First Trip to HH. Any advice for a newbie?

[marvali]

We have a couple of short trips planned to Hilton Head Island Resort in late March and early April. Family of five w/ three boys aged 18, 15, and 11. What activities are available that everyone might enjoy? Where are the best places to eat? Are there any special requests (room, building, etc.) that I need to add to the ressie? What is the one "don't miss" thing that we need to make sure we do or see?

Thanks for the help!

 

[canda]

i suggest at the beach just to run as fast as you can into the ocean

 

[canda]

I guess it depends on your boys, some would "too cool" for the activities. One thing i think they would like is the dolphin kyack tour. that way the burn energy and get their own boat.

we like san miguels across the resort. it has great outdoor seating and you can look at all the ships and boats.

 

[SusieBea]

Go into Sea Pines Plantation at the south end of the island (it costs $5 per car, but you can come and go as many times that day as you'd like). In Sea Pines, go to the south beach marina area and get the boys tee shirts at the Salty Dog. You could have lunch there, too. Eat at the Crazy Crab, the one on the right just after you cross onto the island. While in Sea Pines, go to see the Harbour Town lighthouse and the cool marina there. There's also good shopping there. You might take a dolphin-watching cruise. There's a place called Hudson's on the Dock on Squire Pope road where shrimp boats come in to unload. The food there is rustic but consistently good. Have a good time.

 

[princessesrule4]

My kids love to fish and crab all day even though we can do it at home! The Pirate mini golf down the way is fun and actually kind of challenging! ( just a few minutes drive)
Have a great time!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Go into Sea Pines Plantation at the south end of the island (it costs $5 per car, but you can come and go as many times that day as you'd like). In Sea Pines, go to the south beach marina area and get the boys tee shirts at the Salty Dog. You could have lunch there, too. Eat at the Crazy Crab, the one on the right just after you cross onto the island. While in Sea Pines, go to see the Harbour Town lighthouse and the cool marina there. There's also good shopping there. You might take a dolphin-watching cruise. There's a place called Hudson's on the Dock on Squire Pope road where shrimp boats come in to unload. The food there is rustic but consistently good. Have a good time.

If you go down to the Salty Dog, eat at the Wreck of the Salty Dog. ALthough the last time we ate there, the sandwiches had really gotten smaller, it was still very good. And there's a neat little ice cream stand there too.

 

[mikaj3645]

Hilton Head is very laid back -- the Beach House is just gorgeous. I agree that the beach is a terrific place to hang out, with plenty to do at the pool, in the ocean and inside the beach house.

Restaurants around the marina are pretty good, too. If there's a low country shrimp boil during your stay - go! It's well worth it. Activities offered by the resort - kayaking, fishing and the Dolphin tour -- are great for the whole family.

Best of all -- HAVE FUN!!!

Cathy

 

[marvali]

Even though these trips will mostly be to relax and unwind, since we will be going all out during the summer while back at WDW, we still want to sample some of the local flavor. Sounds like plenty of good things to fill our days and evenings.

Any particular rooms or parts of the resort to request for our trip that others have really enjoyed? Or does it really matter where they assign you as far as convenience and/or views, etc.?

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks for this thread. We're considering going for our spring break in 2009. The boys will be 12 1/2 and 11 1/2. What activities are there for kids? And is there a mini-golf course there?

 

[marvali]

nzdisneymom, I'll let you know what I find out when I get back from our trip(s). There are a lot of great sounding activities in the recreation section for HH on the DVC website when you log into your user account, especially for kids 12 and under. I'm hoping to hear a lot of feedback on these activities before we go since they always make it sound like something really good to do, but you don't know for sure unless you try them. There does appear to be mini golf, and if you are the outdoors type (biking, hiking, fishing, kayaking, exploring) then it looks like a great place to vacation.

It would be nice to hear from some teenagers who have been about the activities they have done and enjoyed or didn't. Hopefully there will be a lot of other teenagers there while we are there to make the trip more enjoyable for the older two.

 

[3pirates]

Hi...

We go to Hilton Head frequently. We have boys 17, 15 and 11. It kinda depends on what your boys are into, but here are some of our favorites...

Crazy Crab...we agree. The guys love it.

Bikes...rent them. There are paths all over the island and lots of people ride on the beach.

Volleyball in the pool at the beach house.

Ping-pong either at the beach house or the main resort.

Crabbing off of the dock. Buy chicken...your boys will be pulling crabs out of the creek. The staff there will help you with equipment. (But most crabs have to be returned to the water--luckily, from my perspective.)

The beach, of course.

Rent kayaks...the resort can help suggest places.

Shuffleboard, horse shoes, basketball, all at the resort.

There is a movie theater on the island. There is all kinds of shopping. There are several mini golf courses. If your boys are interested, there is world class golf and tennis. And the dolphin cruises are fun. You won't be at a loss for things to do there!

Have a great time!

 

[marvali]

3pirates, thanks for the input. My kids are into a lot of sports, activities stuff, so sounds like they will have lots to do. They are always into competing against dear ole' Dad, so volleyball, horseshoes and ping pong will give them some chances to challenge me. We might take our own bikes since we are only about a 5 hour drive away. They would love me to take them golfing, and the youngest one would love to play tennis also. I grew up in the Pawleys Island/Myrtle Beach area, so I can help them with trying out crabbing. Have done many times myself, but prefer to keep what I catch and consume. They get those pinchers on you, you really don't want to be nice and put them back....lol.

So what is Crazy Crab? And does it matter where you stay in the resort for either view or convenience?

 

[3pirates]

Oh yeah, if you grew up near Myrtle Beach you'll know exactly how to handle crabbing. Our experience has been that the crabs that people get off of the dock are smaller than you're supposed to keep. But boys have fun "conquering" them anyhow!

I like the marsh view. Broads Creek is big enough that you can watch the boats go by and watch the sea birds hanging out. I just think its so peaceful. We've also enjoyed staying in one of the units that surround the pool. Our last trip (October) we hung out on the porch drinking coffee while our youngest headed down to the pool and the teenagers slept. We could watch him from our rocking chairs! But try to avoid the ones right next to the water slide...gets a bit noisy. (Sorry I don't have unit numbers, but I think you can find them.)

Crazy Crab is a restaurant mentioned in one of their posts. They have one location down in Harbour Town....where the lighthouse is. There is another that is newer (well, newer since the first one burned down.) It is right after you come onto the island. They have a good varied seafood menu, reasonable prices and a good family atmosphere. The one as you arrive on the island has spectacular marsh views and a giant fish tank. Sometimes shrimp boats park behind it, and we've even seen dolphins swimming right up by the restaurant.

And if you're driving and can bring your bikes, that will work out great! You can ride them to the beach house and all over the island. (While the teenagers take the car.)

 

[LVSWL]

Where you stay may depend upon what type of villa you are in. HH is mostly two bedroom villas with a sprinkling of one bedroom and studios. The lodge had one bedroom villas and studios in it and is very convenient and has an elevator and parking underneath and some of those villas have great views of the sound/marsh. Many of the two bedroom villas have awesome marsh views.
If it is really important that you have internet service, you can access it in the "pool hall" in the lodge and around the "pool deck". Some people have said they could get it if they were staying in the villas around the pool, but I don't know about that firsthand. We usually stay in the lodge, enjoy the convenience. One year we were in a two bedroom down on the end, I think bldg. #31, maybe and the view was awesome. Definitely rent bikes the first day. You will ride them everywhere! We ride to the pool over at the beach, takes about 20 minutes, and to restaurants and to the store. There are lots of bike paths everywhere. There is a basketball court, we brought our own ball, and shuffleboard, movies to rent. Take a Dolphin tour with Captain Scott-find out about it where you rent your bikes. San Miguels is definetly fun-music and food. If you are driving, bring some cards and a battery powered lantern is fun for your porch to sit outside in the evenings. Have a great time. If you aren't driving, just bring some candles and matches for the porch.

 

[marvali]

3pirates, with five in the family do you always get a two bedroom unit? Our DS18 is a freshman at The Citadel, and our first trip down is when we take him back at the end of his spring break. He will be in school when my DW, DS15 and DS11 are on spring break so we only got a reservation for a one bedroom on the second trip a couple of weeks later. How big are the rooms compared to some of the other DVC resorts that you have been to? Can the one bedrooms accomodate five? Sounds like the bikes are a must do, so we will definitely plan to bring those.

LVSWL, thanks for the great advice. The kids love basketball, and maybe I can get some much needed exercise in also, so we will bring our own ball. The lantern is a great idea we will have to remember also. How are the bugs? Hopefully March and April will be too soon to worry about many of them, although I know how the lowcountry and marsh areas can be. Not too worried about internet service and really plan mostly to just relax and enjoy the views and the outdoors activities/beach and pool (I assume its heated since the ocean won't be by then). The dolphin tour sounded like it might be a great experience for the family, so thanks for the input there. Sounds like we may just park the car when we get there and use the bikes most of the rest of the stay.

 

[LVSWL]

The bugs bothered us in June, and in September, but not in March. If you find that they are a concern you could get a citronella candle at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Don't ya just love that name!!! Just around the corner from the grocery is a great ice cream place-Brewsters I think, something like that. We ride the bikes there a lot. We get baskets on a couple of the bikes so we have room to carry our stuff back from the store, also carry a back pack(just for short trips to the store) not the big run at the beginning of our trip. We love HH, will be back in June after 8 days in WDW! Have fun!!!

 

[marvali]

Ah yes, the Piggly Wiggly. I love the name because they helped put me through college. Great idea on the baskets/back pack. The ice cream place is probably Brewster's as they are popular all over the state. Can't wait to get there and explore/learn about the resort and area. This will be our "resting" trips before we head to WDW this summer. Thanks!

 

[3pirates]

Hi...I agree about the bugs, they usually don't get fiesty until later Spring/early Summer. And this has been a colder than normal Winter, so that should hold true.

About room sizes, we try to get 2 bedroom when we can. Hilton Head rooms are pretty spacious...it was one of the earlier DVC designs. To be honest, we've never stayed at a one bedroom there. If you do the one bedroom you will need to have one person willing to sleep on an air mattress or floor, unless you put the three guys in the king sized master and take the sleeper sofa yourself. We will sleep someone on the floor for a day or two, but we do enjoy everyone having a bed. (Now if we could get them to quit fighting about who gets to sleep alone and who has to share!)

 

[pogopossum]

i'm still kicking myself from two years ago, if you get a shot at a villa in the building off by itself behind the lodge and toward the marsh, you'll know it when you see the map, take it. i turned it down, thought it was too far from the pool, but the size of the resort being what it is, nothing is too far from anything.

do the fish shirt painting, eat at the sea shack, down by the circle.

we've played mini golf at two of the courses and both were fun. one was pirate themed as mentioned before, the other was just mini golf, had bible verses on signs around the course and one of the kids won a free game next time we go back (mystery hole in one). they'll tell you at the end if you won. definitely ride bikes, depending on the age of kids you can ride to the beach house (about a mile).

there is a good outlet mall in beaufort before you cross over to the island.

i've played the robert t jones course at palmetto dunes and it was a great course, just the right difficulty and a good price.

 

[scottie]

One place we love to eat at when we stay at HH is Marleys Island Grille. We actually found ourselves eating there two times on our last stay. Out of the 14 people in our group, no one complained about that place!

http://www.marleysislandgrille.com/