Best US beach destinations
 

Any suggestions for an economical US beach vaction locale for a family of 5 (kids 19-24). Ideal would be beachfront house rental package, with access to sea fishing for the guys, some nightlife and shopping for the gals. Looking for some positive feedback as the options are endless.

Thanks

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

North of MB--Ocean Isle, Sunset Beach NC. On up the NC coast near Wilmington--Kure Beach, Atlantic Beach. South of MB, Garden City, Surfside SC. Be advised if it is in the summer "economical" may be quite relative for beachfront house rental.

Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. The island is beautiful and there is tons to do. We stayed at the Westin and they have activities going on everday. There are many timeshares available on the island. A lot of the Marriot properties look nice. I see a lot of them posted to rent on ebay. Hilton Head has lots of fun restaurants, shops and places to go walk around at night. There are fireworks a couple a nights a week also. We like Harbortown and Shelter Cove. I'm sure there is fishing too, we went on a cocktail dolphin cruise and it was fun.

dare i say New Jersey, the south jersey shore has some of the nicest beaches i've seen, i've been to several... the thing is, mixing night life in, if you go south of atlantic city you can find really nice places you can always drive up to atlantic city for the evening. you can stay in ocean city, has big beaches, with ocean front rentals, a boardwalk for the kids, you can drive to cape may for a quieter vacation, but a day trip and shopping in town is fun. i also liked ocean city maryland to keep everyone occupied. have fun

dare i say New Jersey, the south jersey shore has some of the nicest beaches i've seen, i've been to several... the thing is, mixing night life in, if you go south of atlantic city you can find really nice places you can always drive up to atlantic city for the evening. you can stay in ocean city, has big beaches, with ocean front rentals, a boardwalk for the kids, you can drive to cape may for a quieter vacation, but a day trip and shopping in town is fun. i also liked ocean city maryland to keep everyone occupied. fishing out of any of the back bay areas, atlantic city, cape may etc. have fun

You don't say what part of the country you're from or whether you're driving or flying.

I know I'll get dissed for this suggestion, but here goes. How about Galveston. Okay, the beaches don't look like they do in Clearwater. But there is lots to do, especially for teens. We've been renting houses on the beach since my kids were small, and we've never left bored or dissatisfied. They're now 18 & 20 and still love to go. The accomodations are truly reasonable. Most of the houses are just steps from the water. There's even limited surfing. My husband and son have taken fishing trips, there's quite a bit of shopping and even some historical homes to tour. Have fun whatever you choose to do!
H

We have fantastic beaches and great fishing on the great lakes here in northern lower Michigan. http://www.mytraversecity.com/ There is tons to do in the area, golf, wineries, a small zoo, casinos, great restaurants and shopping, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore http://www.nps.gov/slbe/ , hiking, biking, hot air ballooning, all sorts of watersports and more! Traverse City is also only two hours from Mackinac Island, which is a fun place to go. Petoskey is another fun town, as is Harbor Springs, albiet much smaller.