Beach towns in SC /NC/GA?

[NewEnglandLady]

I''m trying to plan a large family trip to a summer beach destination...

The idea was to choose something equi-distant between where D and I live (Boston) and where my family lives (Kansas City), rent a big 7-bedroom house on the ocean for a week and we could all drive and bring our pets. This is essentially what we did for our wedding, except it was here in new england. We''re trying to re-create the merriment minus the dress and vows.

So it turns out that SC is our best bet in terms of distance for all of us. I think Hilton Head, SC is the front-runner right now, though it tends to be pricier than some surrounding areas.

I''m wondering if anybody has some suggestions for surrounding beaches? I''ve looked into Savannah, GA and have read that Tybee Island is very close and is nice. Or we could go a little north to Edisto Island, which is between Hilton Head and Charleston. Or I''ve heard that Folly Beach near Charleston is nice? I''d love any input from anybody who''s visited these beaches?

I''m also considering Myrtle Beach, though there don''t seem to be many large ocean-front homes...it seems that there are mostly condos in that area. I think the Outer Banks is as far north as we''d want to go.

Any experience/suggestions? Thank you!!!

 

[HeadOverHeels4James]

Check out Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

 

[HeadOverHeels4James]

oops!! Here is a good link http://www.pawleysislandrealty.com/sitepages/pid179.php

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We just went to Top Sail Beach, NC. It was beautiful and cheap! We rented a house with some friends.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

We are going to Southern Shores, NC. We rented a house for the week. But since I haven''t been yet I can''t actually vouch for how nice the beach is, but the pictures look good!

 

[Fancy605]

The beaches of the South East just happen to be one of my areas of expertise.

Hilton Head is beautiful. I adore it (but I''m biased because I''ve been visiting it since I was . It tends to be quieter than some surrounding areas. The beaches are pretty for Atlantic Beaches. We always see lots of animals (sea turtles, Dolphins, etc.) There are plenty of activities to do around the area. There are lots of touristy shopping places (and a small mall and a HUGE set of outlets if that is of any interest.) There are LOTS of delicious restaurants. And, there are also some pretty good grocery stores if you plan to stay in and cook most of the time rather than going out (I love Harris Teeters--but that may be because I don''t have one in my area). Harbor Town is fun and the Fireworks at Sea Pines are lovely if you can find a spot to watch. Now, I will say that a negative is that HH has gotten more and more crowded each year, which makes me sad, but it is still nice. It just isn''t as peaceful as it used to be. It used to be very much a family/retiree place.But the spring breakers have deemed it trendy, so there are more people looking for a party scene than there used to be when I was growing up.

Tybee is VERY quiet. I would say that the beaches aren''t as pretty as they are on HH, and there isn''t as much to do (though there are plenty of near by places if you''re feeling adventuresome). But, it is relaxing, and the sunsets are beautiful! I''ve really only been there for day trips. I haven''t stayed for any extended amount of time.

Edisto Island is also VERY quiet. There is very little to do other than go to the beach and relax, but I think it is pretty and VERY peaceful. And, as mentioned, you can get to nearby places without much problem if you get bored with Edisto. There are 2 delicious little hole in the wall places to eat, but other than that it''s best to eat in (though you can get delicious sea food straight off the docks.) I''ve been once, and it really was SUPER quiet. It was fun though b/c I was there with several family members, and we have a good time anywhere we go.

You could easily get to Savannah from any of those places if you wanted to see it. It is gorgeous and fun for a day trip.

I haven''t been to the other beaches you mentioned, but I have researched the idea of going to Outerbanks. It sounds great too!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

This is all very, very helpful!! Thank you SO much!

 

[Dogmom]

The Crystal Coast (Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle) area of NC is very nice, too. It''s family-oriented with a wonderful relaxed vibe and lovely beaches.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Our very favorite is Isle of Palms, SC outside of Charleston. The island has a lot of good zoning, so there is only like one hotel on the island, and it is a very nice one. There is the Wild Dunes resort at one end, and there are more oceanfront condos in that part. But there are big, beautiful houses on the oceanfront. The big advantage to Isle of Palms is that you are just over the bridge from Mt. Pleasant with a beautiful shopping center and more restaurants. Then 15 more minutes and you are in downtown Charleston.

I''ve been to Hilton Head and Edisto, but they are less convenient to reach, Hilton Head is very congested with traffic, too. There was not enough to do near Edisto, for us.

Here''s a little view outside our condo from last year....

 

[diamondseeker2006]

But oops, I just reread your post and I have to say that there are very few renters that will allow pets. I would seriously rethink that part because it will limit your options extremely and I am not sure you'll get a very nice place.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

That view is beautiful! Thank you!

I've lucked out in the past with my dog because he is a certified therapy dog as well as a certified water rescue dog, so owners who haven't considered other dogs in the past are much more open to having him there, which has been fantastic. If I'm the only one who brings the dog, it might be okay, but my sister has a little yapper of a dog and that might throw a wrench in the negotiating. We all grew up on a farm and sort of love that "lived in beach house" feeling where you can kick off your shoes and not worry about getting things dirty.

I really love all of the input, I'm flying home in a couple of weeks to talk about it and will be putting some stuff together on these towns! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

ETA: Isle of Palms sounds like it will be perfect--there are a ton of large home rentals (several are pet friendly) and it is much less expensive than HH! Thanks for this!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Oh, we stayed in Wild Dunes for a wedding (in a large rental house) and it was very nice. More expensive than Top Sail though.

 

[krispi]

BF and I went to Hilton Head last year on vacation, and I have to say that we weren''t all that impressed. I know some people absolutely love it, but I guess it just wasn''t the place for us. Everything seemed very overpriced - from the food to the t-shirts to all the tolls that you have to pay to get onto the island or from one end of the island to another. We also thought the island was difficult to navigate. All the trees make it a very pretty place, but the policy of having all the signs very low to the ground and set back from the road makes it very difficult to find anything - we seriously spent 2 hours one night just driving around looking for a place to eat. The area around the lighthouse was very pretty, but the beaches were just okay. We may be spoiled because we usually go to the gulf, and it has beautiful beaches, but we just weren''t that impressed.

We did take a day trip to Savannah, and that was our favorite part of the trip. If we had it to do over again, we would have stayed in Savannah and made Hilton Head the day trip. If you''re staying in Savannah and want to go to the beach, Tybee isn''t that far away either.

One thing that we did in Hilton Head that we both enjoyed very much - we went kayaking in the intercoastal waters. We saw tons of dolphins and other wildlife. It was pretty amazing.

 

[2danes]

New England Lady.
I wouldn''t recommend Tybee island for dog lovers. It''s not very dog friendly. Also, the beach isn''t great. Charleston SC has some VERY dog friendly beaches, especially Folley Island, but I don''t love SC beaches as much as I love NC beaches.

DH and I are planning our anniversary trip to the Outer Banks, particularly because we want to bring our dogs. The town of Duck specifically is VERY dog friendly, and many of the houses cater to dog owners. Also the beach is LOVELY and the little town is quaint and sweet.

Good luck on your search.

 

[sap483]

NEL, I love Hilton Head, and was recently telling my friend who is from Georgia about how much I love it. He suggested two other places in GA that I should visit- Jekyll Island and the Sea Island area. He says both have beautiful beaches, gorgeous resorts and villa/cottage rentals, great golf (he''s an avid golfer), and nice restaurants and shops. They''re more laid back and less touristy though than Hilton Head. So while I personally haven''t been, they may be worth looking into.