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Moving to Hawaii: Here’s How the Process Actually Works
If you’re planning a move to Hawaii, one of the first questions you probably have is pretty simple: How does all my stuff actually get there?
It’s a good question.
Moving to Hawaii isn’t like moving from California to Arizona or New York to Florida. Your belongings have an ocean to cross, which means there are a few more moving parts involved.
The good news is that you don’t have to figure those parts out yourself.
At DeWitt Move Worldwide, we’ve been helping people move to Hawaii for decades. We coordinate your move from your current home all the way to your new home in the islands.
Here’s what that process actually looks like.
Step 1
Tell Us About Your Move
Everything starts with a conversation. Fill out our quote form and give us some basic information about where you’re moving from, where you’re headed in Hawaii, when you’re thinking about moving and approximately how much you plan to take with you.
One of our Hawaii moving experts will give you a call to learn a little more about your move. At this point, we can usually give you a ballpark idea of what your move may cost. I want to emphasize ballpark here.
We’ve been doing this long enough to know that two homes that look similar on paper can have very different amounts of furniture and household goods inside them. We’d rather take the time to understand what you’re actually moving than give you a number that sounds great on the phone but changes once we know more.
That brings us to the next step.
Step 2
We Survey Your Home
If you’d like to keep moving forward, we’ll arrange a survey of your household goods.
This gives us a much better picture of what you actually plan to take to Hawaii.
The survey is important because the amount you’re moving affects both the cost of your move and how we’ll ship your belongings across the Pacific.
Once we know what you’re taking, we can give you a much clearer and more accurate estimate.
And we can figure out the best way to get it there.
Step 3
We Determine How to Ship Your Belongings to Hawaii
You might be surprised to learn that you don’t necessarily need your own shipping container to move to Hawaii.
We generally have three options depending on how much you’re taking with you.
Lift Vans & Consolidated Shipping
If you’re moving a smaller amount, your belongings may be packed into wooden crates called lift vans.
Your lift vans can travel in a consolidated shipment along with lift vans belonging to other customers.
Your belongings remain packed separately, but you’re sharing the transportation rather than paying for an entire container that you don’t need. For smaller Hawaii moves, this can make a lot of sense.
A 20 Foot Container
If you’re moving a larger household, you may need a dedicated 20 foot container.
In this case, the container is dedicated to your shipment rather than being consolidated with other customers’ shipments.
A 40 Foot Container
For larger homes or families taking most of their household belongings to Hawaii, a 40 foot container may be the right solution.
And don’t worry about trying to figure out which one you need.
That’s our job.
We’ll look at the results of your survey and recommend the option that makes the most sense for your particular move.
Step 4
We Go Over Your Estimate Together
Once the survey is complete, we’ll prepare your moving estimate.
Then we’ll call you. I think this part is important.
Moving to Hawaii is a big decision, and a moving estimate shouldn’t just show up in your inbox without any explanation. We want to walk through it with you, explain how we’re planning your move and answer your questions.
If everything looks good and you decide you’d like to move forward with DeWitt, we’ll get your move booked and schedule your pack and pickup dates.
Now the real fun starts.
Step 5
Moving Day!
When your pack out day arrives, an experienced moving team from your area will come to your home.
They’ll professionally pack and prepare your belongings for the trip to Hawaii.
This is one of those places where experience matters. Your furniture and household goods aren’t just going into a truck and coming back out a few hours later. They’re beginning a journey that will include trucking, warehouse handling, port operations and an ocean voyage before they ever reach your new home.
Everything needs to be packed with that journey in mind.
Once your household goods are packed and loaded, they’ll be taken back to the moving company’s warehouse.
From there, we take care of getting them to the West Coast.
Step 6
Your Belongings Head to Long Beach
DeWitt coordinates transportation from the origin warehouse to the Port of Long Beach in Southern California.
We work with trusted trucking partners to get your shipment to the port and ready for ocean transportation.
If you have a consolidated shipment, that means coordinating your lift vans as part of the larger shipment.
If you’re using a dedicated 20 foot or 40 foot container, we coordinate that transportation as well.
Either way, you don’t need to find a trucking company, figure out the port or book ocean transportation yourself.
We handle it.
Step 7
Your Move Heads Across the Pacific
From Long Beach, your household goods are loaded for ocean transportation and begin the trip to Hawaii.
This is probably the biggest difference between moving to Hawaii and making a typical interstate move.
There are a lot of pieces that have to come together.
You have the moving crew at your origin, the warehouse, mainland transportation, the port, ocean transportation, arrival in Hawaii and then final delivery to your home.
Our job is to coordinate those pieces so you don’t have to. And when your shipment reaches Hawaii, there’s another big advantage to moving with DeWitt.
Step 8
Welcome to Hawaii. Meet Royal Hawaiian Movers.
When your shipment arrives in Hawaii, our sister company, Royal Hawaiian Movers, takes it from there. This is something I think really separates DeWitt from a lot of companies that can arrange a move to Hawaii. Royal Hawaiian Movers isn’t some destination agent we found to complete your move.
They’re part of the same family of companies as DeWitt. Royal Hawaiian Movers has been moving families and businesses throughout Hawaii for decades, with teams on the islands who know Hawaii and understand the unique challenges of moving there.
That means we have experienced moving operations on both sides of the Pacific.
DeWitt coordinates your move from the mainland, and Royal Hawaiian Movers is there when your belongings arrive in Hawaii.
For a move this complicated, that matters.
Step 9
Delivery to Your New Home in Hawaii
Once your shipment is ready for delivery, the Royal Hawaiian Movers team will contact you to schedule a delivery date.
Their professional Hawaii moving crew will bring your belongings to your new home, unload your shipment and complete the delivery services included with your move. And that’s it.
Your belongings have traveled from your old home, through the mainland transportation network, across the Pacific and finally to your new home in Hawaii.
Now you get to start the next part of the adventure.
So, Is Moving to Hawaii Complicated?
There are definitely more steps involved than there are in a typical mainland move.
But that doesn’t mean your experience has to feel complicated.
That’s really the point. You shouldn’t have to understand port operations, ocean freight, lift vans, trucking networks or which size container you need before you decide to move to Hawaii.
You just need a moving company that does.
We’ve been helping people make this move for a long time, and our team can walk you through it one step at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Moving Your Belongings to Hawaii
Thinking About Moving to Hawaii?
Start by telling us a little about your move.
You don’t need to know how much space your belongings will take up. You don’t need to know whether you need lift vans, a 20 foot container or a 40 foot container. And you certainly don’t need to know how to get a container through the Port of Long Beach.
We’ll figure all of that out with you.
Request a quote and one of our Hawaii moving experts will give you a call to get the conversation started.
