Hilton Head

We are looking into "renting" a place in Hilton Head in the summer. There are ton of places to consider and I'm wondering what's the best area to be in or is there an area to avoid? Any other comments our suggestion are also appreciated.

Thanks!

All of Hilton Head is wonderful. Hilton Head is all about the beach and golf. So if you want the beach, rent a place on or within walking distance to a beach. If you just want to relax and play golf, almost any rental will meet your needs. Great restaurants are plentiful, so you'll have good access no matter where you are on the island. Many of us can tell you good/bad things about a particular location once you come up with a possible rental.

My first choices for a timeshare rental would be one of the Marriott resorts on the beach, in order of preference: Grande Ocean, Barony Beach, Monarch (a bit older but in a great location) and SurfWatch (the newest, but a bit longer walk out to the beach). Another great resort within an 8-minute walk of the beach (with some reasonable rental rates on Redweek and other owner-listing sites) is Waterside by Spinnaker.

We LOVE Sea Pines. The whole island has much to offer but we fell in love with the Sea Pines plantation on our first visit and will likely never stay anywhere else. We enjoy the activities at Harbour Town and South Beach and the miles of biking trails as well as the beach.

Deb

Like Dave said, it depends on what you're looking to do. If you want easy beach access, rent at a resort right on the beach. If you're looking to bike a lot, Sea pines is great but I also like Port Royal, the neighborhoods and trails around the Port Royal golf courses are lovely. If you're into golf, look for something that includes a golf package - golfing can be very expensive on the island.

Hilton Head proper is a small island and it is a short drive to restaurants or grocers. North end of the island is the heel and the South end is the toe. HH is shaped like a sneaker. William Hilton Pkwy is the main road. There are beautiful flowers,moss draped trees and lush foliage all over the island. Early morning bike rides you can see deer on the bike trails.

Sea Pines is especially beautiful and the bike paths are the nicest. Lots of places to eat and golf everywhere. I would pick an area that is closest to the beach unless you want someplace quieter. Everything is just 5-10 minutes away.


Not sure on your party size or if you want to rent a TS or villa or house. Lots of families like Shipyard area off Pope Ave close to Coligny Circle. There are usually rentals in Palmetto Dunes. Some condo/villa rentals have golf or tennis privilages if that is important to you. Unit sizes vary in square footage and some are as small as 600 sq ft in certain areas.

We love Barony Beach in Port Royal which is beachfront and next to The Westin. We also have stayed in Sea Pines and Shelter Cove and enjoyed them all. We are headed back in September and will try Monarch this time.

There are no areas to avoid on HHI. As previous posters mentioned, rent close to what you want to do on your trip. The beaches farther south on the island are a little more crowded than the beaches up near Barony or Surfwatch. These two resorts are surrounded by private homes so not the concentration of people like in the condo areas, which is nice unless you are looking to be where the action is.

We own one week in Shipyard and one in Sea Pines and we love them both! I do think Sea Pines has the best bike trails. As the other posters have said, it is very hard to go wrong on HH. Port O' Call (where we own in Shipyard) is gold crown and near the beach. Maybe not as fancy as the Marriotts, but still very nice. Have fun!