Life of a Sailor Self-Guided Experience

An interesting history of this battleship, a good tour around all areas, well worth our visit.

Great tour and worth the money that was spent. Would highly recommend.

My wife and I went to the the Iowa since we were around that area, the staff is incredibly friendly and happy to assist you any time, the tour is really immersive, with each zone of the ship really detailed and you can see there's a lot of effort behind of it. Really Recommended

Nice experience overall, seeing the ship in person and how enormous the guns are

​It is not every day you get the chance to step aboard such a legendary and historic battleship. Having served through multiple major eras from World War II all the way to the Gulf War conflicts, the Battleship USS IOWA is an absolute marvel. The ship is beautifully preserved, and the interior is packed with comprehensive, detailed explanations that will easily intrigue any military enthusiast. Because the ship was decommissioned and modernized multiple times throughout her long career, walking through the decks allows you to see a fascinating evolution of naval warfare, from the classic heavy armor to the semi modern missile and weapon systems installed during her final active days. The tour path is incredibly immersive, allowing you to roam through various authentic areas of the ship, including the crew mess halls, tight living quarters/cabins, and operational rooms. One of the most fascinating spaces we explored was the heavily armored navigation cabin (the conning tower). It is a highly compact, fortress like room where the captain and essential crew would steer and navigate the ship during intense combat to ensure it kept fighting. While this style of thick, localized armor is completely obsolete in modern missile warfare, seeing how critical it was in the pre missile era to protect the ship's command structure from heavy artillery shells was incredibly interesting. ​For our family, the absolute highlight was standing on the massive main deck. Getting up close to the iconic, roaring 16 inch big guns while taking in the stunning panoramic views of the bustling San Pedro harbor is an unforgettable experience. If you get hungry during the exploration, there is also a charming hot dog stand right on the main deck that serves fun, military themed hot dogs. If you are in the Los Angeles area, especially if you have even a passing interest in history or military engineering this is a must visit destination that is worth every single minute.

Awesome experience visiting a U.S. Man of War, fighting ship. Took self guided tour, good decision, we moved through at our own pace. Four hours were insufficient to fully focus on every possible aspect. Staff were available and enthusiastically helpful, not to mention Navy Veterans on tour at the same time. WARNING: The Tour is an athletic effort not fit for anyone unable to climb up and down steep ladders. Left with an appreciation of the men who commanded and crewed this ship and the technology built into this vessel from day one and each of two major refits. The $86 including taxes were well spent for two seniors and one adult.

We visited the Battleship Iowa after returning from our cruise, and it was an unexpected gem. The tour was well organized and interesting, and the guides on board were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Walking through the ship gave us a real sense of its size and history, and it felt like a strong lead-in to America 250. Highly recommend adding this stop if you are in the area, especially before or after a cruise from the Port of Los Angeles.

Outstanding! It was amazing. Get ready for a lot of steps. I learned a lot. I found it fascinating!!!! I had always saw it next to the cruise ship when I go on a cruise, and I finally had time and so happy I made the time to see this. Excellent!!!

This is the lamest military museum worship that I've ever been on. You have zero access to the 5-in guns or the 16 inch guns or the engine room. But if you go on the USS Alabama and the USS North Carolina you can go anywhere including the bridge.

Incredible experience to see this ship