Trip Report

My family visited Hilton Head from Sept. 6 through Sept. 13. We were 4 adults and 2 children (3 and 4 year olds). We wish to thank everyone on this forum for all the good information posted which ensured our trip would be wonderful...it truly was!!!

We stayed at Waterside by Spinnaker and found it to be extremely spacious and well situated on the island. The unit was a 3 bedroom/3 bath with large living room, full kitchen/dinning room and a good size balcony which over-looked the kids pool. The air-conditioning worked swell. Check in/out went quickly and smoothly. The pools on the property were wonderful. The lagoon had a huge alligator and more turtle than I could possibly count! My grandchildren were very, very happy here and asked to see the turtles several times a day. We were quite safe from the alligator - stayed on the bridge that crossed the lagoon.

We rented bikes and a kiddy cart from AAA Tigers and they were there when we arrived - all in order. We had the most fun riding them on the beach as well as all over the island. Unfortunately, we were not able to ride in any of the plantations which we were disappointed by - we really wanted to ride to Harbour Town for the day...they turned us away. We returned later with the car, paid the mandatory $5 and had fun there...more of that later.

We were very, very close to Coligney and the beach nearby. Daily we went to the beach in the a.m., returned to the pools by 2:30 for ice cream sundaes at Waterside for $1 pp. Ate in some nights and out others. The places we enjoyed eating out at were: Sea Shack (yummy she crab soup, fried fish, etc. on paper plates at a relatively low cost), Mezzalunna (great Italian cuisine, lovely room and the prices were ok too), Old Fort Pub - my son and his bride went there for their anniversary dinner. They said it was very beautiful and the food was delish! We also tried CQ%26#39;s (yummy) and the Waterfront Cafe (delish too and the view to die for!). We also tried Just Pasta for a ';take out'; dinner which was very good and we had lunch in Coligney and ice cream there too on several occasions.

For excursions (besides the beach and biking) I have to strongly recommend Commander Zodiac dolphin/nature cruise. We went for the 2 hour cruise and saw pod upon pod of dolphins. They were up front and personal too! Scott, the captain, was remarkable. He was very informative about the animals, the island, the sea, the marshlands, and Dasfukie - which we stopped at shortly on the ';shell'; beach. The zodiacs only accommodate 6 - 8 passengers so we had our own private cruise and had a blast! Of course we stopped at the Salty Dog for drinks afterwards and bought the mandatory T-shirts and baseball caps!!!

My daughter and I went on the Stars %26amp; Stripes sunset cruise and had a good time. I, however, had done the same in St. Martin a few years ago and enjoyed that more because we actually raced another cup boat for an hour and then the captain took us out to sea for another hour sail. The one in HH was nice but we were never going fast at all and never left the sound. It was a perfect weather night w/an almost perfect full moon and the weather was warm w/o any humidity...we only saw 2 dolphins, far from the pods we witnessed a few days prior on the Zodiac.

We went to the beach several times at night and walked around and found lots of tiny jellies, sand dollars, 6 star fish, one pretty large crab, a small hermit crab and several small crabs...swimming in the pools at night was great too.

All in all a wonderful trip which the family will always remember. Again, I thank all of you on this forum for your great suggestions and recommendations....:%26gt;)

, Old Fort Pub

Trip Report

nala: So great to read your report. It%26#39;s funny, when fellow tripadvisors write their reports upon returning, it gives such a warm fuzzy feeling that we all contributed in some way to a wonderful vacation experience by sharing what we know and have experienced. I am so glad you enjoyed the Commander Zodiac. I recommend that dolphin excursion to everyone as it so enjoyable for young and old alike. It%26#39;s so exciting to get up close and personal with pods of dolphins. It brings out the kid in all of us, I think. Well worth the money.

Waterside by Spinnaker sounded like it was perfect for your family group. We really enjoy the Forest Beach/Coligny area of the island. Lots to do all within a short bike ride or walk away.

Thanks again for your wonderful report. It will help many other tripadvisors.

As well, there has been a recent post about being able to ride bikes through the Sea Pines Gatehouse and what you have to pay on bike. If you were turned away, I guess that says it all. No pedestrians on bikes get past the gatehouse. Thanks.

D in Muskoka.