San Diego to Hawaii Car Shipping — RO/RO Ocean Freight to Every Island

Leg 1 — Port delivery: Depending on the sailing, San Diego vehicles depart either from San Diego's own marine terminal or from the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, about 120 miles north. We pick your car up at your address and deliver it to the right port, or you can drop it off yourself to save money.

Leg 2 — Ocean transit: Your car is driven onto a RO/RO vessel and secured on an enclosed vehicle deck for the crossing to Honolulu, which takes about a week at sea.

Leg 3 — Hawaii release and delivery: After the vessel arrives, the car clears port processing, usually within 2–5 business days. You can pick it up at the port or have it delivered on Oahu. Cars bound for Maui, the Big Island, or Kauai continue by inter-island barge.

Estimates below are for a standard sedan on RO/RO service. SUVs add $150–$300, and pickup trucks and larger vehicles add $200–$400. Container shipping, which fully encloses the car, adds 30–50%.

San Diego's bases — Naval Base San Diego, Naval Air Station North Island, MCAS Miramar, and Camp Pendleton — send service members to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Schofield Barracks, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii every week.

Your government-shipped vehicle: With PCS orders to Hawaii, the government generally ships one privately owned vehicle through the Vehicle Processing Center in San Diego at no cost to you. Confirm your entitlement with your installation's transportation office.

Where ShipMyCar US helps: We can deliver your car to the San Diego Vehicle Processing Center from another state if you are coming from a different duty station, ship a second family vehicle that isn't covered by your orders, or schedule a private shipment when your report date doesn't line up with government processing.

Tell us your report date when you book so we can plan the shipment around it.

San Diego County pickups: San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, Coronado, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Escondido, El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, San Marcos, and surrounding communities. We also pick up in southern Riverside and Orange counties.

Oahu: Honolulu, Pearl City, Aiea, Kapolei, Ewa Beach, Mililani, Kailua, and Kaneohe.

Maui: Kahului, Wailuku, Kihei, and Lahaina.

Big Island: Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Waimea.

Kauai: Lihue, Kapaa, and Poipu.

Ocean shipping has stricter preparation rules than truck transport.

• Run the fuel down to a quarter tank or less — ports enforce this
• Remove all personal items; RO/RO vessels do not allow cargo inside the car
• Clean the car inside and out, including the undercarriage and wheel wells
• Disable aftermarket alarms and hand over one set of keys
• Photograph every side of the car before drop-off
• Bring the registration or title and a photo ID, plus a lienholder authorization letter if the car is financed or leased