My husband and I had been thinking about visiting Hilton Head, South Carolina for a while. So when Hurricane Dorian looked like it was heading towards Turks & Caicos (right before our planned vacation), we decided not to go. Instead, we took a last minute trip to Hilton Head.

We were so glad we did. Hilton Head was fun yet relaxing and our son absolutely loved it! If you’re looking for somewhere to go for a family vacation, consider visiting Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

Where to Stay

We stayed at Beach House – Hilton Head Island, which was perfect for us because it’s located right on Coligny Beach. It also has a heated outdoor pool, a kiddies pool, an outdoor bar with live music (Tiki Hut), and a restaurant (The Porch). We pretty much had everything we needed right there.

The rooms are okay – comfy, clean, but nothing fancy. If you’re looking for a posh place to stay or plan to spend most of your time indoors, then look elsewhere. However, if you plan to be out and about like we were, then Beach House is the ideal place to stay. TIP: Ask for a room away from the bar if you want a quiet room.

What mattered to us was the location. Aside from being right on the beach, Beach House is walking distance to Coligny Plaza and just a few minutes drive to Sea Pines Resort.

There are several Airbnb’s in the area if you prefer to stay in a house/apartment instead of a hotel. If you’re staying at an Airbnb and plan on cooking during your stay, there’s a Piggly Wiggly (yes you read it right) at Coligny Plaza.

How to Get There

We live in Atlanta, Georgia so Hilton Head was only a 4 1/2 hour drive from our home. If you live in another country or further away in the U.S., you can book your flight to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. We drove to Hilton Head on Wednesday and left on Saturday, so I would say we had at least 2 full days in Hilton Head (not including our travel days).

What to Do

There are a ton of things to do in Hilton Head. We managed to do a few:

Day 1

Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel then went straight to the beach. Our son has always had a thing for the sea, so he instantly started running and laughing along the shore, leaving his little footprints in the sand.

We didn’t spend much time on the beach that evening, as we were starving and had to grab something to eat. After eating dinner at The Porch (our hotel’s restaurant), we drove to Coligny Plaza. You can walk, but driving was just easier for us at that point. We got ice cream at the Frozen Moo, strolled around various shops, and then ended our day in the playground so our son could have some fun.

Day 2

My husband and I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to a little voice saying “Ocean!” “Ocean!” That was our 2 year old son, wide awake and ready to go to the beach. Despite our pleas to go back to sleep and efforts to convince him that “the ocean was sleeping”, he was not buying it. We eventually rolled out of bed to get ready.

Breakfast at Skillets

We started our day with breakfast at Skillets in Coligny Plaza. The food at Skillets was okay. Not bad, but not fantastic either. Our waitress Stacey was great.

Visit Sea Pines Resort

Sea Pines is a popular resort in Hilton Head that has both family and individual activities, such as horseback riding and an animal farm at Lawton Stables; a lovely golf course; hiking; cycling; water activities; and shopping. You name it they’ve probably got it. There are also numerous accommodation choices and restaurants within the resort.

You can stay at Sea Pines for your entire vacation. We didn’t because it’s pricey and also not on the beach. But you can get a day pass for $8.00, which was handy because we went in the morning to see the animal farm at the stables, grab lunch, check out Harbour Town, then returned later on in the evening.

Visit Lawton Stables

Lawton Stables is located in Sea Pines Resort and offers horseback riding, pony rides (for kids 2-7), and an animal farm for little ones. As much as our son wanted to go back to the ocean right away, we decided to take him to the animal farm first because he absolutely LOVES animals (plus once we hit the beach it would be really hard to leave).

This big guy greeted us on our way in. You should have seen how our son’s eyes lit up. He was so excited! “Horse!” “Donkey!” “Goat!” “Llama!” “Chicken!” “Turtle!” Yep, that was him, yelling every animal he saw at the top of his lungs. He was over the moon and didn’t want to leave.

Explore Harbour Town

After visiting the animal farm, we drove over to Harbour Town. Harbour Town is a little area along the coast in Sea Pines that has a collection of boutique stores and craft shops. There are also a variety of restaurants and outdoor cafes.

You can go there for dolphin cruises, charter fishing tours, kayaking, and other water sports; or you can just stroll around and relax in a rocking chair. Totally up to you. You can’t miss the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse, with its red and white stripes. Climb to the top and get a stunning view of the marina!

Grab Lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe (Sea Pines Resort)

The Salty Dog Cafe got raving online reviews so I figured why not grab some lunch since we were already in Sea Pines. I had the crab cake sandwich and it was delish! My son had the fish nuggets with fries and steamed veggies from the kids menu. That was pretty tasty as well. I think the best food we ate in Hilton Head was at the Salty Dog Cafe. Side note: Even though it’s also in Sea Pines, we had to drive a bit to get here from Harbour Town (approx 15 minutes). What can I say, it’s a huge resort.

Beach Time

We got back to the hotel and quickly changed into our swim suits. It was time for the beach! It was the afternoon by now so the water was nice and warm. Our son was in seventh heaven and ran all along the beach. We built sandcastles in the sand and jumped waves together.

At some point I decided to swim out a bit further and got stung by jellyfish. I didn’t know it at the the time, but apparently yellow flags mean there are jellyfish in the water. I got all sorts of advice on what to put on the jellyfish sting, from vinegar, to ocean water, to pee. Back home we just throw rum on it. Eventually, it stopped stinging but left a really huge red mark on my leg. Anyway, glad it was me and not my son.

We decided to move to the pool area after the jellyfish sting and the three of us spent the rest of the day in the pool, although my son went back and forth to the kiddies pool with my husband. After lounging around and swimming in the pool, we headed back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner.

Dinner at Quarterdeck Waterfront (Sea Pines Resort)

I had a reservation at Quarterdeck Waterfront at Sea Pines Resort. We had our day pass so we didn’t need to pay another fee to enter Sea Pines.

The food was good but overpriced. You do get a nice view though.

Climb Harbour Town Lighthouse and Enjoy the View

The Harbour Town Lighthouse is right beside the Quarterdeck Waterfront restaurant. I highly suggest that you visit and climb all the way up to the top of the lighthouse to take in the magnificent view after dinner. Try to time it so you can see the sun set. Adults pay $4.50 to climb the lighthouse. Kids are free.

We also walked out towards the pier while the sun was still setting … it was absolutely beautiful.

After seeing our sunset, we hung out some more around Harbour Town, checked out a live show for a while, then called it a day and went back to our hotel.

Day 3

Our son slept in a little longer today, so we were able to get some extra rest. Once we were up, we got ready and headed out for breakfast.

Breakfast at Watusi Cafe

We had breakfast at Watusi Cafe this morning and I have to say, it was delicious! I had the Ocean Club Scrambler, my husband had the Vegetarian Benedict, and our son had the French Toast from the Kid’s menu. The food and the service were excellent.

Visit the Coastal Discovery Museum

The Coastal Discovery Museum has a cool learning center with various programs for both adults and kids. If you have little ones, make sure you take them to the butterfly exhibit (not to be confused with the tour – the exhibit is free). Our son loved seeing and chasing the butterflies!

The Museum has a variety of programs and tours such as the blue crab discovery tour, the butterfly discovery tour, and the critters “meet and greet”. You can also schedule tours and other activities off-site through the museum, for instance, the Outback tour, dolphin cruises, and tours of Daufuskie Island, Pickney Island, and even the Savannah Port. The museum is also a pick-up location for the Gullah Heritage tours.

Check out the Splash Pad at Coligny Beach Park

After our visit to the Coastal Discovery Museum, we went back to our hotel to get some more beach time. Before heading to the beach however, we took our son to the splash pad right outside Coligny beach park so he could splash around with the other kids.

Beach Time

We were ready to hit the beach again. The water was really warm so we took a few dips while keeping an eye out for jellyfish. We strolled along the sea shore and chased the waves.

I didn’t get stung by jellyfish this time, but we were on the look-out and only stayed by the shore. Our son made friends with some kids whose family was also visiting from Atlanta and they had fun playing in the sand together.

Enjoy a Poolside Lunch from the Tiki Bar

After spending a few hours on the beach, we moved to the pool to have lunch. We ordered from Tiki Bar, which is right beside the pool so they brought our lunch over to us. Our son enjoyed his chicken nuggets and fries and my husband enjoyed his Ahi Tuna sandwich. I wasn’t too fond of my grouper sandwich, but it did the job. A live band was playing at the bar so we got to enjoy some good music while eating.

We spent the rest of the day by the pool, where we hung out with some folks we met, including a family from Toronto who drove to Florida for vacation but decided to stop in Hilton Head on their way back.

After a full day, we headed back to our room to get ready for dinner.

Dinner at Red Fish

We had a hard time deciding where to go for dinner. It was a choice between Skull Creek Boathouse, Hudson’s, and Red Fish. Even though Skull Creek Boathouse and Hudson’s were more budget-friendly, they were a little further away and were first-come first serve. It was a Friday night so the wait-time at both places was already an hour. We opted to go to Red Fish, which was only six minutes away from our hotel and didn’t have a wait.

Red Fish is a cool restaurant and has a lovely ambiance. However, while the food was decent, I can’t say that it was worth the price. You can get better food for a lot less.

Our Last Day

The following day, we ate breakfast at The Porch (our hotel’s restaurant). The only option was a $20 per person all-you-can-eat buffet, which of course I thought was overpriced (I mean, there’s a limit to how much you can eat). However, kids ate for free and it was the most convenient option we had considering we were leaving that morning.  The made-to-order omelettes were delicious and the food overall was pretty good.

Once we were done with breakfast, we went back to our room to pack up and head out. Normally, we would’ve spent some time on the beach before leaving, but it was overcast and scheduled for thunderstorms. As soon as we loaded the car, it started raining. Talk about perfect timing.

Ironically, Hurricane Dorian was headed that way in a couple of days. I swear that hurricane was following us! Fortunately for South Carolina, the hurricane had downgraded to a storm by the time it arrived. We were long gone by then.

All in all we had a fantastic family vacation in Hilton Head. My husband and I loved every minute of it and our son had a blast! His love for the ocean has grown even more after this trip.

Mind you, this wasn’t the first time he’s been to the beach. He had his first beach experience in Jamaica when he was six months old, and again at Tybee Island when he was just over one year. He loved it each time. But he’s older now and a lot has changed. He’s two … and talking!

For us, the most memorable part of this trip was to see our son in action … to watch him run along the beach … jump and splash with the waves in the sea … play in the sand with his new friends …  see his eyes light up as he pet the horse and chased the butterflies. To hear him say “ocean ocean,” “horse,” “llama,” “butterfly,” all while watching him enjoy each and every moment of this entire experience was absolutely priceless!

It’s for this very reason that this last-minute trip to Hilton Head will live forever in our hearts.