Show a veteran Myrtle Beach goer a good time.

June 11, 2006 8:16 PM

Fun suggestions for the Greater Myrtle Beach area.

I have been traveling to the greater Myrtle Beach area with my family for the better part of 20 years now and I feel like I have seen a lot of what the area has to offer. What I'd like to hear is anyone's ideas for interesting or off the beaten path places/activities/resturants/events that we should check out.

For some reference, we'll be there the week of June 17th and we stay in Garden City. We are pretty familiar with the resturants of Murrell's Inlet. In particular we have loved Bovine's and Divine's and would love to find more places to eat in this vein.

We have also ventured north to the Barefoot Landing and the Broadway at the Beach developments...There are good for a quick look see but would tend to skip them this year unless someone knows if there is something different and new that was added to the areas.

To the south, we have traveled to Brookgreen Gardens for the sculpture gardens but I don't thinK I'll e up for seeing that again so soon.

So hivemind, what shall I do next week? I leave myself in your capable hands.

posted by mmascolino to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

Are you taking kids? How old are they? There are too many restaurants there, so I am not sure what else is in the vein of Bovine's and Devine's (I've passed them, but not gone in). I'm fond of The Melting Pot (fondue place, I think it's a chain), and a couple times I've made the trip out there (I live two hours away, but summered in that area with grandparents from age three and lived there from age 11 or 12 until age 17, and my mother and sister are still there) just to get the root beer from Liberty Steakhouse (the microbrewery at Broadway at the Beach brews their own root beer and cream soda).

Since you've worn out on the big outdoor shopping centers, I'm guessing you've done the Alligator Adventure, the Aquarium, and the Butterfly Pavilion? They're all worth going 'round at least once. If you like ice cream or have kids, check out Jenet's Make Your Own Sundae if you're up as far as Barefoot Landing (it's a lot easier to get up there now that 22 and 31 are built, too) or even the Colonial Mall--it's in North Myrtle Beach, on the east side of 17 in a little shopping center, and through childhood was one of the things I loved most about summers with Grandma.

If you have spent any time at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion and enjoyed it, get a set of day passes and spend a day/evening there--this year will be its last. Also, Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum is right there, and is also worth seeing at least once if you haven't (and if you have any interest in oddities).

Specific answers depend on what you're into. If I were spending a week on vacation out there, which I haven't done in far too long, I'd probably spend a day (possibly late afternoon-evening because of the heat in the afternoons, even that close to the beach) at the Pavilion, a day at Myrtle Waves Water Park, take an evening to go mini-golfing after dinner when it cools off, a couple days on the beach itself, and a couple days walking around the shops (both the outdoor malls, the Myrtle Beach Outlet Mall, and/or the Tanger Outlet Centers, and on those days I'd hit the Aquarium and the Believe it or Not). I might also spend an evening at the Grand Prix, though the fun race cars require an actual driver's license. When old family friends come down we go mini-golfing, parasailing, and out on the banana boat, and spend the rest of the time out on the beach--they're more athletic than into shopping and parks and museums. Last time I was out there for a weekend with my fiance, our kids, and his parents, we mostly went to Medieval Times and swimming at the hotel (this was in March--the ocean was still cold for swimming). Next time I spend a weekend out there I'm getting married then we're having a 4th-of-July barbecue, but I'm guessing that's not useful for your plans.

(If you are ever in town on the Fourth, check out the celebrations in Southport, NC)
posted by Cricket at 8:58 PM on June 11, 2006

Congrats on getting married. :-)

Some followups (No kids or at least no kids that my wife and I are responsible for).

As far as what Bovine's and Divine's are is just high quality locally owned resturants (one is skewed towards land based creatures and the other is more of the life aquatic).

You bring up the Medieval Times place...I've of course heard of but have never been. Does it bring the fun i.e. will it win over a skeptic or will it be a cheesefest.

I've been to the Ripley's musuem a few times and was surprised how little the place changed between visits.

Great idea on the water park, I haven't done that in a long, long time. Is Myrtle Waves the better of the two major water parks (the other one's name escapes me right now but I thought it co-branded with go-karts and called something like Hot Wheels and Water or something likethat).

thanks cricket!
posted by mmascolino at 9:28 PM on June 11, 2006

Oh, it's a cheesefest. All in good fun. Most of the local shows are the same (and of course Medieval Times is a big chain--we went for the ten-year-old's birthday, at her request). The Believe it or Not hasn't changed much in at least twenty years--if you've been a couple times, it's only really fun if you're bringing people who haven't been before. (and if you're bringing people prone to vertigo, watch that tunnel near the end--oof!).

Wild Water and Wheels, I haven't been to in years. It's co-branded with the Grand Prix South, and it doesn't have as many waterslides as Myrtle Waves, but if you're looking to make a day of it, it's cheaper to get the WWW ticket with the add-on ride pass than just a day's pass to Myrtle Waves, and (obviously) a wider variety of activities. I'm usually coming from the north end, so I didn't even think about that Grand Prix--we mainly used that water park the couple summers my sister worked at the other GP and got tons of free passes. (Plus, my mom's idea of a great day at the water park was to float around the lazy river, and the WWW river isn't all that lazy--just when you get all relaxed you're under a waterfall).

I forgot this one before, but some old friends of my mother's run these Jeep tours, which are somewhat interesting for seeing the less-touristy side of the area.
posted by Cricket at 1:56 AM on June 12, 2006