Hilton Head Tubing for Families and Groups

Which Tubing Trip Is Right for You

• A short ride with young children: Island Head’s one-hour private trip, or Sky Pirate, which tubes right by its dock.

• Dolphins as well as the tube: Outside’s Dolphins & Tubing or Live Oac’s Dolphin Tubing.

• Some of you want to ski: a private ski day carries a tube too. See our water skiing guide.

• A big group: Outside runs Dolphins & Tubing for up to 16.

Where You Go Tubing on Hilton Head

Tubing on Hilton Head happens in the creeks behind the island, where the water is flatter and dolphins are often close by, not off the beach. Sky Pirate stays on Broad Creek, which runs into the middle of the island; Outside crosses Calibogue Sound to the back creeks on the far side; Live Oac heads for the creeks around the Pinckney Island refuge. Calibogue Sound itself gets choppy once the afternoon wind and boat traffic pick up, which is why the tube usually comes out elsewhere.

The tide rises and falls several feet twice a day, which changes where there is room to run, so the captain picks the spot on the day. The day’s tides are on our Hilton Head tide chart.

When to Go Tubing

The water is warmest from May through September, averaging 76°F in May, 81°F in June and September, and 85°F in July and August, so a spill off the tube is part of the fun. April (69°F) and October (72°F) are fine on a sunny day. Outside lists its Dolphins & Tubing trip year-round, and Live Oac runs Dolphin Tubing from March through October. Month-by-month figures are on our Hilton Head weather guide.

Summer afternoons often bring thunderstorms, so a morning trip is the safer bet. The captain decides on the day whether wind or lightning makes it unsafe to go out.

Ages, Life Jackets and What to Bring

Every tubing trip here is for all ages, and the captain can keep the ride slow and gentle for small children or speed it up for older ones. Everyone on the tube wears a Coast Guard-approved life jacket. Live Oac asks that riders be able to swim and that anyone under 18 comes with a parent or guardian. Bring a swimsuit, a towel, sunscreen, water and a snack, and wear clothes you do not mind getting wet.

Tubing Behind Your Own Boat

South Carolina treats a tube like water skis. Someone 16 or older has to ride along watching the tube unless the driver has a wide-angle mirror, everyone being towed wears a Coast Guard-approved life jacket, and there is no towing between sunset and sunrise. The public landings that suit a ski or tube boat, Cross Island on Broad Creek and C.C. Haigh Jr. by Pinckney Island, are in our water skiing guide, and marinas and rentals are in our guide to boating on Hilton Head.

Other Rides Behind a Boat

For a quicker ride on an inflatable, H2O Sports in Harbour Town runs 20-minute banana boat rides on Calibogue Sound for ages 6 and up, pulled by a WaveRunner. Water skiing, wakeboarding and kneeboarding are on our Hilton Head water skiing guide, and parasailing, jet skis and kayaks are on our water sports guide.