If you are planning a family vacation to Hilton Head Island, this list has some great advice for excursions and restaurants to enjoy with children. (I started a “Places to Go” board on Pinterest to save posts like this that I may want to reference in the future. Please consider pinning this post if you think it might be helpful to you!)
Hilton Head offers so many activities that you can’t possibly do everything in a week. I did a lot of research before our vacation on age-appropriate activities for our little ones.
We struck a good balance between experiencing fun island activities and taking it easy and relaxing.
15 Things to Do With Kids in Hilton Head
- Go to the beach and play: This is a no-brainer. You cannot spend enough time on Hilton Head's beaches. Our best memories were made here. A couple things I recommend taking with you are:
- A sheet – the sand will shake right off of it, much easier than a beach towel. This also keeps your towels clean for drying off.
- A tent
if you have little kids. We bought one and were so happy we had it. Adeline napped in it one morning and it was a great place for the kids to get shade in-between playing in the water.
- Plenty of snacks and water to stay hydrated
- Some small beach toys and buckets
- An umbrella – we ended up buying one in Hilton Head
- Baby powder- this works great for getting the sand off of you when it is time to leave the beach
- A camera – you will definitely want to take a lot of photos
- Explore at the Coastal Discovery Museum: We loved this gem of a museum in Hilton Head. It is well-laid out and has much for kids to discover – just like the name says. Our favorite was the butterfly area. Also, there is no fee to visit it (though they do accept donations!).
- Visit Savannah for the day: Savannah, Georgia is only an hour outside of Hilton Head and definitely worth a day trip. We did a trolley tour, which was a great way to see the historic parts of the city. Savannah also has many amazing restaurants and shops.
- Bike ride on the beach: One of the many cool things about Hilton Head is that you can bike ride on the beach! Definitely rent bikes for part or all of your stay and enjoy bike riding on the beach. It is so fun – and you get a little exercise.
- Shop at Tanger Outlets: About 30 minutes outside Hilton Head is a huge outlet mall. I could have probably spent a full-day there. I scored awesome clothes at the Loft outlet and stride rite shoes for my kids for just $15.
- Do a dolphin tour: Hilton Head is home to many dolphins, so a dolphin boat tour is a must. I did this dolphin tour with (in)courage two years ago and it was really, really wonderful.
- Ride horses at Lawton's Stable: If you have little kids, definitely plan to spend a morning at Lawton's Stables. It offers pony rides, a small petting farm and a beautiful atmosphere. For older kids and adults they also offering horseback riding. Lots of fun!
- Eat at Salty Dog Cafe: The food and atmosphere are great at the Salty Dog, a popular restaurant on Hilton Head Island.
- Listen to live music and eat ice cream on the Salty Dog’s outdoor patio. The ice cream shop offers a variety of fun ice creams and sorbets, including a Superman red, white and blue that rocked Elias’s world.
- Eat at Roastfish and Cornbread (this restaurant has since closed): This restaurant has amazing food, a really cool vibe and is a bit “off the beaten path” of Hilton Head Island. This was one of our favorite meals on Hilton Head Island. Definitely make a point to go here. (Bonus: the owner is a University of Wisconsin alum like me!)
- Stay at a vacation rental: If you haven't read this post of the 15 benefits of a vacation rental, you should. Our vacation was wonderful in part because we had all the comforts of home at the beach! (We loved our stay in our ResortQuest condo.)
- Cook your own food: Memories are made in the kitchen. You will save money and enjoy quality family time if you cook at your vacation rental.
- Run through the fountains at Coligny Plaza: These fountains provided lots of fun for the kids – and great pictures! I think Adeline enjoyed the fountains most of all. Plus, while you are at Coligny you can enjoy great food and cute shops. I was able to find reasonable kids t-shirts + some souvenirs here.
- Visit Harbour Town and the lighthouse: This is iconic Hilton Head. The area is beautiful and offers lots of shops and restaurants + you can go to the top of the lighthouse and enjoy incredible views.
- Take family photos at sunset on the beach: This was a must for us. The ocean + sand + sunset light made for beautiful photos.
What would you add to this list?
For most posts about our Hilton Head vacation, click here, and for more great Hilton Head tips, check out this fabulous post by Lindsey Ferrier. It is by far the best list I found in researching for our trip!
Thanks so much for all this info on Hilton Head. Love hearing first hand.
Sounds divine! That family shot is just gorgeous!
Great list! I will be pinning this for later use!
if you go again, “truffles” is an amazing restaurant, with multiple locations on the island. we recently moved to savannah, from california this january 2012. in the last 6 months, we have taken 4 hilton head weekend trips. what a beautiful place and endless things to do and see and eat at! thanks for your tips!
The Sea Shack is a no frills wonderful seafood restaurant on HHI…amazing food and where the locals frequent…behind the Truffles on Pope Avenue, turn on Executive.
We loooooooooove HHI! It’s our fav family vacay spot! Our favorite restaurants are Frankie Bones and The Boathouse! And we love renting bikes and riding all around Palmetto Dunes. Looking forward to meeting you at the Influence Conference! ~Bri~
I’m looking forward to Influence as well!
Hi Jessica,
My name is Jane and I’m with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about the Lighthouse in Hilton Head to share on our site and I came across your post…If you’re open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you!
Jane
Thanks for the article! We have been to HHI several times and actually own a timeshare there. I always like to hear what other people’s favorite things/places to go in HHI. Someone else mentioned it but I will again — Truffles restaurant. I think they have two locations. Also, two of our all time faves are Guiseppe’s Pizza and Pasta (near the TJ Maxx) and Steamer Seafood. Steamers has live entertainment in the evening outside on the patio. Thanks for letting me share!
Having been an owner on HHI since 1998and visiting 10 years prior I’ve seen the island under many moons! Over the years there have been great restaurants come and go but you have mentioned 3 old favorites. Add Santa fe cafe and Kenny B’s to the list. Both have excellent food with entirely different style. Santa Fe is a little pricey but definitely worth the $. Kenny B has a much more laid back style and is very reasonable. But you must put on your bucket list to once see the 4th of July fireworks over the 18 th green of harbor town! And while on the island make arrangements to visit the jazzy ornery on Sunday evening. It is one of the best kept secrets there! A great date night long to be remembered
Darlene mc
Having been an owner on HHI since 1998and visiting 10 years prior I’ve seen the island under many moons! Over the years there have been great restaurants come and go but you have mentioned 3 old favorites. Add Santa fe cafe and Kenny B’s to the list. Both have excellent food with entirely different style. Santa Fe is a little pricey but definitely worth the $. Kenny B has a much more laid back style and is very reasonable. But you must put on your bucket list to once see the 4th of July fireworks over the 18 th green of harbor town! And while on the island make arrangements to visit the jazzy ornery on Sunday evening. It is one of the best kept secrets there! A great date night long to be remembered
Darlene mc
Hilton Head has so many fantastic things to do! I love living so close to such an awesome city.
I haven’t been to the coastal discovery museum yet! It looks pretty cool I’m sure my 3 year old would get a kick out of it!
I love that you mention the Roastfish and Cornbread restaurant is owned by a UW alum! I’m a proud alum planning our first trip to Hilton Head and loved reading this article!
I have 3 children; 5, 7, 11… I’m not interested in eateries, I would like to know other than the museum and the beach, what are some fun things for us to enjoy?
Hi! There is a great kids entertainer in harbour town in the sea pines resort. His name is Greg Russell. He is there most summer nights. He is so much fun and gets the kids involved in the show. My kids are older now but still look forward to seeing him every summer. There is also a huge wonderful playground there, as well as the lighthouse that you can pay to go up in!