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Car Shipping to Hawaii: Ocean Rates, Ports and Timeline (2026)

Shipping a car to Hawaii is two jobs: a truck (or your own drive) to a West Coast port, then a ship. Matson, an ocean line that carries cars between the West Coast and Hawaii, publishes its rate: $1,790 from Long Beach or Oakland to Honolulu, and $2,600 to Hilo, Kahului or Nawiliwili (rates effective June 7, 2026). Matson lists 9 to 45 days from the mainland, including 5–8 sailing days and 3–5 days of loading and unloading, with neighbor islands taking longer because of the barge leg. Add the truck leg to the port if you don’t live near one.

What it costs: the ocean leg plus the drive to the port

Leg	Matson (ocean line, published rate)	Sherpa Auto Transport (broker, its own guide)
Mainland port → Honolulu	$1,790 from Long Beach or Oakland	“about $1,700” San Diego to Honolulu
Mainland port → Hilo, Kahului, Nawiliwili	$2,600	“the pricing will be higher”
Mainland → Hawaii, Sherpa’s general range	—	“$1,700 to $2,400”
Your address on the East Coast → Honolulu port	—	“about $3,000” (door-to-port)
Honolulu → Long Beach or Oakland	$1,020	$1,000 to $1,900 from Hawaii to the mainland

Matson’s rates are “the same for all passenger automobiles,” pickups and passenger vans included, up to 21 feet 8 inches long, 8 feet wide and 7 feet high. Payment “is required prior to delivering your vehicle.” Active-duty service members get $100 off each car shipment between the mainland and Hawaii if the service member’s name is on the registration or title.

Pasha Hawaii, another ocean line, lists no base rate on its vehicle pages; its menu sends you to a separate tariff site for rates. The vehicle pages do list add-on fees: “In-op vehicles: $500 per vehicle,” “Plating services: $500 per vehicle,” and storage at “$25 per day” past the free days.

Worked example (truck leg + Matson). Dallas to Los Angeles is 1,436 miles by Sherpa’s route page. Our calculator gives $930–$1,720 for an open, running sedan at that distance. FreightWaves Checkpoint, a consumer guide with an advertiser disclosure and quote links, puts 1,000–1,500 miles at 4–6 days on the truck. Add Matson’s $1,790 from Long Beach to Honolulu: about $2,720–$3,510 to the Honolulu port, before any port storage. This is our arithmetic, not a quote. If you live near Dallas, Pasha takes cars at its Arlington, Texas, facility, so ask whether its price from there beats a truck plus Matson.

Mainland ports and Hawaii ports

	Matson	Pasha Hawaii
Mainland drop-off	Long Beach, Oakland	San Diego, Oakland, Los Angeles (Paramount), Seattle area (Auburn), Arlington, Texas
Hawaii ports	Honolulu (Sand Island), Kahului, Nawiliwili, Hilo	Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului
Electric and hybrid cars	Matson “has suspended acceptance of used or new electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles.” Its FAQ also lists “Any lithium-based hybrid system” as not accepted; only “NON plug-in hybrid vehicles that do not contain lithium battery components” go	Accepted; battery EVs only through “direct call ports of Honolulu, Kahului, Hilo, Nawiliwili and San Diego,” with a “non-refundable additional surcharge cost of $375.” Charge must be “between 20% - 50%”

Matson also says vehicles shipping from Oakland must be under 76 inches high and under 76 inches wide, measured tire to tire; larger vehicles “can be shipped directly from Long Beach.” Pasha’s terminals work by appointment only.

How long it takes

A car carrier at a port, a cargo ship on the sea and islands beyond — Shipping to Hawaii adds an ocean leg to the drive to the port.

Matson, to Honolulu: “an average of 9-24 days” from the vessel sail date; 33-45 days to Nawiliwili, Hilo or Kahului “via barge from Honolulu.” The neighbor-island leg is a monthly barge. Matson’s pickup page puts it more simply: “allow between 2 and 5 weeks.”
Pasha: once the vessel has departed, San Diego to Honolulu is “approximately 5 days”; Kahului and Hilo, “served bi-weekly,” about 7 days. Pasha runs “Weekly service to Honolulu.” Pasha adds: “We do not promise or guarantee any dates.”

Except Matson’s 2–5 weeks (counted from when you deliver the car to the port), these numbers start at the sailing, not at pickup from your door. For mainland pickup windows, see how long car shipping takes.

Getting the car to the port

Drive the car to the terminal yourself or book a truck to it. Pasha says its “Residence Pickup and Delivery Service” is “currently not offering residential trucking services,” so for door pickup you need a separate truck or a broker that arranges both legs. Sherpa, a broker, says it books “both the inland and ocean components,” though FreightWaves Checkpoint lists Sherpa as not serving Hawaii; confirm before you book.

Timing at the port matters. Matson advises booking “within a month of your planned move date,” and says vehicles “should not be dropped off more than seven days before the booked sailing.” Neither line takes a car without a booking.

If a broker quotes you, ask whether the price ends at the mainland port, at the Hawaii port, or at your door, and check its USDOT or MC number with the Broker Check on our calculator page.

Preparing the car: rules the ship lines enforce

Matson’s list:

“Vehicles must be in operating condition, with a working emergency brake.”
“Vehicles with a warning light to check engine, airbags, or tires will be refused.”
“Windshields and windows must be free of cracks and other damage.” Its FAQ says cars with chips or cracks are “subject to approval to ship on an individual basis.”
“Vehicles must have 6-inch minimum ground clearance.”
Fuel “between 1/8 and 1/4 of the tank, but not exceeding 1/4 of the tank.”
Wash it inside and out: “Vehicles are subject to stringent inspections by the USDA.”
No personal items. The exceptions are “the spare tire, jack and two child car seats.”

Pasha: “No more than a ¼ tank of gas and NO personal belongings,” and “All vehicles must roll, brake, steer, have no leaking fluids.”

Paperwork, both directions

Mainland to Hawaii. Matson asks for a “Driver’s license” and your “Matson booking number,” plus keys. Pasha asks for a “Booking agreement signed by registered owner” and a “Copy of current registration or title / Bill of Sale”; if the owner can’t be there, “a notarized authorization.”

Hawaii back to the mainland. Both lines point to Hawaii law (Statute 286-57). Matson wants your “Current title” and “Current registration” emailed to the port before drop-off, and “a letter from the lienholder authorizing shipment” if there is a loan on the car.

Picking up the car and registering it on Oahu

At a Matson port you need “your Matson booking number and a photo ID.”

There is no truck driver to sign with at the port. Both lines survey the car at drop-off. Matson requires “a clean exterior so that a vehicle survey may be conducted at the load port.” Pasha “inspects your vehicle and prepares a survey report,” and pre-existing damage “will be noted and verified by you or your designated agent.” Keep your copy. At the Hawaii port:

Matson: damage must be “noted in writing before removing the vehicle from the terminal.” After that, only concealed damage counts, reported within “3 calendar days.”
Pasha: you “complete and sign an inspection form” at pickup, and “Any loss/damage not noted at that time will not be considered.”

Matson’s liability is capped (about $8,000 for an average car, unless you declare a higher value and pay an extra freight rate), and it says “Matson does not provide any form of insurance.” Pasha lists “minimal liability up to $3000.00.” Read what car shipping insurance covers before you rely on either.

Pick up promptly. In Honolulu, Matson’s port gives “4 business days free,” then $9.63 on day 5 and $19.25 a day after that.

On Oahu, the City and County of Honolulu says that “within 30 days of the arrival of the vehicle on Oahu,” you need an out-of-state permit or a Hawaii registration. The steps start at a safety inspection station, where the car “will fail on valid registration.” Honolulu notes that “Proof of Hawaii motor vehicle insurance is required to obtain a vehicle inspection,” so check your policy before the car lands. From there you go to a satellite city hall (an AlohaQ appointment is required) with your out-of-state registration, the “Shipping documents (Bill of Lading) with vehicle identification number (VIN)” and the “failed” inspection form. Honolulu says it can’t register a car “that is not being driven in the City and County of Honolulu,” so on Maui, Kauai or the Big Island, ask that county’s motor vehicle office.

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Sources

Updated November 2, 2026