Five things the bookings show
Coming back from Hawaii costs less than going over. The ocean leg from Honolulu to the mainland was $972 on all 93 bookings, against $1,580 into Honolulu on all 97.
The neighbor islands cost more and take longer. The ocean leg to Maui was $820 (52%) higher than to Honolulu on all 16 Maui bookings. Cars bound for Hilo took a median of 35 days from sailing to availability (8 bookings, including the inter-island barge), against 7 days for Honolulu (48).
Where you live decides the truck leg. For door-to-port pickups, the median truck leg was $625 in the West (40 bookings) and $1,150 in the South (21).
The crossing is faster toward Hawaii. From sailing to the car being available at the port, the median was 7 days into Honolulu (48 bookings) and 14 days out of Honolulu (50).
Dates move. Cars coming to Hawaii were available at the port on or before the first date we estimated 76% of the time (82 cars); cars coming back to the mainland 47% of the time (51), with 49% one to seven days late.
Port to port
You drop the car at the mainland port and collect it at the Hawaii port (or the reverse). The price is Matson’s ocean rate.
| Route | Bookings | Ocean leg (Matson rate) | Lowest to highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu to mainland | 48 | $972 | Same on every booking |
| Mainland to Hilo (Big Island) | 14 | $2,400 | Same on every booking |
| Mainland to Honolulu | 50 | $1,580 | Same on every booking |
| Mainland to Kahului (Maui) | 10 | $2,400 | Same on every booking |
Door to port
A carrier collects the car from a mainland address and delivers it to the mainland port. The price is the ocean leg plus the truck leg.
| Route | Bookings | Median ocean + truck | Middle 50% of bookings | Ocean leg | Truck leg (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland to Hilo (Big Island) | 11 | $3,300 | $3,075 to $3,350 | $2,400 | $900 |
| Mainland to Honolulu | 47 | $2,480 | $2,155 to $2,855 | $1,580 | $900 |
Port to door
Starts at the Hawaii port; a carrier delivers to a mainland address after the ship. The price is the ocean leg plus the truck leg.
| Route | Bookings | Median ocean + truck | Middle 50% of bookings | Ocean leg | Truck leg (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu to mainland | 45 | $2,172 | $1,872 to $2,622 | $972 | $1,200 |
The truck leg by U.S. region
For door services, the mainland address is the biggest swing factor. Regions are U.S. Census regions; the state of the pickup (door to port) or delivery (port to door) address sets the region. Regions with fewer than 8 bookings are not shown, which is why the Northeast and Midwest are missing.
| Service and region | Bookings | Truck leg, median | Truck leg, middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door to port: South | 21 | $1,150 | $941 to $1,550 |
| Door to port: West | 40 | $625 | $450 to $800 |
| Port to door: South | 18 | $1,675 | $1,213 to $1,900 |
| Port to door: West | 25 | $800 | $700 to $950 |
By vehicle class
Truck leg for door services. The ocean leg was the same amount for every vehicle on a route, so class only shows up on the truck. Classes with fewer than 8 bookings are not shown. States are mixed within each class, so read this next to the region table.
| Service and class | Bookings | Truck leg, median |
|---|---|---|
| Door to port: Full-size SUV or pickup | 13 | $750 |
| Door to port: Midsize SUV or minivan | 11 | $900 |
| Door to port: Standard car/crossover | 42 | $900 |
| Port to door: Midsize SUV or minivan | 11 | $1,200 |
| Port to door: Standard car/crossover | 35 | $1,100 |
By month booked
Median ocean plus truck leg for door services, by the month the booking fee was paid. Months with fewer than 8 bookings are not shown. The mix of states changes month to month, so this is not a price trend.
| Service and month | Bookings | Median ocean + truck |
|---|---|---|
| Door to port: Aug 2026 | 16 | $2,755 |
| Door to port: Sep 2026 | 25 | $2,750 |
| Door to port: Oct 2026 | 16 | $2,430 |
| Port to door: Jul 2026 | 10 | $2,747 |
| Port to door: Aug 2026 | 10 | $2,247 |
| Port to door: Sep 2026 | 14 | $1,997 |
| Port to door: Oct 2026 | 12 | $2,206 |
Timing
Two measures from our booking records: how long the crossing takes, and how the first availability date we gave compares with what happened.
Days from sailing to available at the port
| Route | Bookings | Median | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilo (Big Island) to mainland | 9 | 12 days | 10 to 14 days |
| Honolulu to mainland | 50 | 14 days | 14 to 14 days |
| Mainland to Hilo (Big Island) | 8 | 35 days | 25 to 37 days |
| Mainland to Honolulu | 48 | 7 days | 4 to 7 days |
From the sail date on the booking to the date Matson recorded the car available. Hilo includes the inter-island barge. Routes with fewer than 8 bookings are not shown.
First availability estimate versus actual
| Group | Cars | Early or on the day | 1 to 7 days late | Over 7 days late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All routes | 133 | 65% | 31% | 5% |
| Mainland to Hawaii | 82 | 76% | 20% | 5% |
| Hawaii to mainland | 51 | 47% | 49% | 4% |
The first estimated date shown to the customer, compared with the date the car was recorded available at the destination port.
How these numbers were made
- Source. Car Shipping Hawaii’s own booking records. Only customers who paid the booking fee, with the fee paid between May 25 and October 22, 2026 (304 such bookings; 261 used). No names, phone numbers, emails, addresses or vehicle identifiers are used or shown.
- What the price is. The price each booking was made at: the ocean leg (Matson’s rate, paid to Matson) plus, for door services, the truck leg (the carrier price on the booking, paid to the carrier). Our booking fee is not included; it is separate and listed on the pricing page. A median is the middle booking; the middle 50% runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile. These are past bookings, not a quote.
- What was left out. 14 cancelled, 1 refunded, 17 multi-vehicle or split orders, 3 enclosed shipments (too few to compare), 6 without a recorded truck-leg or ocean price, and 2 priced off the route’s standard ocean rate. That leaves 261 bookings.
- Small groups. A group needs at least 8 bookings before any number is shown. Groups with fewer are left out, not rounded up.
- Service types are never blended. Port to port, door to port and port to door are separate tables.
- Timing. Days from the sail date on the booking to the date Matson recorded the car available, and the first availability estimate versus the recorded date. Only bookings with both dates are counted.
- Why not twelve months. Our booking records begin in May 2026, so this edition covers bookings paid from late May to October 2026.
- Updates. Rebuilt from the booking records on the first Monday of each month. Next update: November 2, 2026.
Hawaii is part of the United States, so this is a domestic move with an ocean leg. Prices change with Matson’s rate, the route, the date and the vehicle; for a live number, get a quote or call (808) 378-7540.
Car Shipping Hawaii · Camilo, 18 years.