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The Grand Strand is filled with beautiful places and great restaurants. If you play your dining cards right, you can experience both at the same time.
From oceanfront bars and grills to restaurants overlooking the scenic salt marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry, the Strand is like one big all-you-can-eat-and-see buffet. Here are five hot spots with awesome food and views:

• Bandito’s: This large oceanfront cantina offers the flavors of Mexico and the Caribbean with views to match. Located at the north end of the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, this sprawling, 3,000-foot restaurant also features a huge back porch that is just steps away from the beach. Enjoy fish tacos and frozen drinks while watching the waves roll ashore just feet away.

• Dead Dog Saloon: Really, any of the dozen or so restaurants on the Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk offer similar views, but the Dead Dog may be the coziest. Featuring comfy seats and even a hammock on the patio deck, the Dead Dog features great views of fishing boats bringing home the day’s catch. Much of it ends up on the Dead Dog menu, like the shrimp tacos and blackened grouper sandwich.

• Gulfstream Café: Located just across Murrells Inlet on the Garden City Beach peninsula, Gulfstream offers ocean views on one side of the restaurant and a beautiful vista of the inlet on the other. A large patio deck allows for a rare western view of sunset over the water, and the fresh seafood that comes into the adjoining marina is on the menu. Try the shrimp and grits and the crab cakes.

• Sea Captain’s House: This historic establishment has been serving fresh local seafood to locals and visitors for more than 60 years. The food is award-winning, and so is the view. Large pane-glass windows give guests a nice angle of the ocean and the screened-in patio porch is jut steps away from the beach. Southern cooking and creative seafood dishes complete the experience.

• Anchor Cafe: Located on the Intracoastal Waterway at one of the Strand’s most exclusive resorts, the Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, the Marina Inn features a large outdoor deck surrounded by yachts and other watercraft. The sun sets over the Waterway and provides the perfect backdrop as boats pass by. It’s a great place for a romantic date or happy hour dinks and appetizers with friends. If you’re lucky enough to have a boat, tie up and party down.

Thrill seekers of all kinds will find plenty to do in Myrtle Beach. Whether its being propelled 300 feet in the air, or soaring high above the ocean, your vactation is sure to be a thrilling one. 

Sling Shot
Prepare for the adrenaline rush of your life, as you and a friend are propelled more than 300 feet in the air reaching speeds of up to 100 mph! The ride then proceeds to oscillate until you are finally brought back down. Want to watch your reaction? There’s an onboard camera filming it all.  This thrill is located on the corner or 12th Ave N and Ocean Blvd.

SkyWheel
Soar 20 stories high on this giant ferris wheel-esque ride. Get in one of the climate-controlled gondolas and prepare for picture perfect views of the ocean and downtown Myrtle Beach. Even the outside is a sight to see, covered in LED lights it puts on a breathtaking show. The SkyWheel is located on the boardwalk next to Landshark Bar and Grill.

Family Kingdom
Family Kingdom was thrills fit for the whole family. With over 35 rides including roller coasters, there is no shortage of fun here. Soar in a pirate ship as the Galleon takes up high into the air or experience the drop of your life on the Sling Shot. Bring the whole family to 3rd Ave S and Ocean Blvd for the time of their life.

Myrtle Waves Water Park
Rush down at 50 feet per second on the Turbo Twisters or fly into the air on the Riptide Rockets or fly through the dark twists and turns of the Night Flight. These are just a couple of the thrilling slides at Myrtle Waves Water Park. Get your share of water and fun at South Carolina’s largest water park located on highway 17 across from Broadway at the Beach.

Jetpack Adventures
Want to fly above the water? At Jetpack Adventures you can do just that. Strap on a jetpack and shoot out of the water and into the sky for the ultimate thrill. No need to have any experience, you will have a qualified instructor with you at all times. So experience the exhilaration and weightlessness of flying! Jetpack Adventures is 2915 (29th Ave S) Ocean Blvd, beside Damon’s Oceanfront Restaurant.

Zipline Adventures
Zip 600ft in the air at speeds up to 40 mph then free fall from a 60-foot tower for this beachside adventure. Race against others with the 6 side-by-side ziplines for guaranteed fun. Zipline Adventures is located on 9th Ave S by the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk.

Myrtle Beach Water Sports
Ride through the surf on a banana boat then soar high above the ocean as you get 360 degree views of Myrtle Beach. Fly with a friend or two and enjoy this relaxing ride. Parasailing combines thrills of acceleration and altitude as you sit back and take in the breathtaking views. Bounce around on the banana boat as it takes you to the parasailing boat, and jump through the surf and experience the thrill of a jetski with a little more padding. Myrtle Beach Water Sports is located on 4th Ave S, past Family Kingdom.

With so many choices, you are sure to find the thrill that is right for you and your family.

Did you know the best family-friendly evening party in Myrtle Beach happens nightly—and it’s totally free? If not, then you haven’t heard about the Myrtle Beach Hot Summer Nights on the boardwalk, which takes place just a few minutes walk from Holiday Inn at the Pavilion.

During the day, the boardwalk has all the shopping, people watching and dining you could want, along with great views and ocean breezes. But at night, the boardwalk and nearby Plyler Park and really heats up with free events every night during the summer with Hot Summer Nights, which run every night from June 2 to September 29. The action takes place at Plyler Park, part of the boardwalk on the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Mr. Joe White Avenue.

Here are a few highlights of what’s in store at the nightly Hot Summer Nights events:

• Look for a whole lotta shakin’ from a roving Elvis impersonator performing in Plyler Park and even down to 9th Ave.
• Monday nights June through September, the boardwalk will be outfitted for a kids’ carnival in the park replete with bouncy inflatables, games, street performers and face painting.
• Live music, featuring both local and touring bands from the region, will light up the stage Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights from 7 to 11 p.m. The schedule hasn’t been set yet, but last year’s lineup included reggae, country rock and beach music bands.
• Wednesday nights the sky will explode with the best fireworks show at the beach off the 2nd Avenue Pier, and look for live music on the 9th Avenue stage from 7 to 11 p.m. Expect extra special fireworks extravaganzas for July 4 and Labor Day.
• Friday nights from 7 to 11 p.m., visitors can enjoy the jaunty tunes from a strolling Dixieland trio along the boardwalk.

The Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade, while three years old, is a delightfully old-school beach experience, and it’s one of the top-ranked boardwalks in the U.S. The northern section is a classic wooden boardwalk, and along with the middle, carnival-like commercial section and the southern park-like section, the boardwalk traverses nearly 1.5 miles of beach from the 2nd Avenue to 14th Avenue piers. 

Hot Summer Nights on the boardwalk has become one of the best-kept secrets for free family fun in Myrtle Beach, but the secret is starting to get out! Make your plans to visit Holiday Inn at the Pavilion in Myrtle Beach now, and be sure to add Hot Summer Nights to your agenda.

As Myrtle Beach’s Oceanfront  Boardwalk enters its third full year, it continues to be a favorite destination with vacationers and locals alike.

In fact, National Geographic Travel named the Myrtle Beach boardwalk the third best boardwalk in the nation, behind only Atlantic City and Coney Island! “The launch of the Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk & Promenade in summer 2010 breathed new life into the Grand Strand beachfront. From souvenir shops and arcades to an oceanfront park near the 2nd Avenue Pier, the 1.2 mile walkway is now the town’s hub of activity.” We couldn’t agree more!

The boardwalk runs up the beach from the 2nd Avenue to the 14th Avenue piers. There are three distinct areas of boardwalk, each with a slightly different feel, so there’s plenty of variety to be enjoyed.

The north end of the boardwalk from Pier 15 to Plyler Park is the classic, old-school raised wooden deck boardwalk. This is where you can come enjoy free entertainment with Hot Summer Nights, from live music to Elvis impersonators and even a kids’ carnival on Monday nights and free fireworks on Wednesdays and holidays during the summer. Hot Summer Nights run every night from June through September and on most weekend nights in the spring and summer.

The middle section of the boardwalk from Plyler Park to the former site of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion has a carnival-like atmosphere and is filled with shopping, restaurants and bars, plus gift shops where you can load up on all the souvenirs you promised your friends back home.

The southern section is the promenade, and it runs from the pavilion down to the 2nd Avenue Pier. This is where you’ll find a more park-like atmosphere, with beautiful landscaping and benches to sit and soak up the gorgeous scenery.

Of course, all of this is located just steps from *Holiday Inn – “At the Pavilion”, which makes it easy to enjoy this don’t-miss destination the next time you visit Myrtle Beach.

*Not affiliated with the national chain.