Hawaii & Alaska Vehicle Transport Services

It runs in two stages. Your vehicle moves by road to a mainland departure port, then sails by ocean carrier or barge to a Hawaiian port or an Alaska port. Hawaii sailings load at Long Beach and Oakland in California and at Tacoma in Washington. Alaska sailings load in Puget Sound at Tacoma and Seattle. Car Haul Direct coordinates both legs, the port handover, and the paperwork in between.

Plan for 7-14 days on the water from Long Beach or Oakland to Honolulu, and 9-16 days port to port to neighbor island ports such as Kahului and Hilo, with Kailua-Kona at 10-18 days from Tacoma. Alaska runs 7-14 days port to port between Puget Sound and Anchorage, and 8-16 days when Fairbanks interior trucking is added.

Those are port to port windows, not door to door totals. Add 1-3 days of mainland trucking on each end in metro areas, plus terminal time before the sailing. Sailings run on fixed weekly schedules, so your total timeline depends on the next departure after your vehicle reaches the dock.

Ocean and barge legs are quoted per shipment rather than sold off a published rate card. The factors that set your number are vessel schedule, port pair, and vehicle size, and those move week to week. Request a quote for a firm price on your exact move, or call and a coordinator will price it with you.

Because a range we cannot stand behind is worse than no range. Hawaii and Alaska moves depend on vessel schedule, port pair, and vehicle size, and those shift often enough that a published band would mislead more often than it would help. We price your exact shipment instead, and what we quote is what you pay.

Hawaii sailings depart Long Beach and Oakland in California and Tacoma in Washington, arriving at Honolulu on Oahu, Kahului on Maui, and Hilo and Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Alaska sailings depart Puget Sound at Tacoma and Seattle, arriving at Anchorage and at Southeast Alaska ports such as Juneau. Fairbanks vehicles truck through the Alaska interior to and from the Anchorage dock. If your vehicle starts elsewhere in the lower 48, we truck it to the departure terminal first.

We offer door to port and port to door service, and in many cases we can arrange pickup at your location and delivery as close as possible to your destination. The ocean leg itself is always port to port, so a door to door move is the ocean leg plus trucking on one or both ends.

Yes. Every shipment Car Haul Direct arranges includes $2M cargo insurance across the trucking and ocean portions, and the carriers are licensed and FMCSA compliant.

That choice applies to the road leg between your door and the port. Open transport is cost effective and commonly used for standard vehicles. Enclosed typically costs 40 to 60 percent more than open and suits luxury, classic, and exotic cars. The ocean leg is booked the same way either way.

Clean the vehicle so its condition is easy to document, remove personal items, leave about a quarter tank of fuel, and fix or disclose any leaks or mechanical issues. Ocean carriers are stricter about personal items than mainland carriers, so confirm with your coordinator before loading anything. Inoperable vehicles typically add $100-$200 on the trucking portions. We provide full preparation guidelines after booking.