Parasailing, Jet Skis and Dolphin Tours at the Harbour Town Dock

• Booth: Beside the lighthouse and the Harbour Town pier
• Hours: Mon to Fri 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat and Sun 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• On the water: Parasailing, jet skis, dolphin and kayak tours, boat rentals
• Cheapest trip: Dolphin tour from $35; parasailing from $95
• Phone: 843-671-4386

H2O Sports is the watersports operator at the Harbour Town Yacht Basin, and it is the one to go to when you want to be on the water rather than watching it from a deck chair. Its booth sits beside the lighthouse and the pier in Harbour Town, at 149 Lighthouse Road inside Sea Pines.

It runs parasailing, jet skis, dolphin and alligator tours, kayaks and paddleboards, sailing trips, boat and pontoon rentals and a water taxi to Daufuskie Island. Most of it is bookable by the hour, which makes it the flexible option on a dock where the cruise boats run to a timetable.

Parasailing Over Calibogue Sound

Parasailing is the headline trip, from $95, and the hour it takes is mostly boat time: you are in the air for eight to ten minutes. Flights go tandem or triple, so you go up with someone; the combined weight has to be at least 200 pounds and can reach 450 at the captain’s call. Children can fly from age 6, and under-12s go up with a flying adult. The boat takes up to 15, so people who are not flying can ride along for $49, and a private boat for a group is $1,020.

The operator advertises views of up to 25 miles on a clear day. What you actually get is the south end of the island laid out below you — the lighthouse, the golf course, the sound and Daufuskie across the water. Swimwear with a T-shirt is what the crew suggests wearing.

Dolphin and Wildlife Tours

The dolphin tour runs one, one and a half or two hours, or at sunset, and costs $35 for anyone 13 and over and $25 for children 12 and under; a private boat is $350. The boat sits low to the water, which is the point — bottlenose dolphins in Calibogue Sound will come alongside and ride a wake. Unlike some of the bigger cruise boats on this dock, H2O does not advertise a sighting guarantee, so treat it as likely rather than promised.

The alligator and wildlife tour is an hour from $34 and, by the operator’s own description, goes out on the freshwater lakes of the Sea Pines Forest Preserve rather than into the sound. That is a different part of the resort from the marina, so check the meeting point when you book rather than turning up at the Harbour Town booth.

Jet Skis, Kayaks and Paddleboards

Jet skis rent by the hour from $155, with a minimum age of 6 for riders. The guided kayak tour is an hour and a half from $45 and open to all ages; the paddleboard tour is an hour from $45 and starts at age 12, which is the practical difference between the two — a kayak carries a child, a board does not. There is also a 20-minute banana boat ride from $39 for ages 6 and up, which is the cheapest way to get a small child out on the water and back before anyone loses interest.

Sailing, Rentals and the Daufuskie Water Taxi

Sailing trips run an hour and a half to two hours from $450, which is a boat price rather than a seat price. Boats and pontoons rent by the day for anyone who would rather drive themselves, and the Daufuskie water taxi is a 20-minute crossing from $45, with golf carts rentable on the other side. That is the quick way over; the scheduled ferry from the same harbour is run by Vagabond Cruise and takes longer but comes with a fixed return.

Getting to the Booth

Harbour Town is at the south end of Sea Pines, behind a gate. Unless you own property there, are a resort guest or have a Sea Pines rental booking, the gate fee is $10 per day for a standard vehicle; the guest pass office page has the rest of the rules. Park in the Harbour Town lot, walk down to the water and the booth is on the boardwalk by the lighthouse. Come back up for lunch at one of the Harbour Town restaurants afterwards.