Hilton Head Dolphin Tour: Broad Creek & Calibogue Sound

4.62

(169 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I thought dolphin tours would be kind of cheesy — but about ten minutes after we left Broad Creek Marina, I was already leaning over the rail, scanning the water like a little kid. The air had that salty-sweet marsh smell, and our captain (I think his name was Mike?) kept pointing out birds I’d never even noticed before. There was this one egret that looked like it owned the place. You could hear the soft slap of water against the hull and sometimes nothing else at all — weirdly peaceful for such a busy island.

We cruised past Harbour Town Lighthouse (it’s smaller than I expected up close), and someone spotted a fin slicing through the water near Daufuskie Island. Everybody scrambled to one side — which made Mike laugh and say, “Don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere.” Turns out he was right; the bottlenose dolphins just hung around for a while, popping up in pairs. The kids on board lost their minds every time. I tried to get a photo but mostly got blurry splashes. So yeah, if you’re thinking of doing a Hilton Head dolphin tour, don’t stress about your camera — just watch.

The route changed depending on tides — we skirted Buck Island and Bull Island too. At one point the sun came out strong and everything felt gold for a minute. There’s something about seeing Hilton Head from the water that makes it feel bigger and quieter at once. I didn’t expect to remember that feeling as much as I do now.