From Beaufort, the easiest way south is to follow Hwy-170 all the way to Savannah, or to detour east onto I-95. Otherwise, a pleasant but potentially confusing series of two-lane run around Hilton Head Island across the lowlands toward Georgia.
Near the southern tip of South Carolina, Hilton Head Island is the largest ocean island between Florida and New Jersey. It was first settled in 1663, but only since the late 1950s, when a bridge to the mainland was completed, has it really been on the map. Now Hilton Head’s deluxe Sea Pines Resort ($175 and up; 888/807-6873) is a major international destination, and upscale golf courses and plantation-style estates abound the island’s 30,000 acres, as do mini-malls and all the trappings of suburban America.
The “success” of Hilton Head has caused developers to set their sights on the rest of the Lowcountry, as shown by the opening of the super-plush Palmetto Bluff resort ($350 and up; 843/706-6500) at nearby Bluffton, where each of 50 waterfront cottages is outfitted with plasma TVs and a Sub-Zero fridge for that quintessential Lowcountry experience.
The beautiful city of Savannah marks the junction of our Atlantic Coast route with the Southern Pacific road trip along US-80.
