Top Five Family Activities: Hilton Head

Hilton Head is a great family resort area in South Carolina.  Here are our top five things you’ve got to do:  

1.  Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn

This museum is a great little find just as you enter the island.  Admission is free but donations are happily accepted.  They do offer tours and other learning activities that may cost a fee.

Inside the museum, you’ll find some adult exhibits and a great kids area.  There is so much to do for your little ones with all types of shells and skeletal remnants to see and touch.  They also have a turtle, which my daughter loved.  Really, just hours of fun!

The butterfly exhibit is hands on.  The volunteers are helpful and willing educate you on everything you ever wanted to know about butterflies.  We did the butterfly tour but if you have kids under five, I’d skip it.  Although very informative, it didn’t hold the attention of our two year-old or the three year-old or the four year-old also in attendance. 

 2.  Crazy Crab

Right down the road from the museum is the Crazy Crab.  This place is great for kids.  They have a huge aquarium, a little playground outside, deck seating, and just an overall fun atmosphere.  Beware upon entering though, the place is littered with stuffed animals right at your little ones level.  They are happy to sell you as many as you want. 

 3.  Beaches

Of course if you are going to Hilton Head you are probably going to the beach.  However, I have to mention it because the beaches are so family-friendly. 

The water is calm, level and shallow for quite a distance.  It’s usually tricky with little ones in the ocean.  Waves can be fierce and scary for them.  Or the sand can drop quite quickly once you step in leaving little space for water play or swimming unless you’re holding them.  At Hilton Head, the water is very calm, hardly any waves.  It’s a level beach and quite shallow for some distance. 

Also at Hilton Head, the beaches are expansive.  It’s not like some beaches where you take three steps and you’re in the water.  There is plenty of space for your sand castle or sand empire, if you’d like.  

4.  The Salty Dog

You must visit the Salty Dog if you have kids.  It’s located within Sea Pines Plantation and if you’re not staying within the community, it will cost you to actually enter but it’s worth it.  The Salty Dog area is on the South Beach marina surrounded by restaurants and shops. 

Each night they have music and the kids can dance until they drop.  Some nights they even have special little kid music.  They have parrots the kids can talk with.  There’s a playground.  And, the food is very kid-friendly, you can get peel-and-eat shrimp, hamburgers, pizza, ice-cream and the bar is right there so you can enjoy a cocktail yourself!  Very fun!

 5.  Bike Riding

The bike trails on Hilton Head are great.  They are lined with trees so you’re not in the hot sun the entire time.  Lots to look at too (turtles, birds, and maybe even a gator)!  The trails are wide and well marked so it makes riding so easy with kids.

Best of all, they have all varieties of bike to rent.  You can find bikes with baby seats, with baby buggies, with the attached bike for bigger kids, and of course regular bikes for kids and adults. 

Have you been yet?  If so, leave us a comment below and let us know if we got it right or what we should add?  If you haven’t been, when are you planning to go??

Hilton Head Island Details Getting There: Hilton Head Airport…located on Hilton Head Isand Savannah / Hilton Head International Airport…located about 45 minutes from Hilton Head Island What to Do: Coastal Discovery Museum 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926 843-689-6767 Where to Eat: Crazy Crab 104 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926 843.681.5021       Salty Dog 224 South Sea Pines Drive Hilton Head Island SC 29928 843.686.2363

 

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