Skip the long seasonal drive, how snowbirds ship cars south and back, the best time to book, and ways to save on the round trip.
Why snowbirds ship instead of drive
Each season, snowbirds migrate between northern homes and warm destinations like Florida, Arizona and the Carolinas. The round-trip drive can mean four exhausting days a year, plus fuel, hotels and a lot of wear on the car.
Shipping the vehicle instead lets you fly comfortably and have your car waiting when you arrive, in both directions.
Best routes and timing
The classic snowbird corridors run from the Northeast and Midwest down to Florida, where New York to Florida is the busiest of them, and from the Midwest and Mountain states to Arizona and Nevada. From Indiana, three in four cars on our Indiana to Florida route started in the Indianapolis metro.
In our records, snowbird season does not bring a surge of pickups. Of our pickups into Florida and Arizona, 15% came in October and November, the same share as on interstate lanes overall, and of those leaving the two states, 12% came in March and April, below the 15% across all lanes. These lanes were busiest from June to August, like most interstate moves.
When to book
Book once your dates are set, and give your specialist a pickup window of a few days rather than a single day. If you travel the same route every year, plan both legs in advance.
Flexible pickup dates also help lower your cost.
Door-to-door convenience
Snowbird auto transport is door-to-door: your car is collected at your northern home and delivered to your seasonal residence, then reversed in spring on the Florida to New York return leg. It is carrier insured throughout, with no terminals and no long drive.
Make this the year you trade the windshield marathon for a relaxing flight, Neptune handles the rest.