Now, being a man, I am not much into shopping, but this is a shopping mall for everybody, male and female, young and old. What you have here is shopping (about 100 specialty stores), dining (20 restaurants, including Planet Hollywood, Nascar Cafe,and Hard Rock), 15 attractions, 10 nightclubs, and even 3 hotels (Holiday Inn, Fairfield and Hampton) on a site spread 350 acres around a large area of water. The 350 acres can be a bit confusing because some of the attractions need to be driven to and are not really close enough to walk to in the busy traffic. We went back a few times while we were there because there really is so much to do. They have a mini golf area if some want to have fun while others may want to shop, or Ripleys Aquarium, Nascar Speed Park, a movie theater, and plenty more. We did do the Dragons Lair golf (only one of the two courses however), the Nascar Speed Park and a few of the restaurants while going there a few times during our stay.

It is a nice place to go with a group of people because everybody can go their own way. We were able to keep in touch with cell phones and decide when we wanted to meet up again. Just make sure to be specific about where you are; we found some stores very similar and there are two Ben and Jerry's ice-cream shops. This was also quite a bit of exercise, walking around the water in the center and we even fed their ducks and fish which were very plump to say the least. It was amusing to watch the fish jump over each other to get the pellets available along the decks and walkways. For even more up-to-date information, go to their website. Here that is: http://www.broadwayatthebeach.com/index.html

One more nice thing about this attraction is that if you stay on one of the beach hotels, you can catch a bus to the mall, so if you want to find a favorite watering hole, it will allow everyone to have a few drinks without worrying about how to get home or if you don't want to rent a car it makes life a little easier. Our resort (South Beach Resort) actually has a shuttle van that goes there at various times throughout the day.

At the Caribbean Village you will find Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Café, Celebrity Square, and the Ripley’s Aquarium. New England Fishing Village East is home to the movie theater, the Butterfly Pavilion, Coastal Federal Baseball Field, Dragons Lair, the and IMAX Discovery Theater. New England Fishing Village West is home to Carousel Park, Pirates of the Carolina Coast, Myrtle Waves Water Park, NASCAR Speedpark, and the Palace Theater. Nearby you will find a Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn, and Holiday Inn Express.

There are a number of chain restaurants here in addition to Hard Rock and Planet Hollywood. There is a Joe’s Crab Shack, Johnny Rockets, and Tony Roma’s Ribs to name a few. Here you can keep going even at night, with a number of nightclubs on the premises. Take a break and climb aboard a water taxi for a relaxing ride. At special times of the year (such as July 4th and New Years), you will find a spectacular fireworks display over the lake. All ages will "oooh" and "aaahh" at the Butterfly Pavilion. This is the first facility of its kind to incorporate a fully enclosed glass butterfly pavilion. The Palace Theater offers a variety of musical concerts, comedy legends, and the only place to find the Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. For more information, just go to www.broadwayatthebeach.com.

I would suggest visiting Boardwalk at the Beach during the middle of the week, as Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are usually very busy. Some of the stores are fairly small, and it can get very crowded inside when there are a lot of people. The waits to get into some of the better-known restaurants are also a lot longer on the weekends. I would highly recommend Broadway at the Beach if you want to do a little shopping but are getting sick and tired of all the Wings and Eagles Beachware stores that seem to be around every corner in Myrtle Beach. There is no admission and, as long as the weather is nice, you can spend an entire day shopping, eating, and being entertained.