NPR: Myrtle Beach?

mcdev · January 2010

DH and I are looking for a long weekend getaway and are considering Myrtle Beach. Our travel dates will be sometime in May or early June. Anyone familiar with nice, affordable hotels/condos in that area? TIA!

TriciaJoy · January 2010

we LOVE Myrtle Beach. We have a time share there. I wish those were our months, we'd let you use it (we have off peak time, though.)

The place we stayed at before we bought our timeshare was NICE. It was a 1 bedroom condo.. I wish I could think of the name of it now. I'll have to see if I can look it up.

If you didn't mind a timeshare sales meeting, you could stay SUPER cheap. the one BR condo we stayed in, I think we ended up paying about 60/night. That's a place with a full kitchen, laundry, two beds, we had 2 balconies. The hotel had an indoor pool with a kiddie pull and a lazy river..

Dang it.. It's driving me crazy I can't remember the name.

TriciaJoy · January 2010

The year before we did the timeshare thing, we stayed at the Ocean Reef Resort.

https://www.oceanreefmyrtlebeach.com/

I'm still trying to remember the other place.

TriciaJoy · January 2010

haha! I got it.
Bayview Resort.

https://www.bayviewresort.com/

Both were decent. The Ocean Reef was probably more of a 3 star type place. There was some parking, but not a lot. You had to get lucky. It was just an adequate place to stay. Pool was alright, room was alright, that sort of thing.

The bayview resort was REALLY nice, though. The room was seriously fantastic. Hotel was really nice, good care. There is a parking garage. It's a block over, so there is a walk, but it's a block so not so bad.

clyoungsey · January 2010

https://oceanbayclub.com/

We love N. Myrtle Beach...we vaycay there every year. This is where we stay!

mcdev · January 2010

Thanks ladies! I can't wait to check these places out when the kiddies are in bed.

So since you both are fans of Myrtle Beach, maybe you could tell me....

Would you go in May or June if those were your choices?

What is the weather like at that time?

Is there a specific area/side of Myrtle Beach that is better than the other(s)?

Any "must-see" or "must-do" for our list?

Thanks again. Can you tell I am SICK of this cold weather already?!

clyoungsey · January 2010

we always go in August, but one year went in the end of May. Weather was great, but the ocean was cold. Ok for kids, not for adults... For the difference in temps vs. money I would say May, pre season = good deals.

Must see...Ripley's Aquarium...my son when he was 13 months and then again at 2 years loved loved loved it.

We (the women) love barefoot traders...lots of cool little shops

Broadway at the beach is awesome too. Carnival and buildabear and lots of restuarants and outlets

mrspaul07 · January 2010

I really think you will enjoy Myrtle Beach. My parents have a condo at south Myrtle and we only live 4 hours from there. We go quite often.

I would say that one of the places with timeshares would most likely be nicer than the majority of the hotels.

Ripley's Aquarium is great. I always enjoy going there. Broadway at the Beach is also lots of fun. If you like to play miniature golf, there are a zillion places to do that.

In early June there will be a lot of high school seniors at the beach that have just graduated. It will probably be less crowded in May than in June.

If you have any more questions feel free to send me a PM or just ask here on the board!

TriciaJoy · January 2010

I would go in May. We've gone in March/April and it's chilly, but not bad. By May it'll be warm enough to do things outside, though the ocean will be cold. But most of the hotels have pools. Even in April, it was warm enough to walk on the beach in fairly normal clothes.

To do? Eat! I swear to you, I've never had such awesome food. We eat like cows when we're there. The first time we went, we were there for our anniversary and found the greatest place. I think it's something dumb sounding like "Bill's restaurant' it's this little out of the way place with like 12 tables in it, but it's really fine dining. Best meal ever. We couldn't remember the name when we went back, but we remembered where it was, so we drove by and then went back again. Even better the 2nd time. It's in N. Myrtle Beach.

If you like seafood, there's a crab shack on every corner, but I'll say to pick one of the nicer places. I'm kinda picky about seafood.

We had a great brazilian steakhouse dinner one night. It's over by the broadway at the beach area. Pretty much in town.

WHich is one of the nice things about MB- everything is set up in a grid, so it's pretty hard to get lost (which coming from me is saying A LOT)

We went on a 4 hour sailing cruise both times. The first time was great, the 2nd time it was really windy and pretty cold, but we still had fun. We sailed with the same guy both times, "Captain Dave" The first time, he was the only guy sailing in the off season, the 2nd time we just liked him enough to go back. He's like a Jimmy Buffett type guy. In a band in the off season. Sometimes sails to the keys to play in the resorts during the winter.. He's nice.

Mini golf is EVERYWHERE. The kids will love that. There are so many cool places.

The aquarium was just okay, IMO, but we were kinda rushed, so I'm not sure we got to see everything.

Better/worse parts.. as you get more into N. Myrtle Beach there is kind of a seedier section. Sex shops and such, but even in that area, it's all pretty well lit and mainstream. And that's pretty far north. If you stay on the beach, you'll be fine. The hotels across from the beach are really hit or miss. a lot of them are kinda ick. But most of what's actually on the beach is really nice.

The people were honestly great. We have found it to be a really relaxing vacation. Good food, good people.. and like I said, our condo last time was fantastic.

cdc1982 · January 2010