Basic Info
The lively, family-oriented Grand Strand, a booming resort area along the South Carolina coast, is one of the eastern seaboard's mega-vacation centers. The main attraction, of course, is the broad, beckoning beach—60 mi of white sand, stretching from the North Carolina border south to Georgetown, with Myrtle Beach at the hub. People come to the Strand for all of the traditional beach-going pleasures: shell hunting, fishing, swimming, sunbathing, sailing, surfing, jogging, and strolling. Most of the sand is packed hard, so that at low tide you can explore for miles on a bicycle. Away from the water, golfers have more than 120 courses to choose from, designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom and George Fazio. There are also excellent seafood restaurants; giant shopping malls and factory outlets; amusement parks, waterslides, and arcades; a dozen shipwrecks for divers to explore; campgrounds, most of them on the beach; plus antique-car and wax museums, an aquarium, the world's largest outdoor sculpture garden, an antique German band organ and merry-go-round, and a museum dedicated entirely to rice. The Strand has also emerged as a major center for country music, with an expanding number of concert halls. When it comes to diversions, you could hardly be better served.
- www.fodors.com
The Myrtle Beach area, also known as the Grand Strand, is located on the southeast coast of the United States in sunny South Carolina. As one of the premier family and beach vacation destinations in the United States, Myrtle Beach offers an endless array of lodging options including resorts, hotels, beach homes, vacation rentals and campground. With endless attractions, events and dining options, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a perfect destination for family vacations, getaways for couples of all ages, group and business travel.
- www.visitmyrtlebeach.com
"Myrtle Beach, with its high-rises and hyperdevelopment, is the nerve center of the Grand Strand and one of the major seaside destinations on the East Coast. Visitors are drawn here for the swirl of classic vacation activity, from beaches to arcades to live music shows.
To capture the flavor of the place, take a stroll along Ocean Boulevard. Here's where you'll find an eclectic assortment of gift and novelty shops, a wax museum, and a museum of oddities. When you've had your fill, turn east and make your way back onto the beach amid the sunbathers, kite-fliers, and kids building sand castles."
- www.fodors.com
North Myrtle Beach, best known as the site where the shag, South Carolina's state dance, originated, is made up of the beach towns Cherry Grove, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill, and Ocean Drive. Entering North Myrtle Beach from the south on U.S. 17, you'll see Barefoot Landing, a huge shopping and entertainment complex that sits on the Intracoastal Waterway. As you make your way east toward the ocean, then north on Ocean Boulevard South, high-rises give way to small motels, then to single beach houses, many of which are available for rent. This end of the strand marks the tip of a large peninsula, and there are lots of little islands, creeks, and marshes between the ocean and the Intracoastal to explore by kayak or canoe.
- www.fodors.com
