Hilton Head trip report (long)

[trainfun]

The 4 of us (kids 19 and 15) Spent 5 wonderful days at Hilton Head from Easter Sunday through the following Friday.

Stayed in 2 bedroom in building 13, which is off by itself behind the lodge -- truly ideal for those who love peace and quiet!
Not ideal if you have young kids and want to be near the resort pool. For us it was perfect!

From our deck we watched dolphins frolic in the marsh behind the resort one late afternoon at high tide.

Weather was fine, low to high 70's, mostly sunny, some clouds. Beach water was about 65 degrees, warm enough for boogie boarding, though the surf was only decent on Easter Sunday. It showered a bit and was cloudy on Easter, but by 3 PM the sun was out and we hit the beach.

We checked in early, about 10:30 AM. The room wasn't ready, but we'd packed a separate bag for the beach and were ready to go. At about 5, we went down the road to Piggly Wiggly, got some groceries and the room was ready.

Room condition was excellent, everything worked.

Pools at both beach house and resort were busy and the water was pleasantly warm.

One day at the beach (Pretty sure it was Wednesday)large sand sharks came in just 5-10 feet offshore. Their fins were about 4 inches high and frequently were visible. It caused a stir on the beach, but they were way too small to hurt anyone and swam away when anyone came near. They were gone in a while and many folks never left the water.

Ate at Giuseppis in the shopping center right down the road. We walked and it was about a 15 minute walk. Food was good. We got there about 6:30 and had to wait 1/2 hour. Our waiter was the CM who worked the pool deck at the beach house earlier in the day.

Also ate at Aunt Chilada's a Mexican/Italian place just south of the sea Pines traffic circle 2 miles from the resort. Place looked a bit disheveled and a little run-down, but food was very good. Cheese on nachos was outstanding, best I've ever had. Has a bar that was hopping as well if you are into that.

Also ate at Hilton Head Brewing right off Sea Pines circle, again good food, reasonable prices, though we didn't go for big ticket items like steaks, as this was a "bonus" trip.

If you ever plan to go over the Easter break, we found that the restaurants were fairly empty at 5 PM, fairly full by 5:30 and mobbed after 6. Being from New York we're used to having to do things at early hours to avoid crowds. (We leave at 3 AM driving south).

For I-95 travelers there is some construction in North and South Carolina, but not too bad. In the DC area, we found going around 495 "backwards" toward the east then south was easier than the usual way across the Wilson bridge. Coming home on Friday night, we bypassed the DC/Baltimore area by leaving 95 at 207 to Route 301 which we took to Maryland 3, then I-97, to I-695 over the Key bridge and back onto 95 just north of Baltimore. This is an easier drive and more pleasant with some stop and go, but not the killer jams on 95.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Thanks for the report Trainfun,

We are on our less than one month count down, and are READY TO GO. I am glad that you had a good trip. I have always wondered what it was like in building 13. I was glad to hear your report.

Did the lifeguards at the beach notice the sharks first and notify the beachgoers?

Tig

 

[cgcw]

Sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for the info on the restaurants. Always looking to try something new.

The sharks would have had us out of the water onto the beach. No doubt about that. It wouldn't have mattered what size they were -- just the thought of them is enough to scare me!

 

[luckytso]

Thanks for the report. We (more like I) are considering going to HH next summer. How long was the drive for you? We have little kids and I am trying to figure out if we need to fly. I would prefer to drive so that we can carry lots of stuff with us, save on the airfare and the car rental. Thanks

 

[TerriBelle]

thanks for the report!

We are going this July for our first trip. Did you drive straight through or stay somewhere overnight?

 

[David in Manassas]

We have driven down to DVC HH 3 times from the DC area. I hae to admit, I'm sort of lazy so we usually leave after work and stay over night on the way down. On the way back, we are out of there at 4 AM back to DC area straight.

We will be in TWO - 2 bedroom units the week after 4th of July (unless some kind person cancels their Grand Villa reservation that week. Will have 4 teenagers with me, wife and grandparents....For the kids, they would probably like being in one of those units overlooking the pool, but we will be happy with anything that overlooks the marsh...after all...FIREWORKS every TUESDAY in the SUMMER!!!

david in Manassas VA

 

[trainfun]

We live far out on Long Island, so it takes us 1 1/2 hours from 3 Am - 4:30 Am to reach the New Jersey Turnpike via the Outerbridge crossing.

Our entire trip if we drove straight through would have taken about 15 1/2 hours going down and 16 1/2 hours returning, but we stopped both times.

On the way down we stopped in Lumberton, NC, 20 miles north of the border with SC. We got there about 2 PM.

This allowed us to leave Lumberton at 7:00 AM and arrive at Hilton Head about 10:30. In this way, we got to use the resort on Sunday so it wasn't just an unpack and eat dinner day. We walked through the grounds, went to the beach and went shopping, getting back about 5, when, of course our room was ready. Packing a separate bag with beach clothing made this very easy. We used our room cards and changed at the Beach House.

Our plan was to drive straight through going home (we have done it before, but it is a long, 875 mile drive). Unfortunately, it began raining hard just as we departed Hilton Head and rained the rest of the way, slowing traffic and decreasing visibility, so we tired out and decided to stay in Edgewood, MD, north of Baltimore.

With very young ones it looks like a 2 day ride to me unless they are very good travelers. We leave an extra day on the return trip and were glad we did.

It is also helpful to have the motel guides from several chains, so you can call from a cell phone should you decide to stop. There is an excellent website on I-95 something like usastar.com that has loads of info. They publish a guide which lists services at every exit from Maine to Florida. The info used to be available online, I'm not sure if it still is. We printed it out a few years back and put it in a binder, so we can plan meal stops.

Some Rough time guidelines:
From Exit 10 Jersey Turnpike to Delaware -- 90 minutes
Delaware, 20 - 30 minutes depending on traffic
Maryland 90 minutes
Virginia 3 hours (can be forever if traffic is bad) approx 180 miles
North Carolina 2 1/2 - 3 hours (184 miles)
South Carolina 2 1/2 - 3 hours (192 miles)
Exit 8 to DVC Hilton Head 25 -45 minutes depending on traffic

Regarding the sharks, yes the lifeguards did point them out, but leaving the water seemed to be voluntary as the cleared area was only about 300 feet wide and several bathers went back in to get a closer look and were not asked to leave the water.

I would emphasize that they were just large sand sharks. We see them in Long Island waters every now and then. They don't seem to bother people. I've been in the water (LI Sound) with them swimming all around without an problems.

 

[BWVDenise]

We drove from NJ to HH last June with 3 kids (all under 8 yrs) and it took us about 12 hours. That is total travel time including stops for bathrooms, gas, coffee, etc. We packed a picnic lunch and ate at a nice rest stop that had picnic tables in the shade. We left our house just before 4 a.m. which I think really helped a lot with traffic. Feel free to pm me if I can help with the drive info!! Enjoy!

 

[Connears]

We love HHI resort and have been 5 times at the holidays and once in July(2002). We drive from Boston and usually stop after DC around border of VA/NC. then to HHI next day. We just added 50 points this Oct at HHI so I have some 11 month points..we adore the resort and all it offers at any time of year. Thanks for your report. Try Scott's at Shelter Cove next time..good food and great casual atmosphere.
Connears

 

[natt]

trainfun; I notice your kids are older. How was the ocean in a "teen's eyes". Another poster (different thread) mentioned that it wasn't really boogie boarding surf; not sure if that's just time of the year or the location.

I'd really like to try HH and it would be such an easier drive than WDW, but I'd hate to get there, and my kids think the beach is lame. What is the norm for waves - anyone?

 

[luckytso]

Thanks for the tips for drivng. Now we just have to figure out when exactly to go.

Denise, it seems that you will be driving all the way down to WDW and coming back staying at HH. Have a great time!!!

Do you think Memorial Day week is better than July 4th week to be at HH, weatherwise and activity wise? I know in the summer there is fireworks. After seeing so many fireworks at WDW, do you think this is really that worth seeing?

Thanks

 

[Disneyaholic]

Originally posted by natt
trainfun; I notice your kids are older. How was the ocean in a "teen's eyes". Another poster (different thread) mentioned that it wasn't really boogie boarding surf; not sure if that's just time of the year or the location.

I'd really like to try HH and it would be such an easier drive than WDW, but I'd hate to get there, and my kids think the beach is lame. What is the norm for waves - anyone?

I know my kids enjoyed boogie boarding when they were younger. (They're both teens now also.) DS now is more into skim boarding, and has had some excellent luck with that at HH!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Trainfun...I grew up in Northport.

I'm wondering why you use the Verenzano Narrows/Outerbridge Crossing route? It seems to me you are adding at least a half hour to your trip. You are crossing Long Island...kind of meandering around the shore in Brooklyn then wandering across Staten Island. If you took the Expressway you could take the Queen's Midtown...shoot over Manhattan to the Lincoln and pick up the Turnpike there. When I was kid that's how we did it going to Atlanta or Charleston.

At the same time you must be driving pretty fast to make it in 90 minutes so maybe that offsets it (of course you could drive pretty fast on my route except for the midtown crossing).

 

[trainfun]

Regarding surf conditions at Hilton Head, the beach does deepen only gradually so the waves are often gentler than the tubes surfers enjoy, but the other side of the coin is that they almost always (in our experience) break offshore. Really advanced surfers might prefer other spots, but for good plain fun and long (but straight toward shore) rides Hilton Head is fine.

As pointed out it provides excellent skim boarding, especially at low tide.

As to driving via Outerbridge instead of going through Manhattan, I feel I'm going south on the West Shore Expy on Staten Island and spending less time on the NJ pike. I'm also not as familiar with the route through the city and since we're navigating through the area in the dark I just stick to what I know. Perhaps I'll try your suggestion on a future trip. I appreciate your suggestion. We did try Throgs Neck/Cross Bronx/GW Bridge, but that takes you north and adds 10 minutes. I drive at 65-75 on the LIE, 60-65 on the parkways. Generally, I'm moving with traffic.

I was surprised that speeds on uncongested parts of I-95 continue to creep up. On some stretches in the Carolinas where the limit is 70, the right lane was moving at 75-80. We have a minivan, and 80 is the upper limit as far as I am concerned. These are wonderful vehicles, but they are not sports cars, and sudden avoidance maneuvers at these speeds can be very tricky. The ride becomes less pleasant each succeeding time as traffic mounts and speed increases. Still much less expensive than flying for a family.

 

[Macnjac87]

Trainfun,

Hi from a fellow LI'er- we are from Southampton. We are going to HH in July for 5 nights in a 2BR as well, we can't wait as we have never been to HH before and are really looking forward to getting out of the Hamptons during the summer (I know, we are going from one resort area to another, but HH looks way more inviting to me than here!!)

We always drive the Verrazano-Staten Island route when leaving early- if the traffic conditions are right, you breeze right thru. Of course, we've been stuck on the Belt Pkwy many times too!
We are planning on leaving around 2pm Saturday afternoon since DH has to work half a day and stopping in Emporia, VA overnight. Do you think this is a good plan? I would like to arrive at HH by noon on Sunday so as to make the most of the day, so we will have to get an early jump Sunday morning.

Thanks for a great trip report~

 

[trainfun]

You are looking at 2 hours to the Jersey Tpke under ideal conditions, another 7 - 9 (heavy traffic) hours to Emporia depending on traffic. From Emporia to Hilton Head is about 6 1/2 to 7 hours, so you will be getting in late Saturday, and leaving very early on Sunday to get there by noon. As long as you don't mind a few hours driving in the dark at the end of the first night, and the following early wake-up, this should work out fine.

I-95 in Virginia on Saturdays can get very congested, but by the time you are passing through it should be OK.

Suggest listening to AM stations 880 and 1010, which have traffic reports. 880 on 8's 1010 on 1's (1:01, 1:11. etc.) You might have to be flexible on how you get off LI by seeing which routes are moving.

Also suggest I-295 around Richmond, less traffic, but watch for police activity around mile markers 22-20.

If traffic is really heavy southbound in Jersey, Del and MD, you might consider bypassing the Baltimore DC area taking 695 around Baltimore to the Key Bridge to I97 South to MD 3 to MD 301 to Va 207 and back to I-95 about 30 miles south of Fredericksburg Va.

You will love Hilton Head. It has many of the conveniences we LI'ers love (even outlet centers just off the island), shopping, fast food, great but expensive golf,etc. The big difference is that signs are small and buildings are set well back from the road usually behind lots of lush vegetation.

There is a lot of traffic on the main road (William Hilton Parkway) but once off that road you are in gated, shaded very neatly planned and manicured communities. Very relaxing!

You will also enjoy the much warmer beach water.

Have a great trip.