N. Carolina Beaches
 

We are starting to plan our family trip for 2003. One of the destinations we are considering is the North Carolina coast.<BR><BR>Any opinions on the beaches around Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head? I'm curious about water temperature, general cleanliness, family atmosphere, etc.<BR><BR>How might it compare to Florida coast such as Cocoa Beach?

Johnny Boy, <BR><BR>Suggest you purchase a map of the East Coast. Both Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head are in South Carolina.<BR><BR>Mr. Mappy

Thank you Mr. Mappy. As soon as I posted I realized my mistake. <BR><BR>So to clarify what about these beaches in SOUTH Carolina?

We vacationed in S. Carolina in Myrtle Beach last summer for one week. (July). Water was extremely warm, cleanliness was just o.k. Not so great. Not awful just o.k. I did not like the fact that I felt the water flow was rather odd. Difficult to explain, but it comes way up on the beach at high tide, then way out in low tide. Very exaggerated. As a result, if you want to be close to the water, even at a halfway point you are sitting in wet sand. It was that way the entire time I was there. We stayed there for free at a friends place, so it was cost-effective for a week, but other than that factor I would not be overly enthusiastic to return. Just my opinion. There are a lot of things to do, a family get a way. There are shows to see, a lot of shopping. Very crowded also. It is a typical vacation shore get a way. I was in N.Myrtle beach.

Johnny Boy you may want to post this under South Carolina beaches you may get some responses. Also do a search in the text box. Much has been said on Hilton Head. Just an idea.

South Carolina has wide sandy beaches with extremely warm water in the summer. Think mid to upper 80's water temp with air temps in the 90's.<BR><BR>Myrtle Beach is a family beach as the Grand Strand is 60 miles long. Hilton Head is more laid back.

My above all favorite place in the Carolinas is the Nags Head/ Kitty Hawk area. <BR><BR>The beaches are absolutely beutiful, and don't ask me why, but you almost have the whole beach to yourself except for long weekends.<BR><BR>Lots of decent restaurants for families, and some real hidden gems if you ask the locals.<BR><BR>Lots of surf shops to rent boogie boards etc. Nags Head is considered the #1 spot on the east coast for surfing, and sailborading.<BR><BR>Lots of small hotels and some great apartment style.<BR><BR>Word of advice, water is ice cold until mid July, and don't go without a reservation.<BR><BR>The further you go to the tip of the Island, the more you distance yourself from the tourist, and there is a beuatiful well known lighthouse down there.<BR><BR>Richard

My above all favorite place in the Carolinas is the Nags Head/ Kitty Hawk area. <BR><BR>The beaches are absolutely beutiful, and don't ask me why, but you almost have the whole beach to yourself except for long weekends.<BR><BR>Lots of decent restaurants for families, and some real hidden gems if you ask the locals.<BR><BR>Lots of surf shops to rent boogie boards etc. Nags Head is considered the #1 spot on the east coast for surfing, and sailborading.<BR><BR>Lots of small hotels and some great apartment style.<BR><BR>Word of advice, water is ice cold until mid July, and don't go without a reservation.<BR><BR>The further you go to the tip of the Island, the more you distance yourself from the tourist, and there is a beuatiful well known lighthouse down there.<BR><BR>If you want a relatively quite vacation with loads of beach for the kids, and beautiful ocean sunsets go here.<BR><BR>Florida would be my second choice, as it is way to touristy compared to the above.<BR><BR>Richard

Yo Richard, having a few tech problems?

We went to Myrtle Beach in July this year and stayed in a motel with kitchettes across from the beach. It was just OK as the previous post said. We did like the ability to run up from the pool or over from the beach and make lunch without having to clean up to go out. There are a wide range of price ranges starting from $39-59 a night across the street from the beach and $89-99 on the beach Sun-Thurs. The weekend was more crowded but midweek was fine. The beach is almost endless but we found that we liked MB State Park's beach the best. We stopped in Hilton Head for an afternoon a couple of years ago. I am not sure but I think you'd find it more expensive than MB and less family oriented. However, you won't find the numerous junky souvenir &amp; t-shirt shops and Ripley's Believe It or Not in HH either! You can also consider a beach house or condo. You can find a beach condo for 4 for $600-1000 per week in the high season in MB. Be sure to check on the cleaning/linen/etc. fees though. They can vary and are standard tack-ons.

lets put it this way - Myrtle Beach is for the spring breakers, or, when not spring break season, the blue collars.<BR><BR>Hilton Head is definately more upscale, cleaner - the &quot;white collars&quot;

Let me just say that I would recommend either the Outer Banks or the Brunswick Island Beaches to anything SC has to offer. Especially if you are looking for a 'family-type' vacation. The water will be plenty warm &amp; you will not have any of the crowding like the places mentioned. Try Holden Beach or Sunset Beach. Still close enough to myrtle if you want to try it for a day but much more serene.

Most people think Myrtle Beach is that short junky part of town where all the crap is. Most of MB is very nice.<BR><BR>Not too big of a difference in the beaches from Northern Florida up through North Carolina. Geographically they are the same. It is the cities that surround them that are different.

I was in Myrtle Beach afew weeks ago. I enjoyed the beach. Not tropical but ok.<BR>You would never find me there in the summer. But I definately would go back next October.

Johnny Boy<BR><BR>as one of the xxx posters above suggested, do a search of this website using the search terms *myrtle beach* and *hilton head.* A whole lot has been said about both places.<BR><BR>I had to laugh at xxx's comment about the tides. Yes, we do have tides--there's a high tide and a low tide (and ebb and flow tides inbetween). Because much of the beach here is very flat, the differences between low and high can be extreme. In fact, I recall a week of very high tides this past Summer (and it may have been in July or August). Anyway, the flat beach makes for great walking at low tide.<BR><BR>Myrtle Beach is the heart of the grand strand, which as mentioned above is 60 miles long. There are several other disctinct beach communities, e.g., from North to South: North Myrtle Beach, MB, Surfside, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield (a very nice beach resort, no tackiness within miles), and Pawleys Island. MB (and N. MB to an extent) are kind of the center of things as far as activities &amp; attractions, with fewer people and nicer/more expensive places further south, i.e., Litchfield and Pawleys Island.<BR><BR>HH is simply more upscale than MB. HH would be fine for a family, so long as you don't need lots of attractions such as aquarium, miniature golf, amusement parks, dinner shows (e.g., Dixie Stampede, Medieval Times).<BR><BR>Wherever you go, have a great time!