xrae

I just booked a mid-September week at Hilton Head through my timeshare company. A friend and I will be staying at Swallowtail at Sea Pines. There is only one review on TripAdvisor, but it is very positive as well as recent. Looks like a nice enough place.

I've requested info from Hilton Head Chamber of Commerce, and I suspect I'll be spending a lot of time online looking for things to do.

So if you have suggestions for two friends in their 30's spending a week in Hilton Head, please share them! Golf and tennis are not our things -- we like shopping, outdoorsy stuff, and lighthouses. My friend is Australian but has lived in London the past few years (hope she is still able to fly over!)

Thanks!

Brian_in_Charlotte

This is the best set of restaurant reviews for the island I've found:

http://www.sallys-place.com/food/din...ilton_head.htm

lisettemac

You are going to have a great time! We stayed in Sea Pines too and I seem to recall that it has a biking/walking trail since you like outdoorsy stuff. Of course, the beach is great to just hang out. You might also consider a day in either Savannah or Beaufort. If you've never been to the area, I'd suggest a day in Savannah first.

Have a great time!

Carla

Since you are staying in Sea Pines, go watch dolphins. They hang out near the South Beach Marina. From the South Beach parking lot go across the street through the trees to the water and there they are!

xrae

Thanks everyone. This will be my frist trip to HH, so all information is useful to me.

Does anyone have a tour boat company they recommend or one you would never use again? How about the sightseeing kayaks? That looks like a lot of fun. I also see that we can rent bikes for $25 a week, which seems like a fantastic price.

cheapbutnice

You will love Sea Pines. It's a quiet,gated community with miles of bike paths.There is a marina at Harbour Town and a small New England-like village in South Beach.We try to go every September and we overplan every year.Savannah is an easy 45 minute drive and Beaufort is even less. Try the SeaPines and saltydog websites and you will get a better feel for the area.Best advice may be to dress cool and stay casual and light.

Femi

I am also in my 30s and visited Hilton Head Island for the first time last week. It was a bit difficult finding out what type of activities were available prior to my arrival. Once I got there the free booklets I got from the hotels were very helpful.

I decided to go dolphin watching (twice) which I enjoyed very much, one of the booklets/flyers from the hotel contained a coupon for $5.00 off the 2nd trip. Outside Hilton Head was more expensive, but much more personalized (there were only three of us). The other company I went with was only $19.00 with a coupon, but had about 50 people on board. We saw dolphins both trips, but were able to get closer with the smaller boat.

I also went walking on the trails of the Audubon-Newhall and Sea Pines Forest Preserves. The former is free, the latter requires that you pay the $5.00 entrance fee to Sea Pines (which you probably will be able to skip if you are staying there).

Coligny lighthouse is located within Sea Pines ($2.00 entry fee), I don’t think this was ever in official use. There is another lighthouse on Dafuskie Island which is over 130 years old. With Beaufort, Bluffton and Savannah within a comfortable distance, you’ll find plenty to keep you occupied. There are tours available which will take you from HH to Charleston or Savannah and back. There’s also a river cruise you could take to Savannah.

I did a lot of searching before I went, but only found the information I needed after my arrival on the island.

Bon Voyage!

xrae

Thank you Femi and thank you cheapbutnice. I'm sensing the need for a good tourist-focused Hilton Head website.

phylgardner

I highly recommend Michael Anthony's for dinner. I've traveled a lot in the last six months and had a lot of great meals, but that was a real standout. Red Fish was pretty good too, great wine selection. If you like spas, Sanctuary European Day Spa is lovely.

MorganRey

Can you swim there during Sept?

Femi

A second vote for Red Fish. I had the Dominican Pork (Spicy) my first night, and kept returning to try other items on the menu. Didn't like anything else (Swordfish or the quesedillas) as much, but then I like my food spicy and I think the pork was the spiciest entree on the menu.

Desserts were all great though.

stumpworks73

Rent bikes. Sea Pines has extensive bike trails. You could leave your car parked for the week and visit everywhere in Sea Pines. Beaches are all bikeable at low tide. Truffles at Sea Pines Center is a good restaurant. South Beach Marina has fun, casual restaurants and shops. Kayaking trips originate from SB as well as other marinas on the island. Easy trips for beginners, great stuff.

xrae

Bumping this as my trip is coming up at the end of this week.

Any other restaurants to recommend?

irecommend

I thoroughly enjoyed Charlies Etoile Verte. It was charming and delicious. Great for an above average lunch or dinner

cheapbutnice

We have midprice taste and find that we prefer the Crazy Crab (either location) and the Salty Dog (both in Sea Pines).We would probably be outvoted but found that the Old Oyster Factory is getting a little too fancy. Try for a day trip to Savannah with lunch at Mrs. Wilkes or dinner at Lady & Sons.Don't worry about preplanning-you are going off-season and will find lots to do.

xrae

It's the end of our first day in Hilton Head. We've gotten settled into our condo and explored the island a bit.

Our fist impression is that the entire island looks like an office park. The zoning laws are such that all businesses are separarated from the highways/roads by a buffer zone of trees and only small signs are allowed. This first day has been a little frustrating to get around because we've spent so much time squinting at small signs or peeping around trees to see if what we want is back there. But we will get used to it and learn our way around. We did South Beach Marina this afternoon and we'll rent bikes tomorrow to use for the duration of our stay. I can see why so many people bike. There are also some good clearance sales in the shops, so we are enjoying the vacation so far.

GoTravel

Yes, you can swim in Hilton Head through the end of October.

We were just in the water yesterday.

xrae, glad you are enjoying your trip.

Hilton Head can be very confusing due to their strict zoning.

stumpworks73

You can rent kayaks at the South Beach Marina inside Sea Pines. Just a short paddle out to the Sound to the best dolphin watch off the island.

Nature cruises from Harbour Town (also inside Sea Pines).

As others have mentioned, rent bikes.

DRJ

From a 25 year resident:

Four wonderful Italian restaurants:

Michael Anthony's on New Orleans Road. Dinner only.

La Famiglia, near the entrance to Palmetto Dunes. Lunch and Dinner. Pizza, too.

Mulberry Street Trattoria, just over the bridge. Make the first left turn after the Moss Creek light. Lunch and dinner.

Il Carpaccio in Pineland Station. Lunch and dinner.

None of these places advertise because they don't have to.

wpiquette

Sounds like you've gotten a lot of great feedback.
Here's another resource for things to do in Hilton Head. http://www.c-usa.info/hiltonheadsc.htm
Have fun!
Wendy Piquette
http://www.c-usa.info
C-USA Travel Guide