Tell me about Hilton Head

[lemondog]

We are looking at taking our summer vacation this year at Hilton Head. Our love of Disney has kept us from any beach vacations, so our 6yo twins have NEVER seen the beach, and our 9yo was too young to remember the last time we went.

I have always gone to the Florida panhandle but now I am looking for something different. I have done a little research but there are so many different areas of Hilton Head to choose from...which would you recommend, and why? Also, it seems like biking is pretty popular there. We can bring the kids bikes, but do they have a rental place for adult bikes? It also seems pretty pet friendly...do lots of dogs hang out on the beach there, and what are the leash laws? We have a golden retriever who is the best dog in the world and he would LOVE it! Our evil 10 lb. mutt would stay at home with the grandparents, haha!

Thanks for your input!

 

[SC Minnie]

We go to HHI several times a year and stay at Disney's DVC resort at Shelter Cove which is right across from Palmetto Dunes. We love it there. Its not super crowded and 'neon' like Myrtle Beach. The island is extremely bike friendly and there are several companies to rent bikes. The beaches are fairly wide. We enjoy going from late May to early Sept.


We only have cats so have never taken a dog with us so I can't help you there.

 

[dizzy99]

My parents live on HH, its a great spot, but no dogs allowed on the beach from 10 am - 5pm from Memorial Day - Labor Day.

 

[HeatherC]

Awesome place for families! We are going to visit my parents near there over Feb. break and then back to stay on Hilton Head for two weeks this summer.

We are staying in Palmetto Dunes. Gorgeous resort! We are renting a two bedroom condo with washer/dryer, cleaning fee, taxes, amd two rental bikes for $1575 for both weeks. We are within walking distance of the beach too.

We are renting from an owner through homeaway.com which is much more affordable than booking with a resort directly.

Palmetto Dunes is mid island so you are really central to everything. Beautiful beaches, great restaurants, 11miles of lagoons if you like kayaking, tons of tennis courts, bike paths throughout.

Hope this helps!

 

[kirstenb1]

WE stay at the Disney resort, but I've been looking at renting for a week at Palmetto Dunes, for all the reasons HeatherC cited. My sister lives in Sea Pines, and they have rentals there, but I'd rather be mid-island and closer to everything.

 

[HeatherC]

The other reason why I like Palmetto Dunes is that you can still pay$5 and get into Sea Pines. But if you stay in SeaPines you then can't get into Palmetto Dunes.

So I kind of think it is the best of both worlds.

 

[HM]

We stay at the Marriott Grande Ocean every year with our timeshare (11 yrs now), right on the beach. We've been vacationing on HHI before it was even a place to go (my parents bought into the very first timeshare on the Island, Players Club, back in the 70s)....more than 35 years now. It's grown a lot over time. There are so many choices of places to stay, condo rentals, houses, timeshares, hotels, you'll have to do some research into what would be best for your family.

We always rent bikes for the week when we stay, as the paths are really great and it's our main method of getting around during the day. We like being near Coligny Plaza to have close shopping and restaurants. We also access Sea Pines a couple times a trip to eat and ride around.

Have fun planning.

 

[MEBT315]

We went down for my cousin's wedding last summer and stayed at the Comfort Inn which was nice and inexpensive compared to the other area hotels ($99 a night).

You will be able to rent bikes there, biking is huge because it's hard to drive around the island and you can't drive in certain areas.

From our hotel we were able to walk to the beach and to a downtown shopping area with restaurants.

We spent a day at Harbor Town/Sea Pines and went to the shops there, and then one evening went on a dolphin cruise. Would have liked to go and rented kayaks instead.

 

[UGAFan0829]

My DH and I took my Mom and her Best Friend down to Hilton Head back in May of last year, and we fell in love. We stayed at Disney's resort, and it was so wonderful. As everyone else has stated, it is a very dog-friendly community, and you do see lots of bikes around the island. It was probably one of the most laid-back, relaxing vacations that we have ever taken. There are some awesome restaurants there as well. And since we stayed at the Disney resort, there were tons of activties to partake in also. Don't forget that Savannah is only about 30 min. from Hilton Head, and there's a ton to do there. We took my Mom and her BF over to do the Paula Deen tour one day and were able to eat at the Lady & Sons while we were there. My husband and I would love to go back sometime soon...it's such a beautiful place!

 

[MushyMushy]

I hate to be the lone dissenter, but we did HH one year and really hated it, especially my husband. The area seemed so homogeneous. You couldn't tell the difference between a gas station, a Walmart, a restaurant or a hotel. It was just so bland to us. However, we were pretty impressed with the Disney DVC resort and I think our experience would have been better if we'd stayed there.

 

[simba20]

I hate to be the lone dissenter, but we did HH one year and really hated it, especially my husband. The area seemed so homogeneous. You couldn't tell the difference between a gas station, a Walmart, a restaurant or a hotel. .

HH has sign and building ordinaces to keep it from appearing like touristy beach resort location. Due to the sign ordinances, my biggest issue is finding stuff. Like, you drive past it when you finally see the sign.

Having grown up in Savannah, and having spent many summers boating across the river to HHI. Stayed with friends at Disney's resort, which led us into buying into DVC, I do love HH. I am trying to give up a year of WDW so we can use our points to stay at HHI one summer and have a beach vacay.