Every summer as a kid, our vacation was a week at an East Coast beach within driving distance from home. We’ve carried on the tradition with our kids and look forward to leaving our home in Northern Virginia for a beach adventure each year. We hop around based on our schedule and aren’t loyal to anyone particular beach or vacation rental. This year we went away in June with our 3 kids (ages 9, 7 and 4). My husband wanted to try to go farther South for warmer ocean water. Hilton Head Island fit the bill!
Where to Stay:
Seven years ago we stayed in Sea Pines. This trip, we tried Palmetto Dunes for the first time. We liked both places. For this trip, we rented a two-bedroom vacation property in the Moorings complex (and my parents rented another one). I really liked this location as it was a short walk to the beach, The Dunes House restaurant, the pool, the tennis courts, and the general store. The pool in the complex has warm water that my kids really enjoyed. Lately, I really like doing a VRBO vacation rental for more room and a kitchen.
Where to Eat:
We ate breakfast and easy lunches at our place and went out to dinner every night. There were a lot of dinner options near the Palmetto Dunes area. I recommend visiting Hilton Head Ice Cream (I loved the Oreo ice cream!) A little farther away is Up the Creek which has a great dock nearby to walk on after dinner. Lucky Rooster was recommended by a friend and was great for a date night.
Favorite Activities:
In Hilton Head/Palmetto Dunes, I liked that there were weekly events to take advantage of all summer long – Fireworks, 5K Turtle Trot, Turtle Talk & Walk. All three were great! We saw sea turtle nests cordoned off on the beach. We learned that if you’re on a beach where sea turtles are nesting, you should fill in any holes you dig and flatten any sandcastles before you leave for the day. When the little turtles hatch, usually at night, they go straight from the nest up on the beach for the water. You don’t want them to fall into a hole they can’t climb out of on the way!
We also did a dolphin/tubing trip through Live Oac which was great. My
We checked out the Coastal Discovery Museum on a day when they also had Critter Meet and Greet and thought it was worth a visit. My daughter’s favorite part was holding a chicken on her lap!
My 7 year old loved all the animals we saw on this trip – stingrays, pelicans diving for food, osprey, herons, egret, lizards, mud snails, fiddler crabs, and more.
So?
In HHI, the beach was big and the ocean was warm. At low tide, there were tide pools that were great for little kids to play in. We ate great food, had a relaxing time in the pool, and also fit in so many fun adventures our kids won’t forget. I can’t recommend it enough!
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