Anchoring the southern tip of South Carolina's coastline is Hilton Head Island. Planters settled here in the 1700s and the island flourished until the Civil War. Thereafter, the economy declined and the island languished until Charles E. Fraser, a visionary South Carolina attorney, began developing the Sea Pines resort in 1956. Other developments followed, and today Hilton Head is one of the East Coast's most popular vacation getaways.

Lined by towering pines, palmetto trees, and wind-sculpted live oaks, Hilton Head's 12 mi of beaches are the major attraction, though oak and pine woodlands and meandering lagoons also cover the semitropical barrier island. Choice stretches are occupied by various resorts, or "plantations," among them Sea Pines, Shipyard, Palmetto Dunes, Port Royal, and Hilton Head. In these areas, you can find a mix of rental villas, lavish private houses, and luxury hotels. Though the resorts are private residential communities, many have public restaurants, marinas, shopping areas, and recreational facilities. A new, 5 4/5 - mi toll bridge ($1) makes it easy to bypass traffic and reach the southern end of the island, where most of the resort areas and hotels are.