Kiawah Island, SC

The closer we get to Kiawah Island from Charleston, just 21 miles away, the more the lowcountry landscape envelops us. En route we pass roadsides lined with pine and palmetto trees and live oaks draped with Spanish moss. The 10,000-acre barrier island off the South Carolina coast, situated between the Kiawah and Stono rivers on one side and Atlantic Ocean on the other, is home to Kiawah Island Resort. Marshlands, lagoons and five golf courses lace the eco-sensitive mix of resort and residential lodging. We find the Southern scenery soothing.

The resort takes its name from the Kiawah (Kee-a-Wah) natives who lived on the island during the 17th century. The first major, modern development began in 1974 primarily on the island's west side. In 1993, the current owners purchased the land, adding villas (a.k.a condominiums, townhouses or cottages) and homes. In 2004 the Sanctuary, a 255-room hotel, debuted and now rates Five Diamonds by Mobil and Five Stars by AAA.

Kiawah offers a great blend of children's, teens' and family activities as well as facilities. The sandy beach stretches for ten-miles; five golf courses provide a range of challenges; and the tennis instruction is noteworthy. In addition, families like the convenience of staying in condominiums or homes with kitchens and for those ISO luxury, book hotel rooms at the Sanctuary, which has its own check-in. The Sanctuary gets kids into the beach mode with a gift of a bucket, shovel, stuffed turtle, sunglasses and bubbles.

If renting one of Kiawah Island Resort's 500 villas or one of the 90 homes, check-in at Town Center in East Beach, two miles from the main gate. None of those properties provides any special welcome gift; but don't worry. Just show your sand loving kids the wide, long dune bordered beach with its gentle waves and they'll be happy.

Kiawah Island Resort's accolades include being rated a top 10 U.S. beach by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman ("Dr. Beach") and the Travel Channel; a top golf resort by Travel and Leisure; and a top tennis resort by Tennis magazine. We like Kiawah Island for all of those reasons as well as for its nature activities. On Kiawah snowy egrets, great blue herons, and sandhill cranes swoop low over the marshes in search of shrimp, fiddler crabs and grasshoppers. We sight some of these on canoe trips, find dolphins when sea kayaking, and learn about watery critters on an ocean seining expedition.

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