Hilton Head Island in November

Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s not…… this November it has been SUPERB!

We took a timeshare for 2 weeks- Island Club IV - and I can get you a deal:-).And it is wonderful: short walk to the magnificent beach; lovely raised deck on the dunes at the ocean to relax; kids play area down by the bar b ques and picnic tables right there at the beach. And a gorgeous pool /hot tub area as well as a logoon with ducks, turtles, heron and fish!

Should you ever decide to make the trip, here are some hints gleaned from our own experience as well as from people who have been coming here for 20 years.

First - IF YOU GOLF  - go to Golf Headquarters right on 278 (the main road through the island) 843-686-4653 and buy a Club Key book. It costs $54 or 2 for $98 and it gives SUBSTANTIAL savings at most of the courses here. It is good for a year and can also be used in Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst as well as some other south eastern states. The rates vary depending on the time of year, and some clubs limit the number of times you play. But it is consistently the BEST rate you could ever get.

What is Hilton Head?

It is just off the coast of South Carolina, and is actually a bunch of little islands shaped like a foot. (I do not know why it isn’t called Hilton Foot.) It is divided up into different “plantations” all of which have hotels, rental units, condos, timeshares and magnificent homes. Probably the most exclusive area is Ribaut Island, which is part of Hilton Head Plantation - a gated community within a gated community - god forbid we should have the riff raff in the $2,000,000 homes associating with us in our $4,000,000 home

What to do in Hilton Head?

First there is the beach. Where we are (just south Port Royal Plantation) the beach is wonderful, and walkable. Some areas have lesser beaches, but Palmetto Dunes and Coligny, for example are other great beaches. Between buildings and the sand, there are always the dunes - protected grassy areas- not particularly beautiful, but typical of the entire North and South Carolina coastline.  So……………walking the beach is a wonderful ritual here.

Then there is golf. Great courses. We played The Barony at Port Royal, Oyster Reef, two of the three Palmetto courses: Fazio and Arthur Hills and Hilton Head National (our favourite). Beware……. some courses overseed in November causing cart path only rules. Ask first, because not all of them do it at the same time. Our price with the book averaged $40 a round including cart - a saving of $15 - $30 per course.

Of course there is shopping! Sale after sale in November. The Tanger outlet Mall is just off the island (maybe 10 minutes). Show your room key at the customer service area for even deeper discounts. Neon signs and obvious commerce are frowned upon here, so you have to hunt for everything - don’t start at night!!!!

Groceries: The Fresh market is……..fresh - a little pricey, but lovely. Our favourite is Piggly Wiggly - go there for your wine……….seriously! Get a free Piggly Wiggly card for specials. And cut flowers are cheap, so guys - when you go to get your supplies, don’t forget the flowers!

We took a fabulous eco boat trip through the National Wildlife Refuge and into Port Royal Sound. We had dolphins playing and I now really understand oyster beds (and oysters:-)). We took a 2 hour tour for $45 per person - a discount for Island Club, but you can probably just ask - regularly $50. The company is Live Oac 1-888-254-8362 to reserve, and you can customize your trip to go tubing, crabbing, fishing or whatever you like. Their boats are great - new and sturdy bow riders that seat max 6 plus the driver. We were 4 of us, and saw everything we could have imagined plus some amazing homes from the water. Ask them when is the best time to go as you want to go near low tide for the best experience.

Some people we know went to Daufuskie Island for some history and were very disappointed. Apparently it is not quite ready for prime time. The only way to get there is by ferry and then they recommend a golf cart to tour, but the whole thing was lacking. Our eco guide did give us some of the history and kind of discouraged us from Daufuskie, but did recomment the oyster factory and the area around it in Historic Bluffton (just off the Island) We will go there next time.

The same people who did not love Daufuskie did love the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. Here is what they had to say:

 This is the 28th season for the HHSO; it runs from October to May and the theme is Art & Music: A Celebration of Music Inspired by Art.
The concert we attended was entitled “Classical Guitar” and the performance compared favourably to anything we have heard at the TSO. 
Information about performances and tickets can be obtained by calling the box office at 843-842-2055.  You can learn more about HHSO on its web site at www.hhso.org.
 

Then you eat. You have an inordinately huge selection of first class restaurants from which to choose. We did not have a disappointing meal. We went to Le Bistro - tiny and superb with an indoor/outdoor patio (inside is cooler). The Sea Trawler - with awesome views of the marsh, owned by the Roller family with 14 members working there.  It has been 22 years in the planning and 5-6 years in the building. Their aim is to make it a hang out for the locals, and a place for tourists to have some authentic low country food. After all their disputes with the county they deserve to make it - we loved it. Riviera Oaks - where the owner is from France via Montreal and plays classical guitar every night - wonderful ambience and food. We also ate dinner at the Jazz Corner - surprisingly excellent food and not surprisingly excellent entertainment.

We ordered  pizza one night  from Del Vecchio’s which was recommended by a gourmet shop as ” the only place to order pizza”. It was delicious!

Antonio’s was our last night, and it was truly excellent. Fine dining with service to match.

 Three other highly recommended spots are the Old Fort Pub - which is fine dining and a sunset, and highly recommended by all including our eco tour guide, Blaire. One other one is Italian called Carabas - right near us and supposedly excellent. The last one is a casual spot for the sunset: aptly named the Sunset Grill

 Most of the restaurants have “early dining” prix fixe menus at a substantial reduction, and many of them have coupons in the local newspaper, “The Island Packet”. With the sunset around 5:30 at this time of year, the early dining doesn’t seem to hold any stigma - some call it a sunset menu - and most will extend the time to 7:00.

It can be a very relaxing place, or it can be a walking, golfing, shopping, feeding frenzy. Whatever you choose is available here in beautiful Hilton Head.

This entry was posted on 18. November 2009 at 23:05 and is filed under Travel journals, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.