Ship car to Kauai from anywhere on the mainland
We ship car to Kauai from anywhere on the U.S. mainland. Cars bound for Kauai come off at Nawiliwili Harbor in Lihue, and on the standard route they get there by way of Honolulu. From a California port, our price is $2,700 to $2,900 for a standard car. Plan on 33 to 45 days from sailing to release, because the barge that connects Honolulu to Kauai runs about once a month. We book the sailing and the barge connection, send a truck to your door if you need one, and track your car until it’s released.
Kauai rates
How much does it cost to ship a car to Kauai?
Dropping your car at a California port costs $2,700 to $2,900. With pickup at your door, the total runs from about $2,900 in California to $4,650 from New York. The ocean rate is the same for most cars, so the distance your car travels by truck accounts for most of the difference.
| Where your car starts | Our price to Nawiliwili |
|---|---|
| California port (you drop it off) | $2,700 to $2,900 |
| California (door pickup) | $2,900 to $3,500 |
| Seattle area | $3,400 to $4,300 |
| Denver | $3,600 to $4,000 |
| Chicago | $3,700 to $4,300 |
| Houston | $3,950 to $4,300 |
| New York | $4,100 to $4,650 |
These prices assume a standard car that runs. Sedans, SUVs and pickups pay the same ocean rate as long as they fit within 21 ft 8 in long, 8 ft wide and 7 ft high. Size still counts on the truck, where an SUV or pickup takes more trailer space and adds roughly $100 to $250 on a long haul. Lifted trucks and anything over those limits get quoted on their measurements. Our page on shipping a truck to Hawaii covers how that works.
Kauai runs about $800 more than shipping a car to Oahu, and the difference pays for a second trip. An Oahu car is done once it’s unloaded in Honolulu. A Kauai car gets unloaded there, staged and loaded again for the barge to Nawiliwili, with handling at each end of that second leg.
Our port to port price covers the ocean booking, the crossing, the Honolulu connection and release at Nawiliwili. We price three things on their own: delivery from the harbor to your address on Kauai, which we quote once we know where you live; vehicles over the size limits; and the EV surcharge on the few sailings that take EVs.
Season only moves the truck leg. Mainland car carriers charge 10 to 20% more from June through August, while the ocean rate to Nawiliwili stays the same all year. If your dates are flexible, a fall pickup usually comes in under a summer one.
For every island side by side, see our guide to the cost to ship a car to Hawaii. To bring your number down, start with the cheapest way to ship a car to Hawaii. The fastest saving is driving the car to Long Beach or Oakland yourself, which takes the truck out of the price.
Transit time
How long does shipping a car to Kauai take?
Count on 33 to 45 days between the day your car sails and the day it’s released at Nawiliwili. If we’re collecting the car inland, the truck time comes first.
| Phase | Typical time | What sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Truck dispatch | 1 to 5 business days | Carrier availability near you |
| Truck to Long Beach or Oakland | 1 to 9 days | Distance to the port |
| Ocean crossing to Honolulu Harbor | 5 to 8 days | The vessel schedule |
| Port handling | 3 to 5 days | Unloading and reloading |
| Barge to Nawiliwili | 14 to 32 days | A connection that runs about once a month |
| Release at Nawiliwili | Next auto-lot date | Set release days, closed Wednesdays |
Reaching Honolulu isn’t reaching Kauai. A car can finish the ocean crossing in about a week and then wait at Honolulu Harbor for the barge to Nawiliwili. That wait is the 14 to 32 days in the table, and it’s why Kauai takes longer than Oahu. When a car misses its connection, the next one is weeks away, not days.
We plan backward from the day you need the car on Kauai, and it should sail six to seven weeks before that date. A truck pickup adds one to two weeks from most of the country, less if you’re near a California port. We don’t dispatch the truck until your sailing is confirmed, and we time the pickup so the car reaches the port inside its receiving window. Too early and the terminal can turn the car away. Too late and it misses the ship, which on this route can mean missing the barge as well.
Once the car sails, we track both the vessel and the barge booking, and we send you the release date as soon as it’s set. For every island side by side, see how long Hawaii car shipping takes.
Routing
How we route your car to Kauai
Your car leaves the mainland from the Port of Long Beach or the Port of Oakland, the two ports that load personal vehicles for the standard Kauai route.
Standard Kauai route: Port of Long Beach or Port of Oakland → Honolulu Harbor → neighbor-island barge → Nawiliwili Harbor. One booking with us covers every leg.
In California, you can drive the car to either port yourself, or we can pick it up and run it door to port. Our page on shipping a car from California to Hawaii covers both options. Cars from Washington and Oregon can’t sail from the Northwest, because there are no Hawaii sailings for personal vehicles out of Seattle or Tacoma. We truck them south to Oakland, and our Seattle to Hawaii car shipping page explains that leg.
Which port we use depends on your car’s size as much as where it starts. Oakland only takes vehicles up to 6 ft 4 in high, and its width limit is tighter than Long Beach’s. Before we assign a port, we check your model’s height and width, counting any lift, rack or oversized tires. Most wider SUVs and full-size pickups sail from Long Beach, even when Oakland is closer.
At the port, your car is driven onto the ship and rides inside an enclosed vehicle deck. That’s roll-on/roll-off (RORO) shipping, the standard method on this route. Open or enclosed transport only matters for the truck leg. Most cars go on an open carrier, and we book enclosed trucks for classics and low-clearance cars.
In Honolulu, the car comes off the ship, waits at Honolulu Harbor and goes onto the neighbor-island barge for Nawiliwili. We hold the barge booking from the start, so there’s no second reservation for you to make.
Now and then a ship calls at Nawiliwili directly, but only when there’s enough cargo to justify the stop. If one is scheduled and it fits your date, we book it. We don’t promise one in advance.
Prep and paperwork
What we need from you before pickup
A car that fails the terminal check misses its sailing, and on the Kauai route that can push delivery back by weeks. We go through this list with you before we book the truck.
| Item | What the terminal expects |
|---|---|
| Fuel | Between 1/8 and 1/4 of a tank |
| Running condition | Starts, drives and stops, with a working emergency brake |
| Dashboard | No check-engine, airbag or tire-pressure warning lights |
| Exterior | Washed clean enough for the condition survey. Dirty cars get refused |
| Interior | Vacuumed and dry. Don’t shampoo the carpets right before shipping |
| Personal items | None. The car ships empty |
| Remove | Toll tags, fire extinguishers, spare batteries, aftermarket roof and bike racks |
| Alarm | Turned off |
| Keys | Ignition key, plus keys to any locked compartments |
Going to Kauai, the paperwork is light. Whoever hands over the car needs a photo ID and the booking number we send you. If our driver is delivering it to the terminal, we get your signed authorization before the truck is dispatched.
Bring your current registration and title to Kauai, though. You’ll need them to register the car on the island.
Every handoff produces a record: a bill of lading when the truck collects the car, and a vehicle condition report when the terminal takes it. Hang on to both. If anything turns up damaged later, they’re your proof of the car’s condition before it left.
A lien holder authorization letter isn’t needed for the trip to Kauai. It becomes mandatory on the way back, because a financed or leased car can’t leave Hawaii without a notarized letter from the lender releasing it.
Hawaii also charges an invasive-species assessment on freight bound for the islands, and it shows up as a small line item on your booking.
Pickup on Kauai
When your car arrives at Nawiliwili
Your car comes off the barge at Pier 2, Nawiliwili Harbor, on the edge of Lihue and a short drive from Lihue Airport.
The barge tying up doesn’t mean your car is ready to collect. The Nawiliwili auto lot releases cars only on its scheduled auto-lot dates, from 7 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m., and it’s closed every Wednesday. We confirm your car has been released before we give you a pickup date, so you’re never planning a flight or a ride around a barge’s arrival time.
Bring a photo ID and the booking number. If someone else is collecting the car, tell us before it arrives. We send the release authorization ahead of time with a photo of your driver’s license and the name of the person picking up, and the lot won’t hand the car over without it.
Do the walk-around at the lot, with the condition report from the mainland terminal in hand. Anything new goes on the paperwork before the car leaves the harbor, because damage you find at home is very hard to claim.
Wherever you live on Kauai, the drive home starts in Lihue:
| Town | Distance from Lihue | Typical drive |
|---|---|---|
| Kapaa | About 11 miles | 15 to 20 minutes |
| Poipu | About 14 miles | 25 minutes |
| Waimea | About 25 miles | 50 minutes |
| Princeville | About 30 miles | 45 to 50 minutes |
| Hanalei | About 32 miles | 50 minutes |
The Lihue to Kapaa stretch backs up in the afternoon for northbound traffic, so a morning pickup is the easier drive if you’re headed north. If you’d rather skip the drive, we arrange Kauai car transport from the harbor to your address, priced once we know where you live.
Avoiding delays
Where Kauai shipments go wrong, and how we prevent it
The risky moments on this route are the handoffs between truck, terminal, ship, barge and lot. Each one has a known way of failing, and we plan around all of them before your car moves.
| What goes wrong | What it costs you | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| The truck misses the terminal’s receiving window | The car misses its ship, and possibly the barge connection after it | We don’t dispatch until the sailing is confirmed, then time the pickup to the window |
| The car is refused at the terminal | A missed sailing over fuel, dirt, warning lights or personal items | We run the prep checklist with you before the truck is booked |
| The car is too tall or wide for Oakland | Turned away at the gate, or a last-minute reroute | We check height and width, counting lifts and racks, before choosing the port |
| You head to Nawiliwili on the ship’s arrival date | A wasted trip, or a flight booked around the wrong day | We give you a pickup date only after the car is released |
| Damage turns up after you leave the lot | A claim that’s hard to prove | We walk you through the condition report so damage gets noted at the harbor |
| Your car is worth more than the carrier’s liability | Standard carrier liability tops out around $8,000 for an average car, and it isn’t insurance | We add declared-value coverage or help you confirm your own policy covers ocean transit |
Kauai car shipping FAQ
Get a Kauai quote with the Honolulu connection built in
Ship car to Kauai with one quote that covers the truck, the sailing and the barge connection to Nawiliwili. Tell us where the car is and when you need it on the island. We’ll choose the port that fits its size, give you a realistic release window, and send the exact pickup date once the car is released.
Or call (808) 865-5525. Same-day response on weekdays.
Send your model and any lift, rack or oversized tires with your quote request. Height and width decide whether the car sails from Oakland or Long Beach.