Auto Shipping to Hawaii
When your relocation or even extended vacation is taking you to Hawaii, the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean creates some different problems than the normal “interstate” move. Auto shipping to Hawaii is not as complicated, expensive, or even time consuming as most people fear.
The Hawaiian Islands are a popular tourist and vacation destination. Obviously, most people traveling there for a short vacation plan to rent a car there or use public transportation. The islands are, despite their distance and exotic charm, one of the fifty states of the United States, and more and more people are finding themselves faced with a permanent move to this tropical paradise. The reasons might be job related or people might just be looking to this far off part of America as a place to resettle. Regardless of the reason, people have often seen auto shipping to Hawaii as a major problem.
As much as we would love to imagine a very long bridge or tunnel that we could just drive over or through, the only way to get your auto, as well as your household goods, to Hawaii is to ship them on a boat. This procedure is not nearly as complicated, time consuming or expensive as most people fear. Fortunately, the American auto shipping industry has several companies that specialize in overseas transport of automobiles. Many of these companies further specialize in United States to Hawaii transport.
Although by the standards of only a few decades ago, the service is very quick, this does not mean that it is overnight either. The first thing to remember is that you are going to need to allow as much as four weeks to complete the process. This time frame will depend on the pickup location in the United States, of course. Most services offer door to door service as they do with intercontinental transport. If you are on the west coast and can arrange to have your vehicle dropped at a dock, the time will be much less. If you are having it picked up in Maine, you are going to be looking at a much greater cost and longer time frame.
The procedure, however, is not much different. The automobile must be in operating condition. You can not store any excess gear or goods inside it. It is best if it contains enough gasoline to get you to a service station at your destination, but no more. Alarm systems must be disconnected. If you are having door to door pickup and delivery, you must insure access of the carrier to the pickup point or arrange an alternative meeting location in an accessible area. All of these things are standard auto transport rules.
The only difference in this transport is that the auto will be unloaded at a port and loaded into a closed container. The container will be placed on a ship. The container serves to protect the auto from weather or water damage while seaborne. The container will be unloaded at the Hawaiian destination point, reloaded onto a common carrier truck and delivered to your pickup point. The whole process is worry free to the owner. The important thing is to allow the transport company as much time as you can to schedule the move. This will result in the best price quote as the transporter can use regular scheduled services and combine customers.