Amid inland South Carolina's year-round bliss – in Charleston, Columbia and Greenville – the state's shoreline significantly pops come summertime.
South of Myrtle Seaside and stretching to the Georgia state line the place Savannah awaits, you'll discover South Carolina's Sea Islands, a stretch of islands every with their very own distinctive ambiance and summer season aptitude.
Your choices embrace the family-friendly and golf haven of Hilton Head, the historic downtown of Beaufort and extra secluded choices for bird-watching and fishing galore. As you finalize your Palmetto State summer season itinerary, there are some key logistical must-knows to really soak all of it in. Right here's the inside track on South Carolina's Sea Islands.
First time in South Carolina? Right here's every part you have to know earlier than you go
Step 1: Decide a house base
Hilton Head Island
Vibes: Take into account this your island vacation spot for staying occupied but tranquil. Hilton Head is famend for white-sand bliss, a small-town core and big-time resorts. That is the most suitable choice for a household trip, too, with loads of quirky actions spanning zip-lining its marshes to an intensive go-kart monitor, all of which you’ll find at Journey Hilton Head and different island spots.
Do: Hilton Head is a {golfing} vacation spot with practically 30 programs island-wide. Sea Pines Resort is a prime decide, with three programs inside its confines, together with Harbor City, which hosts the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage match. In any other case, plop on a seashore – Coligny Seaside is totally geared up with restrooms, gazebos and benches for a seamless expertise.
Keep: The Sweetgrass Inn at Hilton Head Well being places wellness entrance and heart with each day well being retreats, diet workshops and, for longer stays, a weight reduction monitor, if desired. Seaside Home is laid-back, with an on-site tiki hut and just lately renovated pool.
Eat: Hit Cranium Creek Boathouse for a sundown and, inside its on-site Dive Bar area, recent sushi picks. Nectar Farm Kitchen has southern coastal fare right down to an artwork, with candy potato pancakes and hearty-portioned rooster and waffles.
Folly Seaside
Vibes: A 20-minute drive south of Charleston, that is the place residents of “the Holy Metropolis” head to unwind in the summertime. The southern hospitality and normal friendliness of Charleston oozes into its beachy neighbor, the place locals commerce of their bowties and pastel attire for swim trunks and swimsuits. Its ocean's edge is dotted with surf outlets – like McKevlin's and Ocean Surf Store – with a spot often called the Washout being the place veteran surfers flock for swells.
Do: For browsing newbies, take a lesson with native mainstays like Isla Surf College or Shaka Surf College, the latter of which hosts youngsters' summer season camps and a Saturday surf and yoga class for ladies. Folly Seaside has a novel saltwater creek and coastal marsh panorama – you’ll be able to be taught all about it and hunt for some shark enamel alongside the way in which with a Charleston Outside Adventures eco tour.
Keep: For views, every room on the Tides Folly Seaside comes with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Its on-site BLU Seaside Bar & Grill has a tiki bar and one-of-a-kind vistas of the Folly Seaside Pier which juts into the ocean subsequent door. Regatta Inn is the island's luxurious bed-and-breakfast choice, with a each day breakfast unfold and golf cart shuttle to the seashore.
Eat: Folly Seaside is loaded with seashore bars with fare and booze that run the total spectrum of no-frills to fancy. Lowlife Bar has a each day brunch from 10am to 3pm with a memorable Maryland-style crab cake, rooster and waffles and a pimento cheese plate. Three blocks off the seashore, Jack of Cup Saloons serves up craft brews and sake with quite a lot of Indian and Asian-inspired dishes.
Edisto Island
Vibes: Roughly 50 miles southeast of Charleston, this island is dotted with beachside leases on stilts, stately plantation abodes and beautiful seashores. It is a extra relaxed vibe in comparison with Hilton Head or Folly Seaside, with loads of quirky entertaining issues to maintain you occupied. An instance – and never for the faint of coronary heart – is the Edisto Island Serpentarium, with habitats for quite a lot of snakes, alligators and turtles.
Do: Edisto Seaside State Park is arguably the recent spot for accumulating shells within the state. Botany Bay is a marshy, bird-watching paradise the place shorebirds, wild turkeys and egrets abound. It is a quiet spot for a sundown cruise, too, with Botany Bay Ecotours being a go-to operator.
Keep: Trip leases are the norm right here. A conglomerate of leases owned by Wyndham on the southwestern tip of the island presents essentially the most choices in a singular place. For golfers, there’s a course – the Plantation Course – in the midst of the advanced.
Eat: Cute and homegrown are the final culinary vibes on the island. McConkey's Jungle Shack serves up wings, burgers, wild rum punch concoctions and a well-known native candy tea. Sea Cow Eatery is an intimate diner that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (minus Monday when it closes at 2pm). No matter what time of day it’s, keep watch over its ever-changing selfmade pie picks.
Step 2: Guide your lodging
Trip leases abound alongside South Carolina's coast. Normally, particular person homeowners or working entities open up summer season reservations both a yr upfront or six months upfront, though it might range. VRBO, AirBnb and HomeToGo are statewide favorites for leases. Moreover, it’s possible you’ll wish to examine the state's tourism web site for extra sanctioned choices in addition to native chambers of commerce.
Throughout the board on South Carolina's sea islands, there are alternatives for plopping it at a resort, inside a trip dwelling or at a mattress and breakfast and making recollections solely on-property. Should you're trying to maintain antsy company or youngsters occupied, Hilton Head boasts essentially the most issues to do. Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort is maybe one of the best of all worlds – quietly tucked on the northern fringe of the island, exuding an informal vibe with a water slide and inside minutes of buying at Shelter Cove Harbor.
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Step 3: Plan your days
Hilton Head is taken into account a fishing utopia, the place spot-tailed trout, flounder, grouper and even sharks abound. Hilton Head is among the largest breeding grounds for sharks on the East Coast and, sure, you’ll be able to fish for them, too. You'll have to constitution a fishing boat – ideally with a captain, too, to make it seamless – and for that FishingBooker is trusted and up-to-date.
Past the islands, three metropolis visits could also be simply pinned to any South Carolina sea islands itinerary. Savannah, Georgia is inside a 45-minute drive of Hilton Head Island – saunters by means of its brick public squares and alongside its boutique-filled major drag, Broughton Road, are musts. Charleston – closest to Folly Seaside – is a cobblestone road wonderland, with a waterfront park overlooking Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter making for a city-meets-tranquil reprieve. Beaufort – positioned between Hilton Head and Edisto – is on Port Royal Island and has a historic district worthy of a day journey. Its museum picks span the quirky (try the Kazoobie Kazoo Manufacturing facility) to the reflective – the Beaufort Historical past Museum showcases greater than 500 years of historical past with reveals on plantation tradition, the Spanish American Struggle and extra.
Step 4: Select one of the best locations to eat in South Carolina's Sea Islands
In Hilton Head, the blue crab reigns supreme – crack some at Hudson's Seafood Home on the Docks, with vistas of Port Royal Sound and periodic reside music. In any other case, recent seafood is the way in which to go alongside the coast with shrimp and grits, a lowcountry boil and seafood salad being menu norms.
The island cities are additionally dwelling to some memorable mom-and-pop grocery shops with curated, South Carolina-bred objects. Bert's Market on Folly Seaside has all of it; cease by for pimento cheese, boiled peanuts and a go to to the deli counter. Palmetto Dunes Normal Retailer on Hilton Head Island is a haven for recent fried rooster and soft-serve ice cream, amongst different grocery staples.
Step 5: Getting there
Two worldwide airports typically function dwelling bases for journeys to those components. Savannah/Hilton Head Worldwide Airport is inside a 45-minute drive of Hilton Head and extra distant adventures in Daufuskie Island. Charleston Worldwide Airport is inside half-hour of Folly Seaside and roughly 2 hours north of Hilton Head. Hilton Head Island Airport additionally presents choose home flights.
For prepare journey, Amtrak has a serious station in Charleston, with a smaller operation in Yemassee, South Carolina – a taxi journey from the prepare station to the islands is the seamless choice from there.
Step 6: What to pack
Examine forward of time to see what your resort and/or trip rental provides when it comes to seashore objects – they’ll range dramatically. Relying on what’s supplied and the way a lot you'd wish to pack, it might be smart to carry a cooler, snorkeling gear, goggles, water sports activities gear and water floats with you. In any other case, through the summer season months, rely on utilizing sunscreen, sun shades, solar protecting clothes, sandals and – in swampy areas – insect repellant, each day. Fortuitously within the dwelling bases we've outlined in (Step 1), memento outlets promote the entire aforementioned, however rely on paying a premium.
