“Frippin’ It”…………..our first visit to

Fripp Island, SC

After searching and searching for a beach we had not visited within 2 hours from Savannah, I finally found the beach that I thought would be our perfect choice for the summer of 2017-Fripp Island, SC.

History

Tripp Island is a 6.5 square mile barrier island along the Atlantic in the low country part of South Carolina. It is about 20 miles from Beaufort, 90 miles from Charleston, and 65 miles from Savannah, GA. Once we drove through the historical town of Beaufort, we traveled through Hunting Island, Lady’s Island, and St. Helena Island and finally arrived in Fripp Island.

The island is named after Captain Johanes Fripp, who was a British sailor who protected the Carolinas from the Spanish attacks.

Fripp Island is a private, gated community. One cannot get onto the island without renting or owning a property on the island.

Our Vacation

We stayed at a 3 bedroom oceanfront condo in the Captain John Fripp Villas. Although the location was excellent with beautiful views and was close to pools and the beach, the condo was extremely outdated and in desperate need of upgrades. After reading many reviews after our visit, I would choose to rent through a private owner through Homeaway or VRBO next time instead of through the resort. The most important thing about doing that is making sure that they provide amenity cards. Visitors cannot go to restaurants or pools without an amenity card. Booking through the resort, you get amenity cards. If someone books private, they must be sure to get an amenity card.

Deer right in front of our condo

View from our condo

Deer under our deck

The beauty of Fripp Island is breathtaking. There are deer everywhere and most people travel by golf cart. We only got in our car a handful of times the 7 days we were staying.

We rented beach chairs and umbrellas from the resort at the Beach Cabana right in front of the Captain John Fripp Villas. The employees were very friendly and helpful. But in the summer, you need to get down there by 9am before they sell out.

On the 4th of July, there is a golf cart parade and contest It is so much fun to see all of the decorations.

On the 4th of July, there was a cookout after the Golf Cart Parade.

We rented a golf cart for the week, and at the end of the week, the kids said the golf cart was their favorite part!!

We stayed the week of the 4th of July, so we helped to hold the giant American flag. We got to watch the Salute from the Shore, which is the 4th of July tradition along the coast of South Carolina. It was an amazing sight!

There are many activities scheduled every day for kids and adults. One evening, The Sandlot, was played on a projector beside the pool! It was a fun evening!

The Cabana Pool was our favorite pool. It was a short golf cart ride from our condo to the pool. We ate lunch there a few days. The food was basic, but it was good. There was a bar there as well with delicious frozen drinks!

Restaurants

The Bonito Boathouse is on Fripp Island. We ate dinner there one night and got take out another night. The seafood is great, and we could just drive our golf cart down a few streets to get to the restaurant!

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Panini’s on the Waterfront was where we went on July 4th. We had a birthday in our family and Italian food was the request! We had a good meal and the staff so so friendly and helpful!

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We found Sweetgrass Restaurant by accident. One evening we decided to leave the island and go to dinner. The first two choices had waits of over an hour. By using TripAdvisor, I found a list of restaurants near me and found a small island called Dataw Island which is in a small gated community. This was our favorite restaurant during our trip to Fripp Island.

Johnson Creek Tavern was another fantastic find! The seafood was amazing and our kids loved drawing on the $1 bills and seeing them posted all around the walls of the restaurant. The owner donates the money to charity every few years.

Helpful hint: go there prior to 6PM in the summer. They do not take reservations, and after 6, it is a long wait for a table. It is not a big building.