How Do You Ship A Vehicle To Hawaii?

Are you relocating to Hawaii because of school, your job, or are you just looking for sunnier and warmer places? Then you’re probably wondering about what to do with your car.

After all, it’s an island, so you don’t really have the option of driving it yourself all the way. So what other options do you have?

The most convenient one, by far, is to have it shipped with the help of an auto transport company. And Ship Vehicles is here to explain how that works.

How Do Companies Handle Shipping a Vehicle to Hawaii?

Auto transport companies are hassle-free ways to ship a vehicle to virtually any location you want. If you’re looking to ship to Hawaii, however, you need to make sure the company you’re thinking about hiring can accommodate that from a logistical and legal perspective.

Since Hawaii is an island, the vehicle would have to be driven on land to a port, and then it must travel via boat until it reaches the state. From there, it will likely get put on another truck to be taken at its final destination.

When you ship a vehicle to Hawaii, here are the main stages the car will go through:

• Terminal drop off
• Terminal – port ride on the company truck
• Sail in a special container, on a freight boat
• Port – terminal ride
• Pick up (unless you opt for door to door services, in which case you don’t have to drop off or pick up the vehicle yourself).

But not all auto transport companies can accommodate what all this involves. Some may only be able to take your vehicle up to the port, leaving you to figure out the logistics of having the vehicle transported on water. While you can find a boat and handle this, you’ll have to put in extra work especially when it comes to timing.

It’s much more convenient to work with a larger company that takes an A-Z approach, like Ship Vehicles.

What Are the Ports the Car will Go Through?

Here are some ports your vehicle will likely go through when shipping to Hawaii:

• Tacoma, WA
• Long Beach, CA
• Oakland, CA

Hawaii, being an island, has many ports, and not to add another layer of confusion to this process, but not all companies service all ports. So when you research an auto transport company, you should also consider the final destination where the vehicle should arrive, and see if the company can easily (and quickly) get it there.

In some cases, they may not service the nearest port to the area where your car needs to arrive, in which case the vehicle will have to be transported again on land. This can lead to longer shipment times, and possibly higher bills.

How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Car to Hawaii?

The cost of shipping a vehicle to Hawaii is greatly influenced by:

• The location you’re shipping from – if the car has to travel more from your location to the port, the final bill will be bigger. Companies will have a $x/mile rate, so when researching the company you can calculate how much it would cost you just to get the vehicle to the port;
• The type of vehicle you’re shipping – larger vehicles take up a lot more space, so they are generally more expensive to ship since they limit the company’s ability to group multiple cars and ship them at the same time;
• The port from which it will depart, and the port it will enter – again, relating to the specific areas the company you hire services;
• Any additional services you choose from the auto transport company – for instance, companies can offer very comprehensive shipping services which include washing, tuning, and even door-to-door shipping. But all these perks cost extra.

Rates in the auto shipping industry are not set in stone. They can actually change from one day to another. The best strategy you have to choose an affordable company is to reach out to a few of them and ask for a price estimate.

When creating this estimate, the company will take into account the details of your needs, from shipping location to any other services you may want. Once they run the numbers and present an estimate, you can use it to compare it with the rates of other companies.

Let Ship Vehicles Help!

Ship Vehicles have been in the auto transport world for decades, and we know a thing or two about what goes into shipping a car to Hawaii.

If you need a company you can trust, get in touch with us now and we’ll tell you all about our services.