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Island Explorer


TripAdvisor Traveler Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
TripAdvisor Popularity Index: #1 of 56 attractions in Hilton Head
Traveler Description:
Island Explorer will take you on a special three-hour Low Tide Beach Combing tour of nearby islands, including Daufuskie Island. For the ultimate...... more » Island Explorer will take you on a special three-hour Low Tide Beach Combing tour of nearby islands, including Daufuskie Island. For the ultimate beach combing experience, your guide will pull up on sandbars, which yield the freshest of treasures. They also offer one-, two- and three-hour dolphin and nature tours of our marshes and waterways as well as sunrise and sunset excursions (including the Tuesday night fireworks display during the summer). Their boats are comfortable, covered, fast, and have shallow drafts perfect for exploring the tidal creeks and numerous uninhabited islands and beaches. They are very conveniently located mid-island behind the Old Oyster Factory Restaurant on Marshland Road (no gate fees and plenty of parking). « less
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Attraction type: Group tour/boat
Address: 101 Marshland Road Hilton Head, SC 29926
Tel: 843-785-2100

Reviews you can trust

[ Date ] [ Rating ]
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5 of 5 stars
BostonCarey   1 contribution
Boston
Nov 3, 2009
1/1 found this review helpful

Based on great Trip Advisor reviews, the first thing we did when arriving on Hilton Head was book a sunset dolphin tour with Island Explorer. They have two small boats that accommodate just six guests so you get a very personalized tour- you go where you want and focus on what interests you most. We had a long cruise and... more

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5 of 5 stars
Turtledreams   2 contributions
NH
Oct 14, 2009

Cap'n Jimmie runs a wonderful operation. The area is a beautiful example of the lowland salt water creek. Lots of birds and colorful stories about the history of the development of the island. Then out to the sound to observe many dolphin. At times there were 6 or 8 animals right next to the boat. Pelicans galore . A beautiful... more

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5 of 5 stars
mahalowannabe   3 contributions
kansas city
Oct 9, 2009
1/1 found this review helpful

Wonderful! I have been to HHI at least 10 times & this was the best thing I have ever done during my visits. There is so much cool scenery & wildlife to see & I was amazed to see how many little islands there were surrounding HHI. We saw at least 100 dolphins, they were coming up all around the... more

Fabulous!
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5 of 5 stars
NewMexicoDuck   2 contributions
New Mexico
Oct 4, 2009

Captain Clint was wonderful and recommended a great Burmese restaurant (where the locals go). The tour was amazing as were the dolphins and the beachcombing experience. We would do it again in a heartbeat. more

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4 of 5 stars
dave24684   23 contributions
Ohio
Sep 29, 2009
1/1 found this review helpful

We took the 3 hour “Vanishing Island” tour Sept. 19. Capt. Clint did an outstanding job. He put us right where all the action was. He timed everything perfectly even managing to be in the right place at the right time to see Dolphins ‘strand feeding’. more

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3 of 5 stars
jk7182   1 contribution
USA
Sep 29, 2009

The Island Explorer is a smaller boat with not a lot of comfortable seating - if you have more than 2 people, the others have to sit on the edge of the pontoons and hold on. Our guide seemed like he was hung over and not happy to be at work. He didn't offer a lot of information about the... more

Management response from
Jim Harkins, Public Relations Manager

Island Explorer offers multiple boat types. Our expedition boat is an inflatable and is designed to have passengers sit along the sides. The boat also has actual seating for up to six normal sized passengers. We also offer a fiberglass deck boat of the more traditional style with lots of seating which will accomodate people of greater size. We never...

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5 of 5 stars
Oaktav   1 contribution
Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 25, 2009
1/1 found this review helpful

This was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip to Hilton Head. Four of us took the 3 hour tour with Capt. Clint and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were too many dolphin sightings to mention. This was also a wonderful way to see the island from the water. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more - my four year... more

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5 of 5 stars
wd4fsu   2 contributions
Stockbridge, GA
Sep 14, 2009

We took a 2 hour cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our captain (Rick) was very knowledgeable of not only the local ecosystem, but also was great on history and local culture. He made us very relaxed with his skill and pleasant demeanor. Would do it again - since it isn't a scripted "tour" type trip... it will be different each... more

Fun Time!
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5 of 5 stars
Bobbi2100   4 contributions
Spring Valley, NY
Sep 11, 2009
1/1 found this review helpful

Took a two-hour tour of the marshland with Captain Chris. What a wonderful time, filled with anecdotes, information about the area, and spectacular views of dolphins, herons, egrets, and pelicans. Only regret was that it was much too short. more

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5 of 5 stars
senorwopper   2 contributions
atlanta
Sep 8, 2009
1/1 found this review helpful

I took my two kids, a girl 8 and bot 6 for the 2 hour cruise with Capt. Chris and we had a great time! Capt Chris was a great guide, very informative and great with the kids. The kids had a great time and the dolphins were very cooperative! The kids loved seeing the dolphins play, chase fish, splash... more

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Island Explorer Address

101 Marshland Road, Hilton Head, SC 29926
Tel: 843-785-2100