Hilton Head bound in less than 2 weeks...never been, would love tips/info.

lilandvisma

lilandvisma

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
I've been studying up as much as I can. I am still left with questions and some worry. We are set to arrive less than 2 weeks from now and I'm getting anxious. We usually do Disney at least once a year, just came back in November from a fabulous visit. I'm just worried I won't get my "fix" here, as dumb as it sounds. I know not to expect in your face Disney, but am hoping for the subtle little things here and there that will remind me I am still on Disney grounds. Is the magic still there???

Food wise, what is good? Am I right in that only 1 QS is open during the "off" season? That the QS by the beach house pool is not open? So does that mean no dole whips? Where is good for Dinners, restaurant wise, that is close by?

We'd like to do a dolphin tour when we are there as well. I'm wondering if there is a schedule of events I will be able to get before we leave?

The plan is to appease my other half in not doing the parks...until December that is. I will not go any longer without coming back to my happy place!

Any information/advice would be great! Thanks!
 
Our kids love it and call it their favorite DVC resort. They are 7 and 9. There are lots of great activities for the kids. Last summer when we went, I called ahead of time and they sent me a schedule of events to look at via email. That was very helpful. We are headed back in March and December (our 25th anniversary) and I would like to book us on a dolphin tour as well.
 


My biggest advice is don't think of it as a Disney vacation. If you are looking for a Disney fix you will likely come away disappointed. But, it is a great vacation spot, with a ton of things to do. Here are my recommendations.

  • Bike a lot. The best bike path system I've seen anywhere. Get bikes (or bring them) and bike all around.
  • Spend one afternoon into the evening going to Harbourtown. Climb to the top of the Lighthouse. Shop. Eat. Stay through the evening until the Greg Russell show (it starts just before sunset - you'll see the signs). It's a kids/family oriented show, but he's funny and it would still be great to see - and you'll look forward to bringing your kids back. This is a must do.
  • Spend one day (late morning through afternoon or afternoon through evening) going out to South Beach area for the shops and Salty Dog Restaurant. There are a couple restaurants, we've found that we like the "Wreck of the Salty Dog" the best. Shopping and other stuff in that area.
  • Spend part of a day at Coligny Plaza. My wife loves the fun shops, there's good ice cream, eating, etc. You could bike here and back, it's about 4 miles from Disney resort all with great paths.
  • If you like seafood (and HHI is famous for it), "Hudson's on the Docks" is famous and kind of an island legend.
  • The Disney resort is right near Shelter Cove - so I'm sure you'll spend some time there as well. Again, shopping, restaurants, etc.
Other restaurants we like:
  • The Wreck of the Salty Dog
  • A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant
  • The Frosty Frog (for drinks at Coligny)
  • We had a good Sunday brunch at "One Hot Mama's". It's nothing more fancy than a Bar, but it was a good reasonably priced brunch.
The best advice is to get outside of the Disney resort and see the island, find something to do every day, even if it's just a long bike ride. I've given you several days worth of stuff above - fit one of those things in each day and you'll have a great trip!
 
Been going to HHI since high school (Long long time ago) Just did the Daufuskie island Trip. It was a blast. Great for adults. When you get to the island ask at the desk about it. Or you will see in the events book. Loads of fun. You drive around the island on a golf cart. Go to lunch at Marshside Mama's !!!
 
ontheuptick said:
My biggest advice is don't think of it as a Disney vacation. If you are looking for a Disney fix you will likely come away disappointed. But, it is a great vacation spot, with a ton of things to do. Here are my recommendations.

  • Bike a lot. The best bike path system I've seen anywhere. Get bikes (or bring them) and bike all around.
  • Spend one afternoon into the evening going to Harbourtown. Climb to the top of the Lighthouse. Shop. Eat. Stay through the evening until the Greg Russell show (it starts just before sunset - you'll see the signs). It's a kids/family oriented show, but he's funny and it would still be great to see - and you'll look forward to bringing your kids back. This is a must do.
  • Spend one day (late morning through afternoon or afternoon through evening) going out to South Beach area for the shops and Salty Dog Restaurant. There are a couple restaurants, we've found that we like the "Wreck of the Salty Dog" the best. Shopping and other stuff in that area.
  • Spend part of a day at Coligny Plaza. My wife loves the fun shops, there's good ice cream, eating, etc. You could bike here and back, it's about 4 miles from Disney resort all with great paths.
  • If you like seafood (and HHI is famous for it), "Hudson's on the Docks" is famous and kind of an island legend.
  • The Disney resort is right near Shelter Cove - so I'm sure you'll spend some time there as well. Again, shopping, restaurants, etc.
Other restaurants we like:
  • The Wreck of the Salty Dog
  • A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant
  • The Frosty Frog (for drinks at Coligny)
  • We had a good Sunday brunch at "One Hot Mama's". It's nothing more fancy than a Bar, but it was a good reasonably priced brunch.
The best advice is to get outside of the Disney resort and see the island, find something to do every day, even if it's just a long bike ride. I've given you several days worth of stuff above - fit one of those things in each day and you'll have a great trip!
Click to expand...


The weather is supposed to be in the low 70's and high 60's according to extended forecast so biking sounds fun! We LOVE seafood, don't get to experience much being in Michigan so will definitely be planning on eating well when we are there for sure! Thank you for all of the suggestions, I've wrote them down in my notebook. We are mostly looking for a relaxing time and it sounds like we will get that here! I've read good things about Hudson's, that is on the agenda as well.
 


DisneyfromDeland said:
Our kids love it and call it their favorite DVC resort. They are 7 and 9. There are lots of great activities for the kids. Last summer when we went, I called ahead of time and they sent me a schedule of events to look at via email. That was very helpful. We are headed back in March and December (our 25th anniversary) and I would like to book us on a dolphin tour as well.
Click to expand...

I've got to wonder if mine will fall into that category ! They love trying new things and traveling to different places so I'm thinking so :) I'm going to give them a call in a bit here, to see about getting a schedule! Thanks for that info! And Happy Anniversary!! That's a milestone, Congratulations!!
 
NJDVCmember said:
Been going to HHI since high school (Long long time ago) Just did the Daufuskie island Trip. It was a blast. Great for adults. When you get to the island ask at the desk about it. Or you will see in the events book. Loads of fun. You drive around the island on a golf cart. Go to lunch at Marshside Mama's !!!
Click to expand...

I will write that down! Thanks :) Going to look up Marshside Mama's now!

Am I correct in assuming that a lot of places will be withing walking/bike riding distance then?
 
lilandvisma said:
I will write that down! Thanks :) Going to look up Marshside Mama's now!

Am I correct in assuming that a lot of places will be withing walking/bike riding distance then?
Click to expand...

Depends :)

Coligny Place - about 4 miles from you. That would be a great bike ride, stop, shop, eat, and then bike back.
The Beach - a nice easy bike ride, maybe a couple miles.
Harbourtown - that's one you'll want to drive. I've biked it from the resorts we've stayed at, but we've always stayed on North Forest beach (never been to the Disney resort). And, since you will want to be there in the evening you wouldn't want to have that long of a ride back after dark.
South Shore - same as Harbour Town, it's a drive from where you are at.

When considering whether to walk or ride somewhere, just plug it into google maps when you are down there and see how far it is. If it's not to far, ride it. That may sound simple, but what I'm saying is - there will be a bike path EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING. So it's not like you'll see that via car it's 3 miles but there's no bike path to get there so the bike route is 6 miles - it's not like that.

Don't miss Harbour Town and the Greg Russell show. You'll watch it and want to bring your kids back.
 
ontheuptick said:
Depends :)

Coligny Place - about 4 miles from you. That would be a great bike ride, stop, shop, eat, and then bike back.
The Beach - a nice easy bike ride, maybe a couple miles.
Harbourtown - that's one you'll want to drive. I've biked it from the resorts we've stayed at, but we've always stayed on North Forest beach (never been to the Disney resort). And, since you will want to be there in the evening you wouldn't want to have that long of a ride back after dark.
South Shore - same as Harbour Town, it's a drive from where you are at.

When considering whether to walk or ride somewhere, just plug it into google maps when you are down there and see how far it is. If it's not to far, ride it. That may sound simple, but what I'm saying is - there will be a bike path EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING. So it's not like you'll see that via car it's 3 miles but there's no bike path to get there so the bike route is 6 miles - it's not like that.

Don't miss Harbour Town and the Greg Russell show. You'll watch it and want to bring your kids back.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the information! Really appreciate it!! I'm getting excited :)
 
Our kids did a fishing camp when we were there last summer that they really enjoyed. It cost $35 per kid and they were there for about three hours. It was at the Coastal Discovery Museum. They learned how to fish, crab, etc. They met some other kids. The only weird part for us was that we weren't expecting it to be a "come back and pick them up at noon" situation, so then we as the parents weren't sure how to amuse ourselves while they were fishing.
 
DH and I loved Michael Anthony's Italian Cuccina. Did not appear to be a tourist spot. Excellent atmosphere and food. Check out the reviews and pictures on Travel Advisor.
We always enjoy spending a day in Savannah.
 
Just got off the phone with a CM from HHIR. A little bit of magic just from his attitude :) So glad we decided to book here now! He told me that they usually email the schedule of events a week prior to your check in day! Will be looking for that soon now.
 
Halle said:
DH and I loved Michael Anthony's Italian Cuccina. Did not appear to be a tourist spot. Excellent atmosphere and food. Check out the reviews and pictures on Travel Advisor.
We always enjoy spending a day in Savannah.
Click to expand...

HOLY MOLY. Just looked them up and WOW the food pics are killin' me :) Thats probably going to be on the agenda for us ! Thanks!
 
Our family LOVES Hilton Head and we go every few years. We usually stay at Sea Pines, but I know exactly where the Disney resort is, and it's a great location for dining, shopping, etc...We always rent bikes, go to Harbourtown and the Salty Dog and visit the horse farm at Sea Pines. They also have a small petting zoo there. In my opinion, the best part are the beaches. They are wide with packed sand, and the sunsets are amazing. Enjoy your trip!
 
My daughter would love a visit to a horse farm and petting zoo ! I'll have to remember that for when I take the kids (next time). I've looking into some yummy restaurants, thinking of doing Skull Creek Boathouse, Crazy Crab, possibly Hudsons and Kenny B's for a brunch buffet....Any input on any of these places or other suggestions? I'm looking for good seafood....we don't have that back here in Michigan!
 
We are not as big of fans of Hudson's as others are. We found it to be just ok. We do like Old Oyster Factory. Love Salty Dog. There are some really good spas on the island too.

We enjoy the mini golf places, shopping, and the dolphin cruise.
 
Hubby and I went to Hilton head a couple of years ago the first week of April. We absolutely loved it. Granted we only did a short trip (3 nights), so didn't get to experience too much. When we went , both qs restaurants were open- so was able to get my dole whip lol. I don't know if early April is considered off season , but it seemed very quiet. We got lucky and the weather was in the mid 70s , but it felt warmer in the sun so we were able to sit by the pool and the beach. We took the shuttles to the beach house when we went and the pool is really cute at the main house. Great slide for kids and they still had activities going on for kids, we didn't have any at the time so didn't pay too much attention to what they were doing. We were able to do the dolphin tour and got to see a good amount of dolphins and it was a really nice time. One night we did the country boil at the resort for dinner (unless they have themed dinners while you're there, there's no sit down restaurant). We also walked over to shelter cove, literally a 5 minute or less walk from the main lobby, for dinner another night and found a great restaurant . There's also a great pizzeria in that shopping center , but to get there we drove over, but defi not a far drive. ( I'm sorry the name has fallen out of my head ). We also went to the south beach area with the salty dog restaurants. Very cute, lots of little shops and restaurants . We heard that Savannah is only an hour drive away and worth a day trip there. We didn't get yo bc of our short trip but plan to do that on our next trip there. There are some Disney touches throughout the resort, the fake Bambi topiary by check in, the dvc sign when coming in, Disney park cups at the quick service restaurants, and Mickey towel on our bed by housekeeping. Also had Disney stuff in the gift shop lol. They also do Disney movies by the marsh. Overall we loved our trip
 
They have a Kids Night Out most Saturdays from 6-9 that my daughter loves, in case you want a date night.
 
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