Mile Isle Beachcomber Tour: Private Dolphin Sightings

Embark on a private dolphin sighting adventure on the Mile Isle Beachcomber Tour. Collect sand dollars, sea shells, and even sharks teeth while exploring the mile-long sandbar. Perfect for families and small groups.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Harbour Town Lighthouse and Museum - On the way to the Mile Isle, we’ll cruise past the iconic red and white striped lighthouse.
    The Harbour Town Lighthouse is a lighthouse at the Harbour Town Marina at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was privately built and is a private aid to navigation.
  • Daufuskie Island - We’ll continue down the…
What's Included
  • Expert narration by a Licensed Captain and Master Naturalist
  • All fees and taxes included
  • Exclusive private vessel for your family tour
What's Not Included
  • Gratuity
Additional Information

Enjoy a two-and-a-half-hour adventure on your own private boat. Your Master Captain will guide you safely through the Calibogue on a falling tide to the isle. This mile long sandbar is exposed for only a couple of hours per day, allowing beachcombers the chance to collect sand dollars, seashells and the occasional shark’s tooth.
We’ll stop along the way…

Location
68 Helmsman Way
Helmsman Way
Enter the parking lot of Cross Island Boat Landing, just under the Cross Island Parkway. Plenty of parking available. Walk down to the docks to meet your Captain.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(87 Ratings)
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L412kdrichardk
Apr 3, 2025
Perfect excursion! - Excellent trip to disappearing island. We watched dolphins play, collected sand dollars and saw amazing sea life (starfish, crabs, mollusks). Highly recommend this private trip with Mark, my family loved it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jerryjv9591yp
Mar 30, 2025
Great time - It was a great experience for the whole family! Mark our guide was very informative about the different kinds of shells and different species of animals. My daughter even got to hold a jellyfish which we didn’t even know there were kinds that aren’t dangerous! Overall great experience and great guide in Mark thanks again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Colleen_g
Mar 16, 2025
Best shell tour on HHI! - Great experience with captain Mark! Went shelling at the vanishing sand bar and found 41 sand dollars, shells, spider crab several types of jelly fish and various bird species. Our kids were beyond thrilled! This is a must do while on HHI!
Review provided by Viator
Meganlf4625ww
Mar 3, 2025
Great way to spend an afternoon! - Captain Mark was great! He is knowledgeable, friendly and accomodating! Highly recommend taking a trip with him! The vanishing mile is a unique experience. We enjoyed our day so much that we booked a sunset cruise with him as well!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trail10671584788
Oct 21, 2024
Great Times! - Great time with captain Mark! He was knowledgeable, friendly, and personable. He was responsive to my questions before our trip as well. We will be using him on our future trips.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristinr104
Oct 14, 2024
The best family fun on the island!!! - Captain Mark is amazing! This is our second (and definitely not our last) tour with Captain Mark of Cross Island Cruises. The last time we went on the dolphin cruise and to the shell beach with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. This time we did the vanishing island tour, and still found lots of dolphins, but also found starfish and sand dollars on the vanishing island. Oh- and saw a blue crab and an alligator!! The boys are now 6 and 4 (first grade and pre-K). We had so much fun and Captain Mark was just amazing talking with the boys and answering their questions. He kept them fully engaged the whole time and is just the kindest, most genuine guy you’ll ever meet. If you can only do one thing with your family on Hilton Head Island- I urge you to do one of the Cross Island Cruises with Captain Mark. You will not be disappointed and will become a repeat customer, and make a new friend on the island. See you soon Captain Mark!!! Thank you so very much!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Laura
Sep 22, 2024
Special boating and sea life exploration! - Our family ladies (30s-70s) and littles (2 and 3 yr olds) had the best time with Captain Mark! We saw LOTS of dolphins, and enjoyed the sightseeing from the water with expert narration. Our stop on Vanishing Island was full of special sea creatures with many shells collected. On the ride back we found a mountain of shells to climb and still more dolphins playing in the sunset. This was the perfect kickoff for our week in Hilton Head. We all look forward to this outing with Captain Mark when we return in the future!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carissac642
Aug 23, 2024
Once in a Lifetime Experience - Captain Mark created such a wonderful experience for us. We learned lots of fun facts about the island, sea life, and more. This was such a fun and exciting trip to a vanishing isle that is so fascinating and unreal! He was a great guide and ensured that we would have an unforgettable experience. He went out of his way to show us everything that we were curious about. Overall, I highly recommend booking this tour because this experience is hard to come by!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bukj333
Jul 27, 2024
Fantastic Tour! - Our family went on the vanishing mile isle tour on our trip to Hilton Head, and it ended up being the highlight of our trip. Captain Mark was so knowledgeable about the area ecology, and the history of the area in general. He also took a detour to show us dolphin families swimming around. It was a wonderful experience. We plan to take the tour again the next time we are in HH.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ellen_c
Jul 22, 2024
Captain Mark made the trip so much richer and more memorable than a boat ride - We had moms getaway of 6 women and they all had such a great time. The comment was that this was so much better and richer than just a looking for dolphin ride as captain mark talked about the stuff we were seeing (worms, imprints in sand from starfish) and about the island (neighborhoods, traffic and tourist patterns).
Review provided by Viator
From $399 (Per Group)
up to 6 guests
1 - Traveler
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).