HH trade came through

[Pompey Family]

Finally! Our HH trade came through this morning, Harbour Lake platinum for Grande Ocean 21/07/12. We had given up hope of the exchange so had resigned ourselves to Harbour Lake next year but to my surprise this morning I received notification from II. Now all we need to do is wait for our gold Andaluza resale to be finalised (waiting since August!) and then try and trade that week to tack on to the end. Not sure if we'll be successful with Grande Ocean but we'll be happy with any of the other HH Marriott's. Have to sort out the flights which are horrendously expensive at the moment and was wondering whether anyone has flown from the UK to HH and flew to Savannah and drove or opted for a stopover and flew on to HH. Wondering about pro's and con's including whether car hire is cheaper at Savannah than HH.

 

[jdunn1]

Congrats. Great trade and it gives hope to me for using my inland marriott to snag hilton head in the summer. Were you the family that was thinking about Branson as an alternative to Hilton Head?

About the flights. I can't speak about flying into Hilton Head from London, or wherever you are but you should understand outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, there are no real airports in the Carolinas. There are small regional airports, but that is it. I can't immagine the Hilton Head airport being much of anything. I think most people that fly into Hilton Head from the states, fly into Savannah and drive the hour or so to the island. Everything in the Carolinas is a "drive to" destination for most of the Eastern and Mid-Western United States. Not many people fly as there really aren't big airports near Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach and you ABSOLUTELY NEED a car at either destination. NOTHING much is within walking distance to the resorts and outside of biking, you will need some kind of transportation on the island.

I don't know how else to describe Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach other than spread out and Hilton Head really doesn't have any attractions to speak of outside of some small shops and restaurants. There is a nice outlet mall just off the island, and you can drive to Savannah, but other than that, there isn't much on the island. Everyone vacations different but Hilton Head is where people GOLF, go out to eat, relax on the beach and wander through a few mom and pop shops sprinkled throughout the island. There is always biking and Hilton Head is unique in that you can bike to most things, but it could be more than 5 miles one way to get to most things. One thing you can bank on is very oppressive heat in July, so biking may not always be an option.

You might be better served flying into Charlotte, NC (are there direct flights to/from Europe), renting a car and driving to Hilton Head. It will be about a four hour drive. Savannah is about an hour drive but that's a small airport and I'm sure you will have a connecting flight or two before you get there.

And if you are planning on staying two weeks in Hilton Head and getting a back to back week trade via II to accomplish this, I would have a serious "B plan". I think you should play the lottery, that is how luck you were to get a Hilton Head Island July trade, not so sure you can count on another July trade, especially for a specific week -- but it MAY happen.

So happy for you to get this trade. Have fun, I love Hilton Head, but don't expect much action on the island and do plan on having a car for the entire week.

 

[riverdees05]

It is about a 4 - 4 1/2 hour drive from Atlanta, GA. Also, I have known some people to fly into Jacksonville, FL and drive up, not sure of the time, could check mapquest. When we fly, we have flown into Savannah, GA, but most of the time we drive.

 

[Swice]

hub airport

Chances are you will fly from London to a large hub airport and change plans to fly to Savannah, Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach.

Hub airports:
Delta Airlines: Atlanta-- you "could" drive to Hilton Head from there.
US Airways: Charlotte -- the closest hub airport. It's an easy drive to Hilton Head with major highways. Just over four hours drive time.
American Airlines: Miami -- much too far to drive to Hilton Head.

Again, you will need a car while at Hilton Head. You will have to compare the costs of ending your flight in Charlotte or Atlanta and driving the rest of the way or changing planes and flying to Hilton Head. You actually might find a cheaper price on a car rental at a larger airport than you will at a smaller airport.

One last idea is to fly direct to Orlando (there are always flight sales to Orlando) and driving from Orlando to Hilton Head. That would be about five and a half hours of driving to Hilton Head.

 

[Pompey Family]

Congrats. Great trade and it gives hope to me for using my inland marriott to snag hilton head in the summer. Were you the family that was thinking about Branson as an alternative to Hilton Head?

Yes we were however we were put off by some posts and also a bit of research on the internet we concluded that it probably wasn't for us.

Looking at the flights available it would appear that the easiest flight would be with US Airways to HH via Charlotte which are currently going for £880! The cheapest I can get for Orlando is £850 so it really isn't worth flying there and then driving for 5 or so hours. Renting a car is a given however I'm mindful that the price may be more expensive renting from a small local airport compared to a larger one. I've looked at Budget however it quotes me different prices depending on how I've accessed their site. It's always more expensive if I search via budget.co.uk than via .com and at one point a full size SUV was cheaper than a minivan but vice versa when I checked back via a different link!

As for stuff to do, as long as there are pools and a beach then everyone's happy. I'm quite interested in a trip to Savannah (although I think I'm the only one) whilst the girls simply need a mall or two. I know I could go to spain for £150 and sit round a pool but it's not the same.

I am a bit concerned about snagging the second week but don't really have a Plan B. Any suggestions?

 

[jont]

as for the second week, you might want to consider Orlando and the theme parks. although it is crowded in the summer you could get a trade pretty easily. you might also want to consider renting your second week in HH. good luck.

sorry I just noticed the OP was trading out of Orlando. my mistake

 

[bogey21]

It has been a few years since I vacationed on HHI. But when I did I always found the flights and car rentals cheaper flying into Jacksonville, Florida. The Jacksonville airport is right on the Interstate Highway and the drive to HHI wasn't bad at all.

George

 

[jdunn1]

I second all of this. I am just very concerned about you getting the second week. If you pay cash and rent that week, then no problem at all but to get that week via a trade, I think is really wishful thinking. If you have access to RCI, I know you could get something in Myrtle Beach for that week, but it won't be anything close to Marriott quality.

I really think Orlando (or Daytona Beach) is a sure thing and somethink you could even book now.

as for the second week, you might want to consider Orlando and the theme parks. although it is crowded in the summer you could get a trade pretty easily. you might also want to consider renting your second week in HH. good luck.

 

[BocaBoy]

.....you should understand outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, there are no real airports in the Carolinas. There are small regional airports, but that is it.

Raleigh/Durham is also a major airport in the Carolinas. It is definitely not a small regional airport.

 

[ilene13]

We go to Hilton Head annually on July 4th for the past 28 years. We always fly into Savannah. It's a 40 minute drive straight highway. 95 to 278 into HH. The airfares from Buffalo to Savannah have more than doubled since last year. You can fly into Jacksonsonville, Fla. It's an 1.5 hour drive.

 

[jont]

upon further thought, you might want to consider ocean pointe in west palm beach or Williamsburg for the second week. both are about a 7 hour drive.

 

[Big Matt]

Whatever you decide to do with the flight make sure that you factor in how long it will take to drive BACK to the airport on the way home. The summer up and down 95 can be horrible. Don't risk missing your flights.

Also, do a total cost estimate. Count filght plus rental car plus gas. Cars can be very expensive (Orlando) where flights are cheap.

 

[kjd]

Just made the drive between Hilton Head and Atlanta. It's 286 miles, all on Interstate roadway. It takes a little more than four hours with stops. Atlanta airport is on the south side of Atlanta. You head south to Macon on I 75 and turn east on Interstate 16. That takes you to Savannah. You're about 45 minutes to HHI from there. A very boring ride.

 

[tompk]

I believe US Air flies to HHI from Charlotte so you may want to check the fare to your final destination if you're going to be on US Air anyway to fly to Charlotte.

 

[dmharris]

Congrats on the trade! Do make a day trip to Savannah; it's a gem and very representative of our old South. You have so much history in England so seeing Savannah will give you a taste of a part of our history. It is charming; tours of the town, ghost stories, tea rooms, there are shops, your girls will love it.

Charleston is also a wonderful southern Belle! It's further up the road, so to speak, but different than Savannah in feel. Both are worth it if you're into history.

It will be HOT and HUMID when you're in Hilton Head so prepare for that. The ladies may have fainting spells!

 

[funtime]

From Dallas there was no good way to get to HH. Is that where you are going or are you going to Myrtle Beach?

I spent the better part of a day going from Dallas to HH and had to fly to Charlotte which is a sprawling airport that is sort of out of control. From there there was a prop jet that went into HH. The ony way to fly to Hilton Head is via prop - probably from Charlotte.

Savannah is well worth a day trip. We took a trolley tour and also had lunch at an old mansion. It was great. Have fun and start doing some research to see if there are cheaper flights. Maybe there are package deals that you can unbundle the hotel going to either Atlanta or Orlando. Funtime