BALD HEAD ISLAND, N.C. - Just a few minutes into our journey on a ferry boat packed with vacationers, a young shipmate spots some dolphins playing in the choppy surf.

“Look mommy, the dolphins are following us to Bald Head,” says the youngster as the slippery marine mammals disappear under the ferry’s double hull.

Obviously, dolphins like to go on holidays, too, and Bald Head Island’s tranquil waters and sandy beaches are perfect for all mammals.

Located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, Bald Head Island is a relatively unknown patch of real estate just two nautical miles off North Carolina’s coast – a 20-minute ferry ride away from the historic mainland town of Southport, which in turn lies 30 miles south of charming Wilmington. In recent years, Bald Head has become an exclusive family hideaway where kids can play on endless stretches of sugary sand, ride deserted roads on golf carts – the only means of transportation on the island – and moms and dads can play one of the best golf courses North Carolina has to offer.

That is the reason a buddy and I have hopped aboard the late-afternoon ferry for an overnight stay and an early-morning tee time at the Bald Head Island Golf Club, a George Cobb design that has been awarded 4.5 stars by Golf Digest.

Soon our captain is nudging his sleek craft up against the Bald Head Island dock and our golf clubs and baggage are quickly transferred to a waiting trolley which whisks us to our dock side accommodation – two spacious one-room villas overlooking a harbor filled with multi-million dollar yachts.

The villas are named after the elements – Earth, Wind, etc. They all come with four-passenger golf carts and fully-equipped kitchens.

“I’ll take Air,” I tell my golfing partner, who disappears into his villa called Earth to freshen up for an early-evening dinner at a high-energy dock-side eating spot called Eb and Flo’s Steam Bar, where the draft beer is served frothy cold and the fried fish comes piled high.

Charlie, an amiable server, greets us as we stake claim to two bar stools and he suggests a bucket of steam clams and a pitcher of beer as “appetizers.”

As we consume the last of the freshly caught “steamed” clams – my unsophisticated culinary partner expresses his disappointment that they are served hot – Charlie fills us in on some of the island’s history, legends and where it got its name.

“It was originally called Smith Island,” says Charlie. “It was later renamed Bald Head because the land pirates who once lived here would cut down the dunes and sea oats so they could better see ships when they ran aground on the shoals just offshore.”

The shoals are located on the southeastern tip of Bald Head Island and stretch 20 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean.

“We even have a ghost – a woman – who roams the island,” says Charlie.

Early next morning, we load our golf clubs aboard our carts and head off in the direction of the Bald Head Island Club along sand swept roads that border the beach, which is hidden from our view by the mountain-high dunes.

The Bald Head Island course is billed as a “links-style layout that runs along the ocean.” The starter even informs us that “water comes into play on 15 of the holes,” so we are expecting scenic ocean views. What we get is lots of water but little ocean.

“I played an ocean course but never saw the ocean,” my partner protests after our round where our only sighting of the Atlantic is from the elevated 17th tee.

Regardless, we both agree with Golf Digest that this course is a masterpiece – one where the wind dictates scores and the water hazards demand smart shot making.

From the tips, the course plays 6,855 yards but when the sea breeze seeps through the sea oats and dunes, yardage goes up accordingly. The Bermuda grass takes getting use to and the bunkers – about 50 – add to the challenge. Most of the fairways are narrow and the greens are relatively small and slow.

The par-5, 510-yard 11th is considered the course’s signature hole but the view one gets from the seventh, where Old Baldy – the island’s iconic lighthouse – flocks of nesting birds and a family of osprey (members of the hawk family) hang out in an old dead fairway tree, was our favorite.

The seventh is where we also meet a charming cart girl named Ashley, who lets us know that most people on Bald Head operate on “turtle time.”

“This is an island where you take life slow and easy,” says the attractive young woman who has spent the last few summers providing refreshment for perched golfers.

Old Baldy is the highest structure on the island and a must visit when you’re here. Built in 1817, it’s North Carolina’s oldest lighthouse and can be best appreciated by those willing to climb the 108 steps it takes to get to the top.

The island is also home to other attractions – Bald Head dune, which sits so high that it provides the perfect perch for river pilots to sight approaching ships; Fort Holmes, a dirt and log reinforced fortification built in 1863 at the height of the U.S. Civil War; Cape Fear lighthouse, the remains of which can still be seen; and endless stretches of beach – 14 miles in total - where you can walk forever without meeting a soul.

The Cape Fear Club is also home to the island’s best restaurant – a casual dining spot offering gourmet and down home dishes and some of the friendliest servers anywhere.

It also offers tennis, croquet, a children’s camp and massive swimming pool complex.

Another of our favorite hangouts while on the island was the Shoals Club, which overlooks Cape Fear Point and the Frying Pan Shoals, both very impressive. The Shoals Club is also where they serve beer in the late afternoon for $1.50.

On our return trip to the mainland, we spot the same little boy looking out for dolphins. “Hey mommy,” says the youngster when he didn’t see any marine life, “I guess the dolphins liked Bald Head so much they didn’t want to leave.” This is one time I wish I was a dolphin.