Getting around on Hilton Head

[inatizfordiz]

Our first trip to Hilton Head is in July. I've read the reviews about restaurants, etc. How do you get to the restaurants and around the island (by car, cab, bike, etc)...and is there a part of the island where most of the restaurants and activities are located? I've heard it's very crowded in the summer....Is that true?

 

[kirstiebird]

Hilton Head is best explored by car and it is never "crowded." The best advice for those unfamiliar with HHI is to travel during the daylight, as nothing on the island is well-lit and the restrictions on signs means that even a national fast food chain will blend in with it surroundings. Don't get me wrong -- it is a beautiful island with fabulous restaurants and you will definitely enjoy, but it is very easy to get lost!

 

[jekjones1558]

I was very glad to have a GPS to find places on HHI during my one and only visit. A smartphone should help a lot. HHI is wonderful. Enjoy.

 

[RobDoc]

There are lots of nice options for dining, shopping and recreational activities within a short distance from the resort itself in the Shelter Cove/Palmetto Dunes area - many you can even walk to from the resort.

I agree that trying to find places after dark can be a challenge just due to the restrictions on building on the island (earth tone colors, no neon, no billboards, etc) but there are lots of people happy to give directions.

The resort will give you a nice listing of restaurants and activities when you arrive and these come with pretty good directions.

Enjoy!

 

[Simba's Mom]

nothing on the island is well-lit and the restrictions on signs means that even a national fast food chain will blend in with it surroundings.

Think of finding places as kind of like a "Find Waldo" game. We drove right by one resturaunt two or three times before we saw it because it was set back behind trees with (of course) a small sign. Trying to find places is one of the fun activities on the island (I love the island, that's just part of its "charm")

 

[IloveDisney77]

Our family LOVES HHI. By far the best way to get around is via car. If you are staying at Disney, they have some restaurants/shopping within walking distance. Most other places (Westin/Marriott) you must have a car to get everywhere.

Now, trying to find a certain store, restaurant, shopping area in the evening is difficult unless you know exactly where it is. Doing a drive by during the day so you know exactly where you want to go will save a great deal of annoyance by trying to track it down at night.

One of the reasons why we vacation so frequently on HHI is because it is so scenic, best children's beach of any resort area I've every vacationed at (lack of waves and it shallow for quite a distance which makes it great for young ones to play at water's edge) uncrowded and non-commercialized (it is but you can't see it because of the restrictions on signs, etc... that others have mentioned).

 

[pb4ugo]

Our first trip to Hilton Head is in July. I've read the reviews about restaurants, etc. How do you get to the restaurants and around the island (by car, cab, bike, etc)...and is there a part of the island where most of the restaurants and activities are located? I've heard it's very crowded in the summer....Is that true?

i suggest that you google some hilton head island topics like restaurants and maps; here are a couple that have helped me: http://www.sciway.net/maps/hilton-head-south-carolina-map.html
http://www.hiltonheadisland.com/
and though some links are out-of-date, this site might offer some useful links: http://ttowery.tripod.com/

have a great trip! hope it cools down some for ya!

 

[hellerjw]

I have to agree with the other posters here. There are restaurants, shops, etc within walking and biking distance of the resort and most of HHI is very bike friendly. It is rather spread out so going by car is definitely the way to go, especially in the summer heat. We just got back from there last week and didn't think it was very crowded at all. You had your normal weekend evening wait times at popular restaurants but nothing I would attribute to a surge of vacationers.

As others have mentioned the most difficult aspect is trying to find something without the help of good directions from a local or a very accurate GPS. The various restrictions HHI places on signage, lighting, lanscaping, etc makes it difficult to find things at night if you don't know where you are going. Even during the day you often don't see the sign for an establishment until you are already upon it or passing it. To give you an idea imagine trying to find a McDonalds without the big red and yellow golden arches but instead the sign is now brown and tan and sits 4 feet off the ground hidden amongst several landscaped bushes.

I think the restrictions are a good thing, it helps maintain the peaceful nature of the island. However, they do make it hard to find your way around if you aren't familiar with an area.

 

[Dean]

I would not go to HH without a car. The one knock though is finding things since they don't allow conspicuous signs and many buildings are off the road and/or behind trees/shrubs. We'll be there in a week and a half.

 

[tidefan]

I would not go to HH without a car. The one knock though is finding things since they don't allow conspicuous signs and many buildings are off the road and/or behind trees/shrubs. We'll be there in a week and a half.

Dean, looks like we will just miss you. We are at Grande Ocean the 20-27th...

 

[Dean]

Dean, looks like we will just miss you. We are at Grande Ocean the 20-27th...

I actually have a week at GO that I rented out starting the 18th, we arrive Friday the 25th but start out time at Surfwatch the 26th. Enjoy GO, it's our favorite Marriott, we own 3 weeks there, two Ocean Front. Enjoy your stay, what unit type do you have and what requests did you make? Can't believe the tide lost those 2 games to Clemson of all places.

 

[tidefan]

I actually have a week at GO that I rented out starting the 18th, we arrive Friday the 25th but start out time at Surfwatch the 26th. Enjoy GO, it's our favorite Marriott, we own 3 weeks there, two Ocean Front. Enjoy your stay, what unit type do you have and what requests did you make? Can't believe the tide lost those 2 games to Clemson of all places.

Well, honestly, the Tide was lucky to just even be there. Finished 7th in the SEC and just barely made the SEC tourney. Got better towards the end of the season and should be better, just not this year. Hats off to Clemson, sure did hit the cover off of the ball...

As to GO, my in-laws have a silver week at Legends Edge that they deposit with the Florida Club. I think that this year they deposited at Ocean Pointe and locked it off. We traded in via Flexchange about 2 weeks ago using the studio. They get great usage this way, since they can be flexible.

This year was a bit different as we were somewhat restricted as to what week we could go, but we just wanted any of the Marriott's in Hilton Head, Myrtle, or Panama City (so we could drive), so I had been carefully watching ever since the flexchange period opened for that week, and the kicker was that we couldn't start until Saturday, so we had to pass on some Friday-Friday weeks. I knew that eventually something would come up if we were patient and lo and behold, about 3 weeks out a Sun-Sun MGO week shows up. Nabbed it in about 2 seconds (you have to be quick with flexchange).

We lucked out a bit with the MGO as we would have been perfectly content with Harbor Point or Sunset Point, Heritage, or Harbour Club. Getting one of Barony, Monarch, GO, or Surfwatch is a bonus. We stayed at Surfwatch a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.

I have to say (here is my DVC tie in to this post) that flexchange, at least to me, is SO much better in II than in RCI. My in-laws also have a couple of units from Bonaventure that they no longer own but have a couple of deposits in RCI weeks. We tried to use those for something, but unless we wanted to go to the Canary Islands, we were out of luck. RCI, at least in it's weeks guise, just doesn't do it. There just isn't the quality of resort, to me, one would find in II, or perhaps it's that one can't find the quantity of quality resorts in RCI weeks. Their Royal Palm deposit (St Maarten) can at least see DVC (if deposited far enough in advance, found that difference out with this year vs. last year's deposit, which was made late), but it seems as though there aren't near as many weeks in RCI weeks as in RCI points.

I really liked your idea of DVC using BVTC to team up with Marriott/Hyatt/Starwood/etc to just cut RCI or II out altogether...

Anyway, maybe we'll see you on the island...

Cheers!

 

[tidefan]

I actually have a week at GO that I rented out starting the 18th, we arrive Friday the 25th but start out time at Surfwatch the 26th. Enjoy GO, it's our favorite Marriott, we own 3 weeks there, two Ocean Front. Enjoy your stay, what unit type do you have and what requests did you make? Can't believe the tide lost those 2 games to Clemson of all places.

Ah, I forgot your question. As a trade, we haven't made any requests yet. I guess I just kind of figured we'd get what they had. Is there a way on the certificate to figure out where the unit is?

 

[Dean]

Ah, I forgot your question. As a trade, we haven't made any requests yet. I guess I just kind of figured we'd get what they had. Is there a way on the certificate to figure out where the unit is?

Go to Marriott.com and click on the link at the top for change/cancel reservations. Then put in the last name on the reservation and the Marriott (not II) res #. That should tell you whether it's an OF or Ocean Side unit. Once you have that, go to Marriottvillas.com and go to GO then click on the link for the resort map. The kids and activities pools are to the right so if you have kids I'd request that area, if not, maybe the other side with the lagoon. If you have OF, request highest floor possible, if you have OS, I'd either request Starfish/Dolphin or highest floor.

I like using the FL Club the way your parents did except for the 6 month out limitation. OP silver should trade much better than LE silver plus you then have the lockoff option. On the 20th, MVCI rolls out their points system, you should go and be one of the first to know about the conversion options. I also think II is better overall but it's because of Marriott, these Marriott changes might alter that landscape, we'll see.

 

[scot@dvcstore]

If you have some extra time, you may want to consider renting a bike and go exploring. HHI has great bike trails. I am sure you will enjoy your trip.

 

[chalee94]

dean-

are all the rooms at surfwatch "ocean vista" or what does that mean?
i know the resort is not right on the ocean but i assume the better rooms are ocean view or something?

i'm trading in as non-marriott so i'm not picky (i loved the marriott in vegas) but curious what you would recommend... this will be my first trip to HHI (going in sept).

 

[Dean]

dean-

are all the rooms at surfwatch "ocean vista" or what does that mean?
i know the resort is not right on the ocean but i assume the better rooms are ocean view or something?

i'm trading in as non-marriott so i'm not picky (i loved the marriott in vegas) but curious what you would recommend... this will be my first trip to HHI (going in sept).

Here are the situation for the 3 top Marriott's on HH, Grande Ocean, Barony and Surfwatch.

GO is 10 buidlings in a W with the those the 4 closest being either part or all Ocean Front and the rest Ocean Side. SW has Ocean Vista in one building (basically ocean front but a little further from the beach, this is the best at SW), Ocean side and Garden View. It has 5 buildings with 1 OV, 2 OS then 2 GV behind those (plus a few GV in one of the OS buildings). BB has 4 buildings side by side that run perpendicular to the beach with OF on the end and the rest OS. Then they have 2 GV buildings across the street behind the Westin Hotel.

Since an exchanger into BB or SW will more than likely get GV, that's why I feel SW is better to trade to than BB but BB is better from an owners standpoint.

For SW, see what unit type you have. If it's OV or OS, just request highest floor possible, if it's GV, ask for Ocean Marsh building would be my suggestion.

 

[chalee94]

thanks dean!