Vero Beach vs. Hilton Head?

[BraveMom3]

My three children and I just returned from a LONGGGG trip to WDW. 1 night @ POFQ, 5 nights @ VWL, 8 nights @ BCV, and then finally our first trip to Vero for 4 nights in a studio. Our first day was Saturday, June 11 and the water was very rough (probably from Arlene) so I let my children play a little bit in the surf but was very nervous about undertow. The next day (Sunday) we made a whole day of pool/beach activities (about 9 hours!!). I found the pool area to be fairly relaxing for me since the kids (ages 12, 8, and &)could go about their own for the activities, but the beach was a different story. I was still a little anxious about currents, but they had a great time. My point is that they really loved the beach and all the activities and I'm wondering how HH compares. Do they have as many children activies and are they similar? How is the beach and water compared to VB? Any and all information would be appreciated. I will begin the pre-planning phase of our trip for next year soon and want to have all the information I can to make a decision. Thanks!!

 

[OneMoreTry]

I've never been to VB but am very familiar with SFla beaches in general. HH and SC beaches are completely different. The sand is finer and when wet it packs down to a hard surface that is used for biking at low tide. The large tides and gentle slope of HH makes for extensive beach area at low tide. There are lots of tidal pools with crabs and starfish. (Only minimal shelling.)

There are lots of activities.

HH is so great I would be surprised if WE liked VB as much.

 

[TnRobin]

Both resorts have excellent kids activities. My son prefers HH kids club (just slightly) over VB kids activiites. But he loved having the putt putt golf course on property at Vero. He got the length of stay pass for the course. There is plenty of putt putt at HH off site but you pay full price for each game.

As for the beach. The beach at HH is beautiful. It very large. The main draw back for beach vacationers at HH is that the beach is not at the resort. But that said, it has a lovely beach house which makes a day at the beach very nice. It is just a 3 minute drive by car or a 15 minute bike ride away. Therefore you beach trips have to be more "planned" and less spontaneous.

The main thing I like at HH is there are other things besides the beach to do. There are plenty of shopping and nice restuarants nearby. Savannah is a quick 30 minute drive away. Charleston is not so far away either for a day trip.

 

[GoofyDisney]

HH - the pool at the resort is nice. A really nice kiddie pool!Nice calm slide. And afterwards you can walk out on the pier and look at the marsh. There is a nice snack bar upstairs.

To get to sand and beach, you have to drive over to the beach house. Which does have a nice pool, snack bar, game area.

VB - pool at the resort is nice, bigger than HH I think. There is a great winding slide. There is not a kiddie pool per se, but there is the Tiger Lily ship with a kiddie sized water slide sitting in 4 inches or so of water. After you go in the pool, you can walk right onto the dock and down to the sandy beach. There is a snack bar.

One other big difference between the two resorts is that HH has no restaurant on site (agreement with HH's founding fathers). VB has several restaurants.

Programming at the resorts is pretty similar. We love both resorts and the differences are really the "feel" of the resorts. We are not big golfers and would not be aiming for that kind of entertainment at HH. We prefer VB in the summer and HH other times of the year.