Hilton Head Info request

[RumpleMom]

Please tell me all about Hilton Head in the summer. What are the must do things? Family with 2 teenagers. I saw the recent thread about the restaurants.

We have never been there. What is the Beach House like? the water? suggestions in case it rains, boat excursions,...

Are there umbrellas and chairs on the beach? Do they have to be rented? Cost?

Are there towels available at the pools?

Ok, so I'm excited thanks!

 

[TwirlerGirl]

Hi RumpleMom,

Your family will love HH. After 7 trips, I still can't wait for the next vacation. I'll try to answer some of your questions but the best source of info on HH is Tom Towery's web page.
http://ttowery.tripod.com/

I, personally, love the Beach House. Very clean, nice pool, good quality lunch and snack food, bar for the adults if you like a little treat and a great view of the beach.
Underground parking if you arrive early keeps the car a little clearer and out of the heat. Air condition activity room with large screen TV if you need to get out of the sun, gaming tables, chairs for relaxing and a fire place for colder months. An arcade room with some games for those who like to test their skills. Towels are provided for the pools and beach.

It is a very short walk to the beach. Restroom access from the beach is available above the underground parking from the side entrance of the beach house. Beach chairs are for rent on the beach but it makes more sense to buy them even if you leave them behind. Beach umbrellas are also rented on the beach. Rentals are very pricey around $45 for the week or more.

The water is great but might seem a little tame for teenagers. The last time we were there some dolphin pods swimming a few feet from us. Great to watch.

Bicycles are for rent for about $20 per week including helmet and chain lock. These are beach bikes with no gears - fine for a place as flat as Hilton Head. You can bring your bikes but you should know the salt air is very corrosive and if you ride on the beach your bike will age quickly. Disney Resort allows to to store the bikes on your
porch area or in the under ground parking area at the Lodge.

In case of rain, there is tons of shopping areas, movie complex, craft activities, fishing and crabbing off the pier if the weather not to bad. There is free video rentals, museums, arcardes and the fitness center. I'm sure you'll find plenty to do.

Some of the things to do are:
Kayaking
Parasailing
Horseback riding
Dolphin watching & eco tours
Fishing
Boating
Wave running
Miniature golf
Crabbing
Bike riding
Rollerblading
Sailing
Historic side trips
Enjoying nature - alligators, deer, birds
Water slide
Family fun center
Driving ranges
Batting cages


Have a great trip.

Sandy B.

 

[NCRedding]

Thanks for the info; our first trip is in April. Do you know if the bikes have hand brakes, or are they pedal breaks?

 

[gracelrm]

Just came back from HH and we rented bikes from the resort. Of the ones we had, the adult bikes had hand brakes and the children's bikes had pedal brakes.

 

[trampslady]

We are planning to vacation at Hilton Head between Christmas and New Years Day. Of course, we will have to wait until May (7 month window) to book it. What do you think our odds for success will be?

 

[Disneyaholic]

We just got back from Hilton Head this past weekend. We checked in on New Year's Eve and came home on Sunday. The resort was at 100% capacity up till the weekend, then dropped drastically. I made our reservations (on points) less than 30 days before our arrival.

My guess is that if you're not able to get the reservation at 7 months, but go on the waitlist, it will probably clear.

 

[KarenB]

HH is wonderful! We first went in June 2001 and are heading back this June with 4 teenage boys!!! Since the ocean is about 4 hours from here and all the kids LOVE to swim, I feel they will be very content. We plan on getting everyone a bike and allowing them some freedom, especially since the pools and local beach have lifeguards.

When we went for our first trip, we had plans to visit areas such as Savanah and Charleston but never made it...no one wanted to leave the resort or the beach. Just be careful of the stingrays, DH got stung within the first 30 minutes of our trip. Shuffle your feet in the sand to make them scatter.

Karen

 

[December99]

Is there anywhere to check out the rates for the horseback riding?? Or does anyone have that info?

 

[RumpleMom]

Thanks for Tommy Towery's site.

Any suggestions for things to do in the evening? We will do miniature golf for sure. Other ideas? The teenagers enjoy going to PI with us-Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club. Any ideas along that line?

 

[RumpleMom]

Thanks for Tommy Towery's site.

Any suggestions for things to do in the evening? We will do miniature golf for sure. Other ideas? The teenagers enjoy going to PI with us-Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club. Any ideas along that line?

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by December99
Is there anywhere to check out the rates for the horseback riding?? Or does anyone have that info?

We intended to look into horseback riding the last time we were at HHI, but never got around to it. The beach was too tempting! Here's the info about the place we were told to contact:

Lawton Stables
190 Greenwood Drive
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
(843) 671-2586 or (843) 671-2589
Fax: (843) 671-2554

 

[gracelrm]

Trampslady -
We arrived at HHI on Dec. 30 and stayed through Jan. 3rd just two weeks ago. We stayed in a 1 BR and made our reservations in July - so even a little after the 7 month window and had no difficulty. It is my understanding that there are many more two bedroom units - than 1 BR or studios - so if that's what you are wanting, my guess is that you probably will get it. We're already making plans to go back in the fall.

 

[Tommy]

Okay folks, here's a new idea of something to do at Hilton Head that I have never seen mentioned here before, so I thought I'd bring it up. I'll add a spot for it on my website when I get back. This would be a great sport for families with teenagers or children big enough to walk a couple of miles.

Have you ever heard of Geocaching? You need to own or borrow a Global Positioning System (GPS). They cost between $100 and $300, but many people have them. Here's the definition from the main site http://www.geocaching.com

"Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache."

Basically, you go to the web site mentioned above and find the GPS coordinates of a geocache. You then take your GPS and enter those coordinates into it and then follow the arrow on the GPS until you find the cache. There is a rough map of where you go and some hints as to what the cache is. Last January we went on our first one at HHI, which was a cache located on Pickney Island. It was fun to walk the island and our GPS took us to within six feet of the cache.

The rules are, you take some small item with you, when you find the cache you can take something someone else left there, and leave something to replace it. You sign the log book and then log the find on the web site.

Again, it is a wonderful way to get into nature. On the seach for the cache we found we saw alligators, birds, and many other of nature's treasures.

Have fun...we plan to in two weeks when we go back. I've got a list of eight local HHI caches to go discover. I'll entertain any questions.

 

[buzz5985]

Geocaching sounds like a lot of fun. Just did a search on the site and can't believe the amount of caches located just in my area!! One with a travel bug. Wish I was heading to HH soon, to leave the bug!!!

 

[LindaDVC]

We will be back at HH in 90 days! (april break)
Then again in the summer too!

We love it there and find it very relaxing!

Linda

 

[Disneyaholic]

Originally posted by RumpleMom
Thanks for Tommy Towery's site.

Any suggestions for things to do in the evening? We will do miniature golf for sure. Other ideas? The teenagers enjoy going to PI with us-Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club. Any ideas along that line?

There are usually scheduled teen activities once or twice a week (depending on how full the resort is) and sometimes in the afternoon as well. All depends on when you will be there.

A lot of the teenagers seem to like to congregate at Big Murgie's Den in the evening -- they play pool, watch TV, and just "hang out". Since the resort is small, and basically its own island, I feel very safe letting my kids do this. Big Murgie's closes at 10:00 (so the nearby rooms are not bothered by the sound of the pool table!), so you know they're not going to stay out too late.

There's also a place called Adventure Cove that's not too far from the resort. It has miniature golf, an arcade, and tons of other stuff to keep them busy. Again, I have always felt just fine dropping off teenagers there (as long as they have a cell phone to call if they need us!)

They will have blast -- and so will you.

 

[RumpleMom]

Thank you I really appreciate your replies. A few more questions.

Can you drive your own car from the resort to the Beach House? If so, what is parking like?

Has anyone rented chairs and umbrella from a non-Disney source?

Info about bike rental please.

How often does the shuttle run from the resort to the Beach House?

 

[Disneyaholic]

* Yes you can drive your own car to the beach house. There is some parking under the beach house itself (preferable on very hot days) and a lot. However, when the resort is full, you will want to get there early, because the lot HAS been known to fill up. (You can also drive there, drop off your stuff, drive back to the resort and catch the shuttle...)

* We have never rented chairs or an umbrella. We bring our own. I've heard of people who buy their own at Wal-Mart (or someplace else) and then just leave them at the end of their stay if they don't have a way to bring them home. The rentals are pretty pricey. I don't think there's a choice of who to rent from at the beach.

* The resort usually has a bike rental special. Last summer, I think it was $50 for two bikes for your length of stay; additional bikes were maybe $10 or $15 additional per bike. There are other bicycle rental companies that will bring the bikes to the resort and pick them up when you're done with them, but we just stick with what's available at the resort.

* During high times, I think the shuttle runs about every 20 minutes between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; during less-busy times, it's on demand.

 

[RumpleMom]

We tend to be WDW commandos, so the thought of actually relaxing at HHI this summer is unsettling to us, especially DH. I found wheretogohiltonhead.com has a wealth of information.

Anyone have experience with "Murder at the Mansion"?
It is theater and dinner at Port Royal Clubhouse.

 

[CrayzeeDiz]

Though its a bit pricey ($30 per person) You can take the Dolphin excursion with Captain Mike. We just returned from HH and took this 2 hour boat ride and had a blast. The boat only seats 6 though.