We're heading to the southeast coast in March for a week. Looking to rent a house or villa on an island. Given the cooler temps in March, are looking for the best place to ride bikes, walk on the beach, or kayak (as opposed to swimming). Generally, we like to find a Publix (our favorite all-purpose grocery in the South) for breakfast/lunch supplies and find a local, casual, moderate-priced dinner place without driving an hour to find something.

Any favorite islands for those kinds of activities from those who've been? Kiawah? Hilton Head? St. Simons? Pawley? Fripp? others?

Thanks!

Edisto Beach is a much less commercialized, laid-back beach with rental homes and a golf course about an hour out of Charleston. It's not fancy, i.e., Hilton Head or Isle of Palms, but much less crowded. It has several miles of walking beach available and very nice houses.

The beach itself has a higher percentage of shell than sand, and for that reason is not great for small children, but if that's not a problem, I'd recommend investigating Edisto.

Probably the best way to do it is google Edisto Island rentals.

Good luck,

Check out Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms near Charleston. It's a large, gated community with two golf courses, world-class tennis (a pro tournament is held there annually) and miles and miles of bike trails. Because it's gated, traffic is very controlled. If you have kids that are not too young, you can let 'em go. There is a playground, boardwalk, clubhouses at the golf courses. There is a Publix nearby, as well as some great new shopping centers and restaurants. It's a short drive to Charleston, if you want to shop or just stroll around the historic area. Charleston also has tons of great restaurants.

I forgot to mention the labrynth of great creeks behind Wild Dunes for kayaking, as well as miles of beaches -- mostly uncrowded, particularly that time of year.

Tybee Island, GA is a good choice also.

You might check out this link to read some on kayaking the GA Barrier Islands. I don't kayak and this site might be too commercial, but I think it has good info:

http://www.seakayakgeorgia.com/barriers.htm

This website if from the Georgia Wildlife Federation and tells about the Barrier Islands of GA:

http://www.gwf.org/barrierindex.htm

Have fun.

DD

TT, what came to mind first for me was Fripp Island but you may want to check out Harbor Is. as well which is just before Fripp. There is a Publix as you cross the bridge from Beaufort onto St. Helena and then drive out towards Harbor/Fripp - which is about 30 minutes. There are some casual dining spots on St. Helena and I would think Fripp would have restaurants but many people drive back into Beaufort. Lots of kayaking around Fripp and Harbor Is. You may want to check out www.vrbo.com (vacation rental by owner).

Pawleys Island is always my first choice. One of the first settled barrier islands in the country. Has its own historic district, only single family homes on the island with one exception. No business on the island except for two B&Bs.

Fripp does have restaurants, but they're available only to owners and renters. Access to the island is limited to the same. The Beach Club and the Bonito Boathouse have above average dining and views. One nice thing about the island: it's small enough to traverse on foot in 30 minutes. It's also thick w/ marsh deer. The beach is rather narrow.

I've only been to Hilton Head. It seems to meet all your criteria. Lots of houses/condos available for rental. There are lots of dining/shopping options, but it still remains very uncommercialized (no big signs, lots of beautiful landscaping, etc). You'll find plenty of dining options from casual on up. The beaches are long and the sand is packed, plus there are lots of trails for riding bikes within the plantations. I've never kayaked but I have seen info on it around Hilton Head before. It is also a quick half hour drive to Savannah for a nice day trip.

I need to second the vote for HHI.My favorite spot is the South Beach section of Sea Pines. All of the amenities that you mentioned are literally minutes from the front gate. Argueably the best biking in the area and very easy access to kayaking. I would add Beaufort/Parris Island if you need a 2nd day trip (after Savannah).

Thanks for all the suggestions! One question on the Wild Dunes - are the bike paths through natural settings or just along side streets?

TT

TT - Hunting Island State Park is between Fripp and Harbor Island that I mentioned earlier - has lighthouse, walking trails, cabins, fishing...I know there are kayak rentals nearby as I have kayaked in the marshes around Fripp. Check out www.beaufortsc.org they also have a page for bicycle routes.

TT, the Wild Dunes bike baths are mostly along streets, although on the marsh side of the island you have some fantastic views of natural areas. There is a nice, interactive map at www.wilddunes.com.

Kiawah is the place for bike riding - miles of paved trails off highways, through forests and golf courss and very little traffic where the trails cross streets. A comfortable place to turn kids on bikes loose. Also great beach - 10 miles, and saltmarsh creeks for kayaking. Only problem for you is dining - everything on island is upscale and everything else is in Charleston - about 20 miles. Local seafood and groceries just off-island.

I love Jekyll Island with a day trip to Cumberland Island. If you like wildlife, no people, miles of empty beaches and NO cars, Cumberland Island is heaven on earth!

I agree with Postal-cumberland is absolutely beautiful. You could stay at St. Simons or Jekyll Island and take a ferry from St. Mary's to cumberland for the day. We do that often. hilton Head, and actually even Jekyll will not be particulary warm at that time, but HH is really commercial. More wildlife on the Golden Isles beaces. you can kayak on Jekyll or St. Simons. Jekyll is a state park and cannot be more than 30% developed, so we always see lots of wildlife and usually rent bikes (the island is 7 miles) and walk the beach every night. those islands are more south than the others, so may be slightly warmer. there is a grocery in Brunswick and plenty of restaurants on wither island. I love the golden isles!

Sorry about the spelling !

We rented a cabin at the state park in Edisto island last year for a week in march. It was cool and quite windy. Biking would have been interesting there. Dining was definitely inexpensive and low key. However, we ended up cooking more than we had thought we would. I know many will disagree with me, but you have to figure out what kind of people you are as far as places like Kiawah and Hilton Head that are in essence gated communities. You sound as though you are quite similar to us as far as interests and tastes, and we do not feel that places like Kiawah and HH are for us because they are too pretentious and exclusionary. We prefer real places with real people. To each his own. I think you might also want to check out St. Simons which is more laid back. We rented sea kayaks and took a guided tour across the bay from Brunswick a couple years ago.

I love SSI so much that I plan on moving there within the year! It's charming, beautiful and friendly!