Car shipping from California to Hawaii

Budget $1,150 to $1,490 for a running sedan on an open carrier over these 2,890 miles, about 0.45/mi. Enclosed is $1,840 to $2,380. Where you land inside that depends more on the week you book than on the route itself.

Plan on 6 to 8 days in transit once a carrier collects, based on about 2,890 road miles between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Dispatch, the wait for a truck to be assigned, is usually one to three days on top and is quoted separately.

No. Hawaii is served by sea freight: the vehicle is trucked to a mainland port, sailed, and collected the other side. That is why the transit window and the price both differ from a mainland lane of similar distance, and why this route is worth confirming on the phone before you book.

In most of California and Hawaii, yes. An eight to ten car transporter is around 75 feet long, so where a street cannot take one the driver arranges a nearby lot with you beforehand. That is normal on this lane and does not cost extra.

Personal items are not covered by cargo insurance, and weight above the carrier's allowance can put the truck over its legal limit. Most carriers permit up to about 100 lbs in the boot at your own risk. Anything valuable or irreplaceable should travel with you.

Open transport, booked two to three weeks out, with a pickup window rather than a fixed date. Those three together are worth more than any discount, because each one widens the pool of trucks that can take the load.