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Hotels in Myrtle Beach
• Best Inn & Suites Myrtle Beach from $54.00 USD
• Happy Holiday Motel Myrtle Beach from $55.95 USD
• Courtyard By Marriott - Myrtle Myrtle Beach from $69.00 USD
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Vacation Rentals in Myrtle Beach
• Monterey Bay Suites Myrtle Beach from $99.95 USD
• Kingston Plantation Resort Myrtle Beach from $139.95 USD
• Legends Resort Myrtle Beach from $119.95 USD
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Birthplace of Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White, MYRTLE BEACH is a brazen splurge of seaside fun, an unmitigated stretch of commercial development twenty miles down the coast from the North Carolina border at the center of the sixty-mile "Grand Strand." Predominantly a family resort, it's packed fit to burst during mid-term vacations with leering, jeering students in fluorescent beachwear - if you've seen the movie Shag , you'll know what to expect. Fans of crazy golf, water parks, factory outlet malls, funfairs and parasailing will be in heaven, and the beach itself isn't bad. The widest stretch is at North Myrtle Beach, a chain of small communities among which Ocean Drive is the center and Atlantic Beach is exclusively used by African Americans.
South of Myrtle Beach lie Murells Inlet , a fishing port with lots of good fish restaurants, and Pawleys Island , a secluded resort once favored by plantation-owners and today retaining a far slower pace than its neighbors. Between the two on Hwy-17 is the beautifully landscaped Brookgreen Gardens (summer daily 9.30am-9.30pm; rest of the year 9.30am-5pm; $8.50; tel 1-800/849-1931), a former rice and indigo plantation with an outdoor display of American figurative sculpture, and the setting for many of Julia Peterkin's novels of gullah life. There's also a wildlife sanctuary, where you're likely to spot alligator and deer, and an hour-and-a-half boat tour around the area.
US- or Hwy-17 (also called Kings Highway) is Myrtle Beach's main traffic thoroughfare, while the parallel Ocean Boulevard is lined with hotels and motels. Greyhound buses from Charleston and Wilmington come in at 511 7th Ave N (closed 1-3pm daily). Minimal transportation in the beach areas is provided by Coastal Rapid Public Transit buses (75?-$2.10 one-way; tel 843/626-9138). Great American Trolley runs a route around the center beach area and out to the Myrtle Square Mall and Broadway at the Beach (July-Sept 8.30am-midnight; closes 10pm Oct 1-15; $2 each way; tel 1-800/395-6629).
The main visitor center at 1200 Oak St (tel 1-800/356-3016) provides events listings and details of accommodation; there's also a branch at 2090 Hwy-501 E in Conway. Of the countless motels , the Compass Cove , 2311 S Ocean Blvd (tel 1-800/228-9894, fax 843/448-5444, ; $100-130), with turquoise pools and ocean views from the more expensive tower rooms, and the similar Sands Beach Club further north, at 9400 Shore Drive (tel 843/449-1531 or 1-800/845-2202, fax 843/444-9344, ; $130-160), are two solid choices. During the summer, rates increase dramatically; if traveling by yourself or with one other person it may be cheaper to stay in Conway about 11 miles to the west of US-501.
With ten campgrounds and two state parks, Myrtle Beach calls itself the "Seaside Camping Capital of the World"; this might be an apt description if you have a fairly broad definition of camping. You'll find most of the commercial campgrounds concentrated along Kings Highway - on this road in North Myrtle Beach you'll find the Barefoot Camping Resort , 4825 Hwy-17 (tel 1-800/272-1790). Hours tend to fluctuate so call ahead.
If you want burgers, standard diner meals, "surf 'n' turf" in a themed bar or any one of a zillion varieties of ethnic fast food, you'll have no problem finding places to eat. Well-prepared seafood can be had at the classier Sea Captain's House at 3200 N Ocean Blvd (tel 843/448-8082), or at a number of similar establishments in Murrells Inlet; for a Mediterranean meal and a view of art, stop by the Collector's Caf? , 7726 N Kings Hwy (tel 843/449-9370).
As for nightlife , Celebrity Square at Broadway at the Beach, between 21st and 29th avenues off the Hwy-17 bypass (tel 843/444-3200), is a compact area of bars and clubs, while the House of Blues , Barefoot Landing, 4640 Hwy-17 (tel 843/272-3000), attracts top national rock, reggae and roots talent. More kitschy are the glut of country music variety shows ; the longest-running is the Carolina Opry , Hwy-17 N (tel 843/238-8888), where powerful singers belt out corny, family-oriented rock'n'roll, country and bluegrass with a couple of hymns thrown in for good measure. Next door at the Dolly Parton-owned Dixie Stampede (tel 1-800/433-4401) you can see a lighthearted, surreal take on the Civil War with some impressive horsemanship, all while chowing down on a huge dinner without utensils.
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