HHI drive from Buffalo

[Momamae]

All,

We are going to Hilton Head at the end of next week and staying for the week. Two questions for the people that drive down to HHI from Buffalo do we leave Thursday night and drive 6,7 hours to West Virginia or do we leave Friday early and drive the 14 hours straight there.
Second where do we eat and what do we do in HHI? Thank you!

 

[bbn1122]

We live in NJ and it going to take us over 12 hours. I do not want to get there late, since we could only get 4 nights in August. We are driving 10 hours and stopping about 2 hours from HHI, having dinner and get a good night sleep. Then in the morning we will head into HHI and hopefully check in by about 11:00am, so we will have the afternoon and evening to enjoy the resort. I would take 2 days from Buffalo for the same reason, but you do have a whole week. Good luck with your drive...have a wonderful time.

I do not have any advice for what to do once you get there, since August will be our first trip. I am sure you will get some great advice, but there are many recent post with dinner and activity advice....

 

[wmacc]

Can't advise on the drive but we've done HHI every year for the past three years in Nov. HHI has many activities such as kayaking (fun!) bike rentals, lots of kids activities and they also do a kids night out which is great to get some time alone. The beach house is either a bike ride away or 2 min drive that has a pool (aside from the main pool) snack bar, and game room. This is just a small sample of what there is to do. We enjoy it because its so close to the beach and not as touristy like other locations. Its also a great place if you're an avid golfer!! Good luck and have fun!!

 

[marynvince]

I drive from cleveland and trust me in the summer, you don't want to drive during the day. Too many vacationers don't know how to drive. They fail to realize that the passing lane is just that, pass and then move over. Too frustrating for me. SOOOO much more relaxing driving at night straight through. That is my suggestion to you. We did that last Thanksgiving, got in on a Sat morning and were able to check in and get room at 5:30 am. Slept for 5 hours and it was like we had a whole extra day there.

 

[MinnieGi]

We live in DE and its 12 hours for us. We drive straight through. We leave however at 3:00 or 4:00 AM! This is to avoid DC/NOVA back-ups and we get down on HHI in the late afternoon.

However we do not spend our first night at the Disney resort. We actually check into the Hampton Inn on the island and not too far from Disney. This way we feel we have not "wasted Points" on a day that we were hardly there. After our nights sleep at Hampton and their free breakfast we check into Disney around 9:00/9:30. Now being that it is summer our room is never ready that early but we get our key cards and head over to the beach house for a day of fun on the sand and in the ocean. They usually text us that our room is ready by 1:00/1:30. Then we go and unpack for the week, but already feel like the vacation has already begun b/c of our beach time.

As far as what you do at HHI - you can sit back and relax on the beach...or schedule as many activities as you want. There is everything from golfing, tennis, boating, crabbing, kayaking, paddleboarding, jet skiing, sailing, biking, horse riding, etc... The resort has loads of activities too for the kids as well as adults. There are quite a few nature ones, crafts, games etc. All are run by great cm's!

Eating is also fun in HHI as there are loads of restaurants! If you want to avoid crowds, be sure to arrive between 5:00 and 6:00. We had little to no waits between that hour, however at every place when we were leaving there were LONG waits trying to get in!

 

[Momamae]

Thank you all for the replys.

 

[loveswdw]

However we do not spend our first night at the Disney resort. We actually check into the Hampton Inn on the island and not too far from Disney. This way we feel we have not "wasted Points" on a day that we were hardly there. After our nights sleep at Hampton and their free breakfast we check into Disney around 9:00/9:30.

This is what we are doing in October. We live in KY and with stops its a 12 hour drive to HHI. We are driving down on Saturday and I didn't want to spend the extra weekend night points when we won't be able to enjoy the resort much since we won't get there until evening. I booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express Bluffton using Priority Club points (FREE!). We'll stay the first night there, get up and eat the free breakfast then drive over and check in to DHHIR for the week!

 

[andijean]

I don't know about the drive part b/c we flew out from Buffalo b/c I couldn't fathom that drive with my boys. They are not the best car riders.

But, I can tell you about food and activities. We loved eating at Dye's Gullah fixins. The southern food was great, but don't expect a fancy atmosphere. We were not thrilled with the food at Kingfisher and wished we skipped it. We had a great meal at the Alligator Grille. (I had gotten coupons at restaurant.com). We LOVED the activities throughout the resort!! The boys loved crabbing, kayak tour, shark presentation, marsh tour and dolphin tour! We can't wait to go back! Enjoy!

 

[sara mom]

I don't know about the drive part b/c we flew out from Buffalo b/c I couldn't fathom that drive with my boys. They are not the best car riders.

But, I can tell you about food and activities. We loved eating at Dye's Gullah fixins. The southern food was great, but don't expect a fancy atmosphere. We were not thrilled with the food at Kingfisher and wished we skipped it. We had a great meal at the Alligator Grille. (I had gotten coupons at restaurant.com). We LOVED the activities throughout the resort!! The boys loved crabbing, kayak tour, shark presentation, marsh tour and dolphin tour! We can't wait to go back! Enjoy!

Are the crabbing, kayaking, shark presentation, and tours all additional costs?

 

[andijean]

Most of the items are additional cost. The crabbing kept our boys entertained for hours and all we needed to do was buy the nets at the rec counter and keep them supplied with bait. All the other items are listed on your weekly calendar with the prices. Just make sure to sign up early b/c they do fill up quickly.

 

[MinnieGi]

Are the crabbing, kayaking, shark presentation, and tours all additional costs?

Yes, as mentioned those things are additional cost. However there are some activities that do not cost anything. For instance most of the nature activities such as "secrets of the marsh", bird tour, sea creatures, and sand sculpting were all free. As well as many of the activities with B'Lou Crabbe such as his magic show, ghost stories, meet and greet with Shadow are also all free.

 

[Laila Bryce]

I am about 1.5 hrs south of Buffalo. I have done the HHI drive both ways. IMO prefer to drive most of the way and stop, then get up early. Honestly we did not need two nights, but depends on kids, etc.
Food wise and activity wise I suggest a day trip to Savannah (Paula Deen!!)

 

[Conan the Librarian]

Forget Paula, go to Mrs Wilkes. Much better food. 105 W Jones St, Savannah.

You must eat at least one burger at the grill by the pool. I don't know if it is that they are fresh cooked , but, they are really really good. If you can get one cooked by Joyce, consider yourself lucky!

Other places: Pazzo (under the watertower across the highway from the resort), One Hot Mama's, and (so I have been told by Mike the Pool guy) Eat! by Robert Irvine.

Hook up with Mike. He is a local and knows his stuff.

 

[Laila Bryce]

Any reviews on Eat?

 

[izzy]

Forget Paula, go to Mrs Wilkes. Much better food. 105 W Jones St, Savannah.

You must eat at least one burger at the grill by the pool. I don't know if it is that they are fresh cooked , but, they are really really good. If you can get one cooked by Joyce, consider yourself lucky!

Other places: Pazzo (under the watertower across the highway from the resort), One Hot Mama's, and (so I have been told by Mike the Pool guy) Eat! by Robert Irvine.

Hook up with Mike. He is a local and knows his stuff.

I can both second and third talking with Mike. He is a wealth of information!

I ate at a restaurant called Frankie Bones that I really liked. If I remember correctly, you can make a reservation there, too. For (relatively) cheap seafood that is good, I like the Sea Shack. Don't let the line outside turn scare you. It goes fairly quickly. There is zero atmosphere here, but the food is fresh and hot. Do get directions from a local, because it's a little hard to find.

 

[Momamae]

thank you,

we are off early in the morning, driving straight threw.

 

[dgaston]

Eat! has half price tapas on Tuesday. They even offer the house wines at half price then. We totally loved the coconut shrimp with cajun salsa. We did make reservations for this.

Our other favorites are One Hot Mamas (good Sunday brunch), and the Sea Shack.

For resort activities we liked the Pinckney Island tour, and tye-dyeing!

Have done the dolphin tour in the past too.