Mainland pickup, ocean crossing, and island delivery arranged as one shipment, scheduled around the sailing.
Fast, secure pricing in 30 seconds.
Hawaii
Hawaii auto transport is the longest shipment most people ever book. The ocean leg runs on a schedule you cannot rush.
Ship Guy is a licensed auto transport broker. We arrange the mainland leg and coordinate the ocean crossing with the carriers that sail to Hawaii. Neither the trucks nor the ships are ours.
A car from anywhere in the country rides a carrier to Long Beach, Oakland, or Tacoma. It sails to Honolulu on a weekly schedule and continues to a neighbor island by barge if needed.
This page covers each leg, the port rules that cause most delays, and the agricultural inspection. It also covers the neighbor islands, the bases, and the paperwork the state requires when the car lands.
Plan on two to three weeks door to door from the West Coast. The East Coast and the Midwest take three to four.
The highway leg to the port takes one to five days. The crossing takes five to seven days. Neighbor-island delivery adds three to seven more.
Financed vehicles need a letter from the lienholder authorizing shipment to Hawaii. Ask your lender the day you book, since some take a week to produce it.
The Model
Every Hawaii shipment has the same three legs, whatever the starting point.
First, a carrier picks the car up anywhere on the mainland. It delivers the car to a West Coast port terminal. Long Beach serves most of the country, Oakland serves Northern California, and Tacoma serves the Northwest.
Second, the car sails to Honolulu. Two ocean carriers run the route on weekly schedules, and the crossing takes five to seven days.
Third, you or a local driver collect the car at the Honolulu terminal. Cars for Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai continue by direct sailing or by inter-island barge.
Shipping the other way works the same in reverse. Cars leaving Hawaii sail to the West Coast and finish on a mainland carrier.
The Port
The ocean carriers and the state enforce rules that road carriers never do.
The agricultural inspection is the one people miss. Hawaii checks arriving vehicles for pests and soil, and a dirty car is held or turned away.
A car that fails at the terminal waits for the next sailing, which costs a week. We walk through the checklist before pickup.
Lanes & Costs
Combined highway-plus-ocean estimates to Honolulu, and the neighbor-island leg from Honolulu. Price your exact route above.
| Route | Legs | Est. total time | Est. rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles / Long Beach → Honolulu | Ocean · weekly | 2–3 weeks | $1,450–$2,000 |
| Bay Area / Oakland → Honolulu | Ocean · weekly | 2–3 weeks | $1,475–$2,050 |
| San Diego → Honolulu | I-5 + ocean | 2–3 weeks | $1,500–$2,100 |
| Seattle / Portland → Honolulu | Ocean via Tacoma | 2–3 weeks | $1,550–$2,150 |
| Phoenix → Honolulu | I-10 + ocean | 2.5–3.5 weeks | $1,750–$2,450 |
| Denver → Honolulu | Highway + ocean | 3–3.5 weeks | $1,950–$2,700 |
| Dallas / Houston → Honolulu | Highway + ocean | 3–3.5 weeks | $2,000–$2,750 |
| Chicago → Honolulu | Highway + ocean | 3–4 weeks | $2,200–$3,000 |
| New York → Honolulu | Highway + ocean | 3–4 weeks | $2,500–$3,500 |
| Honolulu → Maui, Big Island, or Kauai | Barge or direct sailing | +3–7 days | $300–$550 |
*2026 estimates for a running sedan, combining the highway leg to the port and the ocean crossing. Larger vehicles pay more for the crossing. Neighbor-island rows are the inter-island leg only. The sailing schedule and the season set the real quote.
The ocean leg is priced by vehicle size, not by where the car starts. The highway leg to the port scales with distance like any domestic shipment.
Summer is the peak, with military moves filling sailings from May through August. The cost guide covers the mainland side.
City Pages
Honolulu has its own page with the terminal process, base details, and neighborhood handoffs. The neighbor islands are covered here.
The Islands
Where the car goes after Honolulu decides the last leg.
Oahu deliveries happen the day the car clears the terminal. Kaneohe, Kapolei, and the North Shore are all within an hour of the port.
Maui cars sail into Kahului, the Big Island into Hilo or Kawaihae, and Kauai into Nawiliwili. Some sailings from the mainland go direct, and others transfer to the inter-island barge in Honolulu.
The barge adds three to seven days and its own fee. We choose the routing that gets the car there soonest.
On the Big Island, the road from Hilo to Kona crosses the saddle at high elevation. Rural addresses sit on lava-rock lanes. The driver meets you in town.
Military
No place in the Pacific moves more military households by ship than Oahu.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Schofield Barracks, and the Marine base at Kaneohe Bay rotate families every summer. Fort Shafter and the medical center at Tripler add more.
Orders usually cover one vehicle to Hawaii, so the second one ships privately through us. The port rules and the agricultural inspection apply to both.
Reserve two to three weeks ahead from May through August, when the ships fill. Ship Guy is a private broker with no military affiliation, and PCS planning is on our military page.
After Arrival
Hawaii asks a few things of a car once it lands.
An out-of-state vehicle needs a safety inspection and state registration within thirty days of arrival. The inspection stations are common, and the county handles the registration.
Salt air and sun work on a car faster here than anywhere on the mainland. Many owners choose enclosed transport for the mainland leg of a collector car. The ship covers it from there.
Seasonal residents and university households ship cars in each fall and out each spring. They use the same sailings the bases do.
Your Options
The Basics
A Hawaii shipment has a mainland pickup, a port drop, a sailing, and an island delivery.
The driver logs the car’s condition on a Bill of Lading at pickup. The terminal inspects it again at the port. You sign at both ends of the ocean.
Our how it works and preparation guides cover the mainland steps.
Why Ship Guy
We schedule the mainland truck around the sailing and walk through the port rules before pickup.
Ship Guy operates under active FMCSA brokerage authority and a $75,000 surety bond, both listed in federal records.
One coordinator manages the truck and the ship together, so you never call two companies. What we arrange is listed on the services page.
Hawaii FAQ
Two to three weeks door to door from the West Coast. Three to four from the East Coast or the Midwest. The highway leg to the port takes one to five days, and the crossing five to seven. A neighbor island adds three to seven more. A missed sailing costs seven days, so the pickup is planned around the ship.
Los Angeles to Honolulu usually runs fourteen hundred fifty to two thousand dollars for a sedan. Seattle runs fifteen hundred fifty to twenty-one fifty, and New York twenty-five hundred to thirty-five hundred. The ocean leg is priced by vehicle size, so an SUV or pickup pays more for the crossing. A neighbor island adds three hundred to five hundred fifty.
Hawaii checks every arriving vehicle for pests, soil, and plant matter. A car with dirt in the wheel wells or seeds in the carpet is held or turned away. It then waits for the next sailing. Wash the car inside and out before pickup, including the undercarriage. We go through the checklist with you before the driver arrives.
No, the ocean carriers do not allow personal items in the vehicle. Inspectors check every car at the terminal, and one with cargo waits for the next ship. Empty the trunk, the glovebox, and the cabin. Household goods ship separately.
If the car is financed or leased, the ocean carrier needs written authorization from the lender. That letter permits shipment to Hawaii. Request it the day you book, since some lenders take a week. Without that letter, the car stays on the dock.
Yes, cars for the neighbor islands sail direct into Kahului, Hilo, Kawaihae, or Nawiliwili. Others transfer to the inter-island barge in Honolulu. The barge adds three to seven days and its own fee. We choose the routing that gets the car there soonest.
Yes, military households are the largest group we ship to Hawaii. Orders usually cover one vehicle, and the second one ships privately through us. Summer sailings fill from May through August, so reserve two to three weeks out. Ship Guy is a private broker, not a military contractor or agency.
A safety inspection and state registration within thirty days. Inspection stations are common, and the county handles the registration. Bring the title or registration and proof of insurance.
Yes, but the ocean carrier charges more for a car that cannot drive on and off. A winch loads it at the terminal, and each leg carries a fee. Tell us whether it can roll, steer, and brake so both carriers plan for it.
The mainland address and the island address, including which island. The year, make, and model. Whether it runs and rolls. Financed or owned, because a financed car needs the lender's letter. A date range. That is the full Hawaii quote request.
Get Started
A quote takes about two minutes, island included. Then tell us your island and your dates, and we will build the schedule around the next sailing.