Bluewater Adventure Hilton Head Catamaran Tours

• Tour: 2 hours, guided
• Adults: $135, children $115
• Drivers: 18 and over with a licence
• Passengers: age 5 and up

Bluewater Adventure puts you at the wheel. From Shelter Cove Harbour & Marina you drive a CraigCat, a two-seat, low-slung power catamaran with bucket seats and a bimini top, while a local guide leads the group in a boat of their own. The CraigCats reach about 30 miles an hour but sit low and stable with a shallow draft, so the tour runs from the marsh creeks to the open water of the sound, with stops to watch for dolphins and a running commentary on the island. Life vests and bottled water are included, and the guide takes photos and emails them afterwards. The company is owned by the Haidon family, who also run tours in St. Augustine and the Florida Keys.

Bluewater Adventure Tours

• Hilton Head guided boat tour: two hours, morning, afternoon or sunset, $135 for adults and $115 for children.

• Sunset catamaran tour: a shorter 1½-hour run through Broad Creek and Calibogue Sound, with views of Harbour Town and Daufuskie Island.

• Fireworks tour: on Tuesday nights in summer, ending on the water for the HarbourFest fireworks.

Drivers must be 18 or older with a valid driver’s licence, passengers at least 5, and it takes two people to book. The tours run from February through September. For a slower way onto the water, Captain Mark’s and Dolphin Seafari run narrated dolphin cruises from the same harbour.

Bluewater Adventure HHI Reviews

Reviewers say the tour was more fun than they expected, from nine-year-olds to guests near sixty, and most saw dolphins, some close enough to swim in the boats’ wake or strand-feed on the mud. Guides are praised by name for teaching everyone to drive the boats safely and for knowing the island’s history, and several families mention seeing Harbour Town’s lighthouse and parts of the island that can’t be seen from land. The booking staff get their own praise for handling changed plans and recommending restaurants.