Are you planning a fun family trip for spring break? Myrtle Beach makes an excellent choice for a family friendly spring break vacation! Though it may be a little chilly for swimming in the ocean and the waterparks won’t be open yet, don’t think for a minute that spring weather will limit your fun in the Myrtle Beach area. Instead, the cooler weather will make the parks and attractions more pleasant. There are also smaller crowds and plenty of kid friendly hotels with indoor pools to enjoy. Here is a list of things to do during spring break at Myrtle Beach, plus a schedule of how to fit it all in (complete with dining options).
Thank you to Visit Myrtle Beach and the many venues we visited for hosting Kidding Around.
Where to stay in Myrtle Beach?
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We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites Myrtle Beach/Oceanfront. The hotel is situated right on the beach and has multiple indoor and outdoor pools. The outdoor pools even have sprinklers and there is a lazy river and hot tub. Since it was April, we spent most of our time swimming in the indoor pool but the outdoor pools were open even though it was only early April.
Our room faced the ocean with a porch with rocking chairs and a table. It was pleasant to be able to watch the sunset over the ocean from the comfort of our room in the evening and the kids loved being able to open our porch doors to let in the fresh ocean breeze in the morning. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the complimentary “continental” breakfast at our Hampton included a hot bar with eggs and sausage, fresh waffles, fruit, and plenty of other choices. Not only is breakfast great but the breakfast room overlooks the ocean and it’s quite pretty. It was a good start to the day.
Hotels in Myrtle Beach with Indoor Pools
If you want the summer beach vacation experience during your Spring Break vacation, finding a hotel with an indoor pool is a must. Captain’s Quarters Resort Myrtle Beach offers a wonderful indoor lazy river and indoor pool that is open all year, so your spring break vacation will feel more like summer. The resort is kid friendly and is only a few miles drive to Broadway at the Beach, the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, and tons of attractions.
First Evening of Spring Break in Myrtle Beach – Catch a Dinner Show!
Who says that you need a full day to start having fun. Start your spring break vacation off right and make your first night part of vacation by heading to Medieval Times for a dinner show. The show will transport you right back to the Dark Ages. Upon entering the castle, you are immediately lords and ladies (complete with a crown). The show includes a full knight competition with horses followed by serious threat to the kingdom that requires an all-out sword fight to determine the best knight to defend the kingdom’s honor. It’s full of cheering, booing, and fun.
Tip: Make sure you plan plenty of time. The traffic into the Myrtle Beach area can be a little slow and you will want to arrive at the dinner show at least a half hour or more in advance.
Day 1 of Spring Break – Visit the Murrells Inlet & the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk
We decided to hit the ground running our first day of spring break in Myrtle Beach with an action-packed day at Murrells Inlet. Murrells Inlet is about a 45-minute drive from Myrtle Beach, but it’s well worth the drive.
Brookgreen Gardens – We started our morning at Brookgreen Gardens. I had researched the gardens online before our visit but was still amazed by the size and the beauty. We started out our morning in the gardens with a Creek Excursion that took us in a pontoon boat along the creek where we saw rice fields and wildlife (including a couple gators). The excursion is super family friendly, and it is interesting to watch your kids awe over the boat ride. We also learned quite a bit about the history of the area and the Brookgreen Gardens. After our boat ride, we spent time exploring the Children’s Discovery Room, Storybook Forest, Lowcountry Zoo, and the Gardens.
For lunch, we packed a picnic to eat at Brookgreen Gardens where we found ample picnic spots. There were also a couple restaurants on the grounds to choose from.
Huntington Beach State Park – After the gardens, we headed over to Huntington Beach State Park which was just a short distance down the road. This state park offers hiking, a wide 3 miles of beach, and Atalaya. Huntington Beach State Park is also one of the best places to spot birds in the Southeast. Our kids were tired and itching to get on the beach but I was able to sneak off first and get a peek inside Atalaya. You can tour Atalaya, the original 30 room winter home of the Huntingtons for just $2/person.
We decided to splurge on fresh seafood that night at the iconic Drunken Jack’s at the Murrells Inlet marshwalk. Our table offered a view of the ocean and I tried Chef Casey’s Risotto (an award-winning dish that has Mahi-Mahi, scallops, risotto, and lobster & crab cream sauce). It was a more expensive meal, but the atmosphere, fresh seafood, and cool decor made it worth the cost. Our kids felt very welcome as their kids’ meals came with pirate hats and they were presented with a gold coin at the end of the meal as a reward for “eating good”. After eating dinner, you can take a walk down the docks to watch native birds perching, boats cruising through the marsh, or even catch an evening sunset. The Murrells Inlet marshwalk is quite magical at sunset, and my kids loved looking at all the herons and seabirds hanging around.
Spending our first day of spring break in Murrells Inlet was really packed and resulted in some tired kids, so we elected to head back to the hotel after dinner where the kids had a quick swim before bed.
Day 2 of Spring Break – Myrtle Beach SkyWheel and Broadway at the Beach
We started our second day, by heading to Ripley’s Aquarium at Broadway at the Beach. The aquarium was really clean and brightly decorated and the exhibits were very nice. There was a shark tunnel, sting ray exhibit, jelly area, and more. I was impressed to see two sting ray petting tanks (one with some massive stingrays) and even a moon jelly touching tank. If you are looking for additional options beyond the aquarium Broadway at the Beach offers shopping and several kid-friendly attractions including Ripley’s Odditorium, Ripley’s Movie Theatre 5D, Ripley’s Mirror Maze, Wonderworks, and a nice playground. Broadway at the Beach is one of our favorite attractions because it is super family friendly, offers live music and entertainment, has excellent dining options, and is a great way to spend a day during your spring break vacation.
After a couple hours at the aquarium, we ate lunch at Dagwood’s Deli. The burgers and sandwiches we ordered were absolutely delicious and we were glad that we arrived a little before noon as the restaurant quickly filled up soon after we arrived. It was an affordable meal too with most menu items priced under $10.
Dagwood’s Deli was located near several $5 parking lots where we were able to snag a parking space that was not only perfect for lunch but an easy walk to our next destination, the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel.
We had never ridden a ferris wheel as tall as the Skywheel before and we were all a little nervous (in fact, one of my kids almost backed out), but we decided to all give it a try. The line looked long but moved remarkably fast (I think that we were only in line for about 10 minutes). There was space for our entire family to be in one car and it felt safe and even had air conditioning. (If ferris wheels make you nervous, you will be glad to know that there is also an emergency button in the car too).
The Skywheel is in middle of the strip at Myrtle Beach where you can easily shop for souvenirs or walk along the Myrtle Beach boardwalk.
After the Skywheel, we headed to Savannah’s Playground, a massive all-inclusive playground for children. The playground offered a zipline, large playground, swings, and plenty of space to play. It’s also completely free.
Evening Entertainment & Dinner: We chose to experience the dinner show, Pirate’s Voyage, where we were delighted by acrobatics, singing, dancing, and animals. It was a fast-paced show with a lot of special effects and music and there were even mermaids.
Day 3 of Spring Break – Myrtle Beach Full Experience
On our third day, we decided to experience the heart of Myrtle Beach by heading out to nature followed by a relaxing game of mini golf (Did you know that Myrtle Beach is the mini golf capital of the world?).
We were struck immediately by the beauty of Myrtle Beach State Park. It’s a lovely drive into the park area where you will find a Nature Center and programming, a nature trail, a fishing pier, and a beach front. The hiking was very simple and easy for our two children and while we did not fish we did walk out on to the pier to get a better view of the ocean and shore. Our kids then played in the ocean despite it being a nippy 50 degrees outside. Fortunately, the park has rinsing stations and bathhouse where you can change. We packed a couple sandwiches figuring that our kids would be hungry before we left the park.
After the park, we decided to try our hand at mini golf. One thing, we noticed immediately when we drove into Myrtle Beach was how many mini golf options there were to choose from and they all looked fun. We chose Captain Hook’s Adventure Golf, which ended up being just perfect. The easier course, The Lost Boys was fun but not too difficult and our greens took us past mermaids, into a skull cave, near a pirate ship, and past numerous waterfalls.
After a good game of mini golf, you need ice cream! So we returned our putters and drove over to Kirk’s 1890s Ice Cream Parlor. There we found not only an excellent selection of ice cream flavors but also cute retro decor.
Dinner & Evening Entertainment – We were all in the mood for pizza that last night, so after a little bit of research we settled on Ducatis Trattoria and Pizzaria. We knew it was a good choice, the second we saw the ginormous garlic knots arrive at our table. The pizza was equally delicious.
After dinner we decided to cap our trip off with a night at the Carolina Opry. The show was truly amazing and our kids really enjoyed the singing and the dancing. We also saw a couple acts that gave a taste of Thunder and Light (a dance & laser light show) and Pure Magic the Wagsters (a magic show). Both performances were amazing and fun. The evening show did end up having a couple jokes and a song that were too close to PG-13 for our family. In addition, it was a little long for little kids (over two hours) but the music and dancing were incredible. Next time we are in town, we plan on snagging tickets for either the Thunder and Light show or the Pure Magic show as both of those are in the morning and our kids especially loved those acts.
Enjoying the Trip back home
On our way home, we decided to stop in route in Conway to see the LW Paul Living History Farm. This working farm is open to the public on Tuesdays-Saturdays from 9-4. You can either call ahead and schedule a tour or explore at your own pace. There are animals, restored original buildings, and it’s completely free. Check their schedule ahead of time as they also have events on the calendar. The farm is only about 45 minutes from Myrtle Beach. The Horry County Museum is also just a couple minutes away and is also free to the public.
Have you ever been to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break? What are your favorite things to do?
