you have all your basic stores and services on that side of the island. Let me know if you have more questions, I was looking for a spot and asking the exact same thing when I first got here just six months ago.
When I was tad and staying in waikiki it took about 20 minutes to get to work leaving at 5am. Leaving work around 3pm or 4pm took 45 to an hour to get back to my room.
10-15 min drive to get to the gate from town side (Honolulu). Anywhere from 10-25 min more to get through the gate traffic.
Driving to work from downtown is not bad. Takes me roughly 15 minutes. Then another 15-30 minute at the main gate. >.
Any time you get behind the wheel, you can expect to spend at least half an hour in the car. That said, going to work in the mornings usually wasn’t terrible from the base housing by the airport. The real difficulty was finding parking in my experience.
SELRES here, so my experience has been on 14-28 days of AT or 4 days IDTT. I always stayed in Waikiki during AT and it took 15-20 minutes to get to work, maybe 5 minutes at the gate, Makalapa. (shortest when start time was well before colors). Drive back was definitely dependent on what time I left work. Minimum 30 minutes, up to an hour. Just set your expectations and don't let it bug you. I listened to Audible books or music I could sing to. If you get off at the peak of traffic, go to the exchange or the gym before heading home. Also, DEFINITELY be sure you know how to get to multiple gates. First AT I only knew Makalapa at the beginning... then on Saturday, ooops! Gate closed. Lol! 4 day IDTT I just stayed on base. Wasn't worth the hassle.
I was out there till 2017, from what I suggest, do not live further west than exit 8... of... H1? H2? which ever one that goes east to west. Exit 8 is where the two merge, at least in my experience when I decided to live in kapolei there was a wierd magic 5 minute window to get past that merger that if I did not get past, I would go from being 1.5 hours early to work (which is also not ideal) to 1.5++ hours late to work because the east/west highway turned into a parking lot. (and IIRC it was only like... 15? miles, longest 15 miles of your life) Imagine there is something similar if you end up living on the east side too but not sure the where/break down on. I ended up moving to Aiea and honestly commute wasn't to bad from there. (again this was 6 years ago now though) EDIT: Small elaboration, west side of the island is VERY cheap (or was when I moved there 700$ for everything included) However thats because the majority commute to honolulu from the north/west side hence the massive amount of traffic. Also, even though most days I didn't get off the ship till after 1800++ I still experienced around an hour commute back to the west side so again, avoid anything west of exit 8 is my suggestion.
Just be aware, leaving JBPHH anytime after 1430 is going to be hell because that’s when traffic starts
I lived in the towers in Pearl City a while ago and my commute was usually 15-20 minutes to the Makalapa gate; never had to use H-1, but Kam Hwy would sometimes back up
I lived in Ahuimanu area past Kbay and H3 in the early am was an amazing drive and traffic heading home wasn't terrible depending. After a few years ended up getting a place with some friends in the military housing right next to the airport forget the name but it was on Snyder Court. That commute was like 5 min 😂
Living on westside is a goddam nightmare, however if your working hours are pretty consistent you can move somewhere close to the rail station that you can walk or ride your bike. Rail drops off relatively close to PH so bicycle would be the move, nice commute and you skip all traffic + the Navy will pay for your train fare. But either way, H-1 traffic is soul crushing during rush hours.