6 beaches
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Surfside
Garden City Beach
Family beach
A laid-back family beach where the inlet meets the ocean, great for fishing, crabbing, surfing and watersports. The Pier at Garden City is the hub, free to walk, at the end of walkable Atlantic Avenue with arcades, beach shops and casual eateries. Days are calm and evenings get livelier near the pier.
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Murrells Inlet
Litchfield Beach
Quiet beach
Quiet, upscale and less commercial than the central Strand, Litchfield Beach has been a low-key beach town since 1978 and takes its name from an 18th-century rice plantation. Pair the beach with kayaking, paddleboarding and birdwatching, or a ride on the 26-mile Waccamaw Neck Bikeway. Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park are minutes away.
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Central Myrtle
Myrtle Beach
Lively beach
The heart of the 60-mile Grand Strand, with wide sandy beaches, the oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade, and the SkyWheel steps away. Shows, mini golf, aquariums, museums and more than 90 golf courses are all close by. Summer is busiest, so spring and fall bring thinner crowds.
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North Myrtle Beach
North Myrtle Beach & Cherry Grove
Lively beach
Cast a line off Cherry Grove Pier, catch beach music at Ocean Drive, and watch the shag on Main Street, in the town known as the birthplace of shag dancing.
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Murrells Inlet
Pawleys Island
Quiet beach
One of the oldest resort areas on the East Coast, dating to the 1700s as a summer retreat for rice-plantation families, and proudly "arrogantly shabby." Quiet beaches, historic cottages and a slow pace suit couples and nature lovers. Across the causeway, Hammock Shops Village is home to the original rope hammock shop.
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Surfside
Surfside Beach
Family beach
"The Family Beach" since the town was incorporated in 1964, with a residential, small-town feel. Beaches are cleaned daily and supervised by lifeguards, and access points offer showers, restrooms and accessible ramps. In 2016 it was named the first autism-friendly travel destination, and the Pier Village adds shops, food and a fishing pier.
No beaches match all of those choices.