After dropping off Priceline’s Top 50 Memorial Day Destinations last year, with unseasonally cool weather being the major concern, Hilton Head has stormed back into 34th spot for 2006.

The survey is based on actual bookings from more than 30,000 vacations at Priceline.com

Memorial Day should be a perfect time for visiting Hilton Head this year, the forecast is great (barring the chance of late afternoon storms!), the temperature is a lovely 90 degrees, but with a nice breeze coming off the ocean.

See the full top 50, including nearby Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Isle of Palms, here

With the horrible news of 3 alligator attacks in a week  in Florida, tourists (and a few locals too) are slightly concerned about similar things happening in Hilton Head.

We have posted our top safety tips here, please read and remember!

Sunset Rentals is offering two current discounts - either 20% Off All Weeks Booked with Arrival by May 20th Or Book 3 Nights, Get the 4th Free on All Villas.

Find out more at Sunset Rentals of Hilton Head

The Marriott Beach and Golf resort   is offering an e-Deals vacation package in Hilton Head this weekend. Stay for $231. This is at least 20% off the usual rate. Read more on the official Marriott website

Pretty easy, right? Well it is if you have a blueprint to follow! This guy has a fun way to get to know the Island, he’s trying to spend $1000 by copying the 3 day spending spree of a local thief. Presumably he’s using his own money though.

Do have to say, it’s not the most imaginative way to spend $1000 here! A lot of pizza and junk food, and almost 25% going at the Diamond Club. Surely there’s more to Hilton Head than this…?

The Heritage Tournament proved a stroll for one big name, while a previous winner struggled at the bottom of the leaderboard

Jim Furyk finished the morning in 2nd place, on 7 under, one stroke behind leader Vaughn Taylor, but the 1984 Champion Nick Faldo had a much worse day, finishing 5 over par, just one stroke ahead of the bottom of the leaderboard.
On to the afternoon…

Where to find all the latest, with score updates, highlights, interviews and more from the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head, SC

The local Island Packet is a great place to start, with interviews (see Ernie Els interviewed exclusively here, for example).

The PGA Tour site has details of Harbour Town Golf Links, so you can explore each hole, and decide how you would play it.

The full Heritage leaderboard is available at PGA.com, and you can click on any player’s name to see their individual performance so far.

Finally, you can watch the Verizon Heritage of Golf highlights on Thursday and Friday, 4-6pm on USA Network, and live action on CBS this weekend.

The first Verizon Heritage of Golf Tournament teed off this morning, begining 4 days of excitement in sunny Hilton Head. We have links to all you need to know right here.

The top pairings to watch today are:

Brad Faxon, Nick Price, Nick Faldo - 7.56am on the first tee

Tim Petrovic, John Daly, Davis Love III - teeing off at 7.47am on the first tee

and

Bart Bryant, Jim Furyk, Ben Curtis - who tee off at the same time on 10.

This afternoon see Stewart Cink go up against Darren Clarke at 12:54 pm from the tenth.

Some other big names featured include:

Mark Calcavecchia - 7.56am on the 10th

Ernie Els - 8.14am from the 10th

Jesper Parnevik - 12.18pm from 1

Fred Funk - 12.45 from the 10th

Jose Maria Olazabal - 12.36pm on the first tee

The green jacket has been presented at Augusta, which can only mean one thing…The Verizon Heritage is about to start in Hilton Head!

Early betting has Ernie Els as favorite, from Jim Furyk, Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal, with Darren Clarke and Geoff Ogilvy not far behind.
The weather here is perfect, due to rise to the mid-70s for the practise rounds, then in the 80s for the weekend, so remember to bring the sunscreen!
Check back throughout the week for updates and the latest news on the Verizon Heritage, and please let us know if you have any questions.

A new survey by Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine has Hilton Head Island ranked third nationwide for percentage of millionaires.

While nationally around 8% of households are millionaires, Hilton Head Island has a more impressive 13.4%, coupled with a low cost of living index of just 141.
So remember, next time you’re golfing down here, if there’s a foursome in front, and a foursome behind you, there’s a very good chance at least one of them is a millionaire.