Community Corner
Keeping Up With Kiawah Island
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Destination: Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Who Went: The Nobile Family, West Caldwell
What There Was To Do: If you are looking for total relaxation, Kiawah Island is the place to go. A semi-private barrier island, it is just a 90-minute flight or 12-hour drive from the Caldwells.
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For those looking for a little action, tennis and golfing are found throughout the island, along with beautiful walking and biking trails.
“The island has various locations where you can rent a bike,” said mom Melanie Nobile. “They even deliver!”
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Locals also love the fishing, shrimping and crabbing, and the island boasts a spa at the beautiful Sanctuary Hotel.
Also home to a nature preserve, the island treats guests to a wide range of wildlife. Visitors will often find alligators in the marsh, ponds or even on the golf courses throughout the island. Other wildlife includes deer, foxes, bobcats and a variety of birds, such as pelicans, egrets, terns and piping plovers.
The main attraction, however, is the beach. “Most people go to the island to enjoy the beach,” said Nobile. “The sand is white and clean. The water is warm, and you practically have the beach to yourself.”
Why Here? With family living on the island, the spot has become one of the Nobile’s favorite vacation spots. “It’s a place we never get tired of visiting,” said Nobile. “We even imagine ourselves living there—one day!”
Highlight of the Trip: For sons Brendan and Aiden, fishing with grandpa or going out on the boat with their uncle, can’t be beat. But, mom Melanie and dad John love relaxing on the beach. Added Melanie, “The spa is pretty great too!”
The Travel Brochures Say:
Named for the Kiawah (KEE-a-wah) Indians, who inhabited the island through the 1500s, Kiawah Island is less than an hour's drive from historic Charleston. With its 10,000 acres of semi-tropical wilderness, the island’s award-winning master design allows modern amenities to co-exist harmoniously with the indigenous wildlife—from heron and osprey to alligators and loggerhead turtles—preserving the area's natural maritime forest, sand dunes and beachfront beauty.
Enjoy tennis? With two state-of-the-art tennis centers, Tennis Magazine has rated Kiawah as one of the top tennis resorts in the country, and the island has garnered even more accolades for its golf courses. Boasting the number one golf resort in the U.S., according to Travel+Leisure Golf, and named one of the top 100 golf resorts in the world by Conde Nast Traveler, three of the island’s courses have concurrently made Golf Digest's list of "America's Top 75 Resort Courses."
Interested in a bit of shopping or sightseeing? The island offers incredible boutiques, great restaurants, museums, an aquarium and historical sites from the Revolutionary and Civil War. Freshfields Village brings visitors together for distinctive shopping, dining, socializing and entertainment. West Beach Village offers a dozen island shops and boutiques, and in Bohicket Marina Village, guests find scenic tours, family excursions, and a range of inshore and offshore fishing options.
Want to learn more? View the Kiawah Island website.
