Myrtle beach or va beach?

[mrsboz]

I am surprised that so many people don't love these beaches. I'm still thinking. Thx.

 

[reenie1]

I am also surprised so many people don't like these beaches. If you are looking for peace and quiet, these are not the places to go. But if you are looking for clean, fun beaches, I think both are nice. We are from Massachusetts and have been to Myrtle Beach twice and just went to Virginia Beach for the first time last week. The main reason we go to these beaches is for the warm water, and my kids spend most of the time swimming.

I prefer Myrtle Beach over Virginia Beach. The water is warmer and the waves have always been big but not too big-great for boogie boarding. It is very hot in the summer and I find I want to be in the water all the time or I am too hot. You can stay in a very inexpensive condo right on the water with nice pools, lazy rivers,... We stay in the southern part of Myrtle Beach and it is very family friendly, beaches are clean, and lifeguards are good. There are tons of restaurants, shops, and activities including the boardwalk area, and there can be traffic getting around the area.

Virginia Beach was nice, too. We stayed on the northern end of the Boardwalk. It is mainly big hotels/restaurants along the boardwalk. The boardwalk is long and there is a bike path as well. A block back there are all the touristy shops, candy stores, mini-golf, arcade,... People rent bikes/surrey bikes. When we were there last week, waves were very small the first couple of days and by the end they were bigger/rougher than I wanted. The water was pretty warm - I could get in and get used to it quite easily. Lifeguards were good there as well. We stayed in a hotel on the water and it cost over twice what I spend on a two bedroom condo at Myrtle Beach. We went to Norfolk on our rainy day and did a tour of the Navy shipyard and Battleship Wisconsin. The beach was very wide, clean, and did not feel crowded where we were (there were people all around but not on top of us).

I think either place is fine if you want a more action-oriented beach.

 

[tinkerone]

I, for one, love myrtle beach. there is so much to do and everything is minutes away. we stay at myrtle wood condos which is not on the ocean but on a golf course. we drive to the ocean (5 minutes) and walk alone the boardwalk, swim, just sunbath. having two outlets is a plus, you can't beat good shopping. restaurants blow me away! someone earlier mentioned broadway at the beach and there is barefoot landing. lets not forget the Carolina opry or brookgreen gardens. so much to see and do so if we don't feel like hanging out at the pool or walking the beach we never have to go far, always something going on.

I don't think you can go wrong. yes, its touristy but only as much as you want it to be. jmo.

 

[footballmouse]

We've never been to VA beach but my sisters went a few years ago and they really liked it. I think we might try to get there in a year or two. They said there was a lot of things to do and they had a lot of fun.

We've been to MB a few times. We've found that North MB is much more calm, relaxing and family oriented. South MB had a lot of comotion going on. We would drive down to South MB after an early dinner and walk along the main drag.

 

[Kingdome8]

We love myrtle beach. Going in 5 days. We stay at the sea watch. Right on the beach and away from the crowded part of myrtle.
Has 8 pools 12 hottubs and 2 lazy rivers. Great breakfast with omelette and waffle guy. The ocean is so nice. I live near ocmd and I always go to myrtle now.

 

[here757]

Myrtle beach.. but then again I'm bias ... I live 3 minutes from va neach!
Try williamsburg va. Great wolf lodge! Indoor waterpark

 

[kimmyann]

I thought I would give an opinion since I live here (Va Beach). If I was a tourist & looking for a great area to stay, I would go with Va Beach. Now this is depending on when you are coming too. For the past few weeks we have gone down to the beach (about a 10 minute ride from our house) for Beachstreet USA. I love going down on a Friday afternoon, having a drink at one of the restaurants on the beach, then checking out some of the street shows or bands that line the oceanfront & Atlantic Ave. Yes, it's a touristy area, it's a beach. What makes it a vacation destination is what is around us also. You can turn a beach vacation into a theme park vacation (Busch Gardens, Williamsburg) which is about an hour drive, along with an historic vacation to include Colonial Williamsburg. There is also a water park in Va Beach (Ocean Breeze) & an aquarium. I have lived here my entire life & yes, I complain about the place. BUT, when I get up off my butt & go out I quickly realize that I actually live in a pretty cool place.

With that said, I have only been to Myrtle Beach one time, for only one night. We stopped over on our way home from Orlando, FL & I pretty much deemed it to be pretty much like home.

I don't know what kind of beach vacation your looking for, but if you want a touristy type then I would go with either Va Beach or Myrtle Beach.. If you want a quiet beach vacation then I would look into Sandbridge (Va Beach) or OBX (Outer Banks, NC, Nags Head, NC).

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

We love myrtle beach. Going in 5 days. We stay at the sea watch. Right on the beach and away from the crowded part of myrtle.
Has 8 pools 12 hottubs and 2 lazy rivers. Great breakfast with omelette and waffle guy. The ocean is so nice. I live near ocmd and I always go to myrtle now.

We went to MB in April and stayed at the Sea Watch too. MB was great in the spring (it was Easter week so it was not dead by any means). You want to stay away from the boardwalk/family kingdom area if possible....way too crowded.

But I would look at Wrightsville Beach, that is our favorite.

 

[martikus]

It really depends what kind of vacation you want. A quiet relaxing beach? Then no way I'd go to myrtle. a busy place with tons to do like mini golf and shopping the. I'd choose myrtle. We avoid myrtle in summer because of the traffic.

We aren't beach people and we really like hilton head. Amazing beach, much lower key, but still things to do. Savannah airport is only 1 hour away. We like the palmetto dunes section. And we just rent a bike and bike all around. In all fairness though I've only been in slow season.

Or maybe pick a Florida beach? The beaches in Florida are quiet in the summer.

For easy vacations I prefer cruises!

 

[skw444]

We just got back from Myrtle Beach. It was our first time there and we had fun. I agree with the other posters about what kind of beach vacation you are looking for. If you want a nice quiet beach, Myrtle Beach is not the place to go. It's very busy but that does mean that there is also so much to do there. My girls had just as much fun off the beach as they did on the beach. We stayed at North Beach Plantation in North Myrtle which I highly recommend. It's right across the street from Barefoot Landing (kind of like Broadway at the Beach) and close to the outlet mall. If you have any specific questions about Myrtle Beach, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[Dayton Flyer]

Myrtle Beach is awesome. I wouldn't want to stay ON the boardwalk area (too crowded), but anywhere else on the beach is a good location... Surfside, Garden City Beach, Murrells Inlet, North Myrtle Beach. It's quite the large area to explore and have fun in. It really all depends on what you like to do, but I find MB to be a great balance of having fun at the beach and not at the beach.

As for it being too "touristy"... yeah guess what. I'm a tourist. I don't mind it. The endless array of beach shops is somewhat comical, but I go to maybe 1-2 of those per trip souvenir hunting. Otherwise, they mostly fade into the background.

 

[mindygirl5238]

I live in Myrtle Beach. It all depends on what type of vacation experience your family enjoys. If we were going to go to the beach for a vacation, my family would chooses something less busy...the south end of the OBX is more our speed. If that is what you like, I would suggest as a PP did that you try Topsail Island, or any of the Brunswick County, NC beaches. All of which are within driving distance to Myrtle Beach if you wanted to hang out for the day (Topsail is the furthest at a little over an hour). If you want even closer, than I suggest Cherry Grove Beach (just north of MB); or Surfside Beach/Garden City (just south).

Now, if your family enjoys high rises & resorts & all things touristy & crowded beaches don't bother you...then by all means, right in the heart of Myrtle beach is the place for you, LOL. But as I previous stated, you can get close to MB, without having to deal with all of that if you don't want to.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

If that is what you like, I would suggest as a PP did that you try Topsail Island, or any of the Brunswick County, NC beaches. All of which are within driving distance to Myrtle Beach if you wanted to hang out for the day (Topsail is the furthest at a little over an hour). If you want even closer, than I suggest Cherry Grove Beach (just north of MB); or Surfside Beach/Garden City (just south).

Agreed, with a small clarification. Topsail Island is Pender County, which is north of Wilmington and about 2 hours from Myrtle Beach. The Brunswick County beaches (Holden, Oak Island, Ocean Isle, Sunset Beach, etc) are south of Wilmington and would be within an hour of Myrtle.

 

[epsmith921]

I'm agreeing with some of the more recent posters here. You can very easily fly into myrtle beach and drive the hour to the wrightsville area. My family lives in Wilmington and the airport is so small, they almost always drive the hour to myrtle beach for the airport with better, less expensive flights.

We stayed out on caswell beach last summer and it was lovely and not very crowded at all the second week in July. It's very residential and relaxed. We all did little day trips as well to places like fort fisher, Wilmington, myrtle beach, etc. Wilmington has a great eclectic downtown area, but the myrtle beach area has more serious shopping with Broadway at the beach and barefoot landing.

We had a great time watching the huge container ships head out to sea. Saw dolphins in the water and walked over to the lighthouse. This was renting a house, but there are condos to rent in the area as well.

I also like the north myrtle beach area and do like broadway at the beach. Gosh, I remember when it was built!

Personally I would pick the NC or SC beaches and many are within reasonable driving distance from the MB airport.

 

[mindygirl5238]

Agreed, with a small clarification. Topsail Island is Pender County, which is north of Wilmington and about 2 hours from Myrtle Beach. The Brunswick County beaches (Holden, Oak Island, Ocean Isle, Sunset Beach, etc) are south of Wilmington and would be within an hour of Myrtle.

Yes, I know. Topsail OR any of the Brunswick county beaches. But I totally understand how you read it that way, I probably would have too. I just drove to Topsail last week. Took me an hour & 20 from the Tanger outlets at Rts. 17 & 22...which is the line between NMB & MB. I guess it all depends on how heavy your foot is .

 

[mrsboz]

I bought airplane tickets to VA. I am thinking either Holiday Inn or the new Hilton. Both are very expensive. Reenie1 - where did you stay? I hate spending so much money on a hotel but I do like the fact that we can walk right out of our door to the beach. Does anyone know if the new Hilton is very crowded at their beach and the Holiday Inn North is much quieter? Thanks so much for all your help.

 

[minnierocks]

We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites which was located right on the Boardwalk and a free breakfast. Breakfast was great and was different every day.

 

[reenie1]

We stayed at the Sheraton because we wanted to bring our dogs and they allow dogs on the third floor. It was nice but expensive. Right next door was the Belvedere - we ate twice at their diner and the food was good. It has good reviews and is much more affordable. If I went again I would stay at the Belvedere without my dogs. Both are right on the boardwalk.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

We'll be coming down to Disney camping for first time at FW. On our way home, would like to stay in this area in our camper for a night or two. Any campgrounds on the beach in Myrtle, Charleston (particular fav), NC or Virginia Beach?
We have been to Virginia Beach once yrs back, there was a campground we stayed at that was NOT on the beach. I'm looking for water beach front campground.

 

[bittybabygrower]

We always stay at the Embassy Suites in North Myrtle Beach. It is far enough from all the tourist stuff but close enough to go experience them Many great places to eat. You can rent chairs and umbrellas, a bit pricey but we don't want to drag a bunch of stuff with us. You get breakfast everyday and happy hour every afternoon. They have a cute little water park if you have little ones.

We have also stayed at Sunset Beach closer to NC, beautiful beach!