Hawaii Auto Transport: Cost to Ship a Car to or from Hawaii

Hawaii auto transport works differently from every other state, because there is no road to the islands. Every car goes by ship, and for most people that means a truck to Long Beach or Oakland, then Matson or Pasha across the Pacific. Matson’s published rate is $1,790 from Long Beach or Oakland to Honolulu, $2,600 to Hilo, Kahului or Nawiliwili, and $1,020 back to the mainland from Honolulu. Add a truck to the port if you do not live near it, and shipping a car to Hawaii from Chicago comes to about $2,805. This page shows what each leg costs, with real truck quotes on 30 lanes to and from the Long Beach and Oakland ports and Matson’s own published ocean rates, plus how long it takes, how to prepare the car, and what Hawaii requires after it arrives.

The truck prices are real quotes from our platform for one vehicle on an open trailer, checked on October 18, 2026. The ocean rates are Matson’s own published prices, which it changes, so confirm them before you book. We could not price any lane that starts or ends in Hawaii, so this page does not pretend to: it prices the part we can measure and links the rest to the source. Last updated October 18, 2026.

How cars get to and from Hawaii

There is one way to move a car to the islands, by sea, and the choices are who carries it and how it gets to the port.

Everything in the first three rows is covered by the numbers below. Two lines carry consumer cars between the mainland and the islands, Matson and Pasha Hawaii.

Ocean rates: Matson from the mainland to Hawaii

Matson publishes one rate for passenger cars, SUVs, pickups and passenger vans, based on size rather than make and model, and the rate is the same from Long Beach and Oakland. The figures below are as listed on its site on October 18, 2026, and its page says its Hawaii rates took effect June 7, 2026.

A few things in the fine print matter more than the rate itself:

• Size limits. Matson’s rates apply to passenger vehicles up to 21’8” long and 8’ wide and 7’ high, with dimension bands inside that range, and anything larger, with machinery, built-in sleeping or cooking, or commercial use, needs a separate quote. From Oakland a vehicle has to be under 76 inches high and 76 inches wide, and bigger vehicles go through Long Beach.
• Electric and plug-in hybrid cars are not accepted. Matson has suspended them because of the fire risk from lithium-ion batteries.
• No Tacoma route. Matson says Hawaii auto shipments through Tacoma have been suspended, so a car from Seattle or Portland has to go to Long Beach or Oakland first.
• Certain cars are excluded. Matson does not take a Corvette or Camaro between Hawaii and the mainland.
• Military discount. Matson takes $100 off a car shipment for active-duty service members, with the member’s name on the title or registration.
• Transit is long. Matson lists 9 to 45 days from the mainland to Hawaii, which includes 5 to 8 sailing days, 3 to 5 days of loading and unloading, and 14 to 32 days for a neighbor-island barge, and says to allow 2 to 5 weeks.

Pasha Hawaii is the second carrier. Its site lists Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area on the mainland and Honolulu, Hilo and Kahului in Hawaii, and it publishes its own tariff, so ask it for a quote on the same dates. Third-party guides report Pasha rates in the range of about $1,600 to $2,100 for a sedan to Honolulu, but we could not confirm a current Pasha rate from its own site, so compare quotes yourself. The rates change, so confirm with Matson (1-800-4-MATSON) before you book.

Truck quotes to and from the Long Beach and Oakland ports

If you do not live near the port, a carrier has to bring the car to it first. We ran real quotes for 30 lanes between Long Beach or Oakland and several cities, once for each vehicle type. A car heading to a port is the one going to Hawaii, while a car leaving a port is coming back.

Oakland is the other Matson port, and which port is cheaper depends on the city, so quote both:

Prices are for an open trailer and a running vehicle, in dollars. Distances are the road miles in each quote. The pickup and van columns are noisier than the sedan column, because fewer of those vehicles move on these lanes, so treat them as a guide and get a live quote. Short hops are expensive per mile, as everywhere: San Diego to Long Beach is 114 miles and cost $200, or $1.75 a mile, while New York is 2,811 miles at $0.54 a mile.

Two things stand out. First, the ocean leg dominates: from Chicago it is about 64% of the cost to put the car in Honolulu. Second, direction matters on the truck leg: a sedan leaving Long Beach cost more than the same trip heading to it on 10 of the 12 cities, for example $829 from Long Beach to Salt Lake City against $400 the other way, so the leg back from the islands is usually the dearer one.

What shipping a car to Hawaii costs in total

Put the two legs together for a sedan and the total, door to the Honolulu port, runs from about $1,990 out of San Diego to $3,310 out of New York. The truck column is our real quote to the cheaper of the two ports and the ocean column is Matson’s $1,790 Honolulu rate.

These totals end at the port. Picking the car up in Honolulu is normally a short drive that you do yourself, and the neighbor-island total adds Matson’s higher $2,600 rate. They also assume a sedan: Matson prices passenger cars, SUVs and pickups the same by size, so the difference is only on the truck leg, where an SUV was higher than the sedan on most lanes.

Drive it to the port and skip the truck

If you can reach the port yourself, you pay only the ocean rate, which saves $200–$1,520 on a sedan compared with a truck from the cities above. Plan for a short visit: Matson asks for your driver’s license and booking number, and you leave the keys. See the ports section for hours.

Shipping a car from Hawaii to the mainland

Cars leaving Hawaii get a better deal on the water. Matson’s Honolulu to Long Beach or Oakland rate is $1,020.00, which is 43% below the $1,790 going out, and from Hilo, Kahului or Nawiliwili it is $1,990.01. Searches such as shipping a car from Hawaii to California, to Texas or to the East Coast all follow the same pattern: ship to Long Beach or Oakland, then truck onward. Matson also requires a copy of the title and registration, a notarized letter if someone else drops off the car, and a lienholder letter if there is a loan, before a car leaves Hawaii.

The truck leg out of Long Beach was dearer than the leg into it on 10 of the 12 cities, for example $1,026 from Long Beach to Dallas against $831 the other way, which takes back part of the ocean saving. Even so, Honolulu to Dallas comes to about $2,046 in total, against $2,621 for Dallas to Honolulu, a difference of $575 for the same pair of cities.

Neighbor islands and inter-island shipping

Matson delivers to Honolulu on Oahu on its main service and to Hilo, Kahului and Nawiliwili by barge connection, which is why the published rate is $2,600 instead of $1,790 and the time stretches to as much as 45 days. Each neighbor-island port has its own drop-off and pickup days and its own storage rules, and some are open only on certain days of the week, so check the days before you plan travel.

Moving a car between the islands, for example from Oahu to Maui, is a separate service, and local barge companies such as Young Brothers publish their own vehicle rates. We could not price it, so ask them for a quote and compare it with what the car is worth.

Did you know?From 30 real truck lanes and Matson's published Hawaii rates

1. 43% cheaper leaving Hawaii by sea

   Matson charges 43% less from Honolulu than to Honolulu

   $1,020.00 to the mainland against $1,790.00 going out, for the same size of car and the same ocean.

2. +45% to ship to a neighbor island

   A neighbor island costs 45% more than Honolulu

   $2,600 to Hilo, Kahului or Nawiliwili against $1,790 to Honolulu, with a barge leg that can add up to 32 days.

3. 64% of a Chicago move is the ship

   The ocean leg is 64% of the cost from Chicago to Honolulu

   $1,015 by truck to Long Beach plus $1,790 on Matson for a sedan.

4. $1.75 a mile, San Diego to Long Beach

   San Diego to Long Beach, 114 miles, cost $200, or $1.75 a mile

   Against $0.54 a mile for New York to Long Beach. Short trips cost the most per mile.

5. 9-45 days Matson, door to door

   Matson lists 9 to 45 days to or from Hawaii

   5 to 8 sailing days, 3 to 5 days of loading and unloading and up to 32 days for a neighbor-island barge. Matson says to allow 2 to 5 weeks.

Get a Hawaii auto quote →

Military moves: shipping a car to Hawaii on PCS orders

Military moves to Hawaii come down mostly to paperwork. Commercial guides say a service member on Hawaii orders generally has one vehicle shipped at government expense, with additional vehicles at the member’s cost, and we could not confirm that against the Joint Travel Regulations, so check your orders and your transportation office first.

• Matson gives active-duty members $100 off each car shipment between Hawaii and the mainland, with the member’s name on the title or registration, and the discount cannot be combined with other offers.
• Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Schofield Barracks are all on Oahu, so most military cars go to Honolulu. Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the Marine base each run a vehicle registration office, so ask yours about the base pass and registration.
• Military registration works as it does on the mainland. Check with the installation and the county about keeping a home-state registration, the safety inspection and Hawaii insurance.
• An EV is a problem. Matson does not accept electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, so ask your transportation office what is allowed before you order one.

Our guide to auto transport covers the paperwork that applies to any move.

Preparing your car for the ship

Matson’s own rules are strict, and a car that does not meet them can be refused at the port. These are from Matson’s preparation page:

1. The car has to run. It needs a working emergency brake, and Matson refuses a car with a check-engine, airbag or tire warning light on. It must be licensed or able to be licensed, with no cracked windshield or windows and at least 6 inches of ground clearance.
2. Wash it. The USDA inspects every car going to Hawaii for mud, soil, grass, seeds and plant matter, including the wheel wells, the underside and under the hood. A car that fails has to be cleaned and re-inspected at your expense, and the car can be held at Hawaii too if it fails there.
3. Empty it. Take out all personal belongings, roof racks and carriers, bike racks, tents, toll tags and extra batteries. You can leave up to two child car seats. Matson allows personal effects in a car only between Alaska and Tacoma, not to Hawaii.
4. Set the fuel between one-eighth and one-quarter of a tank, and no more than one-quarter.
5. Remove fire extinguishers and empty any propane tank, and remove any ignition interlock device, which Matson will not accept.
6. Leave keys and unlock every compartment. You leave a set of keys for the ignition, trunk and gas tank, and the USDA must be able to open all compartments.
7. Book first. A booking is required before you deliver the car, and you pay before delivery. Do not arrive too early, because the port can refuse a car that is dropped off too far ahead of the sailing.

Check Matson’s preparation page before you go, since these rules change.

Ports, hours and storage fees

Matson’s ports are Long Beach and Oakland on the mainland and Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului and Nawiliwili in Hawaii. As listed on its site:

• Long Beach and Oakland: open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Arrive at least 30 minutes before closing.
• Honolulu: open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
• Hilo, Kahului and Nawiliwili: open only on certain days each week (Hilo Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, Kahului Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, Nawiliwili Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday), with an auto lot that opens only on listed dates.
• Storage fees are the port’s, not Matson’s. Long Beach and Oakland give 4 business days free and then charge $15 a day. Honolulu gives 4 business days free, then $9.63 a day on day 5 and $19.25 a day from day 6. Hilo, Kahului and Nawiliwili have shorter free periods.

Pick the car up promptly, because storage adds up. If someone else collects it, Matson needs your email before pickup with a photo of your license, the booking number and their name.

Moving to Hawaii: registration, safety inspection and insurance

Once the car arrives you still have to make it legal in Hawaii. These are the requirements we found, from Matson and the City and County of Honolulu and county pages, and rules and fees change, so confirm each item with your county before you go:

• Register within 30 days. Matson says to register within 30 calendar days of picking up the car, and Honolulu says a vehicle arriving on Oahu needs either an out-of-state permit or a Hawaii registration within 30 days of arrival. You can transfer the registration to Hawaii or get a permit to use out-of-state plates until they expire.
• Pass a safety inspection. Honolulu requires a valid registration, title and State of Hawaii safety inspection certificate. Our sources describe a first inspection that fails only on the missing Hawaii registration, then registration at the satellite city hall by appointment, then a return to the station within 30 days for the valid sticker. Emissions testing is not required.
• Bring the documents. Matson lists the original registration (copies are not accepted), proof of no-fault insurance, the current safety inspection certificate and your Matson delivery receipt, and other sources add the title and a use tax form.
• Hawaii is a no-fault state. It requires personal injury protection of at least $10,000 per person. Some sources say the minimum liability limits rose to 40/80/20 on January 1, 2026, while older pages still list 20/40/10, so check the current limits with the Hawaii Insurance Division or your insurer, and ask your mainland insurer whether your policy is valid in Hawaii.

Rules and fees change, so confirm each item before you go: Honolulu motor vehicle registration.

Inoperable, enclosed and collector cars

The numbers above are for a running car on an open trailer. On our platform an inoperable vehicle adds about $100 to the truck leg and an enclosed trailer about 75%, so a $831 open sedan from Dallas to Long Beach would be about $1,454 enclosed. Matson, however, requires the car to run and to meet its safety rules, so a car that does not run needs a different solution, and the ocean rate is set by Matson’s size bands, not by how the car travels on the truck. For a collector car, see our guide to classic car transport.

How to choose a shipper for Hawaii

• Know who is doing what. A quote that includes Hawaii is usually one company arranging a truck, a ship and, for neighbor islands, a barge. Ask which line carries the car and who is responsible if it is damaged.
• Check the registration. A company that moves cars between states needs a USDOT number and operating authority. Look them up on the FMCSA company snapshot and the FMCSA licensing and insurance search.
• Compare like with like. Check the same vehicle size, the same drop-off window and whether the quote ends at the port or at your door.
• Get the price in writing, including every fee, and ask what happens if a sailing is missed.
• Document the car with dated photos at pickup and delivery and note any damage before you sign.

Hawaii auto transport: frequently asked questions

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