Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Since the English acquired it from the Kiawah tribe in 1675, Kiawah Island has been a playground for plantation owners and heiresses. But by remaining in private hands, the island was saved from the development that has hit many other places along the coast of the Carolinas. Today, the island’s consortium of owners operate its residential and touristic accommodations as a nature reserve, with the Kiawah Island Golf Resort and its 255-room, AAA Five Diamond Sanctuary Hotel as its centerpiece.
For groups looking to take in the area’s incredible biodiversity, the resort can organize walks with the on-site naturalist to explore the history and ecosystem of the local alligators, nesting turtles, shorebirds, wading birds and songbirds. Groups can kayak to areas of the island reachable only by boat or cruise to see the world’s only dolphin strand feeding ground, where the dolphins beach themselves to eat and then wiggle back out into the water.
Staff can also pump up a typical day at the beach by organizing a beach Olympics, for which the group splits up and spends the day going head to head in activities like beach volleyball, putting, tennis, bocce, ultimate Frisbee and even Quidditch. Visitors that want to experience the beach in a more low-key, individualized fashion can take advantage of Kiawah’s 10 miles of packed beaches.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a big city in beach clothes.
“We’re second tier, but we have all the amenities of a first-tier destination,” said Sandy Haines, group tour sales manager at the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “A lot of people have the perception that we’re just a family and golf destination, but once they get here, they see how much there is to do.”
The 1.2-mile beachfront boardwalk, completed in 2010, is the epicenter of Myrtle Beach’s active entertainment scene. It is home to Ripley’s Believe It or Not; the 187-foot-tall Myrtle Beach Skywheel; and Landshark, a Jimmy Buffett-themed restaurant and live music venue with private dining space for groups.
Broadway at the Beach, Myrtle Beach’s megamall and entertainment center, a bit inland from the shore, is home to enough attractions to make your group forget the beach is even there, from Ripley’s Aquarium, which also has options for private dining, and the 100-exhibit WonderWorks interactive museum, to escape rooms, ziplining and mini golf. Margaritaville and the Hard Rock Café allow groups to pair dinner with entertainment, but the development also includes two year-round live theaters.
Hilton Head, South Carolina
So close to Georgia that it shares an airport with Savannah, Hilton Head Island is a paradise for golf lovers, with more than two dozen courses on the island or just over the bridge. The Sea Pines Resort, a 5,200-acre property with 60 rooms at its Inn and Club at Harbour Town, is one of the top games in town with its Pete Dye-and-Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbour Town Golf Links, home to the PGA Tour RBC Heritage event.
Though the 14-mile-long island, which is the second largest on the Eastern Seaboard after Long Island, is known for its private communities and high-end resorts, its entire 12-mile-long beach is open to the public. A climb up the 93-foot-tall Harbour Town Lighthouse, which is not officially used by the Coast Guard and functions instead as a viewing tower, allows groups to pick out their favorite spot on the coast for a beach day.
Hilton Head’s numerous boating outfitters make it an ideal launching place to get out to some of the coast’s more remote islands and waterways, such as Calibogue Sound, home to more than 1,000 dolphins in the summer, and Vanishing Island, a sandbar that turns to solid ground and a perfect beachcombing spot when the tide is low.
