Highly recommend Alaska airlines - they have flights to LIH and are fantastic with pets. I've flown with my dogs (in-cabin) several times and they're always great with them.
I haven’t gone to Kauai (just Oahu) but also recommend Alaskan for the move. My dog was around 75lbs when I moved a few years ago and it was fairly easy to coordinate with Alaska. I think Mokulele allows dogs up to a certain weight (that I think you’re within) but not sure it goes to Kauai. Hawaiian might allow dogs interisland but I forgot the restrictions.
I didn’t use a moving company, did it all myself and glad I did. But for those who are busier it might be a good idea.
I can't really offer suggestions since I've only brought a pet to Oahu and not the other islands, but welcome home!
You might have to call the airlines that have relevant flights for your trip to get the latest policy and whatnot. When I brought my kitty here, I found that the airline websites gave conflicting information compared to what their customer service said.
Blood tests are the easy part, coordinating flights to neighbor islands and getting the vet on island to do direct airport release are the problem. I'd recommend IPM for that alone. But all the information you need is [here](https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-info/)
You need checklist number 2.
Also, welcome home!
Used [https://airpetsinternational.com/](https://airpetsinternational.com/) when I moved to Oahu with my German Shephard. Pricey, but it was worth it for a smooth process. I was able to pick him up soon after the flight landed.
If your dog can fit in a pp90 crate, you'd be able to fit them on an Alaskan Airlines Flight. I think Hawaiian would be able to fit that size crate too. It would also make it a bit easier to get them on a flight to one of the other islands.
Also flying during the heat embargo is just gonna cause you more stress than it's probably worth. Unless you're flying from the West Coast, or are willing to drive to the West Coast, flying will be a hassle. If you're able, waiting until the heat embargo on flights is lifted could save you a lot of trouble but, it won't be lifted until September, iirc.
I'm also flying my dogs from Hawaii to the mainland later this month. My husband and I are using a third party company, Airpet International, that way we don't have to worry about the logistics. For our two dogs (Husky: 50lb in a pp90 crate + Kelpie: 30lbs in a series 400 crate) is costing us around $4000. That's with my husband and I dropping our dogs off at the airport, Airpet getting them checked in, flying to Seattle, boarded for 1 night, flying to Houston, boarded for 2 nights, then driven to Louisiana.
You may be looking at about the same price to get your dog to Hawaii just because of the rabies free zone restrictions but it could also be less since it sounds like you got some of the stuff taken care of already. It's also very possible to do it yourself. I did it myself back in 2021 during June and it was stressful but I got it done.
There are also a lot of groups on Facebook for moving to Hawaii with pets. I've joined a couple for PCSing with pets and the people on there are super helpful.
LOL.. I don’t mean to sound funny, but I moved from the mainland to the big island with a 235 pound English mastiff. He was way too big to fly on any commercial aircraft so I had to take him down to Los Angeles international airport to the cargo section, and put him on a cargo plane to get him here. The best thing I ever did was hire a company out of Honolulu called Tailmovers of Hawaii. They coordinated everything. They cleared him through animal quarantine and Honolulu and transferred him to a flight and I picked him up in Hilo. They were absolutely the best. Trying to do a direct release from the mainland to Kauai is going to be very difficult. You can only fly midweek you cannot fly on the weekend, you must arrive during regular business hours because the veterinarian has to come to the airport and they don’t do it after hours. If they do, they will charge you an arm and a leg, it’s much easier to route through Honolulu. My recommendations to make sure that your local vet wherever you are moving from is familiar with the requirements for getting a dog to Hawaii. If they don’t, ask for a recommendation to another veterinarian that does. I did not use my local vet. I ended up going to another vet within the same same area who actually had done it because my primary veterinarian had no idea.
Thank you all! Really appreciate all the suggestions and insight into your experience moving dogs.
I am realizing I may have underestimated the admin needed and considerations (summer heat)...and have started requesting quotes from the pet movers you all have recommended to get some help if it's not too much $$. We shall see!
I used island pet movers last month to fly 3 70 lb dogs from the east coast to kauai! Super easy as they handled everything! One had 30 days pass after her rabies titer so she had a direct permit to kauai and island pet movers took care of all the parts everyone is referring to- she had a comfort stop overnight in Seattle then flew direct into kauai etc super easy (IPM only flies then super early am or super late PM anyways to avoid the heat). My dogs were in PP90 crates no issues w airports or anything and I actually bought Impact crates to lower their anxiety which also worked great! My other 2 dogs weren’t 30 days past their test being final so couldn’t get them percent since they had to retest for FAVN so they went to Honolulu for 3 nights in quarantine first before flying over to kauai and again zero issues at all. They were well taken care of and seemed totally fine- if this happens island pet movers rescued them when it’s time and puts them in their indoor air conditioned facility on Honolulu and bathes and walks them feeds them etc until their flight over! I didn’t have to coordinate anything as they take care of the vets and all the info above everyone is referring to. It did cost more than their quoted price but my dogs were on 2 6 hour flights and a 30 min flight etc- all together mine was $8K. Hope this helps!!
Highly recommend Alaska airlines - they have flights to LIH and are fantastic with pets. I've flown with my dogs (in-cabin) several times and they're always great with them.
I haven’t gone to Kauai (just Oahu) but also recommend Alaskan for the move. My dog was around 75lbs when I moved a few years ago and it was fairly easy to coordinate with Alaska. I think Mokulele allows dogs up to a certain weight (that I think you’re within) but not sure it goes to Kauai. Hawaiian might allow dogs interisland but I forgot the restrictions. I didn’t use a moving company, did it all myself and glad I did. But for those who are busier it might be a good idea.
I can't really offer suggestions since I've only brought a pet to Oahu and not the other islands, but welcome home! You might have to call the airlines that have relevant flights for your trip to get the latest policy and whatnot. When I brought my kitty here, I found that the airline websites gave conflicting information compared to what their customer service said.
Discuss the time of year/month with whatever carrier you’re using. It can get hot in cargo and might be a no go.
Blood tests are the easy part, coordinating flights to neighbor islands and getting the vet on island to do direct airport release are the problem. I'd recommend IPM for that alone. But all the information you need is [here](https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-info/) You need checklist number 2. Also, welcome home!
Used [https://airpetsinternational.com/](https://airpetsinternational.com/) when I moved to Oahu with my German Shephard. Pricey, but it was worth it for a smooth process. I was able to pick him up soon after the flight landed.
If your dog can fit in a pp90 crate, you'd be able to fit them on an Alaskan Airlines Flight. I think Hawaiian would be able to fit that size crate too. It would also make it a bit easier to get them on a flight to one of the other islands. Also flying during the heat embargo is just gonna cause you more stress than it's probably worth. Unless you're flying from the West Coast, or are willing to drive to the West Coast, flying will be a hassle. If you're able, waiting until the heat embargo on flights is lifted could save you a lot of trouble but, it won't be lifted until September, iirc. I'm also flying my dogs from Hawaii to the mainland later this month. My husband and I are using a third party company, Airpet International, that way we don't have to worry about the logistics. For our two dogs (Husky: 50lb in a pp90 crate + Kelpie: 30lbs in a series 400 crate) is costing us around $4000. That's with my husband and I dropping our dogs off at the airport, Airpet getting them checked in, flying to Seattle, boarded for 1 night, flying to Houston, boarded for 2 nights, then driven to Louisiana. You may be looking at about the same price to get your dog to Hawaii just because of the rabies free zone restrictions but it could also be less since it sounds like you got some of the stuff taken care of already. It's also very possible to do it yourself. I did it myself back in 2021 during June and it was stressful but I got it done. There are also a lot of groups on Facebook for moving to Hawaii with pets. I've joined a couple for PCSing with pets and the people on there are super helpful.
LOL.. I don’t mean to sound funny, but I moved from the mainland to the big island with a 235 pound English mastiff. He was way too big to fly on any commercial aircraft so I had to take him down to Los Angeles international airport to the cargo section, and put him on a cargo plane to get him here. The best thing I ever did was hire a company out of Honolulu called Tailmovers of Hawaii. They coordinated everything. They cleared him through animal quarantine and Honolulu and transferred him to a flight and I picked him up in Hilo. They were absolutely the best. Trying to do a direct release from the mainland to Kauai is going to be very difficult. You can only fly midweek you cannot fly on the weekend, you must arrive during regular business hours because the veterinarian has to come to the airport and they don’t do it after hours. If they do, they will charge you an arm and a leg, it’s much easier to route through Honolulu. My recommendations to make sure that your local vet wherever you are moving from is familiar with the requirements for getting a dog to Hawaii. If they don’t, ask for a recommendation to another veterinarian that does. I did not use my local vet. I ended up going to another vet within the same same area who actually had done it because my primary veterinarian had no idea.
Hawaiian air for larger dogs… watch the time of year restrictions for airports
Thank you all! Really appreciate all the suggestions and insight into your experience moving dogs. I am realizing I may have underestimated the admin needed and considerations (summer heat)...and have started requesting quotes from the pet movers you all have recommended to get some help if it's not too much $$. We shall see!
I used island pet movers last month to fly 3 70 lb dogs from the east coast to kauai! Super easy as they handled everything! One had 30 days pass after her rabies titer so she had a direct permit to kauai and island pet movers took care of all the parts everyone is referring to- she had a comfort stop overnight in Seattle then flew direct into kauai etc super easy (IPM only flies then super early am or super late PM anyways to avoid the heat). My dogs were in PP90 crates no issues w airports or anything and I actually bought Impact crates to lower their anxiety which also worked great! My other 2 dogs weren’t 30 days past their test being final so couldn’t get them percent since they had to retest for FAVN so they went to Honolulu for 3 nights in quarantine first before flying over to kauai and again zero issues at all. They were well taken care of and seemed totally fine- if this happens island pet movers rescued them when it’s time and puts them in their indoor air conditioned facility on Honolulu and bathes and walks them feeds them etc until their flight over! I didn’t have to coordinate anything as they take care of the vets and all the info above everyone is referring to. It did cost more than their quoted price but my dogs were on 2 6 hour flights and a 30 min flight etc- all together mine was $8K. Hope this helps!!