Spending Thanksgiving Week On Bald Head Island - Need Help!

[bmrisko]

Where did they move George to? We used to stay in a house on the 16th and he was always hanging around out there...

[TomO]

Originally Posted by TomO

Hi,
I'm looking for suggestions on what to do for the week. I assume that we will do some golfing and fishing, but not sure about restaurants on the island and whether they will be open during the last week of November.

Other questions:
1) Should we bring all of our food for the week or is there a grocery store on the island.
2) What should we fish for at this time of the year? I think we have access to a small skiff.
3) Do we need memberships for the clubs on the island? We're renting a house and haven't been able to determine whether the owners belong to the club.
4) I understand that there is a discounted ferry ticket that you can buy from the island for day trips to the mainland. How much is it?
5) Are there tennis courts on the island?
6) Is it possible to drive (or walk) on the beach to Fort Fischer?

We live in Charlotte and haven't been to Bald Head since the mid-80s, so I'm sure much has changed.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughtful comments and suggestions.

The weather didn't always cooperate, but we had a great Thanksgiving week. There was some beach renurishment (sp?) going on the beach just in front of our unit 24/7, but there were plenty of beaches to walk.

Here are a few comments regarding our visit to Bald Head Island:

1) Ferry ride ($15 round-trip from the mainland/ $11 "no frills" round-trip from the island). Ferry ride from mainland includes on-island transport to/from your house/rental unit. They have a very efficient system for handling luggage on/off the ferry and there is a ferry every hour from 7am to 11pm. Winter hours began on December 1st with a reduced schedule.

2) The owners of the house we rented were members of both island clubs, but I understand that you can purchase a temporary membership to enjoy some of the club amenities if you are renting .Bald Head Island Club golf course was under construction (had the 16th tee and green torn-up during my visit) as they are up-grading all greens this winter.

We could have golfed the front 9, but decided to play a round on the Founder's Club course at St. James (in Southport). We were VERY impressed with the quality of golf and couldn't believe the cost. I would highly recommend playing one of the three courses at St. James.

3) The grocery store was well stocked and had several wine tastings scheduled during the week. Prices were not too high given that we were on an island.

4) The weather didn't cooperate when we wanted to play tennis, but the Bald Head Island Club did have 4 hard courts. We did get to play some sand volleyball at the BHI Club though.

5) Restaurants - We didn't eat any meals at the BHI Club or the Shoal's Club since we prepared most of our own, but the views from the Shoal's Club were fantastic and would probably be worth a visit for a lunch or early dinner. We had a good meal at Ebb & Flo's at the marina....looks like it would have a lively crowd during the summer (nice deck area). I must say that our group had a great dinner a Mr. P's Bistro in Southport before boarding the ferry for the island.

Hope this information is useful to anyone visiting Bald Head Island!