Which island for best beach with waves?

I am planning our family vacation for July. We want to stay on an island and drive into Charleston for the day for touring and dinner. My husband %26amp; I stayed on IOP several years ago, but I understand it is much more crowded now.

We are looking for a quiet beautiful beach, with some waves, that isn%26#39;t going to break the bank. Last year we stayed on Harbor Island (tip of Hunting Island) and loved it, but there weren%26#39;t any waves at all. We are looking for the same type of feel-quiet, beautiful nature setting, quiet beach, but with some waves to ride in the rafts.

Any advice on North Beach on Seabrook Island? What are the waves on Sullivan%26#39;s Island like?

Any advice?

Thanks very much!

Which island for best beach with waves?

There%26#39;s not many waves on Sullivan%26#39;s Island, but it is a quiet feel. Seabrook is a private Island, so unless you have a pass/stay/live there, you can%26#39;t get to North Beach. Most people who look for waves, go to Folly Beach, but it is NOT quiet.

Which island for best beach with waves?

There just isn%26#39;t the type of surf in the area that has good size waves unless there is a storm or squall out to sea. I think that%26#39;s true for all of the South Atlantic beaches. It%26#39;s something about the shape or slope of the bottom. It%26#39;s also greatly affected by the tides. An outgoing tide has even less wave action than an incoming tide.

I agree~ I am not sure about much wave action around the Charleston beaches unless there is a hurricane or storm off our coast. Most people will tell you Folly Beach for surfing and wave action. The condos or beach house rentals are not too expensive either.

Kiawah has some nice beach, but is often a ';break the bank'; location. Try looking in Southern Living classified section-deals can be had.

IMHO, the beach at Beachwalker County Park http://ccprc.com/index.asp?NID=50 near Kiawah is the best beach in Charleston County.

IOP is nice too, but expensive. As said before, the waves at Folly are the largest in the area, but it isn%26#39;t my favorite place in the Lowcountry.

I guess my bottom line is if you have to be on the beach, pay the bucks-if not, stay somewhere nice and ';inexpensive'; and drive to the beach.

We stayed in an oceanfront condo on Seabrook, and there were no waves (Edisto River). A poster mentioned North Beach (Is this in Seabrook?) - we obviously didn%26#39;t go there, but you can go to any beach on Seabrook if you are staying there. There are beaches on Seabrook that are farther away from the river, but I can%26#39;t vouch for the waves. You can also get a day pass to Kiawah to visit their beaches, but they would be much more crowded. We paid $130/night for a really nice oceanfront condo during peak season. Found out unit on vrbo.com.

Check out wannasurf.com. Actually here%26#39;s the area you%26#39;re looking into..the SE:

wannasurf.com/spot/鈥ndex.html

You might check on the beaches in other areas too and plan future vacations around the good surf. I understand Tybee Island is a good place.