Hello, My husband and I have decide to celbrate our 40th anniversay next year by takingall of our children and grandchildren on a beach vacations week long getaway. We are looking for someplace we could travel to that is wihin 700 miles of Lexington, KY. Our daughter-in-laws love the beach. We plan to go some time next next May. We need a home that sleeps 10-12. I'm really interested in choosing a location. We'll also be bringing two well behaved dogs with us on this trip. We'd like to stay in the Charleston area, but are not all that experienced in the beaches. W're looking forward to getting some suggestions. Thank you, Nancy

Lots of places in the Southeast. Isle of Palms or Folly Beach if you want to be near Charleston. Tybee Island, GA is nice too. I don't have personal experience with North Carolina beaches, but I know there are a lot of them, and they're nice. Myrtle Beach, SC, is always fun too. You should be able to rent a house in most of these places. Myrtle Beach will be more condo-ish, most likely.
The locals will probably not be in the ocean in May, but I'm happy to swim in these places then, as I'm used to Jersey beaches. NC beaches might be a little iffier for swimming that early.

The weather on the NC beaches in May is typically excellent. Check out www.visitnc.com & www.ncbrunswick.com. If you want to be more sure of great weather, I'd hit Amelia Island, but it is likely outside of your parameters for distance.

In Mid-May, the weather on the Carolina shore is almost always wonderful, not as hot as in the summer or as humid. The ocean temperature will still be cooler than I prefer, maybe 69 degrees.

We love beach vacations in May; usually have stayed at condos/inns -love Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms, Hilton Head, & Amelia Island.

Check out the Charleston area beaches. We have been going to Sullivan's Island for the past three summers and absolutely love it. It has no hotels and a limited number of rental properties, which is one reason we enjoy it so much. Isle of Palms is right next to Sullivan's Island and is also very nice, but a little more resort-y, with more rental homes, condos, and the Wild Dunes resort. Both of these islands are about 20 minutes or so from downtown Charleston. We have rented from Island Realty each time we've stayed there, but Carroll Realty also has properties available, as well as VRBO.

kiawah......beach is fantastic, and for a large family it is the perfect place. You can cut the kids loose with bikes and not worry a second....miles of bike trails, wide beach, etc..close enough to Charleston to go there several times during a week (35 min drive).