Hilton Head questions

[bellaphia]

Will be heading to HH end of August with two teen daughters, DH and 75 year old mom..our first visit and we are very excited but we have no clue what to expect!!
We want to book a dolphin cruise and tried to do so through DVC who said have to contact resort directly, who said they don't do that anymore?? who should we contact/use, I know there a a lot of companies that do this but don't know best ones..
also would love to know best location for 2bdr.. can you walk to beach or do you have to drive?
would also love recommendations for dining!
any info would be greatly appreciated..

 

[tachyonbb]

We just got back, GG in her 80's and grandsons at 7 and 4. We did the Dolphin cruise from Island Explorer. It is just a few miles from the Disney resort. It was excellent. We had dinner at the Old Oyster Factory which is where the Dolphin cruise originates.

We also did a shark fishing excursion from Outside Hilton Head which is in the harbor next to the resort (pretty easy walk). It took about 30 minutes to get to the fishing site, but within 5 minutes we caught 3 sharks. My son in law caught a 40 lb red fish and 7 year old grandson caught a 6 ft shark (all catch and release).

The San Miguel Inn is within walking distance from the resort. Their serving sizes are generous, the food is excellent and the service was great (also you get a 10% discount when staying at Disney). There are a lot of great restaurants on the Island.

The Beach House is about 2 miles away. Drive if you have a car, there is a shuttle but it does not start until 10AM. If you go when the beach house is open they have towels there for you to use. If you come before it is open bring towels. We went one morning to watch the sunrise and it was awesome.

The dock at the resort is interesting as you can see the tide come in and go out and the fiddler crabs scurry about.

There is a Kroger grocery store less than a mile away, good prices, lots of beach stuff (boogie boards, beach type chairs etc.) It was cheaper for us to buy beach chairs (and left them for the next guests) than to rent chairs for the 5 days we went to the beach.

Lots of bike trails (rent from someone on the island as the Disney rentals are about twice as expensive) They deliver and pick up the bikes.

Tuesday is fireworks night so plan accordingly. They have a campfire a couple of nights which the 7 year old loved but is more for the elementary school set.

To get to the end of the island costs $6.00. Harbor Town has some interesting shops, and Dennis Connor's Stars and Stripes America's Cup sailing ship is docked here and you can take a cruise on the ship.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We just got back from HHI. (Stayed at uncle's condo, not Disney- but walked over to check it out and fell in love). We did a dolphin excursion with Commander Zodiac- which was AMAZING! Its a bit further away that some of the other tour companies- South side of the island in Sea Pines. We made a day out of it though. We booked the tour from 8am-10am (we went to the disappearing island so it depends on when low tide is) and then explored Sea Pines and the lighthouse while we were over there. Commander Zodiac is very close to Salty Dog Cafe if you are interested in eating there.

As far as food- we too had a great experience at San Miguel's. I highly recommend taking a short drive to Wise Guys for dinner- it was amazing. Skull Creek Boathouse was good as well!

 

[plunk meets world]

How is the water there? Are there jellyfish or lots of seaweed? Is it the type of beach you swim at and build sand castles, etc.?

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We were a tiny bit north of the Disney beach house - Water was great- very warm, like bath water. I heard the water temp was in the 80s. Its not clear though (can't really see to the bottom after you get past the first foot or so) Did not encounter any jellyfish or seaweed this past week. Kids played in the ocean with boogie boards- some big waves though so we were in arms reach at all times. Absolutely can build sand castles!

 

[plunk meets world]

Very cool! Thanks! I was always afraid of there not being enough to do.

 

[tachyonbb]

The water was great. Pay attention to the tides. Grandma lost her glasses when a big wave came in and she was not prepared. No jellyfish or stingrays during our visit. We did see a couple of horseshoe crabs on the beach when the tide was coming in. No seaweed at all. When the tide is coming is the boys had fun with their boogie boards and could ride the waves for about 10 meters. 4 year old grandson built a bunch of sand castles. On the third day he remarked that the structures he built were "gone grandpa". We talked about the tides and built new ones.