First Trip to HH in August -- Tell Us About It!!

[SimplyMagical]

Just reserved a two-bedroom for a week in Hilton Head the last week of August. Using points, although we are paying cash discount for two nights -- got $180 a night for a two bedroom. Since we have never been there -- we would like to hear from some veterans of Hilton Head. We are driving from upstate NY (we always fly to Disney). We are a little nervous about the ride (15 1/2 hours -- Yikes). Can anyone share their driving tips? Thanks!!

 

[TXMommy]

We, too, are driving to Hilton Head - we're going the last week of May. Driving from where we are in Texas is about 16 hours - we're going to split it in half and drive 2 days, since we are driving with both our kids and my parents (in their own car). Are you traveling with children? We have driven to Disney twice with our 3 kids and I can give you lots of good tips on that.

I have gotten lots and lots of wonderful information about HH off these boards - keep reading, and by the time you go you'll have all your questions answered and a good plan of everything you want to do when you get there! This is our first trip to HH, too, but I hear it is wonderful!

Good luck!

 

[Kathy2130]

We just returned from our first visit to HH on 3/2. We liked it so much that we became DVC members and this is our home resort!

It is definately a slower pace than WDW, but the activities are terrific. My 4 year old loved painting the butterfly houses, making t-shirts with painted fish, marsh walk, beach walk, goofy bingo, un-birthday party, campfires, Shadows tales, treasure hunt etc... If you call the resort, they will fax you a list of activities for the current week.

The 2 bedroom villa was all that we hoped for. The grounds are beautiful and very natural. The pool is great, as was the beach house (pool by the ocean) even though it's about 1 1/2 miles away. Ride a bike to the ocean - they're available for rent.

We live near Rochester, NY and will probably drive down next time. Have a great trip!

 

[SimplyMagical]

Yes, we are traveling with three children 15, 11, and 9. We would like to drive it all in one day vs. splitting it into two. I would love to hear some of your tips.

 

[ripleysmom]

SimplyMagical, we'll be there that week too!!

We're also driving, however, my mom lives in North Carolina so I'm leaving mid-week the week before with the kids and hubby is flying into Raleigh that weekend and meeting us.

We have a TV/VCR combo unit for the car....it will still be about an 11 hour drive for us to NC. DS (10) will have his Gameboy and I'll stock up on videos for DD (5).

We'll probably go to NC after leaving the resort and stay at mom's again before driving back to NY.

Just a word of caution. If you are coming through NJ Sunday and Monday....be prepared for traffic.

 

[cgcw]

We drove last July from a suburb of Chicago with 2 kids -- 17 months and 6. We brought lots of books and videos to watch. We left home very early 4 a.m. in the hopes that the boys would still be asleep. It did not work that way. They were wide awake for a good part of the morning and then dozed off. We made our first stop off at a Walmart to pick up a couple of things. The kids were able to stretch their legs and eached picked out a new book. We also stopped for a picnic lunch in Frankfort, KY which happens to be the capitol. We toured the grounds and again stretched the kids legs. We tried to make our stops out of the ordinary instead of just when we filled up or at road stops.

We recently added on at HH and plan on going each summer. We will again bring new videos and books and make long stops when we do. It works for us.

We love HH and I'm sure you will have a great trip. It's very much Disney but at the same time very different from the parks. In fact, our 7 year old is looking forward to HH more than our upcoming December WDW trip. The kids loved playing at the beach and building sand castles every day -- Dad did too. We loved riding bikes to the beach every day. The kids loved the pools. They loved crabbing off the pier. We loved seeing the dolphins both from the resort and the dolphin tour. If you sit up on the deck by the Tide Me Over and watch out over the creek, you can see the dolphins swimming. It so natural. Our kids are planning to bring the rain boots with this year so that when the tide is low they can hunt for crabs. We had a wonderful family experience. I can't wait until July.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[TXMommy]

Your kids are older than mine (well, two of mine) - I have a 16 y.o. DS, an 8 y.o. DD, and a 5 y.o. DS. The TV/VCR combo unit in the car is a lifesaver!! We even got a 3-way splitter so they could ALL wear headphones and DH and I didn't hear a thing except their occasional laughter at whatever they were watching (just like the commercial!). My kids like to read, too, and are able to do so in the car w/out getting carsick. I also kept a bag of "goodies" - various things to do like hand-held games, coloring books, whatever, and if they started getting edgy I would pull something new out. The thing is to remember to save some surprises for the ride home! We don't make a lot of pit stops, but I agree that when you do stop, make it interesting for the kids. And, of course, the best thing they can do in the car is SLEEP! It sure makes the time go by quicker for them!

Have fun!!