• Daufuskie Island

Nestled between Hilton Head Island, SC, and Tybee Island, Ga., is tiny Daufuskie Island. With no bridge connecting this eight-square-mile treasure to the mainland, it is only accessible by boat. The unpaved roads have seen few cars, and tourists are greatly outnumbered by graceful live oak trees shrouded in veils of Spanish moss.

This southernmost tip of South Carolina may be the first Carolina sea island to be inhabited. Native Americans were here almost 5,000 years ago, living on a plentiful supply of fish, shrimp and oysters.

Today, the island is home to Daufuskie Island Resort and Breathe Spa, Melrose and Bloody Point, golf communities and Haig Point, a private golf community. The new Billie Burn Museum, located on the island’s only paved road, showcases Daufuskie’s history. Day trips to Daufuskie Island may be arranged by boat shuttle from Hilton Head Island. There are small group tours that will allow you to explore the island by kayak and golf cart. You can visit ancient Native American sites, the old Baptist Church and the school house where Pat Conroy taught. It’s a lovely way to roll back time a few decades.

• Edisto Island

Edisto is a barrier island in the chain of Sea Islands along the coastlines of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It’s located about 45 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, and a little more than 100 miles north of Savannah, Georgia. Deeply embedded in the Low Country, Edisto’s rivers and tidal marshes flow into St. Helena Sound and the ACE Basin Reserve. The average high in January is 56 degrees; in July, 89 degrees. August is the wettest month.

The island claims 3 miles of beach on the Atlantic. Boaters and fishermen enjoy the ACE Basin Reserve, which brims with shrimp, flounder, crabs, oysters, and clams. The recently built K–5 school was named South Carolina’s third-best elementary school. With a population of around 2,500, the island has room to grow.

With access to only one grocery store and no major medical center, islanders must drive to Charleston for supplies or emergency care. Most beach houses are second homes and become rentals in the summer. The population can swell to 15,000 during tourist season.

Walking the beach, kayaking through tidal marshes, bicycling, touring historic island plantations, visiting a produce stand for locally grown vegetables and fruit, perusing books at The Edisto Bookstore, eating Miss Etta’s tomato pie at Main’s Market Cafe - there are lots of things to do.

• Fripp Island

Fripp Island is a private, 3,000-acre residential and resort island. The entire island comprises a Bird and Game Sanctuary. Wildlife and bird populations include alligators, deer, raccoons, egrets, heron, and osprey. The only road onto the island passes by a gate that is staffed 24-hours a day. Fripp Island has about 3 ½ miles of sandy beaches.

• Parris Island

World famous Parris Island is the U.S. Marine Corps recruit training depot, and the starting point for all those east of the Mississippi River aspiring to become proud U.S. Marines. The base is usually open to the public, offers tours, and features an excellent museum that traces the history of the Corps from its beginning.

• Tybee Island

Located 18 miles from Savannah, this small seaside island is graced by a wide, 3-mile long beach that draws sun lovers and water-sports enthusiasts from throughout Georgia and the rest of the Southeast.

While Tybee is a resort replete with a full complement of restaurants, modern hotels and motels, luxurious condominiums and quaint rental cottages, it’s also a residential area whose offerings range from historic homes on the Officers’ Row of a one-time military post to classic beach-style abodes — many of which are beautifully restored.

Tybee, home to about 4,000 year-round residents, is an independent municipality providing its own city services. Among focal points are the south-end pier and pavilion — which is much enjoyed by fishermen and folks strolling above the ocean and listening to live-band music; and the Fort Screven area on the island’s north end, which is the site of the Tybee Lighthouse and an intriguing museum.

• Port Royal sound

Port Royal Sound is a coastal a sound, or inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the Sea Islands region, in Beaufort County, SC. It is the estuary of several rivers, the largest of which is the Broad River.

The Port Royal Sound system is unique compared to other coastal areas in North America because it is a large embayment dominated by expansive salt marshes and an area with high salinity water. An embayment was created when rising sea levels submerge valleys along the coast. The net result was and is that Port Royal Sound represents a marine habitat that extends inland for 10 miles. Half of Beaufort County’s land area is actually under marine waters.

• St. Helena sound

Saint Helena Sound is a coastal inlet in Beaufort and Colleton County, SC. The inlet is located East of Beaufort, between Edisto Island and Hunting Island. Saint Helena Sound is 7.5 mi/12.1 km wide.