It isn’t often that you get to enjoy a stretch of beach as beautiful as that on Hilton Head Island. I spent the Memorial Day weekend strolling and then bike riding along miles of flat beach covered with fine white sand.
Of course, all this nice sand comes at a price.

You can pay $5 to see the sunset at Sea Pines resort, or $6 million for a newly-constructed house on the beachfront. There aren’t many for sale signs as you drive around the island, which is virtually built out, with the exception of the odd lot here and there.

The yachts in Hilton Head Island Harbor are one bigger than the other. Cost doesn’t appear to be an issue. And when I asked, I learned that in 138 years, a hurricane has never struck the island.

But my favorite part of the weekend came when I had to exchange my car at the Hilton Head Airport (we flew into Savannah). I suppose there are a few scheduled flights onto the island, but most of the planes lined up at this tiny airfield are private. It’s tucked about a mile into the woods, and the tiny terminal looks like the kind of place you’d want to go through a security line.

Are there any deals on Hilton Head Island? We stayed at the Westin Hotel, where our waitress told us one morning at breakfast that October is the time to hit the Island. Hotel prices are about half of what we paid.

Published: May 31, 2007