The coastal communities of Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and Daufuskie Island offer outdoor adventures that give groups a sense of the area’s landscape, history and culture along with a healthy helping of excitement.
From a dinner cruise on the water, to horseback riding on the beach, to a helicopter tour, attendees can experience Hilton Head Island and the neighboring enclaves through sea, land and air activities.
Coastal Carolina by Sea
Located at The Sea Pines Resort, the Harbour Town Yacht Basin is a yachting destination on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
This full-service marina has been welcoming boaters for over 40 years and is home to 100 slips. A variety of watersports are available, including options for the adventurous and the active.
Harbour Town Pier, Hilton Head, Credit: The Sea Pines Resort and Rob Tipton
The resort, which has more than 20,000 square feet of indoor meeting space as well as outdoor venues, allows groups to go from the meeting room to the dock without leaving the property.
Groups can choose from waterskiing, jet skiing, fishing and kayaking that can be done on their own or as a teambuilding activity.
Some of the unique options include a Banana Boat, which takes off from the beach at Harbour Town and can hold up to six passengers for a quick ride around Calibogue Sound.
Or groups can choose a two-hour charter to explore the area’s islands.
Pontoon boats can also be rented for a private tour of the Lowcountry’s waterways.
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An evening sail or cruise on the water allows attendees to explore Hilton Head Island by sea in a more relaxing way. Vagabond Cruise, also located at the Harbour Town Yacht Basin, has been sailing since 1968. The company offers private charters for groups with more than 20 people, including the Stars & Stripes option aboard a 65-foot historic America’s Cup yacht.
Vagabond’s fleet also includes the Spirit of Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island’s only heated and air-conditioned luxury yacht with an open-air upper level.
Private charters can take groups to nearby cities and attractions, out on the sea for dolphin tours or on a shrimping trawl, or for a relaxing dinner or sunset cruise.
Hilton Head Kayaking, Credit: The Sea Pines Resort and Rob Tipton
The 90-minute dolphin cruise is fully narrated by the captain and tours the estuaries as well as attractions seen from a different viewpoint.
Aboard the Tammy Jane vessel, the two-hour shrimping excursion includes education about the area’s ecosystems and shrimping in an eco-conscious way.
The cruise to neighboring Daufuskie Island includes a lesson on the historic Haig Point Lighthouse, the ruins of slave quarters and Strahn Mansion. While docked at Freeport Marina at Daufuskie Island, attendees can get off the vessel and tour the island.
Biking, Hiking and Horseback Riding
According to the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton VCB, one of the most popular activities on Hilton Head Island is biking.
There are over 60 miles of multiuse pathways across the island, including 12 miles of beaches. Hilton Head Island is one of three League of American Bicyclists gold-level bike friendly communities on the Atlantic coast. With multiple rental companies in the area, groups can arrange for an organized ride together, or attendees can explore the island on their own.
Hilton Head Biking
Horseback riding in Hilton Head is a way to see the Lowcountry from a different vantage point. Both trail rides and beach excursions are available for groups.
Lawton Stables takes participants through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve for a look at the local wildlife, including a possible alligator sighting.
Daufuskie Island Trail Rides can take groups on a historic ride that explores the island’s past on horseback, on a private beach along the Atlantic Ocean, or customized ride based on the group’s needs. All offerings include shuttle transportation to and from the Daufuskie Island Ferry Landing.
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Groups can also explore the area on foot with hiking trails.
The region’s nature reserves, which include the Newhall Audubon Nature Preserve, Pinckney Island Nature Preserve and Sea Pines Forest Preserve, offer miles of trails to take in the views and natural flora and fauna.
Bluffton’s Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge has 14 miles of trails to walk or bike.
Lowcountry From Above
Take to the skies with Hilton Head Helicopter Tours. The company offers customized helicopter rides to take in the views of the island and the surrounding Lowcountry.
Experiences include the Lighthouse Tour, hitting all the nearby islands, the Island Explorer, focusing on Hilton Head Island, and the Ocean View, an eight-mile loop around the northeast corner of the island.
For the more adventurous, there’s the Monkey Safari Tour, which takes passengers on a 50-mile round trip ride to a small remote island that is populated with over 3,000 monkeys, which can be seen hanging in the trees and on the beaches.
Zipline Hilton Head blends teambuilding, adventure, competition and the local wildlife for groups on both the zipline course and aerial adventure course.
Zipline Hilton Head
The ZipLine Canopy Tour Fun Day is a two-hour tour that includes basic training before flying over live oaks while looking out at Broad Creek, the boats, marshes and possibly dolphins.
There are eight zip lines and two swinging sky bridges.
Groups can also opt for the Aerial Adventure Fun Day, an obstacle course in the sky comprised of over 50 different in-the-air challenge activities. Over two hours, participants navigate their way through challenge courses of varying skill level.
Hilton Head CVB Contact Information:
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce & VCB
843.757.3673
