Island Head: Boat Rentals, Water Sports and Cruises

• Bases: Hilton Head Harbor and Broad Creek Marina
• Pontoon rental: up to 10, driver 18+
• Parasailing: $95, ages 6+
• Hibachi dinner cruise: $109.99 adults

Island Head, Island Head HHI on its own website, is one of the biggest water companies on Hilton Head, with two bases: Hilton Head Harbor at 43 Jenkins Road, on Skull Creek at the north end by the bridges, and Broad Creek Marina at 18 Simmons Road, mid-island. From them it rents pontoon boats, flies parasails, pulls skiers and tubes, guides kayak and paddleboard tours, and runs dolphin and dinner cruises, private charters and daily ferries to Daufuskie Island and Savannah.

Island Head Pontoon Boat Rentals

The pontoon rental is the simplest way onto the water without a captain: you drive, after a short orientation, with up to ten people aboard, and the driver has to be 18 or older. From Hilton Head Harbor the rate card runs from $275 for two hours to $849 for eight, and the boat idles out along Skull Creek, where dolphins are regulars. Broad Creek Marina rents pontoons too, for two to nine hours. Check the tide chart before you plan a sandbar stop.

Island Head Watersports: Parasailing, Skiing and Tubing

• Parasailing: from Hilton Head Harbor, about 90 minutes on the boat. $95 a flyer, ages 6 and up, and $49 to ride along and watch. Tandem and triple flights depend on the wind.

• Water ski adventure day: a private boat with a Coast Guard licensed captain, and a tube, water skis, a wakeboard and a kneeboard on board, for two to six hours, in groups of up to six or up to twelve.

• Private tubing trip: one to three hours behind the boat with a captain driving.

Island Head Kayak and Paddleboard Tours

Guided kayak tours paddle Skull Creek from Hilton Head Harbor for 90 minutes, from $40 in a single kayak and $75 in a tandem; the sunset tour is $49 and $95, and a sunrise tour runs from May through August. The guided paddleboard tour is an hour, $40, for ages 12 and up, and no experience is needed.

Island Head Dinner Cruises

• Hibachi Dinner Cruise: two hours from Broad Creek Marina on a custom catamaran, with chefs cooking steak, chicken, shrimp, vegetables and fried rice on the onboard grill, plus a salad. There is a bar with local beer and wine, and early and sunset departures. $109.99 for adults, $69.99 for children 12 and under, $19.99 for infants (no meal).

• Lowcountry Boil Dinner Cruise: two hours at sunset with shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes, $109.99 for adults.

• Boat, Bite and Bar: a boat ride to the Old Daufuskie Crab Company for dinner on its deck, Wednesday to Saturday from May through August, about 3¾ hours in all.

The other boats that serve dinner on the water are compared on our Hilton Head dinner cruise guide.

Dolphin Cruises and Private Charters

The 90-minute dolphin tour and the Sunset Celebration Dolphin Cruise leave Broad Creek Marina. For your own group, a 25-foot boat with a captain takes up to 14 at $225 an hour, for anything from a sandbar and a swim to lunch by boat at Hudson’s or Skull Creek Boathouse. Bigger boats, Bonjour for up to 35 and Gatsby for up to 49, suit parties and company outings. The island’s other private boats and yachts are on our Hilton Head boat charters guide.

Island Head Sailing and the Ferries

Island Head Sailing runs a 36-foot sailing catamaran from Broad Creek Marina for up to 24, with a two-hour public day sail from $49.99, a Golden Hour sunset sail from $79.99, Brunch Under Sail from $89 and private sails for up to six. The ferries leave Broad Creek Marina daily for Daufuskie Island, about 45 minutes each way, and for Savannah, two hours each way on a nine-hour day.