Leave all plants, fruit, cut flowers and any type of produce at home. The items will be confiscated or quarantined upon arrival. If you don't declare produce, you are liable for a stiff fine.
Strict quarantine rules developed to protect Hawaiian animals from diseases such as rabies mean that any pets brought to the islands will be quarantined for a minimum of five days. Snakes and other nonnative species are expressly forbidden.
Hawaii has strict laws about boat cleanliness, specifically the hull and bilge. Both must be clean and free of foreign species, whether you are sailing in or having your boat shipped.
All firearms must be registered within 72 hours of being brought into the state. Contact the state police if you are bringing in weapon-style knives longer than 2 inches. Legislation under consideration in 2009 could make these knives illegal to possess.
Expect luggage, cargo containers and boats to be inspected at their port of entry into Hawaii. Authorities take the state's shipping rules extremely seriously. Violation of Hawaii's shipping rules expose you to penalties as high as $25,000 for importing, for instance, snakes, which are nonexistent on the islands and pose a grave danger to native wildlife.
