Hilton Head Beach Chair & Umbrella Rentals

Renting a beach chair and umbrella on Hilton Head splits into two different services, and knowing which one you actually want saves a wasted call. One company can meet you on the sand and set everything up before you get there. Every other company rents the same kind of gear, but delivers it to where you’re staying or hands it off for you to carry down yourself — neither is better, they just answer different questions about your trip.

• On-beach setup: Shore Beach Service — the Town’s exclusive concessionaire
• Typical price: ~$32/day for an umbrella + 2 chairs, set up for you
• Other option: Delivery-to-your-rental or self-pickup, from several other companies

Why Hilton Head Only Has One On-Beach Rental Company

The Town of Hilton Head Island has awarded a single company, Shore Beach Service, the exclusive right to rent and set up beach chairs and umbrellas directly on the public beach since 1974, under a formal contract dating to 1992. The Town renewed that contract again in 2026, running through December 2029 — the arrangement ties equipment rental to lifeguard staffing at the town’s beach parks, which has kept other rental-only businesses from qualifying for the bid. That’s a real, town-level exclusivity, not a marketing claim: it’s the reason every other rental company on the island works a different way, delivering to you or handing gear off for pickup instead of meeting you at the water. It doesn’t affect your own gear — bringing and setting up your own chairs and umbrella on any public beach is always fine.

Shore Beach Service: Rent-and-Set-Up on the Beach

Shore Beach Service sets up your umbrella and chairs on the sand before you arrive, with your name clipped to the back so you know which ones are yours. It’s the only way to rent gear that’s already waiting for you at a town beach park, rather than something you carry down yourself.

• Standard set (1 umbrella + 2 chairs): about $32/day as of the 2026 season, with a half-day rate (from 1 p.m.) around $18 and a quarter-day rate (from 3 p.m.) around $10 — multi-day rentals cost less per day.

• Season: late March through late October, weather permitting.

• Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., 7 days a week during the season.

• Payment: cash, major credit cards, and room charges at some resorts — no reservation required for a standard beach-park set, though calling ahead is smart on a busy weekend.

• Offsite locations: gated communities and resorts away from the public beach parks can request setup too, at a higher rate than the standard on-beach price.

Delivery and Self-Pickup Rental Companies

A handful of other companies rent the same beach chairs, umbrellas, and gear island-wide — they just don’t set up on the public sand, since that part of the market belongs to Shore Beach Service alone. Instead, they deliver to your rental home, condo, or hotel, or have you pick up and carry gear down to the beach yourself:

• Hilton Head Outfitters (80 Queens Folly Road) rents chairs and umbrellas by the day, two days, or week, picked up and returned at their shop rather than delivered.

• Little Tiki Hut, an island rental company for over 40 years, rents chairs — standard, reclining, padded, and backpack styles — with delivery available for an added fee, roughly $23–$42/day depending on the chair.

• Island Life and Lowsea rent lightweight, backpack-style chairs plus umbrellas, wagons, and baby gear, with free delivery and pickup to where you’re staying.

• Hilton Head Cabana & Beach Services rents chairs and umbrellas by the week, either as self-setup gear you carry down yourself or with a daily setup-and-breakdown add-on at your own condo, villa, or resort — not the public beach.

Buying Beach Gear at Coligny Plaza

Renting isn’t the only option — if you’d rather own your gear for the week, Coligny Plaza’s beach shops and stores sit right across the street from Coligny Beach Park, the island’s busiest public beach. Billy’s Beach Club/Bikes & Things, in the plaza’s south section, sells chairs, boogie and skim boards, and the oversized inflatable floats that don’t fit in a suitcase, alongside its bike rentals. Quiet Storm Surf Shop covers surf-specific gear in the same plaza. Between the two, it’s a real one-stop stop for beach supplies before you walk across to the sand — and Coligny Beach Park itself is one of the spots Shore Beach Service sets up daily rentals, if you’d rather not carry anything at all.

Which One Should You Book?

If you’re headed to a town beach park for the day and want a chair and umbrella waiting when you get there, Shore Beach Service is the only company that can do that. If you’re staying a full week and want gear at your rental house, condo, or resort for the whole stay — especially somewhere inside a gated community like Sea Pines — a delivery company usually works out cheaper per day and saves you carrying anything down to the sand. Either way, check current rates before you book: prices for beach chair rentals in Hilton Head Island, SC shift by season, and none of these are HHI.com’s own listings.