Town of Hilton Head Island

We have been traveling south eastern beaches for about 2 years now and I have to say Hilton Head has been probably the best one out of them all. The beaches were not crowded, they were clean, quiet, safe and really great for families! We were able to bring our dog out and she was welcomed and had a great time playing on the beach! Word of warning for dog owners though – make sure to check the rules for bringing dogs on the beach. There are some times of the year that they aren’t allowed and/​or have restrictions. For example: Memorial Weekend has time restrictions for when dogs are allowed on the beach. I believe they are allowed early in the morning and after 5pm. There are a few resorts in the area that allow dogs and are very accommodating towards your fur-​babies and even love seeing them! We had such a positive experience bringing our pup with us that I can’t imagine leaving her home from here on out.
I’ve felt more like family than a tourist for the vast majority of our trip. Hilton Head is family friendly and pretty dog friendly from our experience.
The only complaint I had was they were extremely lacking for indoor activities. I would not care normally because we’re at the beach! Why be inside?! However, we experience Tropical Depression Bonnie and were stuck in our hotel room for two days. With a very active 3 year old that makes for a beyond stressed mommy and daddy!
All in all– HHI is always a great choice!

Love visiting here
Very relaxing with beautiful beaches and good food
laid back environment perfect for family get away

I don’t understand this place. You would not even know you are on an island given all the roads, tall trees, stores and everything else blocking the view of the ocean. If you manage to get through all the traffic and mazes of roads finding yourself at the public parking area, you can park and hike several blocks to the beach and finally see the ocean, if you are lucky there will be waves. When I was there, it was more like a huge lake with very small waves. I understand a lot of the beaches are hidden behind these huge costly plantations (just the sound of that gives me the creeps) but there were some people walking here and there through town. People do not smile much here and they look old. Even the younger people look old including me. After two days here I not only felt old, I looked it. If you are seeking a traditional beach style vacation, try further south in Indialantic, FL, Indian Harbor Beach, FL, and Melbourne Beach, FL… at least there you will get the sense of being on an actual island with all the islandy stuff one would expect to find.

We have been vacationing in Sea Pines non-​stop for 26 years and cannot stay away. Hilton Head Island is my second home. I adore these shores, bike paths, family friendly beaches, forest preserves, wildlife, and historic sites. There are great restaurants, good shopping centers, Marinas, and first class GOLF. Giant stoic trees covered in Spanish Moss sway in the South Carolina breeze.
A major activity aside from beaching is biking. Bring you own bikes to the island or rent from one of several bike rental companies. Call around to get the best prices. Bikes will be delivered to the rental location. Hilton Head Island boasts 60 miles of bike paths, and over 50 miles of bike paths in private resort communities (if you are a guest in that community they are free for you to enjoy). HHI was just named a GOLD LEVEL Biking Community by the League of American Bicyclists. This award makes the Island one of the top 25 biking communities in the United States!
Hilton Head Island offers villas, private condos, and homes for rent by property owners, real estate companies, and resort rental companies. I highly recommend checking out rentals by the property owners themselves through websites such as
. Do not limit your rental search to one rental company or you will miss out on thousands of options for your vacation. Most weekly rentals run Saturday– Saturday. There are also a few hotels on the Island.
The best part of Hilton Head is watching families enjoying the beach. Several generations of families vacationing together creating memories to last a lifetime. The island encourages real, quality, unplugged time with FAMILY.

Romantic Getaway!
This boot-​shaped sea island is truly a paradise nestled along the South Carolina coast. From beautiful beaches to major historical places, from crazy seafood restaurants to just taking a walk with your other half, Hilton Head can be a place for everyone.
My boyfriend and I visited Hilton Head for our 3 years Anniversary. We just wanted a low-​key vacation where we can just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Yay! It was my first time here, and I fell in love. We had a great time taking walks at night, and going around visiting a few restaurants in town.
Restaurants I recommend:
— Wiseguys
— Hudson’s Seafood House On The Docks
— Bullies BBQ
Overall, I would love to come back and explore the Island a little more next time when time is not a problem.

Our family has regularly vacationed in Hilton Head since the mid-​1980s. Hilton Head is an island resort town in South Carolina’s lowcountry. It lies just 20 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia. The island is shaped like a shoe and spans an area of only about 12 miles by 5 miles — it’s not tiny, but not big either. The town is unique because it strictly enforces a unique, eco-​friendly land ordinance which regulates development on the island.
All developments/​buildings on the island have to meet certain architectural requirements. They’re supposed to blend in and minimize any impact with the surrounding environment. As a result (and this is a good thing), the island has not been overdeveloped nor over-​commercialized. Development-​wise, it’s still the same today as it was during my first visits as a child roughly 30 years ago. Most of the island is covered in trees. There are lots of live oak trees draped in Spanish moss.
The buildings indeed follow code. They are low profile and painted or constructed with materials that are earth tone in color. This means olive greens, browns, and greys. It actually looks kind of drab, but it has turned out as the original visionary (Charles Fraser) and the town/​island have intended. So yes, the commonplace fast food chains and big box retailers all look quite different here.
Another noticeable characteristic of the island is hardly any street lighting. So be prepared to use your high beams at night. Again, it’s part of the nature and wildlife conservancy of the island. For example, during turtle nesting season, oceanfront properties are required to shut curtains and blinds at night so as not to disturb or scare away the mother turtles who come ashore to lay their eggs.
When we come to Hilton Head, we spend most of our time at the Sea Pines Resort (formerly Sea Pines Plantation). It’s a large, 5000+ acre gated community at the southern tip of the island. It contains miles upon miles of leisure/​biking trails, a horse stable, forest preserve, golf courses, a tennis facility, pools, homes, villas, condos, shopping, restaurants, and more. It’s home to Harbour Town, where the iconic red-​and-​white lighthouse is located. Harbour Town Golf Links also hosts the PGA Tour each spring at the Heritage golf tournament.
Here’s a short list of things I (we) commonly do when we vacation at HHI:
1. Play golf. We primarily stick with the courses at Sea Pines which include Harbour Town, the Ocean Course, and Heron Point. Hilton Head is an outstanding golf vacation destination with 24 courses on the island.
2. Go to the beach. Due to development control, the beaches of Hilton Head are less crowded than other beaches in the Carolinas and Georgia, especially during peak season.
3. Ride bikes. The plentiful bike trails all over the island make it easy to ditch a car and just ride bikes. It’s fun and scenic. Riding on the beaches is fun too. Hilton Head’s hard-​packed sand is easy to ride on.
4. Dine out. There are several great restaurants on the island from high-​end (Live Oak) to middle-​tier (A Lowcountry Backyard) to quick and casual (Sea Shack). Take your pick.
5. Shopping. There are many small, locally owned, boutique shops on Hilton Head Island. Just off the island are two Tanger Outlet malls. A lot of my wardrobe growing up and to this day came from the Tanger Outlets at Hilton Head.
6. Go to the movies. Yeah, you can go to the movies anywhere, but when we’re on vacation and have downtime, we sometimes like to catch a flick at Northridge Cinema 10 with it’s power reclining seats with footrests and illuminated cup holders.
Hilton Head is a very family friendly beach destination. It’s not like other beach towns where teenagers or twentysomethings like to go party for spring break nor is it a cruise ship stop. If you’re looking for that, go to Myrtle Beach, Miami, PCB, Destin, etc. Hilton Head is quiet and low key. Along with families, it’s popular among senior citizens and retirees as well.
If you visit Hilton Head, 278 (and Business 278) will become your best friends. These highways are the main drags through the island. 278 has a $ 1.25 toll for 2-​axle vehicles. It gets you from the top of the island to the bottom in short order. Business 278 will get you to the same place, but longer (the scenic route). Hilton Head has a small airport on the northern half of the island and is also about 45 – 60 minutes away from Savannah/​Hilton Head International Airport.
As a Georgia Tech grad and Atlanta resident, I think it’s neat that folks such as Bobby Cremins (former Tech basketball coach) and Arthur Blank (co-​founder of Home Depot, owner of the Atlanta Falcons) both maintain homes on the island. Blank’s home is in Sea Pines. Not sure about Cremins. Academy Award-​winning film director Ron Award also owned a home at Sea Pines.

I was saving my ** 200^th ** Review for something special and I’ll leave it for you Hilton Head Island.
My family and I visited Hilton Head this past week just before my busy fall semester starts back up, we just wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves and at HHI we definitely did. This was my first time visiting Hilton Head, the closest place that I have been was Tybee Island, which is very nice as well, but much smaller and different.
Hilton Head is truly a beautiful place the visit. One thing that I really enjoyed was the immense amounts of bike paths the island has to offer its visitors. My wife who has a hard time cycling due to a THR (total hip replacement), was able to really enjoy herself cycling around the island, she was able to ride almost 20 miles, something she would not be able to do otherwise at other places, this is because the island totally lacks hills, making it exceptionally easy for cyclists.
This place is full of gorgeous live oaks, covered in Spanish moss, beautiful beaches; Coligny Beach Park is my favourite. There are plenty of excellent restaurants to choose from, as well as night-​life.
While riding, we rode past Compass Rose Park, this is a very nice and relaxing park with a beautiful water display and offers a great place to enjoy a book, or just people watch. While driving through Sea Pines Resort, visitors can stop by the Harbour Town Marina and see the lighthouse, look at the yachts and walk on the pier and maybe see a few dolphins leaping out of the water and back into the Atlantic sea.
This place has some amazing and very rich history; this place has been here for a very long time and just by one visit one can definitely feel it in their soul, although this place has some very bad history, better history can be made.
Peter Applebome of the NY Times wrote a really good piece on this place in 1994 and this is quite obvious while visiting the island. It is worth a read:
I do love this place and we certainly look forwarding to coming here again.
[Review #200]

This is a yearly thing. Well, if you’re from Huntington, WV, it’s normally either Myrtle or Hilton for beach vacations. I’m not sure which I like more. Prices for on-​the-​beach stays are better with Myrtle, but overall, Hilton Head has better food, activities, and prettier beach options (in my opinion). There were so many rental bikes around, it was wild. So if you love biking, you’ll be in good company… and have lots of rental opportunities and bike paths. Lots of greenery and shade… an occasional alligator as well, not to mention beautiful Blue Herons. Tanger Outlets and great eating opportunities are all just a mile or two away or less from where you stay. Also, there’s a performer named Shannon Tanner who apparently plays Mon-​Fri (Memorial Day to Labor Day), each night twice (6:30pm and 8:00), at Shelter Cove Harbour. Tuesday nights are fireworks, and Thursdays are Pirate themed with his Jimmy Buffet tribute band (still kid appropriate but perhaps the most fun night for adults). It’s a lot of fun. The kids and adults love it. All in all, Hilton Head is a very good option.

We come every year for vacation. Absolutely a special place. The island is extremely beautiful. All the trees makes it hard to see what is in every shopping area, so it’s worth going into all the side streets to explore. Never know what you will find. The bike lanes all over the island are great. The option for a fast toll road or the longer around the island road is nice. Traffic gets busy at times. The beach is just wonderful. Wide open area, water is warm by May, and lifeguards here and there. We enjoy all the restaurant options and outdoor activities. Fun place to come. Love it!

Wow. What a wonderful little town. Not too crowded, not too busy. But of course, we we visiting during off season. I did not know this, but it’s considered a Lowcountry resort town and got its name from Captain William Hilton back in 1663. The island has 12 miles of beachfront. The year-​round population is roughly 50,000 but grows to 275,000 during the summer peak time.
Rich in history, the island was once occupied by native Americans. It was once an operations base for the Union during the Civil War. The Union even built a military hospital here. After the war, hundreds of ex-​slaves flocked here to buy land and some even served in the First Regiment of the SC volunteers.
The island is home to lots of wildlife that include deer, sea turtles, dolphins and lots of species of birds.
The town didn’t incorporate until 1983. It’s well known as being eco-​friendly. Most of the island is inside gated communities, but there are also several public beach areas. My boyfriend was very interested that the island hosts the Heritage Gold Classic which is on the PGA Tour and played at Harbour Town Golf Links.

I don’t hate Hilton Head, but I don’t really care to come back here. If you want to relax on the beach and enjoy great food for vacation, come here! If you want a nature experience, forget about it. The Spanish moss covered trees and the marshes are beautiful, but other than biking and kayaking and visiting touresty commercial villages, there really isn’t anything to do here for nature lovers..

Lovely retro charm. Expensive, but the beaches are beautiful and you can swim with dolphins!
It’s become quite touristy but if you love a beautiful beach and great golf and playing tennis with crocodiles then you’ll have a good time.

Hello Town of Hilton Head!!! You guys Rock!
Thank you for having free parking at the beach. Very very nice and well constructed infrastructure for beach going crowd with plenty of foot wash stations, handicap access onto the beach, plenty of showers, changing booths, bathrooms, and wow free WI-​FI. Thank you!!! I love Hilton Head.
Oh and you also have some very friendly and warm smiling folks here.

Your beaches are beautiful, but the city (not the hotels) charge an arm and a leg for the chairs and umbrellas. You have no jellyfish or stingray warnings when they are inches away from my feet and that of an unknowing three year old. Your hotels are terribly overpriced (and old) and your restaurants are remarkably mediocre and, again, overpriced. Your only real world wide renowned attraction costs five bucks just to drive to it, and another five to climb 114 stories to look at a marina surrounded by timeshares. Sorry South Carolina, Georgia was better.

Mr. Smidgens loves a good time and boy oh boy did he have one. We flew into Savannah and drove to Hilton Head where we stayed in an 8 bedroom house with old and new friends. If there had been a camera crew this would have been the pilot for a new reality show.
There was great food, dance offs, vodka chugging contests, and Mr. Smidgens darting from street to street like a wild animal trying to find his way back to the house on the island. That was just the first night!!!
Tons of fun in the sun as we played 18 holes of golf, played on the beach then chilled in the pool. We sang Karaōke and played in a beer pong tournament at some crazy bar. That’s how much fun we had… I can’t even remember the name of the bar. We ate awesomely fresh seafood at Red Fish and we did not take off our party pants until we were back in Austin!

Our Family having going for 12 yrs & we’re sorry we didn’t start sooner.
The island has everything you need great golfing, great food, great shopping & beautiful home to rent or buy and still reasonable

Hilton Head is a beautiful place to get away and relax. Unlike Myrtle Beach, there are no theme parks, roller coasters, huge entertaiment complexes, or Go-​Kart tracks. But, you will find upscale restaurants, resorts, beautiful beaches, and locally owned specialty shops. This is a great place to hang out and really relax. But, you may have to bring your own entertainment, like a surf board, boat, kayak, or bicycle.

Simply put GO and do it quick! If you love the beach you will love this island. It is getting more and more crowded every year and, being spoiled from years and years of visits, the one knock I have about the island are the crowds. Great beaches, great fishing, great golf, great tennis, great bike paths and riding, alligators, beautiful wildlife, great resorts, dining, shopping. Really it has everything in an very upscale, relaxing, and inspiring environment. I have heard it referred to as mainland Hawaii and can definitely see why. It has beautiful tropical vegetation and an excellent climate.