Whether you’re moving to Alaska or already live there and you need to get a car shipped to Alaska, your obvious question is, how much does it cost to ship a car to Alaska? As you’ll soon discover, shipping a car to Alaska isn’t overly complicating but it isn’t cheap either.
Shipping a Car to Alaska is Port-to-Port vs. Door-to-Door
Before we dive into the cost to ship a car to Alaska, there are some basic things you need to know when shipping any vehicle to Alaska. The quickest and most convenient way to transport a vehicle from the lower 48 states to Alaska is to ship it by boat via shipping ports.
One of the many things that our customers like about our service is that we provide door-to-door car shipping. Unfortunately, when you ship a car to Alaska it is never door-to-door. It is either port-to-port, door-to-port, or port-to-door. Confused yet? Don’t worry, it will make sense in a minute.
With door-to-door shipping, we can pick up your car at a dealership, for example, and deliver it to you at your home. Door-to-door shipping is easy when there are roads involved. When you’re shipping a car to Alaska, however, you’re not just dealing with roads, you have an ocean to contend with! And when oceans and boats are involved, you have ports.
When we ship a car to Alaska for a customer, we use one of the two car shipping ports in Washington (Seattle and Tacoma), and then the car is shipped by boat to one of the main shipping ports in Alaska (Anchorage and Juneau).
Shipping a Car from Seattle to Alaska
We get a lot of calls from people that want to ship a car from Seattle to Alaska. This is a perfect example of a port-to-port auto transport. There usually isn’t any trucking involved in this kind of transport. A customer will drop their car off at the port in Seattle and then it is shipped by boat to the port in Anchorage where the person accepting delivery will pick up the car from.
Shipping a Car from Texas to Alaska
Shipping a vehicle from any city in the lower 48 states to Alaska is a great example of door-to-port shipping. For example, let’s say you have a car to ship from Dallas, TX to Anchorage, AK. The driver will pick up your car “at your door” in Dallas and transport it to the port in Seattle or Tacoma. Then from there it will be shipped by boat to the port in Anchorage.
Shipping a Car from Anchorage to California
Shipping a car from Alaska to any city in the lower 48 states is an example of port-to-door shipping. For example, let’s say you’re shipping a car from Anchorage, AK to Sacramento, CA. You’ll drive the vehicle to the Anchorage port and then it will be shipped by boat to the Tacoma or Seattle port. Then from there it will be shipped “to your door” in Sacramento, CA by truck.
What about Shipping a Car to Juneau or Fairbanks Alaska?
While Anchorage is the busiest and most popular car shipping port in Alaska, Juneau and Fairbanks are two other popular cities that cars are shipped to and from. When vehicles are shipped from the lower 48 states to Juneau, they first get transported to the Seattle or Tacoma port, and then from there they are shipped by boat to Juneau. When vehicles are being shipped to Fairbanks, they go to Anchorage first and then from there to Fairbanks.
How Much Does it Cost to Ship a Car to Anchorage?
It costs around $1,900 to ship a car from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK, and about $2,300 to ship a standard size truck on the same route.
If you’re shipping a car the opposite direction, going from Anchorage, AK to Tacoma, WA, it will cost approximately $1,400. Yes, it is roughly 28% cheaper to ship a car from Anchorage than it is to ship a car to Anchorage!
If you’re wondering how much it costs to ship a car to Fairbanks, AK or Juneau, AK, you’re looking at approximately $2,200 and $1,400 respectively.
Shipping rates fluctuate occasionally so these numbers may be a little more or a little less when you get an instant quote to ship a car to Alaska (or from Alaska).
Keep in mind, the shipping costs outlined here are only for the boat ride over to Alaska. If your car is being shipped to Alaska from any other city other than Tacoma, WA or Seattle, WA, you have to add that part of the transport to get the total cost of the transport.
For a good ballpark of what it would cost to ship a car from Seattle to Alaska, you’d get an instant quote on our site from where you are to Seattle, and then add $1,900 for the boat ride over to Alaska.
How Long Does it Take to Ship a Car to Alaska?
It takes approximately 6-7 days to ship a car on a boat from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK. If you are shipping your car from any other city other than Tacoma, you have to add the time it takes to transport the car from your location to Tacoma. The easiest way to do that is to take the total miles from your location to Tacoma, and divide by 500, which is the approximate number of miles a truck driver can drive in one day.
For example, if you’re shipping your car from Dallas, TX, it’s about 2,100 miles to Tacoma, WA. If you divide that by 500, you get 4.2, or 5 days. Then add three days because your car will likely be parked at the port in Tacoma for a few days as the ship only departs twice a week. It will take approximately 15 days to ship a car from Dallas, TX to Anchorage, AK after it is picked up. We usually get vehicles scheduled for pick up within 10 days of booking so the total shipping time to Alaska would be approximately 25 days – no more than 10 days for pick up and 15 days to ship.
How Do I Prepare a Car to Ship to Alaska?
There is a small checklist of things you need to do to properly prepare your vehicle to be transported to Alaska. Those things include:
- Have a copy of keys for all locking compartments, including the gas tank and glove box, and keys for the ignition and trunk.
- Vehicle must have a minimum of 5” ground clearance
- Vehicle must have less than ¼ tank of gas or it will be refused (Electric vehicles must have a full charge)
- Vehicle must be clean on the outside for inspection
- Vehicle must be empty of personal items
- Vehicle must be a running vehicle that steers and stops
- Any alarm systems must be disconnected before shipment.
Taking care of these things before your vehicle is picked up by your auto hauler will help to create a more efficient and trouble-free shipping experience!
Why You Can Trust J&S Transportation to Ship Your Car to Alaska
J&S has been transporting cars for over 20 years now, and we’ve had to ship more than a few to Alaska. We have the experience and know-how to make this as stress-free as possible for our customers who need to ship a car to Alaska.
Don’t take our word for it either. Read our online reviews on Google and TransportReviews.com and check out our BBB rating & reviews too. You’ll see we excel in providing our customers constant communication throughout the car shipping process, and we strive for safe and prompt delivery of their vehicles!
Get an instant quote today to see how much it will cost to ship your car to Alaska with J&S Transportation!
