Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City and The Grand Strand
Once a hiding place popular among notorious pirates, today among America’s most popular vacation destinations, South Carolina’s Grand Strand offers a wide variety of recreation and entertainment activities. The most “family friendly” places on the beach are Surfside Beach and Garden City, close enough to easily access all the attractions and entertainment options, but away from the crowds and traffic.
Start with miles and miles of golden soft sand on a shore that slopes gently into the Atlantic. This is the beach voted #1 in the USA (#6 in the world) in a recent poll of frequent travelers conducted by TripAdvisor.com. The communities just south, Surfside Beach and Garden City offer scores of reasonably priced ocean front condos for family enjoyment of the warm sunshine and sand, and the vast Atlantic. Many of these condos are large enough to accommodate several families, a perfect reunion setting.
Golf is the “national” pastime of The Grand Strand. Some say you can play a different course every day of the year. That’s probably an exaggeration, but certainly you can play 36 holes a day for a week, (or a month) without seeing the same course twice. There are well over 100 golf courses to choose from. Fishing is the lesser-known area sport. Inland waterways and shallow coastline areas offer anglers lots of action, with guides available to show the way.
A perfect family vacation area, there are dozens of attractions and amusement parks for kids of all ages. The new SkyWheel is a 200 foot high Ferris wheel that just opened May 20th, on Ocean Avenue in downtown Myrtle Beach. It is said to be among the largest in the world. There are zoos, an aquarium (with a dozen species of sharks!), science and curiosity exhibits and museums for family entertainment. Surfside Beach and Garden City both offer amusement parks the kids will really enjoy.
For a combination of art, culture and nature there is Brookgreen Gardens. This 9,000 acre park exhibits one of the largest collections of sculpture by American artists in the world. The manicured lawns with walkways and pools beautifully enhance these spectacular works of art.
Restaurants are everywhere, with options for every taste and budget. Just about every cuisine in the world seems to be represented. Seafood is, of course, the staple, there are a large selection of places to get all you want. Murrell’s Inlet says it’s the Seafood Capital of South Carolina, and boasts a long row of highly regarded seafood restaurants to prove it.
Nightlife? If you’re not worn out yet, choose from live popular music, professionally produced stage shows, and “tribute” acts that pay homage to the legends of popular music, playing “oldies” that are sure to bring back memories.
Surfside Beach and Garden City, the family destinations on the Grand Strand. Warm sunshine, soft sand, lush golf courses, attractions, culture, great food, rollicking nightlife not far away if you want it. Sounds like a great place for a vacation, does it not? Let iTrip help you find the perfect place to stay.
