Hilton Head Island for Spring Break?

[MattIL]

My family is considering visiting HHI for spring break. It would be the week following Easter. We have never been to this area of the country and thought it might be a nice trip that would not cost that many points.

Does anyone have any experience with this area at the end of March and what type of weather should we expect?

What type of crowds should we expect if we go out exploring in the area?

Any feedback on visiting the resort at this part of the year would be appreciated.

 

[WolfpackFan]

It will be fairly cold in March still. We went there last March and it was colder than I was expecting. We didn't spend a whole lot of time on the beach. I don't imagine crowds will be that bad then. Even though it is Spring break, most folks around here don't go to NC or SC beaches for Spring break; they go south to Florida.

 

[cgcw]

We were there in March this year. The weather was not warm, it was definately sweatshirt weather. The ocean was very cool and my kids thought the pool was cold as well. My DS7 resorted to swimming in the hot tub.

We enjoyed building sand castles on the beach, flying kites, riding bikes and we had a lot of fun doing the kayaks. We are never at a loss finding things to occupy our time in HH. They had a lot of activities still planned for the kids who wanted to participate.

The one thing to plan for are the sand fleas. They were terrible and left our legs all bitten up. If you do go ahead with your trip in spring, I would suggest a lot of sun screen.

Even at capacity, the DVC resort there never feels crowded. Sometimes in the afternons there are a lot of people at the pools, but other than that, it seems like people pretty much spread out.


This was our first non-summer July trip and we found, for our family, we prefer the summer months, even though they are hot and humid. The kids enjoy the pool & beach when they are not cold. We also prefer the crabbing and fishing off the pier as well as the shark fishing done by Low Country.

 

[HM]

We'll be in HHI during our Spring break...first week of April. We were there for Easter one year. The weather was great for biking, golf, and tennis and such, but a bit cool for the pool and ocean.....though we did use the pools at our resort some (we own at a Marriott TS). It's a beautiful time to be on the island, with azaleas and dogwoods blooming.

 

[drusba]

60s and possibly 70s in the day. Hilton Head is very popular that time of year for a large class of visitors: Golfers.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

It will be fairly cold in March still. We went there last March and it was colder than I was expecting. We didn't spend a whole lot of time on the beach. I don't imagine crowds will be that bad then. Even though it is Spring break, most folks around here don't go to NC or SC beaches for Spring break; they go south to Florida.

Ditto...

 

[global_mom]

subscribing.....

 

[starbox]

We were there Easter week this year and had a freak snap of three days with temps in the mid-80's - and even then the ocean was freezing cold and very windy - we lasted all of ten minutes. Pools were not warm, but were tolerable in when the weather was warm around mid-day. The day we left, temps dropped to below freezing and stayed there for a week - which was another freak snap - but this time of cold weather.

I'd say highs in the 60's-70's is about right for spring break. With wind (it is an island, so there's wind), that's not going to feel very warm. Pools are not heated to a warm bath-water temp - but they are not ice cold either. There was lots to do at the resort and in Hilton Head and we had a great time - but it's not going to be a "beach/sun/swim" type of Spring Break destination.

 

[Doctor P]

We were there the first week of April in 2006 and didn't have a day where it didn't reach 80, had one day where there was heavy rain. People swam every day in the pools, and it was stifling hot two days as well (approaching 90 degrees). That was unusual, but also shows that the weather at that time of year can be variable, so try to plan for the range of weather suggested in this thread.

 

[global_mom]

We were thinking HHI for our spring break. Our county in GA goes on break March 7th. It sounds like this may be way toooo chilly a time to actually swim and enjoy the water. Does sound like a pleasant time to enjoy bike riding, walks on the beach etc. With 3 children under 11 we might better wait till later into the spring/summer to try HHI. They would be disappointed not to get in the water for hours each day.

Maybe we will go ahead with our original plan of going to DL for spring break.

Enjoyed all of this great feedback!!!

 

[MattIL]

Thank you for the information. We might put off this trip until our son is a little older and would enjoy the non-water activities better.

 

[princessesrule4]

Alot of people come here expecting a Florida-like beach and pool vacation and it is not happening in March! It is still cool/cold and rainy here at the end of March. Doesn't really warm up for a long period of time til May. Ocean temps don't get bearable til May,also.
Probably not what you wanted to hear but at least you know ahead of time and can plan accordingly.
Hope you have a great time whenever you decide to go!

 

[global_mom]

Probably not what you wanted to hear but at least you know ahead of time and can plan accordingly.

This is exactly what we needed to hear! We are only 5 hours away from HHI in Georgia and our beaches stay chilly until April-May. This is why I love the DIS, good advice from folks in the know!!

 

[mouseclick1]

We went the week of Easter in '05, which did happen to be the last week of March that year. Some of the days were definitely "sweatshirt" days, but we did have some very nice, sunny days where we were in shorts and t-shirts and used the pool. In fact, we underestimated the strength of the sun one day and got a nice little sunburn. While it was much different than traveling in the summer, we really enjoyed our trip. We did the dolphin cruise, the shrimp boil, crabbing, and other low-key but fun activities. We took some nice walks on the beach, but it was definitely too cold for swimming in the ocean. I really enjoyed going that time of year and will definitely do it again some time.