Myrtle Beach or any other suggestions?

Our family of 5 has our 3rd trip planned for MB in July. I am wondering if there is a new destination we should consider. I%26#39;ve looked at Va. Beach and it doesn%26#39;t look all that great. We need a 2 bedroom unit and love the beach, dining out at night (at fun places) and want things available to us to do in case of rain or just tired of the sand. There is so much to do in MB and I am wondering if there is anything out there similar to this atmosphere? Our family consists of 2 adults, 17, 16 and 11 year old kids. Any suggestions?

Myrtle Beach or any other suggestions?

Hello Weltz5... We just booked our vacation to the Myrtle beach area.. This is our 10th or 11th year..

We also looked into the VA Beach area.. but I have to tell you, I could not find a condo, or as much things to do as in the Myrtle Beach Area..

The prices for Condos in the VA area were extremely high compared to Myrtle Beach..

There are some great places now, and some great deals.. Have you looked into VRBO.com?

Myrtle Beach or any other suggestions?

We looked at Virginia also and possibly North Carolina. But we decided on Myrtle Beach. We%26#39;re going in two weeks. Our family consists of 2 adults, 15, 13 and 12 year olds. We will be staying at Ocean Creek Resort. It%26#39;s supposed to be very close to Barefoot Landing which has all kinds of shops and restaurants and fun things to do. We rented through www.oceancreek.com but after further investigation I found that renting through private owners would be better. It will be more expensive, yes, but the quality of the unit will be MUCH better. I found this information out through this website. Good luck and have lots of fun.

Hi Sue Dan...

I went thru private owners.. and the units are much nicer.. I have also found them to be cheaper! :)

We always stay at OCean Creek.. its absolutely beautiful!..

We stay in the South Towers... Have a wonderful time!

STICK TO MYRTLE BEACH. VA BEACH TERRIBLE! I have been there two times before, the first time was during the off-season so I excused them for that , the next time was just as bad. The only good thing about VA Beach is Captain George%26#39;s Seafood Buffet. It is the greatest.

Myrtle Beach is great with all of the attractions. I am having trouble deciding which hotel to choose for our group of 3 adults and 3 children. But the following are clean and highly recommended:

1. Hampton Inn %26amp; Suites Oceanfront, 1803 South Ocean Boulevard

They have a Family Suite and a 2 Bedroom Suite. The family suite has 2 separate bedrooms one for you and the 2 adults and a room with a queen and bunkbeds. I haven%26#39;t stayed here but I have never heard of any complaints. They have pools, free breakfast and it%26#39;s clean. It%26#39;s on the southern end of MB but it%26#39;s not too far from the Pavilion and Family Kingdom. (Family Kingdom you have to pay to enter so if all of you don%26#39;t get on rides, the Pavilion is the better choice) Lots of other stuff near hear as well. www.hamptoninnmyrtlebeach.com

2. The Breakers Paradise Towers (ONLY PARADISE) this is a fairly new hotel a part of the Breakers resort (2 other buildings) They can accommodate your group with their 2 %26amp; 3 bedroom suites. They also have Washer %26amp; Dryers in these suites which will be needed for those teenage boys. Also a full kitchen {I think this will be my final decision) We stayed in the Resort Hotel before which is righ next door but the Paradise is much better. (www.breakers.com)Try the Papa%26#39;s Restaurant across the street, they give a small discount for staying with the breakers. It%26#39;s ok for a small place. A little expensive however.

3. Also try Grande Shores at 77th Avenue NORTH, Myrtle Beach. It%26#39;s at the North End of MB, in a more residential neighborhood. They have a roof top pool and lazy river (a little smaller than other hotels but looks nice online). This is our second choice. They have a 2 bedroom condo with washer %26amp; dryer in them full kitchen and WASHER AND DRYERS.

Attractions that we like:

Pavilion

Family Kingdom/Oceanfront water park

Ripley%26#39;s

Grand Prix or Nascar you decide

Any of the many ';mini'; golf places

DRIVE-THRU KRISPY KREME

Bejamin Calabash Seafood Buffet.

I would suggest the Hampton Inn Oceanfront. Beautiful hotel with VERY clean rooms!

We do have a Captain George%26#39;s Seafood Buffet in Myrtle Beach.

And don%26#39;t forget that Charleston is a short drive away - great history and shopping - a great rainy day destination or if you tire of surf and sand!

Seein how this is the Myrtle Beach board it would be odd to see a pro Va Beach post. Here%26#39;s my two cents on the subject....

The drive to the beach. To Va Beach you%26#39;re cruising along on six lane I 64. Down the ramp, three blocks and BAM. You%26#39;re on the beach. Feels strange.

The hour or so drive from I 95 to Myrtle Beach just gets you into the beach mood. Much more relaxing than the hustle and bustle of I 64. All the billboards quiets down the ';Are we there yet'; crowd?

At best Va Beach is maybe five miles long. Depending on where you draw the boundary lines, the Grand Strand is 30-50 miles. Maybe more if you get real picky.

Ball park figuring I have heard that 90% of the accomodations at Va Beach are motel rooms. Fridge and microwave is your kitchen. Only been there couple times myself but that%26#39;s all I have seen.

Myrtle, 90% of the accomodations are condos and houses. Seperate bedrooms, kitchen areas and dining area. You could live year round in most Myrtle Beach condos.

Sand dunes vs boardwalk. Va Beach has concrete boardwalk. Grand Strand prides itself for it%26#39;s dunes. I%26#39;ll take the dunes any day. I can walk on a sidewalk at home.

POP: I totally agree with the comments on VA Beach. 64 can be a nightmare sometimes. There are ways in and out of VA beach but not that many and it%26#39;s always crowded. The tunnel/bridge is a mess. There is nothing to see on 64 whatsoever. It%26#39;s a dead area.

However, I do like the boardwalk a little. It%26#39;s nice sometimes to be able to walk on the boardwalk early in the morning to see the sun rise and to stop at the few little places along the boardwalk. It is about 5-8 miles long total, I guess. And there aren%26#39;t many attractions. The aquarium we went to was BORING. It was alright but I can see that anywhere. Nothing to call home about. They don%26#39;t have any amusement parks except that one little ';thing'; at the end of the boardwalk that everyone goes to and everyone cruises that area and it is a night mare.

I will only go to VA beach in the off season, just for peace and relaxation when I don%26#39;t want to do anything spectacular except walk the boardwalk.

Thanks for ALL the input. I think we%26#39;ll stick with our original plans. We have res. at Ocean Creek (our favorite part of the MB). The comments about VA Beach are pretty much what I had been reading - doesn%26#39;t sound very attractive or frankly, like very much fun. Thanks to everybody!!

My husband, best friend, 1 %26amp; 1/2 yr old (at the time) son, and myself went to VB last year. It was my third trip to the ocean, first two trips were to MB. And, I know I am on a Myrtle Beach Board, and like someone said before it would be hard to find a pro VB post. BUT, honestly, it was such a bore! There was nothing to do. We planned on staying 4 nights, and only stayed 3.

The only thing there was literally the beach. There were a few restaurants along the strip where you walk, and a couple of airbrush shops and that was about it. The boardwalk was okay if you wanted to just take a stroll in early morning or late at night, but nothing you would ';just go do'; in the middle of the day. And, while I am on the subject of the Boardwalk, it is solid concrete and gets SUPER HOT during the day. We had an oceanfront room and would just leave the room to walk straight to the beach, usually barefoot, and the Boardwalk was so hot that you had to just about skip across it to keep from blistering the soles of your feet.

The only plus that I found was that we got a super cheap room that was very clean and nice, oceanfront. And, it was not NEARLY as crowded as Myrtle, but I like the crowds lol. We went in Mid-July and would only pass a few people on each block while walking.

All in all, I would say that Virginia Beach is more of a ';relaxing'; vacation spot while Myrtle Beach has a lot to keep you busy. If you get bored with the sand and water 24 hours/day, and want a little excitement in your vacation, I wouldn%26#39;t recommend VB. My toddler got very bored and cranky because he had to constantly do the same things over and over again, this year we are taking him to Myrtle and I am sure he will really enjoy himself.

Sorry that was so long, but that%26#39;s the most I could condense it and get my point across :)