Ship car from Florida to Hawaii: we handle the truck, the port and the ship
When you ship car from Florida to Hawaii with us, your vehicle makes two trips under one booking. No ship carries personal cars from a Florida port to the islands. We truck yours across the country to the Port of Long Beach, book its space on a Hawaii sailing, and track it until the Hawaii port releases it. Oahu runs $2,700 to $3,800 and takes three to six weeks. Maui, the Big Island and Kauai run $3,500 to $4,600 and take about six to nine weeks. You deal with us from the Florida pickup to the day your car is ready for you in Hawaii.
Florida to Hawaii car shipping cost by island
The ocean portion of the price is fixed for each island. The part that moves is the Florida truck leg, which depends on your city, your vehicle and the month you ship.
| Island | Hawaii port | Our price range | Pickup to release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oahu | Honolulu Harbor | $2,700 to $3,800 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Maui | Kahului | $3,500 to $4,600 | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Big Island | Hilo | $3,500 to $4,600 | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Kauai | Nawiliwili | $3,500 to $4,600 | 6 to 9 weeks |
|
Molokai, Lanai |
Kaunakakai, Kaumalapau |
Quoted per shipment |
Add an inter-island barge leg |
These ranges cover a running sedan, SUV or small pickup on an open truck, delivered to the Hawaii port. The truck run from Florida to Long Beach costs between $900 and $1,950 on its own, and that is what decides where you land in the range.
What our quote includes
Every Florida quote covers pickup at your address, the cross country run to Long Beach, ocean freight to your island and the port booking. It also covers the scheduling work that gets the truck to the terminal inside the receiving window for your sailing.
We prepare the authorization that lets our driver hand your car to the port on your behalf. We also keep both condition reports: the one written at your driveway and the one the terminal writes when it takes the car.
What moves the price
An SUV or full size pickup adds about $100 to $200, and only on the truck leg. The ocean rate is the same for sedans, SUVs, passenger vans and small non-commercial pickups up to 21 feet 8 inches long, 8 feet wide and 7 feet tall. Anything bigger gets an oversize quote, and that includes a lot of lifted trucks. We cover those on our lifted and oversize truck shipping page.
Enclosed trucking adds 30 to 60 percent to the Florida leg. Your car rides inside the vessel on the ocean crossing either way, so enclosed service only changes the part on the road.
Truck rates out of Florida usually soften from August through October and firm up from November through January.
Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles carry a $275 surcharge on the ocean leg. Only one Hawaii ocean line accepts them, which narrows the sailing dates we can offer.
A car that doesn’t run needs an individual quote. Expect at least $500 more and fewer sailings to choose from.
What we quote separately
Storage is the charge people forget. The Honolulu terminal gives you four business days free after your car is released. After that it runs roughly $10 on day five, then $19 to $25 a day depending on the terminal. We tell you the day your car becomes available, so the clock doesn’t catch you.
Molokai and Lanai need a separate inter-island barge booking, priced on its own. After you register the car in Hawaii, the state safety inspection costs up to $25.75 plus tax. You pay that to the inspection station, not to us.
For pricing on every mainland route, see our Hawaii car shipping cost guide.
How long it takes to ship a car to Hawaii from Florida
Plan on three to six weeks from Florida pickup to release in Honolulu. For Maui, the Big Island or Kauai, plan on six to nine weeks when the car connects through Honolulu. The ship is the short part. Most of that time goes to the truck, the terminals and the barge.
| Phase | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Truck assignment | We dispatch a carrier to your Florida address | 1 to 3 days |
| Cross country run | The truck runs the I-10 corridor to Long Beach | 5 to 10 days |
| Port cutoff | The car arrives inside the receiving window for its sailing | Depends on the sailing date |
| Ocean to Honolulu | 5 to 8 days at sea, plus loading and unloading | 9 to 24 days from sailing to release |
| Neighbor island connection | Barge from Honolulu to Kahului, Hilo or Nawiliwili | 33 to 45 days from sailing to release |
From Jacksonville, the truck reaches Southern California in about five to seven days. Miami and Fort Lauderdale take six to eight. Orlando and Tampa run six to ten, depending on which carrier takes the load.
We book your ocean space first, then work backward to your pickup date. A truck that reaches the terminal after the cutoff misses the sailing, and the next one can be one to two weeks out. Arriving too early causes problems too. The terminal can turn the car away for lack of space or start charging storage after four free business days. We aim for a short, controlled window just ahead of the cutoff.
For Maui and the Big Island, some sailings run straight to Kahului and Hilo and arrive about seven days after leaving California. Those direct sailings leave every two weeks, so a missed cutoff costs two weeks. When the dates don’t line up, the car goes through Honolulu and connects by barge, which is where the 33 to 45 day figure comes from.
Kauai shipments almost always connect through Honolulu. We choose the routing against your move date and tell you which one you’re on before pickup. Island details are on our pages for shipping a car to Maui and shipping a car to Kauai.
Molokai and Lanai add a third leg on the inter-island barge, booked separately and best reserved a month ahead. Cars ride that barge open to the air, so expect some salt on the paint when yours comes off. Our inter-island car shipping page covers how we handle that connection.
A ship docking in Honolulu doesn’t mean your car is ready. It still has to be unloaded, checked against terminal records and released, which takes a few days. We tell you when it’s released, and that is the day to go collect it. See shipping a car to Oahu for what pickup at Honolulu Harbor involves, or our Hawaii car shipping timeline for every mainland origin.
How We Ship a Car From Florida to Hawaii
You book, you get the car ready, you meet the driver in Florida and you collect the car in Hawaii. Everything in between is ours. Shipping a car from Florida to Hawaii means handing the vehicle first to a road carrier and then to an ocean line, and neither one schedules around the other. That handoff is the job we do.
We confirm your vehicle and book the ocean space.
We check the dimensions, whether the car runs, whether it’s electric, and which island it’s going to. Those four answers decide which terminal and which sailing it can use, so we settle them before we reserve the space.
We set your pickup date from the port cutoff.
The truck date comes from the ship, not the other way around. We start with the terminal’s receiving window for your sailing and count back through the cross-country run to the day the truck should reach your door. A carrier is usually assigned within one to three days of that date.
The driver inspects and loads your car in Florida.
You, or an adult you choose, walk the car with the driver and sign the bill of lading, which records every existing mark. If a full car carrier can’t get down your street or into your community, the driver meets you at a nearby lot.
The truck runs to the Port of Long Beach.
Most Florida loads take the I-10 corridor and arrive five to ten days after pickup. The car rides on an open carrier unless you booked enclosed. We route to Long Beach rather than Oakland because Oakland’s size limits rule out many SUVs and pickups.
We hand the car to the port.
Our driver arrives with your booking number and a notarized authorization we prepare, so the terminal will accept the car from someone other than the owner. The terminal photographs the car and writes its own vehicle condition report. From that point the ocean line has custody.
The car sails roll on roll off.
RORO means a terminal driver drives the car aboard instead of lifting it or packing it in a container. It is lashed at the front and rear on an enclosed vehicle deck and stays below deck for the crossing.
We tell you when it’s released, and you collect it.
Bring photo ID and your booking number to the Hawaii terminal. Walk the car before you drive out, and note any new damage on the delivery paperwork while you’re still on site, because damage that isn’t recorded before you leave is hard to claim. Hidden damage, like a scrape underneath, has to be reported within three calendar days.
You call us, not the ocean line.
Claims on a booking we made run through us, and we hold both condition reports, which show whether a mark first appeared before or after the California handoff. Our guide to how we ship a car to Hawaii covers the same process from any mainland state.
Preparing your car and paperwork
The port inspection is stricter than the truck driver’s. A car the Florida driver loads without comment can still be refused at the terminal, so we go through these points with you before we dispatch. They apply to every Florida to Hawaii car shipping booking, whichever island the car is headed to.
Vehicle condition
- The car runs, steers and brakes, and the emergency brake works.
- No warning light is on for the engine, airbags or tire pressure.
- The windshield and windows have no cracks.
- Nothing is leaking.
- The car has at least 6 inches of ground clearance.
- It fits within 21 feet 8 inches long, 8 feet wide and 7 feet tall. Lifts, roof racks and oversized tires all count, so tell us about modifications when you book.
- No ignition interlock device is installed.
Fuel and what stays in the car
Fuel has to sit between one eighth and one quarter of a tank, never above a quarter. The only items allowed inside are the spare tire, the jack and up to two child car seats. Everything else comes out, including the trunk, the glove box and under the seats.
Remove roof cargo boxes, bike racks, car covers, spare batteries and fire extinguishers. Take off your SunPass or any other toll transponder. Propane tanks must be empty and certified gas free.
Wash the car a day or two before pickup, then photograph every panel, the wheels, the glass, the roof and the interior. Those photos, plus the two condition reports we keep, are your record of how the car looked when it left you.
Documents
- A government photo ID, normally your driver’s license.
- Current registration, plus the title, or a bill of sale if you bought the car recently.
- Your booking number, which we send after we reserve the sailing.
- Keys for the ignition and any locked compartment, such as a glove box or truck toolbox.
We prepare the notarized authorization our driver uses at the California terminal. If a friend or relative will collect the car in Hawaii, they need one too, and we’ll draft it with you. If the title lists two owners, the co-owner who isn’t handling the shipment may need to sign a notarized consent.
Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids
Tell us at the quote stage. Only one Hawaii ocean line accepts EVs and plug-in hybrids, so we pick the terminal before the truck leaves Florida. An EV sent to the wrong terminal has crossed the country for nothing.
The car must run, and the battery has to arrive between 20 and 50 percent charge. The ocean booking must be in the registered owner’s name, so we set it up with you to make sure the name matches the title exactly.
Why your car leaves from California, not Florida
Hawaii car ships don’t call at Miami, Jacksonville or any other Florida port. For a personal vehicle, Florida is where the truck starts, and the ocean leg begins at a California terminal. Shipping a car from the East Coast to Hawaii works the same way from Georgia, the Carolinas or New York: the road ends on the West Coast.
We send Florida cars to the Port of Long Beach. Hawaii sailings also load at the Port of Oakland, and some leave from Los Angeles and San Diego. Long Beach suits Florida shipments for two reasons:
- It sits at the end of the southern route the truck is already driving.
- It accepts vehicles up to 8 feet wide and 7 feet tall. Oakland caps width and height at about 6 feet 4 inches, roof racks included, which rules out many lifted pickups and full size SUVs.
Older guides still list Seattle and Tacoma as Hawaii gateways. Hawaii car sailings out of Tacoma are suspended, and a Florida car has no reason to go that far north anyway.
| Florida pickup area | Miles to Long Beach | Truck days after pickup |
|---|---|---|
| Panhandle (Pensacola, Panama City, Destin) | About 2,100 | 5 to 7 |
| Jacksonville and North Florida | About 2,400 | 5 to 7 |
| Orlando, Tampa and the Space Coast | 2,400 to 2,600 | 6 to 10 |
| Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Fort Myers | 2,650 to 2,750 | 6 to 8 |
Most loads join I-10, which runs from Jacksonville to Los Angeles. Long Beach receives cars Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. We time the driver to those hours so the car isn’t sitting at a closed gate.
What goes wrong on this route, and how we prevent it
Most delays when you ship car from Florida to Hawaii happen on land, at the handoffs between carriers. These are the problems we plan around on every Florida booking.
The truck misses the port cutoff
A carrier can run a normal cross country trip and still reach the terminal the afternoon after it stopped receiving for your sailing. For Oahu that costs one to two weeks. On a direct Maui or Big Island sailing it costs two. We tell the carrier up front that this is a port delivery with a fixed deadline, and we set the pickup date with margin before the cutoff.
The car arrives too early
Extra buffer sounds safe, but a car parked at Long Beach days ahead of its sailing can be turned away for space or start paying storage. Storage there runs $15 a day after four free business days. We aim the truck at a short window, not “as soon as possible.”
The driver is turned away at the gate
If the person handing over the car isn’t the owner and has no notarized authorization, the terminal can refuse it. A missing form then turns into a missed sailing. Our driver arrives with the authorization and the booking number already in hand.
The car clears Florida pickup but fails the port inspection
A truck driver won’t stop for fuel above a quarter tank, a lit warning light, a slow leak or a box left in the trunk. The terminal will. We go through the preparation checklist with you before dispatch, not after the car is 2,500 miles away.
Neighbor-island timing gets quoted as Oahu timing
A quote built on a one-week ocean crossing leaves out the barge connection that adds weeks for Maui, the Big Island and Kauai. We quote time by island and tell you which routing your car is on before pickup.
The pickup goes to an unchecked carrier
We verify the operating authority of the carrier actually assigned to your pickup, not only the company that sold the order.
The size surcharge lands on the whole trip
An SUV costs more on the truck, not on the ship. We charge the difference on the leg where it applies.
The best Florida to Hawaii car shipping plan starts at the port cutoff and works back to your driveway. If you’re comparing companies, run us through our own questions to ask any Hawaii car shipper.
Frequently asked questions
Get your Florida to Hawaii quote
Send us your Florida pickup city, the vehicle, the island and the date you need it there. We’ll come back with Florida to Hawaii car shipping rates for that exact route, the sailing we’d book and the pickup date that makes its cutoff.
Or call 1-888-515-4452. Same-day response on weekdays.
If you’re on military PCS orders, mention it on the form. If you’re shipping an EV or PHEV, mention the make and battery type. If you’re moving from an inland California city, give us the ZIP code so we can confirm the inland pickup window.