Make a discovery!
When you want to take a break from all the sun and sand, come find some fun at the Coastal Discovery Museum! This is a family-friendly experience that will have you and your little sand crabs amazed. The museum exposes and educates you on Hilton Head's unique and diverse ecological and cultural history through exhibits, expert lectures, live animal presentations and more. The museum can be found on the 68-acre Honey Horn property, where you will also find hiking trails, gardens, majestic Spanish-moss draped live oaks as well as a butterfly habitat, where you can find a flurry of native butterflies from May to October. Want to make it even more of an adventure join a tour, such as a guided kayaking excursion, dolphin cruise (bottlenose dolphins are known to meander Hilton Head Island’s salt marshes) or take a trip to the museum's barn, where you'll get a meet and greet with rare Marsh Tacky horses.
It is the perfect place for kids–and kids at heart! However if you do have little ones, we highly recommend scheduling a tour or activity where they can interact with the animals that call the museum home.
SUPER INSIDER TIP: Lowcountry Critters "Meet and Greet" is one of the most popular activities.
Admission is free. However there are some reasonable fees to participate in one of the museum's tours or programs. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit https://www.coastaldiscovery.org
Eat seafood fresh off the boat!
For more than 50 years, Hudson’s Seafood on The Docks has been a-one-of-a-kind Hilton Head Island experience. You’re not just dining and having drinks by the water you’re literally doing it on the dock in Skull Creek (Intracoastal Waterway)]. Tables, both inside and out, feature extraordinary views of Port Royal Sound. But the main thing that sets it apart from any other dining experience is just how fresh the seafood is. The Carmines family-run Hudson’s has one of only two remaining fishing fleets on Hilton Head Island, bringing fresh local seafood straight from their boats to your table. And they are the only restaurant to have their own fishing fleet. Watch as their crews unload thousands of oysters, shrimp and soft shell crabs from the day’s catch, while you catch sunsets from one of the best spots on the island.
SUPER INSIDER TIP: If you come in the spring there’s a short (but ever so tasty) season at Hudson’s: soft shell crab season! As the only restaurant on the Island with an in-house shedding operation they serve a thoughtfully crafted, limited-time daily menu centered on their soft shell crabs. Many dishes to choose from and you can add soft shell crab to any entrée, but our favorite is the Soft Shell Crab BLT with lettuce, tomato, tarragon aioli, Applewood bacon on sliced sourdough #nomnomnom.
In the fall Andrew Carmines and the whole Hudson’s family is the driving force behind the now infamous Hilton Head Island Seafood Festival. Yet another reason that any time of year is a good time of year to visit HHI.
Jazz it up!
Checkout world-class live Jazz on the world’s 2nd most favorite island! Not New Orleans. Not Chicago. Not New York city. No, the place to find The Jazz Corner is literally in the corner The Village at Wexford right here in on Hilton Head Island. The Jazz Club is acclaimed as one of the top “100 great jazz rooms” in the world by Downbeat Magazine. This year the legendary, award-winning jazz club and restaurant will celebrate 20 years of presenting exceptional live entertainment paired with gourmet cuisine. A dream of the late Jazz musician and historian, Bob Masteller, the 99-seat Jazz Corner has become a Lowcountry landmark. Their intimate and elegant atmosphere is the ideal setting to enjoy an evening of world-class entertainment that’s only enhanced by their innovative southern-flavors menu and welcoming southern hospitality.
One-of-a-kind vacation homes from a one-of-a-kind property management firm on a one-of-a-kind island.
Over the last 30 years Vacation Company has created a portfolio of nearly 400 unique and exclusive Hilton Head Island vacation rentals. Choose from our properties in North and South Forest Beach, Sea Pines, Shipyard, Shelter Cove, Palmetto Dunes and other mid-island beach communities. From breathtaking oceanfront estates to well-appointed condos, at the Vacation Company we bring you only the best–Hilton Head Island has to offer.
