7 Reasons to Love Hilton Head Island

I love Hilton Head Island.  It’s one of my favorite regional vacation destinations, so I thought I’d share some top things to do at Hilton Head.

Hi everyone!

It was nice to spend a weekend at home after last week’s beach trip.  I hope you guys also had a nice weekend too.

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Hilton Head is one of my favorite vacation destinations.  My extended family rented beach condos near the beach as a kid and I have such fond memories of it.  The mix of wild sprawling live oaks, spanish moss and palm trees gets me every time.  I instantly feel relaxed when we land there.

The Hubs and I have been going at least once a summer for years.  It’s about a six hour haul from Asheville driving, but takes less than an hour and half in the plane.  We went to celebrate my Birthday this year.

The Hubs photobombed my airplane Instagram selfie!

Most of our time in Hilton Head this go-around was spent sitting on the beach and relaxing, so a day by day account wouldn’t be very interesting… so I decided to put together a photo diary of the reasons I love Hilton Head.  Hopefully I’ve convinced you to make the trip by the end. 🙂

Reasons to LOVE Hilton Head Island

Wide, Stunning Beaches

Hilton Head has these wide stunning beaches that take your breath away.  At high tide you can walk out SO far and only be up to your knees.

Even on a sweltering hot Carolina day, the beach breeze is refreshing and calming.  I don’t get hot easily, so I even love the summer heat.

One of the coolest parts of the beach is the dramatic difference between high and low tide.  It’s so interesting to sit and watch the progress of it for a day.  While we were there I think the beach went up and down a tenth of a mile.

At low tide the beach is great for walking and biking.

There are pockets of beach where it can get crowded, but the Hubs and I have never had trouble finding our own little piece of paradise.  I suggest bringing your own chair and umbrella and walking away from the crowd!  That’s us in the red umbrella.

Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island

I’ve been lucky enough to stay at this resort several times and each time it impresses me more and more.

The Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island is located on the beach and is a wonderful place to stay for any kind of trip.

Doesn’t this just scream relaxing?

The lobby is light, airy and welcoming.  The staff is extremely helpful and kind.

The rooms are modern, comfortable and have everything you could need!

I love the in-room features like a keurig, iphone charger alarm clock and mango bath products.

I also adore the balcony off the room because when I’m at the beach I want to spend as much time outside as possible.

The Hubs and I even spent an afternoon enjoying this tray of treats delivered to our door!  The perfect way to unwind.

The pool is also very nice with waitresses to bring your drinks from the bar if you’d like!  They also serve some pretty legit shrimp tacos.

The grounds are flowery and immaculate!

The resort even hosts all kinds of fun stuff like movie nights, kids activities and turtle watching.  Or you can just sit and take in the views like we did!

They have four on-sight restaurants and the Hubs and I went to the breakfast buffet every morning.  I’m a sucker for things like this…

And this…. 🙂

I did splurge a little on my actual birthday and got ALL THE THINGS  for breakfast.  It was glorious.

The Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island is a hotel I absolutely adore for their attention to detail, lovely grounds and wonderful location.

Yoga on the Beach

One of the included activities at The Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island was daily yoga on the beach!

Free yoga? Yes please!

If you are not a guest of the hotel, it is a donation class.

If you haven’t done yoga on the beach yet, this is a great place to try it out because when the tide is out the sand is harder and more even, making the entire process a little less clumsy.  Just don’t expect your balance to be perfect!

Sunsets

Y’all know I have a sunset problem.  I want to see them all!

Hilton Head has some pretty magical ones.  This is the harbor side view off ELA’s Blu Water Grille.

My favorite sunset by far was from Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks.

Look a real shrimp boat!

This might be the prettiest sunset photo I’ve caught since Key West last fall.

The sun came down just perfectly for this view!

Watching sunsets makes a perfect beach vacation.

Bike Riding

One of my absolute favorite things about Hilton Head is the bike trail system.  It’s so inviting, easy and FLAT (this coming from a mountain girl!)  The Hubs and I rented bikes and explored.  It such an easy way to get a little exercise on vacation and not have to use your car.

Anyone spot the GATOR!?

When I’m riding around here I imagine living here and never using a car again!

Nothing FEELS Touristy

Hilton Head Island has strict building rules and basically everything has to be painted in a few neutral tones and can only be few stories tall.  It keeps the crazy, tacky tourist stuff at bay and it feels like you aren’t in a tourist trap all the time, even though it’s one of the most visited islands in the country.

Yes there are souvenir shops and timeshare stands, but they don’t seem to take over the experience.  You see a lot more of views like this.

Again with the trees…. SWOON!

Food

Ohhhhh the food.

Hilton Head has really good food, not just for a small beach town but for any place.  The dining scene could definitely hang with some larger cities.

We have a few favorites we try to visit each trip like Red Fish to get the Cajun Shrimp and Lobster Burger (here’s my copycat version.)

This trip we tried and fell in love with Charlies.  It’s an adorable french inspired restaurant with fresh fish galore.  They hand write their menus daily so you know you are getting something fresh and good.

This plate doesn’t look super fancy (and it’s a bad dark photo) but the food was sinfully good.

We also loved our scallops at Red Fish.

AND I couldn’t go home without a little lobster.  This was the Lobster Risotto at ELA’s Blu Water Grille.  It was so creamy and delish!  I don’t even WANT to know what was in this.

We also had some big plates of steamed seafood that were divine!

Until Next Time Hilton Head

What a great long weekend!  It was so nice to have a vacation where I didn’t feel the need to pack in a bunch of activities and just relax!

Until next time Hilton Head!

It’s now back to healthy veggie packed meals and blogging!  Not a bad life to come home to at all.

Like this post?  Help me out by sharing this photo on Pinterest!

I did receive a discounted rate and amenities from the Sonesta.  All thoughts and options in this are my own.  Thank you so much for allowing me to do posts like this and share my travels! xoxo

Thanks for stopping by today! Come back tomorrow for my favorite Vegetarian Baked Beans.  Perfect for Labor Day weekend or football parties.

I’m linking up with Marvelous Monday.

Your turn!

Ever been to Hilton Head?

What’s your favorite beach town?