Moving to Hawaii or Alaska? Don’t Forget Your Car!

Contrary to what many think, shipping your car is actually one of the easy parts of moving overseas – at least when you come to Envision Auto Relocations. The process varies whether you’re shipping to either Hawaii or Alaska, so this blog post will fill you in on some specific details.

As with all shipping requests, the process begins with an honest, competitive auto transportation quote. After that, your auto is shipped to the nearest port. For Alaska-bound shipments, the vehicle usually ships out from either Tacoma or Seattle. Hawaii bound vehicles usually ship from Long Beach. If you are able to drive the car to the port yourself, you can usually save money on your total shipping costs. Your auto transport representative can give you full details.

At the port, your vehicle is loaded on to a cargo ship. Most ships that transport vehicles overseas will provide what is known as roll-on/roll-off service, while others will place your vehicle in a secure cargo container. Vehicles on a cargo ship will always be stored inside the ship, typically in a massive garage, unless it is inside a shipping container, which are almost always secured on the deck of the ship to make room for more cargo below deck. You can speak to your auto shipping representative about these methods, alternatives, and which would be best for your specific vehicle and its transportation needs.

We recommend booking your shipment a few weeks in advance to allow time to find a carrier to ship your vehicle to the port, and also to book with the shipping company at the port that will be handling your overseas auto shipping services. Coast-to-coast transport to get the vehicle to the port will take about 10-14 days (it takes less time if your auto is close to the port). Once your vehicle is loaded on to the ship, shipment to Alaska will take 14-21 days, while transport to Hawaii will usually take 7-14 days.

It’s very important to note: No personal belongings of any kind are allowed during overseas transportation. You should also make sure there is only 1/4 of a tank of gas in your vehicle when it is picked up for transportation. For any more questions about overseas shipping, fell free to contact us or visit our Overseas Shipping FAQ.