Things to do in Hilton Head Island
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Hilton Head Island
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, warm enough to swim, cool enough to golf and bike, with the best events.
Wine and Food Festival and Wing Fest, highs 65 to 75F, golf perfect but water cold for most swimmers.
Beach peak, highs 88 to 92F, high humidity, afternoon storms, HarbourFest and Tuesday fireworks.
Water still warm, crowds vanish after Labor Day and rates drop, but hurricane risk is highest.
Food festivals, Crescendo arts season, superb golf weather and the start of oyster roasts.
Concours season in late October to early November, highs in the 70s, beach for walking by November.
Quiet and cheap golf and walking season, highs 58 to 65F, sea cold and many restaurants cut hours in January.
What's on
- Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival March
40 plus year tradition of tastings and chef events in spring.
- Wing Fest March
Spring food festival listed with the March events in Harbour Town season.
- RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing Usually mid April
PGA Tour Signature Event at Harbour Town the week after the Masters, the island biggest week.
- Art Festival at Shelter Cove late May
Late May art festival at Shelter Cove Harbour.
- HarbourFest June to August
Summer live music nightly at Shelter Cove with Tuesday night fireworks.
- Crescendo: Celebrating Arts & Culture October to November
Island wide performances and exhibits through autumn.
- Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival Late October to early November
Top US classic car event at Port Royal, worth timing a car lover trip around.
Best things to do in Hilton Head Island
Coligny Beach Park
The island main public beach hub with showers, lifeguards in season and hard packed sand for walking.
Coligny Plaza
Shops and restaurants across from the beach for coffee, ice cream and dinner without driving.
Harbour Town Lighthouse
Striped lighthouse to climb for views over Calibogue Sound, Daufuskie and the Harbour Town 18th hole.
Coastal Discovery Museum
Free museum at Honey Horn with marsh boardwalks, butterfly habitat and Gullah culture galleries.
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
Quiet refuge of marsh, ponds and gravel roads where ibis, egrets and alligators are routine.
Sea Pines Forest Preserve
605 acre preserve of trails, lakes and wildflower meadow showing the island before the resorts.
Stoney-Baynard Ruins
Tabby ruins and a 4000 year old shell ring, the most accessible archaeology on the island.
Mitchelville Freedom Park
Site of the first self governed town of formerly enslaved people in the US, founded in 1862.
Where to stay in Hilton Head Island
Sea Pines
first timers, golfers, couples
Most polished and self contained base with Harbour Town, three courses and five miles of beach.
Palmetto Dunes + Shelter Cove
active families, golf and tennis groups, best value oceanfront
Three courses, lagoon and tennis centre plus Shelter Cove dining across the highway by shuttle or bike.
South Forest Beach + Coligny
walkability, no car weeks, younger groups, beach first trips
Only area to walk to the main public beach, shops, grocery and beach bars.
Shipyard
quiet resort feel, golf and tennis value
Gated and leafy with 27 holes and beach access via the Sonesta, a calm middle choice.
Folly Field / Port Royal / Burkes Beach
quiet beaches, condo value, repeat visitors
Residential and condo heavy with great beaches and lower prices than the south end.
Bluffton
budget, Savannah and Beaufort day trips, Old Town dining
Half island hotel prices and Old Town restaurants, but a 15 to 25 minute drive to the beach.
Think twice about
- Listings labelled Hilton Head that are actually in Bluffton or Hardeeville
A cheap rate can mean a 25 minute bridge traffic drive to the beach. Check the map, not the title.
- Older William Hilton Parkway motel properties
Tired properties on a busy six lane highway, not unsafe but charmless and not walkable for a vacation base.
- North Forest Beach large rental homes in peak summer
Legal and popular but loud on changeover weekends with multi family groups. Pick Folly Field or a gated plantation for quiet.
Best restaurants in Hilton Head Island
Charlie's L'Etoile Verte
Island best restaurant for three decades, French bistro cooking around the day local catch.
The Sage Room
Open kitchen fine dining where the chef counter is the island most coveted seat.
Michael Anthony's Cucina Italiana
Upscale Italian with house made pasta, a cooking school and the island best Italian wine list.
Ombra Cucina Italiana
Wood fired rustic Italian in the permanent local top five for depth of cooking.
Red Fish
Lowcountry seafood meets Caribbean in an art filled home, with a smart wine retail hack.
Nunzio Restaurant + Bar
Early American Italian with handmade pasta, whole fish and the island leading cocktail bar.
Hudson's Seafood House on the Docks
Working dock institution with its own shrimp fleet, local oysters and sunset over Skull Creek.
Skull Creek Boathouse
Huge waterfront deck with raw bar and sushi, the island best big group family waterfront dinner.
Outdoor things to do in Hilton Head Island
Harbour Town Golf Links
Pete Dye bucket list course, home of the RBC Heritage, finishing at the lighthouse on Calibogue Sound.
Heron Point by Pete Dye
Dye second Sea Pines course threaded with marsh and lagoons, more playable and better value.
Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love III
Love rebuild of the island first course, open and forgiving with a rare oceanfront 15th hole.
Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course
Palmetto Dunes flagship with wide fairways and a par 5 10th finishing directly at the Atlantic.
George Fazio Course
The island only par 70 course, tight and demanding and a long standing local test.
Arthur Hills Course
The most scenic Palmetto Dunes course, weaving lagoons past the Leamington Lighthouse.
Hilton Head National Golf Club
Locals pick for tour level conditioning without resort pricing, ten minutes off island.
Old South Golf Links
Marsh course with Intracoastal views, the most scenic value round in the area.
Best hotels in Hilton Head Island
The Inn & Club at Harbour Town
The island best hotel, a 60 room boutique property overlooking Harbour Town Golf Links.
Montage Palmetto Bluff
Region true ultra luxury resort town on the May River with inn, cottages, spa and boating.
The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa
Grand north end resort with spa, three pools and direct beach in Port Royal.
Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort
All suite style oceanfront resort with lush landscaping, pools and a strong family luxury offer.
Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island
Best mid to upper all rounder, renovated beach resort with lagoon pool, spa and family programmes.
Hilton Beachfront Resort & Spa Hilton Head Island
Large oceanfront Palmetto Dunes resort with spa and direct access to golf, tennis and lagoon.
Beach House Hilton Head Island
Directly on Coligny Beach with the Tiki Hut bar and live music, you pay for sand and scene.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hilton Head Island
Clean chain hotel with breakfast, a short drive or bike ride to the beach for budget stays.
Is Hilton Head Island expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $150 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $300 a person |
| Splurge | $600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- The Jazz Corner: weeks ahead
- Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra: weeks ahead
- Arts Center of Coastal Carolina: weeks ahead
- Harbour Town Golf Links: months ahead
- Heron Point by Pete Dye: weeks ahead
- Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love III: weeks ahead
- Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course: weeks ahead
- George Fazio Course: weeks ahead
- RBC Heritage week lodging, tee times and top restaurants book months ahead, book by January.
- Charlie, Sage Room, Michael Anthony and The Jazz Corner need two to four weeks ahead in season.
- Harbour Town and Palmetto Dunes prime golf times go 30 to 90 days out in spring and October.
- Daufuskie ferry and cart, dolphin tours and fishing charters need one to two weeks ahead in summer.
Is Hilton Head Island safe?
- Alligators may be in every lagoon, never feed them, never swim in lagoons and keep dogs away from banks.
- Lock bikes, bike theft is the most common visitor crime, and lock cars at beach lots.
- May to October is loggerhead nesting season, lights out and no flashlights on the night beach.
- Hurricane season is June to November, book refundable rates for late summer and watch forecasts.
Hilton Head Island travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Timeshare pitches disguised as discount activity desks, book activities direct instead.
- Public beach lots fill by 10 to 11am in summer, never park on residential streets in Forest Beach.
- The Salty Dog Cafe is for a T shirt and a drink, not the island best meal.
- Any all you can eat seafood buffet on William Hilton Parkway, good island seafood is never served that way.
- Waterfront in a listing may mean marsh, lagoon or creek, not ocean.
Getting around Hilton Head Island: public transport and more
- Fly into Savannah Hilton Head International for choice, or Hilton Head Island Airport for convenience.
- Bikes beat cars inside the island on 60 miles of shaded flat paths, rent for the week with delivery.
- The Breeze Trolley links Coligny, Shelter Cove and mid island in season, schedules shrink off season.
- Pay the Sea Pines gate fee per car as a day visitor and keep the pass for re entry that day.
- Avoid Saturday changeover traffic on US 278 between 10am and 4pm in summer, arrive early or late.
Who Hilton Head Island suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Hilton Head Island your trip
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