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A morning by the ocean, an afternoon exploring local attractions, and an evening at a live show can all fit into a Myrtle Beach getaway. The challenge is deciding which experiences deserve a place in your plans, and which ones you can save for another visit.
The best things to do in Myrtle Beach depend on who you’re traveling with, the weather, and how much time you want to spend on the move. Beach days and the Boardwalk are easy starting points for a first visit. Broadway at the Beach brings several attractions together, while state parks, golf courses, and gardens offer different ways to spend time outdoors.
Use this guide to choose activities that suit your trip, group nearby stops, and leave room to enjoy the coast without filling every hour.
Before booking tickets, decide whether you want an active day, a relaxed outing, or an indoor option. This comparison shows where the main attractions are and how they fit into your plans.
Group activities by location to reduce time in the car. The Boardwalk and SkyWheel work well together. At Broadway at the Beach, choose an attraction and a meal rather than trying to fit every venue into one visit. Barefoot Landing is a separate outing in North Myrtle Beach, while Brookgreen Gardens is better treated as a trip south.
Beach time can be the main event or the pause between busier days. Arrive early for a walk and sunrise over the Atlantic, spend an afternoon by the ocean, or return for an evening stroll as the heat eases.
Choose your beach location around parking, facilities, and how far you want to travel. Families may prefer a straightforward beach morning before lunch, while walkers can enjoy the shoreline without planning a full day of swimming.
If you’re staying with us, our seasonal beach services include transportation, chairs, umbrellas, and towels. Marina Inn is along the Intracoastal Waterway, not directly on the beach; the operating schedule explains when those services are available.
The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk is a useful first stop for getting a feel for the downtown oceanfront. The 1.2-mile promenade combines ocean views with places to eat, browse, and pause along the way.
Pair your walk with a ride on the SkyWheel for a different perspective on the shoreline. Its enclosed gondolas make it a seated sightseeing experience rather than a thrill ride. Visit during daylight for coastal views or after dark to see the wheel illuminated.
You don’t need to buy a ride ticket to enjoy the Boardwalk itself. If the SkyWheel is part of your plans, allow for weather-related interruptions and keep another nearby activity in mind.
Broadway at the Beach brings shopping, restaurants, and paid attractions into one entertainment district. It suits travelers who want several choices in the same area without driving between every stop.
Give the visit a focus: an aquarium outing with lunch, hands-on exhibits followed by dinner, or an afternoon browsing shops. That makes the day easier to manage than treating the entire complex as a checklist.
Much of the walking between venues is outdoors. On a wet day, nearby indoor attractions are useful, but moving between them still requires planning for the weather.
Ripley’s Aquarium, at Broadway at the Beach, offers an indoor outing built around marine-life exhibits. Dangerous Reef brings visitors close to sharks, sawfish, and a green sea turtle from a moving glidepath, while Penguin Playhouse offers a different kind of animal-watching experience.
This is a good choice when your group wants something to observe and explore rather than an afternoon of rides. It can also anchor a rainy-day plan, with a meal at Broadway afterward.
Separate animal encounters and other add-on experiences may require additional tickets. Decide whether you want general admission or a particular experience before booking.
WonderWorks is the upside-down building at Broadway at the Beach. Inside, more than 100 hands-on exhibits combine science, puzzles, and physical challenges, alongside activities such as an indoor ropes course and laser tag.
It suits visitors who prefer participating to simply looking around. For families, let children’s interests guide the visit: some may spend longer with experiments, while others will be drawn to the more active features.
Height, weight, and participation requirements differ between activities. Review the requirements for the experiences your group wants to try rather than assuming one rule applies throughout the attraction.
Barefoot Landing is in North Myrtle Beach, beside the Intracoastal Waterway. Its shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues make it an option for an afternoon that can continue into dinner.
Choose it when you want an outing with room to browse rather than a fixed sequence of attractions. You can build the visit around a meal, a little shopping, or a scheduled performance.
Although both Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the Beach combine dining and entertainment, they’re in different areas. Pick the one that best fits that day’s route instead of rushing between both.
Enjoy sun-kissed beaches, thrilling attractions, and endless adventure.
For golfers, a full round can be a centerpiece of the trip rather than an activity squeezed between sightseeing stops. The Grande Dunes Resort Course is a par-72 Roger Rulewich design with five holes playing along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Choose a tee time that leaves space for travel, preparation, and the round itself. If some people in your party aren’t playing, plan their day separately instead of assuming they’ll want to spend it at the course.
Our golf packages offer accommodation and course options for travelers building a stay around golf. The selected package determines the rounds and other inclusions.
Mini golf gives families, couples, and friends a shared activity without committing to a full golf outing. Choose an outdoor course when you want to enjoy the evening air, or an indoor venue when heat or rain changes your plans.
Mt. Atlanticus Minotaur Golf offers two Atlantis-themed courses with waterfalls, caves, and playful obstacles. Ripley’s Crazy Golf provides an indoor alternative with black lights and unusual hole designs.
A round can fit between larger activities or become the main event after dinner. Look at the setting and your group’s interests when choosing a course, rather than assuming every venue offers the same experience.
Myrtle Beach State Park combines shoreline, a fishing pier, and maritime-forest trails on the southern side of the city. It’s a useful choice when you want beach time and a nature walk in the same outing.
Spend part of the visit under the trees, then head toward the ocean. The park’s setting offers a different experience from downtown, although it can still be busy on popular beach days.
Park admission and fishing fees are separate considerations. For a longer walking-focused outing, our guide to Myrtle Beach hiking trails explores additional places to enjoy the outdoors.
Brookgreen Gardens combines botanical gardens, American figurative sculpture, Lowcountry history, and a zoo. It’s south of Myrtle Beach in the Murrells Inlet area, so plan it as a dedicated outing rather than a quick stop between downtown attractions.
The gardens suit travelers who enjoy walking, art, and time outdoors. Build in pauses to appreciate the sculpture and landscape instead of trying to cover every part of the property.
General admission is valid for seven consecutive days, which can be useful on a longer stay. Special events may have different ticket requirements. Travel time varies with your starting point and traffic, so leave flexibility in the day.
A boat outing or jet ski rental lets you experience the waterways from a different angle. Myrtle Beach Watersports operates at Grande Dunes Marina, beside Marina Inn, with options including pontoon rentals and jet ski experiences.
Think first about whether you want to operate a rental yourself or join a guided outing. Driver requirements, passenger limits, and the route depend on the specific activity and operator.
Our watersports information introduces the nearby options. Book around the experience your group wants, remembering that weather can affect departures and wildlife sightings aren’t guaranteed.
Live entertainment offers a change of pace after a day outdoors. The Carolina Opry Theater presents music and variety entertainment, while Alabama Theatre offers its ICONIC show and seasonal productions. Pirates Voyage combines dinner with a live performance.
Choose by the type of evening you want: music, variety, or dinner and entertainment together. Check the calendar for your dates, since the production and performance schedule can change through the year.
Reserve a performance time before arranging the rest of the evening. That lets you plan dinner and travel without turning the night into a rush.
A satisfying day doesn’t need a ticket for every stop. Beach walks, the Boardwalk, and browsing the public areas of Broadway at the Beach or Barefoot Landing can fill time between paid experiences.
Keep the budget distinction clear: walking and browsing are different from buying meals, attraction tickets, or souvenirs. Beach parking may also add to the day’s cost.
For a lower-spend day, choose one paid activity and pair it with time outdoors. A beach morning followed by mini golf, or a Boardwalk stroll with one SkyWheel ride, gives the day variety without stacking several admissions.
If you’re comparing overall trip costs, our Myrtle Beach budget guide covers the main spending categories to consider.
Choose an indoor anchor for the day rather than driving from place to place hoping the rain stops. Ripley’s Aquarium and WonderWorks are both at Broadway at the Beach, making the area useful for combining an attraction with a meal.
You don’t have to visit both. Choose the experience your group prefers, then leave the afternoon flexible. Ripley’s Crazy Golf offers indoor mini golf downtown, and the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum is another option for visitors interested in changing exhibitions.
Coastal Grand Mall can suit a shopping-focused afternoon, while a live show gives you an evening plan. Outdoor activities such as boat outings and observation-wheel rides may still be affected by weather, even if part of the experience is enclosed.
A couples trip can be active, relaxed, or a little of both. Pair a Boardwalk walk with the SkyWheel, spend an afternoon at Brookgreen Gardens, or plan dinner overlooking the waterway.
If you want downtime during your stay with us, our in-room spa services include couples massages arranged through our concierge and priced separately. For more destination ideas, explore our guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach for couples.
Build the day around your children’s ages, interests, and energy levels. An aquarium visit, beach morning, or mini-golf round can work well without filling the entire day. For activities such as ropes courses, confirm participation requirements before buying tickets.
Leave room for meals and breaks between bigger outings. Our guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach with kids offers more ideas for different ages.
Let the day’s location guide dinner. Staying around the Boardwalk after a downtown outing or eating at Broadway after an attraction visit can reduce extra driving. Barefoot Landing is another option when your plans take you north.
At Marina Inn, our WaterScapes Restaurant offers indoor and outdoor patio dining. Our Reflections Kitchen & Bar, near the lobby, serves casual meals and drinks. Nearby 357 Raw is beside the resort along Grande Dunes Marina, with dining overlooking the waterway.
After dinner, choose a show, an oceanfront walk, or a downtown outing. Our Myrtle Beach nightlife guide can give you ideas if evening entertainment is a priority.
Summer lends itself to beach-focused plans, with indoor breaks useful during hotter parts of the day. Spring and fall can suit golf, gardens, and nature walks. In cooler months, indoor attractions and live shows can take a larger place in your itinerary.
Your preferred activities matter more than choosing one supposedly perfect season. Use our guide to the best time to visit Myrtle Beach to compare the type of trip you want.
Choose a place to stay that fits your route, too. Marina Inn at Grande Dunes is along the Intracoastal Waterway beside Grande Dunes Marina, not directly oceanfront. Our guest rooms, mini-suites, and full suites give you different options for short breaks and longer visits, with seasonal beach services for ocean outings.
Choose a few priorities, group nearby activities, and keep one indoor alternative in mind. The best Myrtle Beach itinerary leaves room for both planned outings and the moments you discover along the way.
When you’re ready to choose your stay, explore our current special offers or contact our resort with questions about rooms and services.
Make time for your favorite Myrtle Beach experiences: book your stay at Marina Inn at Grande Dunes.
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