I've checked condos, hotels, inns for this summer, and Myrtle Beach seems to give you WAY more for your money than Wrightsville, Emerald Isle, OBX, etc. Have been to the Carolina beaches but never Myrtle Beach. Is the price disparity due to so many high-rise condos, etc. in Myrtle Beach, in other words, is it the competition?

I totally got that thread title BACKWARDS!!!! SORRY! DUH!!! Oh, well, can't change it now!

Maybe just volume. More people on the beaches due to a higher concentration of units.

ttt ...

The difference is you'll be paying for an entire cottage in the Brunswick Islands, not a room or Condo. Try Oak Island, Holden Beach, Sunset Beach or Ocean Isle. You're also paying for a lack of underage drinking, hordes of cars & people, & a place on the beach where you don't have to step over someone to get to your spot. In fact you can leave you 'stuff' set up all week & no one will bother it.

I don't know why that is.

There really isn't a concentration of high rises anywhere in Myrtle Beach. There are a few here and there but they are kinda spread out.

There also isn't underage drinking. The police heavily patrol the beach for this.

GoT - you may want to take a look around in a month or so when the high schools have all graduated. There will be many kids, fresh out of HS, downing a beer or twelve. My brother in law has been there the past two years & my nephew will likely be there this year. It is a huge destination for kids in the Midwest & Canada. All underage.

SAnParis,

elsiemoo said that she compared condos, hotels, and inns in both NC locations and MB. She didn't say that she had compared condo rooms in MB to cottages in NC. So your comment wouldn't explain the price difference she saw. Incidentally, the MB area has LOTS and LOTS of beach cottages. Obviously, they are not in the heart of MB (say, 30th Ave North to 27th Ave South).

elsiemoo, it is probably volume. MB has tons of rental units, and with a lot of new condos coming on line in the past year or so, there is lots of competition.

Also, although some might accuse SAnParis of a little gratuitous Myrtle-Beach bashing , undoubtedly you'll encounter much more crowded conditions in and around MB than in the NC beaches. More rowdiness too? Yes, probably in the heart of MB, but little difference between North Myrtle Beach/Surfside Beach/Garden City Beach and any of the NC beaches.

If you don't mind a more crowded area, price is a key issue for you, and you've never been to MB before, I say come on down. The MB area has lots to do (lots more options than the NC beaches, which I also love).

Either way, have a great time!

I will be renting for a week at Topsail starting May 19. The cottage is on the beach and has 4 bedrooms. It will cost me $1285 for the week. However, during summer peak the same cottage goes for $2400. After Aug. 24, it goes for $1285 a week for a while and then $655 after Sept. 15, a great bargain and a great time to be at the beach in the South barring a hurricane. My cottage is pretty typical for the beachfront at Topsail.

Thank you, everybody! A little more input from me here ... We (dh & I) typically rent a duplex/house/condo on Emerald Isle (a couple of times at Topsail) and love it, rent at a hotel off-beach at Wrightsville, but this year, we want somewhere different for 3 or 4 days with a 9 year old, in mid to late June. Having a pool is very important, other interesting things for kids in vicinity, and good seafood restaurants. After much research, I'm thinking NORTH Myrtle Beach in one of the oceanfront condos with lazy river pool, etc. I don't want super-congestion, but normal crowds don't bother me, and I'd like other kids around. Any suggestions for a particular condo or rental company for that area? I can choose from the Internet, but like to hear personal experience.

As far as comparing NMB/MB with Carolina coast, it's all wonderful, but you don't seem to have the same type of resort/pool complexes on the NC coast, except for Shell Island/HI Sunspree/Blockade Runner on Wrightsville ... not really the same, and about twice as expensive!

Thanks again, everyone!

BD - You know I am not a huge fan of MB (lol) However, if I still golfed I would certainly head down that way in the off season. From June - August, you couldn't pay me enough to visit MB proper.

elsiemoo, here's a good website to check out northmyrtlebeach.com

I have walked thru Crescent Shores and SouthShore Villas and both are very nice.

There are soooooo many still being built, so maybe if you start with this site, you can work your way to others.

To me, Wrightsville Beach is the most overpriced beach in NC/SC. I don't understand how they get people to pay what they do there. And the beach isn't even that nice (shelly, with some steep dropoffs). I guess the proximity to Wilmington is a plus, but that commute is getting worse and worse. The beaches around Charleston make more sense to me if one wants to be near a neat downtown area.

Brian is absolutely correct about the sprawl between Wrightsville and Wilmington. It's pretty ugly sprawl, too, from Walmart to Hooters to every other American fast food franchise.

SAnParis,

ssshhhhh! Don't tell everyone how awesome MB is from September to June. I've gotten used to having it (almost) all to myself.

No say something bad about MB to make amends. ;-)

oops . . . that would be: NOW say something bad.