DURING THE FALL SEASON, For those of you that have been with us at Broad Creek several times and are looking to explore a different area with our guides, we also offer kayaking along the Pinckney Island Wildlife Reserve that is located just at the entrance to Hilton Head Island. When you are driving from the mainland onto Hilton Head, Pinckney Island is the island between the two bridges that connects Hilton Head with the mainland.
NOTE: THE PINCKNEY LOCATION IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR FALL SEASON TOURS. BECAUSE OF THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF SUMMER THUNDERSTORMS AND THE FACT THAT IT IS A LONGER TOUR IN WHICH WE END UP MUCH FURTHER FROM OUR DEPARTURE LOCATION, WE DO NOT RUN THESE TOURS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. BROAD CREEK TENDS TO BE THE BETTER DOLPHIN SPOTTING AREA WITH MUCH LESS WORRY ABOUT THESE POTENTIAL THUNDERSTORMS DURING THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
Like our Broad Creek location, Pinckney Island is surrounded by salt marsh and therefore all kinds of interesting wildlife spends time in the area to feed. Just like the Broad Creek area, everyone’s favorite tends to be the bottlenose dolphins that like to feed along the shoreline.
On occasion, otter or mink can be seen, we might encounter a bald eagle looking for some dinner, and when we are really lucky a manatee might even be spotted. Egrets, Herons, Osprey, and all kinds of beautiful bird life can also be seen feeding along the oyster beds at low tide.
Kayaking at both of our locations is definitely an experience you will talk about long after leaving our island.
The tours at our Pinckney Island location are 2 ½ hours including a brief paddling clinic to start every tour. We have single and double kayaks available so both adult groups and families with kids are welcome. Kids 14 and under are required to be in a double kayak with an adult. Do note that this tour is a bit longer than the Broad Creek tours and we do recommend that complete beginners may be better at the Broad Creek area. Our Broad Creek tours are recommended for both beginner and experienced kayakers whereas the Pinckney Island kayaking we recommend for kayakers that have at least some experience.
Please call our reservation line for the Pinckney Island Kayaking and our Dolphin Discoveries Boat Tours to make reservations for this tour at 843-684-1910. Tour times vary at this location based on tides and times of the season. Generally we recommend first thing in the morning (7am) for this location because the waters tend to be most calm at this time of the day. Reservations are required as with all of our tours. There are a couple of different areas the we depart from depending on tides so please call to get exact driving directions. THANKS!
$85/adult
2 ½ hour Private tours
$75/child
2 ½ hour Private tours
Our Pinckney Island location is generally during the fall season only. Sorry, the summer months bring more unpredictable thunderstorms and because this is a longer tour we often end up much further from our departure point than we do at our Broad Creek location. Broad Creek is the better summer area for dolphin spotting and calm water! Note for our Pinckney Island location, we only run private group tours or at least 6 people or more. If your group has less than 6 we can try to pair you up with another group or please join us for a tour at our Broad Creek location where there is no minimum number or people needed to go. Thanks!!
2 ½ hour Private tours(just your group) at Pinckney Island, $85/adult and $75/child 12 and under (there must be a minimum of 6 people in your group to book a private tour). (Note: On this tour kids 14 and under must be in a double kayak with an adult.) (Check our tours and prices page for info on private tours at broad creek which are $399 for up to 6 people and $50 for each additional person.) For very large groups of 20 or more please just call us at 843-684-1910 to discuss group tour option.
**Please note, when making your reservation we will need to know whether you would like single or double kayaks. We do trailer kayaks to our departure point for our Pinckney Island tours so you may not be able to change your selection once you arrive. Cancellation policy on Pinckney Island tours is 72 hours in advance. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you soon!**