Go to the beach. The beach really is the key feature of Myrtle Beach (and any nearby beach community). If you’re looking for five-star restaurants and all the amenities of Downtown Disney, you’ll be sorely disappointed. The suggestion is to spend as much time at the beach as possible by avoiding time-wasting activities like “trying to find a good, fast lunch” and “I’ve got to stay inside because I’m sunburned.”
Go to the Big Store (not a "beach" store0 as soon as you land. Buy stuff for lunch and lots of sunscreen. Buy snacks and any sort of beach game/play stuff you might want, especially a few boogie boards for body surfing.
Rent beach chairs ahead of time (unless you’re at a place that does this for you). http://lacksbeachlifeguards.com/services/ or http://bit.ly/NMB_Beach_Services It may seem like a lot of money, but it’s well worth it since the chairs and umbrellas you buy at Wal-Mart (or one of the four million beach stores) will rust by the time you get home and putting a beach umbrella in the sand is almost impossible. You might consider one umbrella/two chairs and buying two chairs (the low ones are perfect for sitting in the surf and letting the water rush around you) on your way from the airport.
--Buy a cooler. This will hold lunch and beverages. Buy plenty of bottles of water.
--Buy lots of sunscreen. The spray stuff is easy to use and comes in lots of strengths. Really. Buy lots.
Food. There are hundreds of restaurants. Most of them will have some sort of note on the website, in their ads in the free guides, and on their front doors that say, “Voted #1 {insert food sub-group here} restaurant on the Grand Strand!” No one I’ve ever met knows who those voters are. The “local” food is shrimp though there are oysters and clams through the winter. The way shrimp comes is either boiled, and usually seasoned with Old Bay, or deep fried (“Calabash Style”). There are also “Oyster Roasts” which feature in-shell oysters, roasted. The higher-end places may have brought in comparatively local crabs and oysters, but most of the lower-end and big chain places are bringing it in from somewhere else.
If you stay in a place with a kitchen, buy some local shrimp and boil it. Buy a ½ pound of local, raw shrimp per person, cocktail sauce, some red potatoes, corn on the cob (if available), and frozen hush puppies. In a big pot (buy a big, cheap pot at Wal-Mart if necessary), boil the water, dump in a bunch of Old Bay, throw in the potatoes, cook for a while until the potatoes soften, throw in the corn for a few minutes, and then throw in the shrimp. Do not overcook the shrimp!!! If raw and fresh, you’ll buy it grayish. Cook until pinkish, and it will float. It is done. Dump out the water and serve. Put on more Old Bay if you’d like.
Avoid chain restaurants. There are now zillions of them around Myrtle Beach. Try the Chesapeake House, Sea Captain’s House, Rockefeller’s, Duffy Street Seafood Shack, Bimini’s, or head up to Calabash (for the genuinely shopping-deprived, there’s a huge Christmas store there).
Steak. Just say no.
“Things to do.” Again, this isn’t Disney. There are some cool things, but the beach is really what you do in Myrtle Beach. Here are a few “off the beach suggestions:”
--Downtown Myrtle Beach, near the former Pavilion, do this during the day:
Ferris Wheel.
--Gay Dolphin Gift Cove. Been there since the ‘60s, has a large selection of random beach souvenirs and a cool collection of vintage, for sale, postcards.
--Arcades. Skee-Ball and ancient baseball games are the bomb. If you spend $300, you may get enough tickets to get something cool, but it’s still fun, and you’ll always treasure your X-Ray Specs.
--Fat Harold’s, North Myrtle Beach (Ocean Drive for you purists). This is the “Home of the Shag,” a dance coming out of the late 1940s that once required Bass Weejuns with no socks--kind of a Jitterbug with lots of fancy footwork. Lessons are available, and yes there’s a bar. It’s something you don’t see anywhere else, and you won’t forget it. In season, the Ocean Drive Pavilion has a dance floor that looks out onto the beach.
--Amusement Park “Family Kingdom.” There’s an old rollercoaster, The Swamp Fox, named for local revolutionary war hero Francis Marion, and some other very vintage rides. It’s not cheap, but entertaining.
--Golf. Everywhere. Take your pick.
--Miniature Golf. Also Everywhere.
--Pawley’s Island and Murrell's Inlet are pleasant diversions. Brookgreen Gardens is also quite impressive.
The beach. It’s the deal.
Myrtle Beach is a great place to go, and the beach is a beautiful place to be. There are over 100 golf courses, lots of good places to eat, but don’t expect it to be Hilton Head or Orlando. Go to the beach and enjoy!
