I imagine that December is probably fairly busy. There is parking on the grounds. There are a few spaces near the memorial (mostly HC spaces) and then a decent number of spaces near the entrance, which allows for a beautiful stroll through the banyan trees towards the memorial. Many people choose to just drive through but they are cheating themselves out of a beautiful place. I highly recommend getting out of the car and walking the grounds.

guided tours are brill

Yes, it is open to the public. It is a National Cemetery.

There are numerous flower shops that are right down the road in Chinatown that has beautiful flower arrangements. Safeway is also down the street at the corner of King and Pali. Nothing is sold on site.

You will still need to get a ticket to go on the Arizona, I would suggest you get to the memorial early morning since there are a limited number of tickets available for the day of the tour. Most of the advanced tickets are taken by the tours. Once in the park, you can do the self guided tours of the Bowfin, Planes of the Pacific and the battleship Missouri. For the battleship you have a choice of a recorded tour, or can pay for a guided tour. The Bowfin is in the park and you can walk to it. For the Missouri and Aviation Museum you will need to take a bus that boards behind the Bowfin Museum. There are several buses (motor coaches) doing continuous loops through both the Missouri and Aviation museums and returns back to the Bowfin. May I also suggest doing a tour of Punchbowl and hiking Diamond Head? If you have a car, Saturday and Sunday there is a giant flea market at the Honolulu Stadium that will provide souvenirs from clothing to ukuleles. ftp

Tour buses don't stop there, but yes, rental cars can park there. I go whenever I am in Oahu because my husband is inurned there. The bus prohibition is to keep the atmosphere respectful. It is a beautiful peaceful place.

The Bus

I see from the answer above (or below) that people are confused on where you're going. If you are going to the "Punchbowl" cemetery that answer is FREE, no tours as it's a cemetery, no gate fees, and park where ever you can, it's a cemetery. If you're going to Pearl Harbor, then the answer is; Visitor center is FREE, and lots of parking. (This is where you had to start). USS AZ memorial is FREE (limited free tickets, so get there early for them) There are tour packages out there the $$$ for the same tour. The only advantage, is that you can buy them on-line and you don't have to get there early) Ford Island is an active military base, and the USS MO, Aviation museum, and a few other items are on it. So you CAN'T just drive on to it. There are shuttle buses that take you there from the Visitors Center. I believe the shuttle is FREE, but the USS MO and Aviation Museum has a fee.