People who live here in Bluffton know and appreciate just how close the Savannah/Hilton Head International is. It's about twenty+ miles — somewhere around thirty-five to 45 minutes on a normal day, a little less early in the morning before the work and school traffic picks up, a little more if you hit construction. It's the kind of drive where flying somewhere doesn't require building a whole travel day around just getting to the airport, and that's something Jules and I love every time we use it.

The drive itself is easy. From most of Bluffton you can take the back route along 170 — what people around here call Alligator Alley — and it's a straight, calm shot most of the way there. They just finished a new bridge along that stretch, so it's in better shape now than it's been in years. It's a nice and easy commute. You're at the terminal before you've even really settled into the fact you're traveling today.

And it's a real airport, not a small little strip, It's a legit airport, Savannah/Hilton Head International flies direct to a super long list of major cities, and for anywhere it doesn't reach directly, you connect once and you're on your way. Jules and I have flown out of there to the West Coast, we've taken quick trips to Nashville, we've flown out of there for vacations out of the Country, and it has never once felt like a limitation. If anything, people are usually surprised that an airport this close also goes to so many places.

Then it's so nice and easy too once you get there. It's clean, the lines moves quickly, and the parking is close — you're not riding a shuttle in from some far lot and watching the clock the whole way. Jules and I have been there at four, five, six in the morning to catch early flights, and even at that hour it feels calm and easy to get through. There's a version of air travel where the airport itself is the stressful part of the trip, and Savannah just isn't that. It's small enough to be simple and big enough to be useful, which is so awesome to have access to.

And here's the thing, when people think about what makes a CIty easy to live in, they tend to think about the day-to-day stuff — the grocery store, the schools, the drive to work. The airport doesn't come up until the first time you need it, and then it comes up every time after that. If your family is spread out across the country, if you travel for work, or if you like to travel, an airport this close that flies to so many places, makes it so easy to keep doing all of that and to see family and people in other places, you can even meet up in new fun destinations. It really is one of those things people end up appreciating way more once they actually live here.

That's the kind of thing Jules and I think is worth knowing about Bluffton, because it's the sort of detail you only really understand once you've lived here. The airport being twenty-five miles up an easy road isn't the #1 reason anybody moves to the Lowcountry — but it's one of the reasons people who live here are glad they do.

When Jules and I market a home in Bluffton, a lot of what we're really marketing is how easy and enjoyable the area is to live in day to day — and details like this are part of that.

A couple of other reads that go along with this one — our earlier piece on The Lowcountry Isn't a Secret Anymore covers how much more attention this area is getting from people outside the region, and The Fastest-Growing County in America Is Right Next Door covers what that growth next door means for Bluffton.

Jeff & Jules Moran

Anchor & Isle Real Estate

Bluffton & Hilton Head Island

Strategic Marketing. Experienced Negotiation. Real Results.

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