Shopping In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Although Myrtle Beach used to be a quiet beach town for shaggers and swimmers, the transformation in the early 90s into a major vacation spot actually did it some good. There is plenty of shopping to be had by the family, especially during the off season.

There are two major shopping areas in Myrtle Beach: Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the Beach. Each has dozens of specialty outlet stores with boardwalks and bridges over lakes to reach them, turning the shopping experiences into scenic tours. I especially like the Egyptian themed store. Broadway has more activity surrounding it with Ripley's Aquarium, Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Café merely stone's throws away. Celebrity Square also hosts a dozen themed bars known to attract celebrities like Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis.

Barefoot Landing is in North Myrtle Beach. It is in a quieter, less crowded setting but has the same design as Broadway at the Beach with bridges and boardwalks in between stores. However, the House of Blues is also near by and it provides world-renown entertainment day and night.

If you are interested in trinket shopping, downtown Myrtle Beach is populated with several stores boasting thousands of useless-yet-memorable items. And at any given spot on Kings Highway you can expect to see three or four T-shirt shops.

If you are looking for good deals, be sure to go in the off season. Most hotels slash their prices. I used to work in one where we charged $125 a night in the summer, $40 in the winter for the same room! Take advantage of the hotel deals and low crowds to do power shopping!