St Simons Island or Hilton Head?

[katie111]

We are trying to plan a summer vacation for 2 weeks this year to somewhere different. We live in MA & normally go to Cape Cod, NH or ME for our summer vacation. We are a family of 5 with 3 kids, ages 4, 7, & 8. We love the beach, pools, riding bikes, & just exploring new places. I've done a lot of research on Hilton Head and are looking at either the Moorings (Palmetto Dunes) or Brigantine Quarters (Shipyard Plantation). We don't want to be in a hi-rise building. While looking at VRBO his morning I came across St Simons Island and just wanted to see if anyone has been there and can give me any additional information on it. It looks like there is a lot to do there but its much smaller than HH. Anyone know if the beaches are nice, good restaurants, whether traffic is bad, etc? Thanks for your help!

 

[bean]

We love HH and go there often. I've stayed at PalmettoDunes and like it, but for families I would look at Sea Pines. This area has numerous bike trails, a horse barn, restaurants, and family friendly nightlife. We've rented houses in Sea Pines through VRBO and many homes come with bikes. There are numerous bike rental/bike trailer rental places on the island though. I've really only been to St Simons for a wedding. It's nice but my preference would definitely be Hilton Head. Love love Sea Pines!

 

[princessamie]

My parents have a house on St. Simons and we go often. I also lived near Hilton Head for a few years. They are both great places but Hilton Head has more of a Vacation atmosphere.
St. Simons is laid back. There are great bike trails or you can go to Jekyll Island and ride bikes. East beach is the best beach there because you can go at any time and not worry about the tides since there will always be beach. There is a great public pool right by the beach that you can go to. You pay for each visit or you can get a pass. If you have small children it is toatally safe and there is an play fort for kids with water squirters and a small slide submerged in about a foot of water. Fort Frederica is a great place to visit. Jekyll has the turtle museum and hospital which is neat too. Traffic is not bad on the island except maybe Memorial and Labor Day. They are both great places to visit but kind of hard to compare the two!

 

[rvchat]

St simons!

my parents have a house on st. Simons and we go often. I also lived near hilton head for a few years. They are both great places but hilton head has more of a vacation atmosphere.
St. Simons is laid back. There are great bike trails or you can go to jekyll island and ride bikes. East beach is the best beach there because you can go at any time and not worry about the tides since there will always be beach. There is a great public pool right by the beach that you can go to. You pay for each visit or you can get a pass. If you have small children it is toatally safe and there is an play fort for kids with water squirters and a small slide submerged in about a foot of water. Fort frederica is a great place to visit. Jekyll has the turtle museum and hospital which is neat too. Traffic is not bad on the island except maybe memorial and labor day. They are both great places to visit but kind of hard to compare the two!

 

[catnmouse]

I live on St. Simons, it is very laid back and most would say charming. For a family, its very comfortable. There are many more restaurants and activities in Hilton Head, but hustle and bustle to go with it. St.Simons also has a much smaller beach, but easy to access from most of the rentals. If you like a small town, this is it. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to help. Enjoy your vacation!

 

[tower_of_terror_luvr]

SSI or Jekyll Island. Hilton Head is very touristy. In the summer if you aren't over there by 10 your in traffic. If you don't rent the bikes early enough there gone etc.

 

[macsmom09]

We spent Thanksgiving weekend on St. Simons and loved it! It wasn't warm enough to play on the beach really, but we did enjoy walking on the beach and exploring the village and pier. I totally agree about the laid back atmosphere there, it was wonderfully relaxing. We even did a shrimp cruise one afternoon that DS10 loved...the kids got to touch and look at all of the other items caught in the nets! They saw horseshoe crab, butterfly rays, puffer fish, all kinds of cool stuff. DH and I loved the fresh steamed shrimp on board. It's also close enough to hit Savannah or Jacksonville for a day if you want.

 

[blessedby3]

We LOVE HHI!! It is our beach of choice and we go every other year
We are actually staying at The Moorings for the first time in August. We usually stay at Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Club Resort, but are trying The Moorings. It looks like it is ver close to the beach. I dont want an area where we have to drive or bike to the beach. With our kids and all the beach junk, I want to be able to walk a few steps and be there. That is how HHB&TC was. Sea Pines is not convienent to the beaches imho.

 

[Shmily1]

I'm about 40 minutes from St Simon's and 2 hours from HHI. I've grown up going to SSI and JI and love them!! They are very laid back as mentioned previously with lots of great places to eat. If you are looking for clear blue water at an east coast beach area, then only look in the pools at the motels because the water over this way isn't that clear blue. SSI has the pier with shops and restuarants and fun stuff there. JI has the Millionaire Mansions to tour (which is super interesting!) as well as Summer Waves water park. Niether of these would be what I would call high traffic beaches.

 

[swilshire]

We've been to HHI three times in 30 years and that was often enough for me. The last time, however, we stayed at the Disney Resort and that added a lot of fun to the trip. It's a shame it's not on the beach, but they have good shuttle service or it's a short drive. My teen and 25 yo walked it once, but took a wrong turn getting there and got a little lost.

HHI will be similarly touristy to what you are used to on the Cape. Jekyll Island would be closer to what I prefer on Nantucket. I've never been to St Simons.

Sheila

 

[simonsmom]

I'm so intrigued- we may have to take our son there. but then he might insist we call him Saint Simon,

 

[si-am]

I love St. Simons for the pier/village area. Great restaurants, nice shopping. The beach isn't the best though-- kind of smallish, not a ton of access.

For beach, you can't beat Jekyll. Jekyll isn't ever crowded either, so it's super relaxing and laidback. The only problem there is that there aren't a lot of restaurants, so you find yourself driving over to St. Simons quite a bit!

I have never been to Hilton Head.