Hilton Heads Up!
Beaching it on Hilton Head Island
Even if your vacation home is beachfront (which we STRONGLY suggest), what you tote to the beach and what you do when you get there are critical to your happiness. Depending on your status in life right now (kids [age dependent], no kids) there are various considerations you should make.
1. WEIGHT. If you cannot lift it with one hand (cooler, chair, umbrella, etc.) it’s not worth it. Leave it or rearrange it. Traveling just 50 feet with a cooler that requires both hands, a beach chair (check this one out) slung over your shoulder and an umbrella wedged under your arm, will not make you a happy beach-goer. Beach carts are all the rage – they should be! Very convenient. Just make sure they have oversized wheels.
2. SUN. There can definitely be too much of a good thing when you’re lazing at the beach. Don’t skimp on sun screen. The higher the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) the better if you have the slightest chance of burning. The good news is that you have hundreds of lotions and sprays to choose from. Douglas Wolk’s article at Slate.com will help you decide which one is best for you – and the kids.
3. BICYCLING. What a great way to enjoy the beach! But do it early in the morning or early evening when there are fewer folks. Here’s a great tip. If there’s a beach breeze (and there usually is), make sure the first part of your ride is INTO the wind. It will make the last part of your ride much easier.
4. SAND. We have beautiful sand. Soft and fluffy at the head of the beach; firm from water’s edge up to fluffy stuff. This tip also has to do with the wind. When you shake your towels or blankets out when you’re ready to leave, look down wind first so the sand on your towel doesn’t end up in your neighbor’s mouth.
Follow this link to read about Hilton Head Island’s beach regulations. And have a great time!
Labels: beaches, hilton head, tips
Best Time to Be Here
We have people always asking same question: “When is the best time to visit Hilton Head Island?” Our immediate reply, with a smile, is, “Whenever you can get here!” Admittedly, not too helpful.
But bottom line, when it comes to THE BEST time to visit the island, we suggest you choose the months of May or September. (Or both!)
By May we’ve survived another wonderful
Verizon Heritage tournament (and the tens of thousands of people who came to see it), and we’re gearing up for summer. The golf courses are in great shape, the weather is just right. The ocean temperature is still a bit cool (75F), but the beach is perfect. Basically, you’ll be taking part in our “dress rehearsal” for “opening night” – the beginning of our summer season. The air temperatures are usually moderate and, quite frankly, there are less visitors.
We think September is also a fantastic choice. It’s kind our “sneaky” month. Summer, for most folks is over, the kids are back in school, the weather is warm and so is the ocean. The beach – if you’ve never been to our
beaches in September, treat yourself. Maybe it’s the beauty of a September sunrise or sunset. It’s quiet. And like May, we have less visitors.
Both months are also great times to take those side trips to the historic communities of
Savannah,
Beaufort, and our closest neighbor,
Bluffton.
So there’s your answer. But we really do mean it – come whenever you can get here.
Labels: beaches, hilton head, tips, vacation company
The Popcorn is Great!
It’s definitely one of Hilton Head Island’s hidden treasures. While it’s in the heart of the island’s most popular beach area –
Coligny Plaza – the only way you’ll find it (unless you know where you’re going) is by accident. “Hidden” is definitely the right description.
Coligny Theater, with its one screen, is a true gem. It was the island’s first “movie house,” opening in 1972. There were only a few thousand full-time residents on Hilton Head and the tourist population was just beginning to grow. You won’t find the big blockbusters showing there. But you will find a fantastic selection of independent films, like “
Married Life” (Pierce Brosnan), April 25 - May 1, and “
The Counterfeiters,” May 9 - 22.
The films are mostly for adults (real adults), but there are specials for children and a real treat is the Second Sunday Film Society, which is definitely a local event – and fun. Where else but Hilton Head Island will you actually find what we used to call, an “art theater?”
When it opened the theater was called The Island Theater and had a run of 25 years. For those who have visited the island in the past, you’ll remember it as a hangout for just about everyone in the summer. There were lines stretching around the Earl of Sandwich restaurant if the movie was really popular. Or when it was raining.
Refurbished and open again in 2002 by the owner of Coligny Plaza, it still has some of the “old island” feel. To learn more, visit the
theater’s website or call 843-686-3500.
Labels: movies, theaters, tips
One of Hilton Head Island's Greatest “Secrets”
There are many hidden gems on Hilton Head Island that visitors rarely “discover,” unless it’s by accident. One immediately comes to mind. At first we didn’t want to share this because we like the quiet (REALLY quiet) and the lack of, well, people. If you’d like to get a hint of what the island looked like before development began, you must visit the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. It’s sort of like having a National Park in your back yard, especially if you’re a guest of Sea Pines. Even if you’re not, it’s definitely worth the $5 gate fee.
The Forest Preserve is 600 plus acres of forest, wetlands, walking trails and one of the most spectacular wildflower fields you’ll ever see. Officially called the Wildflower Meadows, they’ll be in bloom, starting in a week or two, then go on for several weeks, well into the summer. There’s an old bench at the end of the meadows. It sits on an old dike and the meadows stretch out before it. Check out this Google map link to get an idea of this uncommon place.
There are four lakes, great for freshwater fishing (You’ll have to be a guest and get a permit. We can help you there.), either from the shore or a rowboat (they’re for rent to guests). Kayaking is great, too. You’ll see all sorts of wadding birds and one of the largest rookeries in the state.
In the center of the Preserve, facing Lake Joe, is Fish Island, a great place for picnics (there’s a covered shelter) and Cub Scouts (and other kids) use it as a camping area. There are also restrooms there and a water fountain.
Of the two entrances, use the one at the school and you’re 5 minutes away from a 4,000 year-old Indian shell ring. Check out the link above for the Preserve and download the PDF map.
Click here for a great story about someone “discovering” the Forest Preserve, written in 2004. You’ll understand.
Down side: The alligators are real. Do not mess with them. The bugs are real. Spray generously (depending on the time of year). Spray often. Sea Pines’ Lawton Stables offers trail rides through the Preserve. (Click here for a cute story about Lawton Stables.) Trail rides means horses. Some of the walking trails are shared by the horses. Our advice: watch you step.
We’ll have more “secrets” to share soon.
Labels: hilton head, sea pines, tips
Bring Your Bikes!
If you haven’t been to our island this year, we think you’ll be in for some surprises when you visit. Everywhere you turn, it seems, things are looking .... better!
Pope AvenueIf you’ve been a regular island visitor, you know Pope Avenue. It’s the main thoroughfare on the south end of the island, leading straight to the Coligny Beach Park, home of the famed
Tiki Hut (see below, more good news). If you ever tried to ride a bike along the “paths” on Pope Avenue there was a good chance you could reach out and shake hands with the passenger in the car right next to you.
As of February,
new pathways opened with a big buffer between you and traffic. And the pathways are definitely done in “Hilton Head style.” They’re much wider and part of them go over wetlands on classy wooden bridges with safety railings capped in copper. Even though you’re ten fee from cars going buy, you feel like you’re traveling through the wilds of the Lowcountry. What you won’t see are power lines overhead. They’ve been buried.
By this summer, you’ll also be able (if all goes a scheduled) to take a rest at the new Compass Rose Park. It features terraced plazas, sitting areas highlighted by a sculpture created by local artists, wall features and fountains. One of the original brass Compass Rose symbols that hung from the original Sea Pines gate (now the Ocean Gate) is part of the entrance fountain. This is the town's first foray into public art. The park and its centerpiece, a statue of
Charles Fraser, were designed to pay tribute to Sea Pines and the founder of the island's first modern planned community.
Tiki HutWhile the fate of the much beloved beach bar is still up in the air (watch here for more news), it opened a few weeks ago to the cheers of many (younger) local residents. It is the first sign of spring on the island. The new owners of the Holiday Inn Oceanfront hotel, where the
Tiki Hut is located haven’t announced what will happen to the beachfront landmark. Until then, volleyball anyone?
The island’s 25th
St. Patrick’s Day Parade is scheduled for March 16 at 3:30 p.m. Can you make it?
Labels: bike, hilton head, tiki hut, tips
Free Wireless Internet
In this campaign season, “free wireless internet in every vacation home” may sound like some presidential hopeful’s slogan (“a chicken in ever pot, a car in every garage” –
Herbert Hoover, 1928). But the fact is, every vacation home or villa we offer has gone high-speed wireless. And it’s all yours – free.
You’ve probably been to hotels that advertise “internet access available,” then you come to find out it’s “available” for $7.95 a day and it might not even be wireless! (This recently happened to us at a place where we were paying $200 a night for lodging). We hate that nickle and dime stuff. That’s why our internet access is absolutely free.
While we might suggest you leave your laptop or PDAs behind and simply enjoy the sunshine, fairways and beach, we also know it’s tough to be out of “e-touch” in this instant access world. If you’d like to know how to set up a vacation auto response in Windows Mail or Outlook Express,
click here.
However, if you need keep tabs on the office, schoolwork, the stock market or your kids, you’ll stay connected at any Vacation Company property you choose.
One of the more creative uses of the free internet access we’ve heard so far is a golfer putting a video of his swing up on
YouTube so his teaching pro, back at the golfer’s club in Ohio, could see it and tell him what he was doing wrong. We did not hear how well our guest play the next day.
It’s definitely golf season on Hilton Head Island. Come see us. And bring your Blackberry.
Labels: tips, vacation company, wireless
