Spotting a Hawaii license plate on the mainland is one of those finds that always feels special. You’re never going to see them frequently, but they’re not completely random either. There are a few places where your odds are considerably better.
Your Best Bet: Military Areas
If you're trying to find a Hawaii plate outside Hawaii, look near major military installations.
Hawaii has a huge military presence, and service members regularly move between Hawaii and bases on the mainland. When they relocate, their vehicles often come with them — Hawaii plates and all.
I saw this firsthand in Virginia Beach in late August, where I spotted four different Hawaii plates during a single trip. That's an extraordinary number for a plate that's otherwise extremely uncommon on the East Coast, but Virginia Beach and the surrounding Hampton Roads area have one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the country.
Where to Look
If you want to actively hunt for a Hawaii plate, these are some of the better places to keep your eyes open:
- Virginia Beach / Norfolk, Virginia — The Hampton Roads area is packed with Navy installations, most notably Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station. This is where I had my four-Hawaii-plate trip.
- San Diego, California — One of the biggest Navy communities in the country and a logical destination for personnel and vehicles moving between Hawaii and the mainland.
- Oceanside / Camp Pendleton, California — The massive Marine Corps installation between San Diego and Los Angeles gives this part of Southern California another large military population.
- Seattle / Tacoma / Bremerton, Washington — Several major Navy and Joint Base installations make the Puget Sound region another promising area.
- Jacksonville, Florida — Home to a substantial Navy presence, including Naval Air Station Jacksonville and nearby Naval Station Mayport.
- Pensacola, Florida — Another major Navy community and home to Naval Air Station Pensacola.
- Fayetteville, North Carolina — Fort Bragg is one of the largest military installations in the country, making the surrounding area worth watching.
- Colorado Springs, Colorado — Multiple major military installations and a large population of active-duty personnel.
- Washington, D.C. / Northern Virginia — The enormous military population around the Pentagon and numerous nearby installations means plenty of military families moving in and out.
West Coast military communities may be particularly good targets. Hawaii-to-mainland vehicle shipping naturally brings cars to West Coast ports, and California and Washington have major military populations of their own.
But Hawaii Plates Can Show Up Anywhere
I've also spotted Hawaii plates twice in New Jersey, far away from the places where you'd particularly expect to find them.
One of those sightings came with a great explanation.
An older woman had brought her late brother’s car back from Hawaii to New Jersey after he passed away. Rather than sell the car in Hawaii, where she felt dealerships weren’t offering her a fair price, she had it shipped back to New Jersey to sell it. I saw the car and spoke to her in a Lidl parking lot.
That's the thing about spotting Hawaii plates: every mainland Hawaii plate has a story.
Unlike driving across a state line, getting a Hawaii-plated car to the continental United States requires putting it on a ship. Someone made a deliberate decision to bring that vehicle thousands of miles across the Pacific.
The Spotter's Strategy
If Hawaii is still missing from your collection:
- Best bet: Major military communities
- Top targets: Virginia Beach/Norfolk, San Diego, Oceanside, and the Seattle/Tacoma area
- Also promising: Jacksonville, Pensacola, Fayetteville, Colorado Springs, and the D.C./Northern Virginia region
- On the West Coast: Keep an especially close eye out because of the combination of military movement and Hawaii vehicle-shipping routes
- Everywhere else: Mostly luck — but Hawaii plates do turn up in unexpected places
And when you finally see that rainbow plate thousands of miles from home, remember: it didn't just drive there.
More field notes from the road are on the way. Keep an eye on the guides page.