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 the car shipping ports in Tacoma, Washington and Anchorage, Alaska. There is also a port in Seattle, WA but we don’t ship out of there. If a customer must ship their vehicle from Seattle we refer them to another company that ports there. They are a bit slower and more expensive but they at least provide an option for Seattle transports. Most of our customers are perfectly fine with Tacoma, however, since it’s only 33 miles south of Seattle.
At this time we do not ship to Juneau, another popular car shipping port in Alaska. Any transports to Juneau are referred to another company.
Shipping a Car from Seattle to Alaska (or from Tacoma 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 (or Tacoma), WA and then it is shipped by boat to the port in Anchorage, AK.
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 they are trucked to Fairbanks.
How Much Does it Cost to Ship a Car to Anchorage?
As of August 2021, it costs $2,035 to ship a car from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK, and $2,435 to ship an SUV or 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 $1,505. Yes, it is roughly 26% 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 from Tacoma, WA to Fairbanks, AK, you’re looking at $2,350.
Shipping rates fluctuate occasionally so these numbers may be a little more or a little less when you get an Alaska transport quote from us.
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 city other than Tacoma, WA, there will be an additional transport fee to get your vehicle trucked from your city to the Port of Tacoma.
Get an instant quote for your Alaska transport today!
How Long Does it Take to Ship a Car to Alaska?
It takes approximately 6-7 days to ship a car or truck 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. The total transit time, then, from Dallas, TX to Anchorage, AK, would be approximately 12 days (5 days on a truck from Dallas, TX to Tacoma, WA and then 7 days on a ship from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK).
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 1/4 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! Also keep in mind that the ships leave the port of Tacoma every Wednesday and Friday. If your vehicle arrives at the port on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday morning it will ship out on Wednesday. If it arrives at the port on Thursday or Friday morning, it will ship out on Friday.
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!
Can I ride on the same ship in a cabin?
Ted:
People are probably going to chuckle when they read your question but we actually get asked that from time-to-time on our Alaskan transports. The vehicles are transported from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK on a commercial shipping vessel. There aren’t any cabins on board. And in case you’re wondering, this isn’t like a ferry ride either where you can be on the ship with your vehicle as it’s about a 6-day journey.
Thanks,
Travis
J&S Transportation
What time of year can I ship my car? January, February, March?
Sheri:
The ships leave the port of Tacoma twice a week all year long. There is a brief dry dock period in December or January where only one ship goes out once a week for a couple weeks but other than that there are two ships leaving every week. The same goes for ships leaving the port of Anchorage. There are two ships leaving every week all year long except the dry dock period.
If you’re wondering what the dry dock period is it’s when a ship is essentially “parked” for its yearly maintenance.
Travis
I have Dodge Ram 2500 weighing approx. 8900 lbs and a 16ft trailer weighing approx. 2100 lbs with a Viking side by side weighing 1500 lbs from Tacoma or seattle washington To Anchorange Alaska?
Hey Jim. Given that you have a trailer and a side by side to ship to Alaska, we’d need to custom quote that. Unfortunately, it isn’t cheap to ship trailers to Alaska as they fall under a different tariff class. It is often more expensive to ship a trailer to Alaska than it is to ship a truck! We’d need to see pictures and get approximate dimensions from you to get you an exact quote. You can send us an email at help@jandstransport.com. If you’re just looking for a ballpark price, you’re probably looking at around $7,000 to ship your truck, trailer, and side by side to Alaska. I hope this helps!
Travis
J&S Transportation
Looking to ship a small SUV. Just needing some clarification on the “vehicle must be empty of personal items” bit. Does this mean absolutely everything “not from the factory” must be removed? One couldn’t, for example, ship a change of winter tires inside the car? I’m trying to weigh my options versus driving through Canada… thanks!
Dakota:
Great question! You are correct. “Empty” means everything “not from the factory.” Having said that, you can ship the vehicle to Alaska with personal belongings if you pay for them and you get your vehicle weighed prior to bringing it to the Port of Tacoma. The personal belongings fee is $85 per 100 pounds of personal belongings. Your set of winter tires would be an additional $85 if it’s just tires (no rims). If they are tires and rims, then it would be $170 as they calculate those to be 200 pounds. When you ship tires (or tires and rims), you do NOT need to have the vehicle weighed prior to bringing it to the port. They automatically charge you $85 for a set of tires, or $170 for a set of tires and rims. Hope that helps!
Travis
What is the approximate price to ship a 30′ motor home RV from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK?
Thanks,
Ron
Ron:
To give you a quote to ship a motor home from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK we would need to see a photo of the motor home and we would need approximate dimensions (L x W x H) and the approximate weight of the vehicle. Most motor homes cost anywhere from $3,000 – $5,000 to ship to Alaska.
Travis
How do I get my car weighed prior to coming there
Stacie:
The best places to go are truck stops. They usually have scales available. Love’s Travel Stop, for example, has them. You just want to be sure you call these places ahead of time to ensure they have scales and that they are working. We send a lot of our customers to the Love’s Travel Stop on 1501 33rd Avenue East in Tacoma. Their number is (253) 922-8884.
Travis
J&S Transportation
What is the process like to pick up a car that has been shipped from Tacoma to Anchorage? Does someone need to be there to pick it up the day it arrives, or is there a grace period? Is it the same for the reverse?
Marie:
Great question! We do allow a few days to pick up or drop off your vehicle (in either direction). The pick up and drop off locations in Tacoma, WA and Anchorage, AK are open Mon-Fri. We’ll hold vehicles for the week without any additional charges. For example, let’s say your vehicle is ready to be picked up on Tuesday, we’ll hold it until the end of the week for no charge. If you need to get it the following week, we need to know that upfront. There may be a small daily storage fee in that case. I say “may” because sometimes the people at the port are willing to extend the grace period a little without additional charges. It depends how busy they are.
Thanks,
Travis
J&S Transportation