Hilton Head Island

Our family loves vacationing at Hilton Head Island, SC. For those of you who know me, you might think it is because of all the beautiful golf courses available to a common hacker like myself…but no. As a matter of fact, I’ve been there several times and have yet to even bring my golf clubs. Here are some of the top things we like to do as a family when we visit HHI.

•  Surf/Lagoon Fishing
  There are so many fishing opportunities in HHI. My youngest daughter and I love to fish. We like to go to the beach and fish off the surf during sunrise. We use squid as bait after letting it sit overnight outside so it gets real nice and ripe. So far, we’ve caught many baby black tip sand sharks and whiting. Check out this link for what kind of fish you should expect to catch and when. We have also fished the brackish lagoon waters around Palmetto Dunes and caught a bunch of small crappie and a few yellow tail bass. It was lots of fun. We used small hooks and fresh shrimp cut into very tiny pieces in case you are interested. Remember, you will need to purchase a South Carolina fishing license. They sell a 14 day version of the license for a few dollars. You can purchase a license at the local Walmart or online.
•  Watusi
  Watusi is a Coffee and Frozen Yogurt shop on Pope Avenue. This place is one of our favorites. We usually go there at least 2 or 3 times when we stay on the island. Great coffee and self serve frozen yogurt. They also serve food which I heard was really good. We have yet to eat real food there! We always go for the desserts!
•  The Beach
  Some of the nicest beaches are here in HHI. Very scenic and untouched by the commercialization you see on a lot of North American beaches. Bring a book, a chair and a towel. That’s all you  need. The sand is usually hard enough to ride your bike on. I see lots of vacationers do this all the time. The water in the summer time is nice and warm. Lot’s of life on the beach. You may see sea turtle eggs, find living sand dollars but don’t take them, it is prohibited. If you go to the beach every day, you’ll almost certainly see some dolphin. Don’t be surprised if a dolphin brushes by you in the water. It happened to my wife and nearly gave her a heart attack! Also, one of the things I love most about HHI is that most of the beaches are dog friendly. We take our beloved dog Newton on vacation with us and I take him for long walks on the beach very early each morning. He loves it almost as much as I do.
•  Coligny Plaza
  Coligny Plaza is sometimes described as the downtown of Hilton Head Island. Of course, there is no real downtown but I can see why they refer to it this way. It is always bustling. There are plenty of shops and restaurants around, many with live music. Coligny beach is right there, if you feel like a walk on the beach. It’s a great place to wind down after a day at the beach.
•  Rita’s Ice Stand (Coligny Plaza)
  Another one of those places that we stop by at least 2 or 3 times during our stay. If you haven’t figured it out, I usually pack on a good 5 pounds on this vacation! I can’t help myself, it’s so good! Rita’s, of course, is famous for it Italian ices however, they server some great ice cream as well. The lines are always long but don’t let that discourage you, they move quickly.
•  Shelter Cove Fireworks
  In the summer week day, there are lots of kid friendly entertainment from 6 – 9 pm like face painting, Cappy the Clown and Shannon Taylor sing-a-longs. Great for the little ones. Each Tuesday starting around the middle of June, they hold a fireworks show at Shelter Cove. However, we’ve yet to see the show. The first year we went, it was a very windy night, so they cancelled the fireworks after waiting for a couple of hours. The second time we went, we waited for another hour or so but nothing happened. I finally got the nerve to ask someone about the fireworks and to my dismay was told that they start the week of June 19th which was the following week! I was wondering why I was able to get a parking spot so easily! Oh well, one of these years I will see this fireworks display and it better be freakin’ fantastic!
•  Day trip to Savannah, GA
  Savannah is about an hour or less away from the island. We made the trip the last time we visited HHI and toured SCAD Savannah Collage of Art & Design with our oldest daughter. I have to say, the town of Savannah is very unique. It’s like stepping back in time. The tour of the college took a long time and it was pouring rain so we didn’t have much time to tour the city but we did manage to stop over at City Market. City Market is a four block area of downtown with shops, dining and entertainment. We ate dinner there at a pizza place called Vinnie Van Go Go’s. Overall it was a fun time.
•  Crabbing
  We haven’t found a good crabbing spot yet. Crabbing is a lot of fun. We’ve done it many times on other beach vacations. I’ll keep you posted when and if I find a spot in HHI. Do you know if any good crabbing spots on the island? If so, let me know!
•  Dining out
  Dining out every day can get really expensive so we try and stay home a couple of days and cook on the grill. When we do go out, we like to try different places. There are a ton of really good places to eat out with your family. Some of our favorites include the Reilley’s Grill and Bar for Lobster Night Monday. You get two lobster dinners for the price of one! Make reservations, the place understandably gets crowded on Monday nights in the summer. If you are in the mood for some comfort food and frozen daiquiris, then you have to go to the Frosty Frog. Another one of our favorites is the The British Open Pub. We go on Wednesday evening for their Angus Prime Rib special. You will want to make a reservation for this place as well. Flatbreads Grill and Bar was the first place we ever ate at HHI so it holds a little special meaning for us. The food is ok, the atmosphere is good and it is located right in the middle of Coligny Plaza. Finally, a word of advice, if you plan to eat out on Friday night, for the majority of vacationers at HHI, this is the last night of vacation, you will need to make a reservation where ever you go! Otherwise, you will wait a couple of hours minimum! We decided to order takeout at Giuseppis Pizza and pick it up. This pizza is REALLY good! It is so busy, that I had to wait almost an hour to pick it up! And this was takeout! Next time, I’ll place the order 1 – 1/2 hours ahead of time and then go pick up the pizza. This worked out great, since it allowed us to clean up the rental properly and pack up before we went out Friday night. This gave us plenty of time to enjoy the last night on the island.
•  Relax
  I know this sounds corny. Everyone relaxes on vacation right? Well, if you are like me, I have been on vacations where I wind up needing a vacation from my vacation. It is almost impossible not to have a relaxing vacation on HHI. Most beaches are not over crowded, the landscape around the entire island has been preserved so you feel the nature around you. In fact, depending on where you are on the island, you need to bring a flash light on the beach at night because it is pitch dark. The only light you have is the moonlight.
  

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  As you can see, HHI is shaped like a sneaker or a foot. It is mostly broken up into several different plantations or neighborhoods. We have stayed in an older part of the island referred to as Folly Field over by the heal of the island. Folly Field is not considered one of the Plantations. Think of a plantation as a “planned” development. Normally they are gated, some are not. Folly Field is not a gated community but we like it because it is out of the way and they have a nice beach. We stayed in an older condo community called Stone’s Throw which is about a 5-7 minute walk to the beach. It is really convenient being able to walk to the beach and not have to worry about parking. Folly Field beach is a public beach. If you stay at a plantation such as Palmetto Dunes, which is a private community, you will have access to the private beach. We have also stayed at Palmetto Dunes and liked it a lot. If you are planning to visit HHI, I recommend using a site like VRBO to look for rentals. This has worked for us and other friends. Do your research and decide what is important to you. Do you need to be ocean front, on a golf course, within walking distance to the beach or shops or are you OK with driving your car or riding your bikes to the beach. Do you plan on taking a pet along with you? If so, there are plenty of “pet friendly” places to rent. They all charge a pet deposit and they can vary greatly. Another thing I recommend is to get your hands on the Hilton Head 360 Map. You can find this for free in one of hundreds of free newspaper/magazine dispensers around the island. It has a very nice detailed map for those who are unfamiliar with the island.

There are so many other things to do like hiking, miniature golf, kayaking, sightseeing, fishing charters and more.

Other tips and info for those who are visiting for the first time.

• Saturday evening is when the majority of vacationers arrive on the island. Traffic can get horrendous in the late afternoon/early evening which can cut into your precious vacation time. Plan ahead.
• Grocery shopping happens on Saturday evening as vacationers begin to arrive. My recommendation is to stop along one of the several grocery stores BEFORE you cross the bridge to the island. The grocery stores are PACKED on Saturday evening on the island. You can save an hour or more by doing your shopping before you get to HHI, bringing you own food or waiting until Sunday to do your grocery shopping.
• Make reservations for every restaurant that will take them. I can’t stress this enough. If you are visiting the island at the beginning of June, you will be OK as it starts to get more crowded towards the middle to end of June.
• Saturday morning is when the majority of vacationers leave the island. Traffic can get backed up. If you head out at 6 am or before, then it will be smooth sailing getting off the island.

I hope this helps someone who’s out there researching HHI as a potential vacation spot. Have any favorite HHI landmarks you want to share? Be sociable, leave a comment or click one of the social icons below!

References
http://www.hiltonhead360.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Head_Island,_South_Carolina