Daufuskie Island

When I moved from North Carolina to Philadelphia, I learned something surprising: a ton of people around here vacation at Myrtle Beach! As I’m writing this, two of my coworkers are there right now and another one is heading there in a few days. Myrtle Beach is more of a touristy beach to me, and North Carolina and South Carolina have a TON of other beaches that are just a great and are less crowded (and sorry to Philadelphians, saying “beach” instead of “shore” is so ingrained in me that I can’t change it!). Other than the Outer Banks, my family goes to Ocean Isle, which is just north of Myrtle Beach in North Carolina and literally swimming distance from Holden Beach and Sunset Beach (we’ve actually swam from Ocean Isle to Sunset Beach a few times!). 

Another place my family goes is to visit family friends at Daufuskie Island off of Hilton Head, SC. It’s a little longer of a drive than Myrtle Beach, but it is so worth it! The only way you can get to Daufuskie Island is by boat (they have ferries throughout the day), so it is waaaaay less touristy. When my family was there last week, I saw at most 10 other people on the beach within three days. You basically get the beach to yourself! There’s also a TON of wildlife, sand dollars and starfish all over the beach, a rum distillery, a community farm, restaurants and bars, a lighthouse, a golf course, history and an old church, and palm tree covered beaches. Is there anything else you could possibly need??

Since there’s so much on the island, be prepared for tons of pictures! 😉 It’s such a beautiful place that I just couldn’t help myself!

Lots of palm trees!

These are tabby ruins – a building material inspired from the African slaves that uses shells – that date from the 1700s. You can read about the history here 

The beaches are so open and empty so it’s great for bike rides!

I love all the colorful houses!

Lots of crabs on the beach!

This is John Cougar Mellencamp’s vacation home! My mom saw him and Christie Brinkley last summer!

Does anything beat a sunrise on the beach?

You can get tours of the community farm!

This goat had triplets!

They’re so cute and friendly 🙂

These poor kids tried jumping off a fence and broke their legs

You can go on tours for $5 (I was with some youngins so we didn’t do the tour)

Beach sunsets are amazing!

The plane looked like a rocket to the moon! 🙂

Sorry for alllll the pictures, there’s just so much to see on Daufuskie Island! I hope I convinced some people to add it to their bucket list 🙂 What off-the-beaten-path vacation spots do you enjoy? Comment below!