Exploring the Process of Shipping a Vehicle to Hawaii

With its year-round sunshine and friendly people, it is easy to see why thousands of people choose to move to Hawaii every year. Though the move can be extremely rewarding, it can also be quite challenging. The sheer distance that Hawaii sits from the United States mainland can make moving there quite tricky. Movers have to figure out how to transport their possessions over that long journey. Of course, for most people, their vehicle is among their most valuable assets, so they can be especially concerned about how they can transport that. Luckily, there are always a number of highly trained and experienced auto shippers who are available to help.

In its simplest form, auto shipping is the process of transporting your vehicle from one place to another. This usually involves loading the vehicle on to a truck, train, plane, or boat and moving it to its destination.

Though a move to Hawaii is certainly a little trickier than a simple move to the next state over, it is by no means impossible. The process of shipping the vehicle to Hawaii will depend on where the vehicle’s origin point is.

If the vehicle is currently on the West Coast, the process is fairly straightforward. It is usually a matter of driving the vehicle to the nearest designated port (usually around Seattle or Los Angeles) and loading it into a shipping container. That container will then be placed on to a cargo ship that is heading straight for Hawaii.

If the vehicle is elsewhere in the United States, things get a little more complicated. The most affordable option would be to have the owner drive the vehicle from its current location to the departing port in Seattle or Los Angeles. However, since this can often be thousands of miles away, most customers prefer to have their auto shipper transport their vehicle to the port city. This usually involves loading it up on to a truck and setting it on its way. Once the vehicle reaches the port city, it will then be handled in the same way as before – loaded into a container and placed on to a cargo ship.

If you need the vehicle to be delivered to Hawaii in a hurry, it is also possible to load the vehicle into a cargo plane. Though this process is certainly quicker, it is also much more expensive.

Since there are so many variables, it is difficult (if not impossible) to provide an accurate price quote for shipping to Hawaii. However, it is possible to provide some ballpark estimates. If shipping from the West Coast, you can usually expect the cost to be somewhere in the $1,000 – $1,250 region. However, if shipping from elsewhere, you will need to add in the cost of first transporting the vehicle to the port on the West Coast. The additional cost will depend on how far you need to ship it, but you can expect it to cost in the region of $400 – $600 for nearby states (Colorado, Texas, Arizona). For further away states such as New York, Florida, or Massachusetts, you can expect the extra cost to be around $800 – $1,000.

A move to Hawaii is certainly a big step in life, but with the help of your experienced auto shipper, you will have one less thing to worry about.