Myrtle Beach Getaway

This was my first time in Myrtle Beach. I highly recommend going during the non-peak season (we went in September) as I read online that the area gets very crowded during the peak times (like summer). I thought that the ocean area was very clean, especially since it’s a public access beach. There are a lot of shells on the beach for shell collectors. The waves were very strong and the boogie board that we bought came in handy. We left a beach blanket with our personal belongings in a bag and never had to worry while we played in the ocean in front of the Breakers North Towers.

Fun attractions in Myrtle Beach included Nascar Speedpark and Ripley’s Aquarium (located at Broadway at the Beach). We passed by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Haunted Theater, and 4-D Moving Theater by Myrtle Beach Pavilion. They didn’t look that big or great, so I was glad that we went to the Aquarium.

Quick Tips:

You can grab the standard tourist guides in the airport for discount coupons. I used 1 coupon at one of the beach shops without any problems.

Best Way To Get Around:

We rented a compact car via Priceline. It seemed like big cars were more difficult to park. We had no trouble finding places with the help of the maps in the free guides.

My boyfriend and I stayed at The Breakers Boutique North Tower from 9/7 (Wednesday) to 9/9 (Friday). Our room was an Oceanview-Side Balcony 2 Double Beds. The hotel's location was extremely convenient. Our stay was "above average," but the North Tower isn’t a 4-5 star resort. I would say that the North Tower is more of a 3-star oceanfront hotel. I was more than satisfied with my $64 per night stay. I was a little worried prior to our trip given some online accounts that I read on another website.

Our room and the hotel’s facilities were clean and well kept. Our beds were made and our towels were replaced daily (we left daily tips for the maid). The parking was across the street, which was not a problem. Obviously if you’re expecting a 4-5 star resort, you will be disappointed. My boyfriend and I agreed that we would definitely stay at the Breakers North Tower again.

You can ask the front desk rep for a bracelet that lasts the week to be used at the main Breakers Resort and the Paradise Tower. There is a "water park facility" at the newer Paradise Tower. We were too lazy to venture down to the main resort as it was about 6 blocks south from the North Tower. We stuck with the North Tower pool and whirlpool, which rarely had people and were clean. Occasionally some woodchips and sand from the surrounding areas fell into the pool/hot tub, but I felt that they were acceptable levels. There were no kids in the pool, probably because it was a couple of days after Labor Day and considered "off season". We loved going in the non-peak season as we didn’t have to deal with lines and hordes of families.

Complaints: The mini fridge in the room STUNK! We didn’t complain since we didn’t need to use it. The balcony door was very hard to open. There wasn’t a great selection of food options by the beach. The spaces in the parking garage were tight, especially for larger cars. I think that’s a universal Myrtle Beach parking lot issue. The hotel only has 2 elevators, so they’re bound to be slow if there’s a lot of traffic. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for an elevator. The front desk failed to pick up the phone in the 1 out of 5 times that we called downstairs. They were very helpful with restaurant recommendations. Don’t expect 4/5-star hotel amenities, including a free newspaper, stationery/pen, brand name shampoo and soap, conditioner, and robe/slippers. I can understand the complaints some reviewers had about the North Tower, especially if they stayed during the peak season. The hotel is bound to be harder to maintain when there are a lot of families staying as guests. The hotels/motels in Myrtle Beach are more smaller scale that big beach cities like Miami.

http://www.seacaptains.com
We dined at the Sea Captain’s House Restaurant, which is a very popular local (non-chain) restaurant. Parking is available. There was a fairly long wait for a table of 7, but it was fine as you're right next to the beach and there is a bar if you want to order drinks and lounge around. The appetizers were great (crab cakes and crab dip), but we (and our 5 other friends) weren’t particularly impressed with our main entrees. I don't even remember what I ate, it may have been a special. They were out of the hummingbird cake, a southern specialty that I wanted to try for dessert. It's layers of spice cake with pecans, pineapple, banana, and cream cheese frosting. The service at the restaurant was okay, nothing spectacular. Note that a lot of restaurants in the Myrtle Beach area close before 10pm. I was used to the New York City restaurant schedule, so that got me into trouble on the first night when we waited too long to eat dinner and were scrambling for an open restaurant.

The NASCAR Speedpark is located across from Broadway at the Beach and features seven tracks for racing, with names like Thunder Road, the Competitor, The Intimidator, and The Qualifier. The minimum height for rides is 40 inches for The Qualifier. The height requirement for other rides ranges from 48 to 64 inches. A ride package ($24.95 plus tax) allows you to take unlimited rides on all tracks except Thunder Road, which is the premier track featuring 5/8 scale cars.

Our trip to the Speedpark was on a weekday during the off-peak season, so we paid less for our tickets and did not have to endure large crowds. You can also buy tickets for individual rides if you don’t feel like paying for the package. Unfortunately, some of the attractions, like Thunder Road, were closed because it was midweek. I was able to ride the Competitor and The Intimidator. We took pictures of race cars, including Jeff Gordon's #24 and the Kellogg car.

Other fun activities at the Speedpark include the SpeedDome Arcade (where you can win coupons to trade in for (cheap) prizes), NASCAR Challenge miniature golf, speed bumper boats, and kiddie rides. They also have a NASCAR souvenir shop, where you can purchase any NASCAR product imaginable. The NASCAR Speedpark is a fun place for speed demons of all ages! See http://www.nascarspeedpark.com/myrtlebeach.html.

Ripley's Aquarium is at Broadway at the Beach. I walked through a cool special exhibit called "Titanic, Island of Life," which is an interactive and educational piece depicting the chronology of the events via various mediums including film, photos, written information, signs, illustrations, and even samples of debris from the vicinity of the ship. I stuck my hand in icy-cold 28-degree water, which was the temperature of the water on that ill-fated day. The aquarium also featured some hands on exhibitions; I touched horseshoe crabs, slippery stingrays, and Bonnet head sharks. I viewed all different types of marine life as I walked along the 330-foot underwater glidepath, including sea turtles and sharks (saw shark). The aquarium constantly has educational presentations and programs for children, including an interesting "Sleep with the Sharks" program, which is a sleepover at the aquarium. I passed by Ripley's Believe It or Not, which is in another area of town, but did not go in. The aquarium definitely looked like the better deal.