How Auto Transport to Nantucket Works From the Mainland
Shipping a car to Nantucket is different from shipping a vehicle almost anywhere else in Massachusetts.
There is no bridge connecting Nantucket to the mainland. If your vehicle is coming from Florida, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey or anywhere else in the country, highway transportation can only take it as far as Cape Cod.
For most vehicle shipments, Hyannis becomes the handoff point between mainland auto transport and island transportation.
Autos On The Go handles the mainland portion of that trip, transporting vehicles directly to and from Hyannis every week. The final crossing between Hyannis and Nantucket is handled separately through the Steamship Authority.
Understanding where one trip ends and the other begins makes shipping a car to Nantucket considerably easier.
Need to get a vehicle to or from Hyannis? Get an auto transport quote
How Do I Ship a Car to Nantucket?
A vehicle coming to Nantucket generally makes the trip in two stages:
Mainland → Hyannis → Nantucket
Autos On The Go can arrange open or enclosed auto transport from your mainland pickup location directly to Hyannis. From there, the vehicle crosses Nantucket Sound aboard a Steamship Authority vessel capable of carrying automobiles.
The Steamship Authority is the ferry provider responsible for the vehicle crossing and requires its own reservation. Vehicle space is separate from the mainland auto transport reservation and can become limited during busy periods.
For someone shipping a vehicle from Florida to Nantucket, for example, the process might look like this:
Palm Beach, FL → Hyannis, MA: Autos On The Go
Hyannis, MA → Nantucket, MA: Steamship Authority
The same process works in reverse.
For a vehicle leaving Nantucket, the ferry brings it to Hyannis, where Autos On The Go can coordinate the mainland pickup and continue transportation to its final destination.
You Don’t Necessarily Have to Ride the Ferry With the Car
This is an important detail for customers using professional auto transport.
The Steamship Authority offers drive-on/drive-off service for unaccompanied vehicles traveling between Hyannis and Nantucket. An SSA employee can drive the vehicle onto or off the vessel for an additional service fee.
For 2026, the drive-on/drive-off fee for vehicles under 20 feet is $25 during much of the year and $52.50 during the peak May 15–September 14 period. Vehicles 20 feet and longer have a $60 service fee.
That can make it possible to coordinate a Nantucket vehicle shipment without the owner physically accompanying the car across Nantucket Sound.
How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Car to Nantucket?
There are two separate costs to consider:
1. Auto transport between your mainland location and Hyannis
2. Steamship Authority transportation between Hyannis and Nantucket
Autos On The Go mainland transportation will commonly fall somewhere around $1 to $2 per mile, although auto transport isn’t priced using a fixed mileage formula.
The actual rate depends on the route, season, vehicle, carrier availability, open versus enclosed transportation and how quickly the vehicle needs to move.
A long-distance shipment on a heavily traveled route can cost considerably less per mile than a short or difficult route. Hyannis also behaves differently from major interstate transportation markets because Cape Cod is effectively the end of the road rather than a through-route for carriers.
Steamship Authority Vehicle Rates
The ferry portion is priced separately by the Steamship Authority.
For 2026, a passenger automobile under 17 feet traveling between Hyannis and Nantucket ranges from $205 one way during the winter to $370 one way on peak-season Friday-through-Sunday sailings.
During the primary summer period of May 15 through September 14, the published 2026 fare for a vehicle under 17 feet is:
Monday–Thursday: $320 one way
Friday–Sunday: $370 one way
Vehicles between 17 and 20 feet cost more, with peak summer fares reaching $395 one way on Friday through Sunday.
These are Steamship Authority charges and are separate from any mainland transportation arranged through Autos On The Go. Vehicle length, travel date and other circumstances can affect the ferry fare.
Hyannis Moves More Than 60,000 Nantucket Cars a Year
Hyannis isn’t simply a convenient place to meet a Nantucket vehicle. It is part of a substantial transportation corridor between the island and mainland.
Steamship Authority’s 2024 traffic statistics recorded:
31,340 automobiles traveling from Hyannis to Nantucket
and
30,571 automobiles traveling from Nantucket to Hyannis.
That’s 61,911 one-way automobile passages between Hyannis and Nantucket in a single year.
Steamship Authority notes that its traffic statistics count each direction separately, meaning a vehicle making a round trip is counted once going to Nantucket and again when returning to the mainland.
The volume also isn’t evenly distributed throughout the year.
The historical data show a pronounced increase as Nantucket moves into summer. That makes sense when the vehicle numbers are viewed alongside Nantucket’s own population statistics.
Nantucket’s Seasonal Population Changes the Auto Transport Market
Nantucket reports a year-round population of approximately 14,255 people based on the 2020 Census.
In July and August, the Town says the island’s population can swell to approximately 80,000 people or more.
That means Nantucket can temporarily support a population more than five times its year-round size.
Vehicles are part of that migration.
Summer residents bring cars onto the island. Rental fleets have to be positioned. Families return to seasonal homes. Workers and businesses require vehicles. At the end of the season, some of that traffic reverses and vehicles begin moving back through Hyannis toward mainland destinations.
The Steamship Authority’s reservation activity provides another indication of just how concentrated that demand can become.
When 2026 summer vehicle reservations for the Hyannis–Nantucket route opened on January 27, the Steamship Authority processed 6,747 automobile-reservation transactions in a single day, representing more than $4.1 million in revenue.
For anyone planning to ship a vehicle to Nantucket during summer, the takeaway is simple: the ferry reservation shouldn’t be an afterthought.
Why Nantucket Car Shipping Gets More Complicated in Summer
Mainland auto transport and ferry transportation operate on two very different schedules.
An auto carrier coming from several states away is dealing with traffic, other vehicle pickups and deliveries, federal driving-hour limits and changing road conditions. A ferry reservation, meanwhile, is tied to available vessel capacity and a particular sailing schedule.
During quieter parts of the year, coordinating the two is considerably easier.
During Nantucket’s summer rush, both sides become tighter.
That is why we recommend planning the Hyannis portion of a Nantucket shipment early, particularly for:
- Memorial Day through Labor Day transportation
- July and August vehicle arrivals
- Holiday weekends
- Large SUVs and longer vehicles
- Enclosed auto transport
- Expedited shipments
- Vehicles leaving Nantucket at the end of summer
The goal isn’t simply getting a carrier to Cape Cod. It is getting the vehicle to Hyannis in a way that works with the next stage of its journey.
Shipping From Nantucket Back to the Mainland
The same transportation chain works in reverse.
If your vehicle is currently on Nantucket and needs to go to Florida, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey or elsewhere in the United States, the first leg is the Steamship Authority crossing from Nantucket to Hyannis.
Autos On The Go can then coordinate transportation from Hyannis to the final mainland destination.
This becomes particularly useful during seasonal moves.
A Nantucket homeowner heading south for the winter, for example, doesn’t necessarily need to drive from Cape Cod to Florida. The vehicle can cross to Hyannis and continue south by auto carrier while the owner travels separately.
Weekly Auto Transport To and From Hyannis
Autos On The Go has coordinated nationwide vehicle transportation since 2008 and works directly with vehicles moving to and from Hyannis every week.
That distinction matters with Nantucket shipments.
We are not the ferry operator and don’t pretend that a mainland carrier can deliver a vehicle directly to a Nantucket address. The Steamship Authority controls the water crossing.
Our role is the mainland side: coordinating the carrier, timing transportation into or out of Cape Cod, and getting the vehicle to the point where the Hyannis–Nantucket portion of the trip can begin.
If you’re shipping a vehicle to Nantucket, start with the mainland route and your expected ferry date. Autos On The Go can quote transportation to Hyannis from anywhere in the continental United States or from Hyannis back to your mainland destination.
Get an auto transport quote or call 866-924-7447.
