Shipping a car to an island
Shipping a car to an island means a vessel that can take a vehicle, and often a reservation you make with that ferry or barge. Some islands have a car ferry you ride. Some are reached only by a ship that takes the car without you. Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico are separate ocean pages with named operators. A highway estimate does not include any of those crossings.
Key facts
- You usually ride a short ferry
- The Steamship Authority says vehicle travelers to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket need a reservation. Walk-on passengers do not.
- Source: steamshipauthority.com
- Some ferries reserve only some routes
- Washington State Ferries says you can save a vehicle spot on certain routes. The reservation calendar is on its site.
- Source: wsdot.wa.gov
- Ocean islands are not ferries
- Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico are booked with the ocean or ferry operators named on those pages, not with a car-carrier quote.
- No road, no trailer
- If no operator will take a vehicle, the car does not go. A container is a different booking, and only if a carrier offers it.
The sources are listed on this page.
Shipping a car to an island starts with one question: who actually puts vehicles on a boat to that dock? The fact that decides the price is that operator's reservation, not a car-carrier's per-mile rate. Some islands are a short ferry you ride with the car. Some are an ocean terminal where the car goes and you fly. Some have no vehicle service at all. A truck quote cannot paper over a missing ramp.
Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico already have operator pages. Do not use this page as a substitute for those bookings.
Ferries you can verify, and oceans that are separate
The Steamship Authority's site is the car ferry for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. It offers vehicle reservations on Woods Hole to Martha's Vineyard and Hyannis to Nantucket, and it says travelers without a vehicle do not need a reservation. You are going with the car. Book the vehicle space with the Authority. A highway carrier does not hold that space for you.
Washington State Ferries says you can buy tickets and save a vehicle spot on certain routes. It is a state ferry system, not a car-shipping broker. Check the route list and the reservation rules on its site for the sailing you want. A spot on one route is not a promise for every terminal.
The Alaska Marine Highway is the long coastal version: you and the vehicle, with limits that depend on the ship and the dock, described on the Alaska page. Pasha's enclosed roll-on service to Honolulu, Hilo, and Kahului is the Hawaii page. TOTE's Jacksonville to San Juan auto-rack service is the Puerto Rico page. Those are ocean bookings. Fuel limits for a vehicle loaded on a vessel live in 49 CFR 176.905. A 45-minute ferry may have its own, shorter rules. Ask the operator you are riding. Do not copy the steamship fuel rule onto a ferry that publishes a different instruction, and do not ignore it on a ship that is actually a vessel under that section.
No highway price is shown here. An estimate for miles on the mainland would describe a different product and hide the crossing.
How to move the car
- Find the operator that serves the island and ask whether vehicles are accepted, in which months, and whether you must travel with the car.
- Reserve the vehicle space as early as that operator allows. Passenger space and vehicle space are often different inventories. The Steamship Authority's split, reservation for cars and none required for walk-ons, is the pattern to look for elsewhere, not a rule you can assume.
- Measure the vehicle the way the ferry asks, including racks. A reservation for a shorter car is not a reservation for yours.
- If the car must first cross the country to the ferry terminal, that is a separate long-distance or local truck booking to a mainland address. It ends before the gangway. Look the truck company up on the SAFER snapshot.
- If no ferry takes cars, ask whether a barge or an ocean line will accept a vehicle to that harbor. If the answer is no, the car stays on the mainland. A container is only a plan if a carrier offers it in writing.
- Read what RideShipper does not book overseas before you pay anyone who claims the website will "handle the island."
Have the ferry confirmation, not a screenshot of a sold-out calendar. Have a driver who is allowed to board. Have the car within the height they reserved.
What to ask, and the mistakes
Ask whether the fare includes the driver and the vehicle, and what a missed sailing does to the money. Ask the mainland carrier, if you use one, to deliver to the terminal city early enough for the ferry's check-in, not to the dock at the last minute unless the ferry allows that. Ask about EVs. Ocean lines named on the Hawaii and Alaska pages have published suspensions. A short ferry may not. Get the answer from the boat you will board.
The mistake is one quote "to the island" from a highway broker who has not named the vessel. The Better Business Bureau's 21 July 2023 alert is a transport deposit and a company that does not show up. An island address makes the miss permanent. Another mistake is arriving with a car for a passenger-only boat. Another is using the Hawaii instructions, including a steamship terminal appointment, for a New England ferry reservation. They are different desks.
Limits
A ferry can be full, seasonal, or closed to vehicles that are too tall. An ocean line can refuse a car that leaks or a vehicle type it has suspended. RideShipper does not reserve those spaces, set those fares, take that payment, or insure the car on the water. World Media Group LLC operates a U.S. highway quote service. Companies that receive a highway request may pay RideShipper. The crossing itself is between you and the operator.
If the island is Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico, leave this page and open that one. For a ferry you ride, book the vehicle with the ferry, then hire a truck only for the miles on the near shore.
Questions
Can I ship a car to any island?
Only if some operator accepts vehicles to that island. A passenger-only ferry is not a car plan. Ask the ferry or the barge that actually serves the dock. If they say no, a highway quote cannot invent a ramp.
Do I stay with the car on a ferry?
On the Steamship Authority and on Washington State Ferries, you are a passenger traveling with the vehicle. That is different from an ocean line that takes the car at a terminal and you fly. Read the operator. Do not mix the two.
Is Martha's Vineyard the same process as Hawaii?
No. The Vineyard and Nantucket are Steamship Authority vehicle reservations out of Woods Hole and Hyannis. Hawaii is an ocean terminal booking described on the Hawaii page. The paperwork, the fuel rules, and who rides along are not the same.
What if the island is in Alaska?
Use the Alaska page. The state ferry carries vehicles along the coast, with limits that change by ship and dock. TOTE and Matson are separate, for the ports they list. A generic island quote is the wrong form.
Does RideShipper reserve ferry space?
No. RideShipper does not book ferries, barges, or ocean lines, set those fares, or insure the car on the water. A highway request can end at the mainland terminal if you still need a truck to get there.