Looking for somewhere to go with the wife and infant in mid august for 3-4 days.  Still pretty new to the area and the wife wants to go to myrtle beach.  I don't have an issue with that, just looking for options.  We are in fayetteville and have about a 4 hour tdistance limit.  Lets hear any ideas that you all can muster.

Well that all depends on what you expect.If you want a very quiet family type beach with not a whole lot of hoopla you can't go wrong with topsail island.Carolina beach has a little more excitement while still being family oriented . From my expereience myrtle can be over crowded but that might be me cause I tend to try to get away from people if I can.On the other hand myrtle does have some cool  things like Barefootlanding with many shops and restaurants and even some tigers.I admit it was fun

Definitely like to avoid crowds if possible, looking into the topsail island thing.  Any reccomendations on to dos in that area?

Topsail to me doesn't have much to do's There is a good family restaurant right before you get to the bridge called batsons gally,last time I was there good food.Theres a few more restaurants a few more bars like buddy's and the brass pelican and such theres also the rocket museum from the testing during ww2 but thats just about it for the to do's, oh I forgot the turtle hospital don't know if there open to public though.There does seem to be a new gunshop that has opened up close to there but I haven't had a chance to visit it maybe someone else can give some insight.

Sunset Beach or Ocean Isle Beach has been our go to spot for a while.  Both are pretty laid back and not too crowded.  Wilmington is a short trip north and N. Myrtle and Myrtle are a quick drive south. Wilmington has a few tours that you can do to get your history fix, if you are in to that type of thing.  And Myrtle Beach is MB.  Lots of shopping down there.  

Sunset Beach has a great restaurant right before you cross the bridge over, Twin Lakes.  We stop in there every time we are down that way.  There's also a largish eatery down in Calabash that made one of the best steaks that I've ever had.  Not to mention the fresh seafood. Can't remember the name of it right now...Captain something or other.

We recently switched over to the Charleston/Folly Beach area.  The drive down I-26 is much shorter for us than working our way to the NC beaches.

CHRIS

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SUNSET BEACH +1

Sunset and Ocean Isle Beach +1. I lived and worked for my brother in law there every summer during college. Not too much to do, but are family beaches. For seafood visit Billy Bass at Calabash. Small place by any standards, but has the best seafood bar none.

If you go to Myrtle Beach, prepare to go early to eat dinner and prepare to stand in line. Something I would not recommend with the infant.

m

I was just thinking, FWIW, when the infant gets a little older, you may try the MB thing. They have a lot of stuff for kids to do, like the big aquarium, the nascar racing go karts, mini golf places, etc.

Also, regardless of where you go, and what you're into, even if you go to one of the bigger beaches like MB, that doesn't mean you have to stay at the grand strand in MB city limits. There are a lot of other beaches in that general area, like Surfside, Garden City, and up around North Myrtle or others. And sometimes when I've gone, as you live here longer, ask around with people you meet locally, or when you're down at some of the beaches, you may learn of people who have condos or houses for rent, that are comparable to the cost of a hotel. Especially if you share the cost w/ another couple / family, but if you get a good enough deal you can swing it on your own. Anyway, my point about that is, I've been to MB in the middle of a very busy weekend, but it didnt' affect us because we brought food and hit walmart on the way in, so we walked from the condo to the beach and back, and rarely had a reason to venture out, unless we wanted to.

I say try a different beach area when you go each time and get familiar with them, all of the ones mentioned are good. Topsail is also near Wrightsville beach / Wilmington, pretty much anything in that area is cool. I know when I lived in Raleigh that was a destination of choice because it was so easy to get there from 40.

Anyway, good luck and have fun.

Karz

Thanks for the advice, gents, dont think Household 6 is going to budge much from her initial inklings of MB...so, with the wealth of knowledge here, how can i stay sane (I might have to leave the room once or twice).

Bass Pro Shop, Barefoot Landing, regular and mini golf, and of course...find a package store.
CHRIS

That drive is so much smoother and quicker! There's no good way to get to MB from Charlotte

OBX is a much more relaxed beach trip. Not as tourist trappy as Myrtle. The mountains are just a bit outside your travel limit but not by much. Plenty of vacation spots in the mountains and much cooler weather up the hill then you will find on the beach in august. The little one might appreciate that if you plan to do a lot of outdoorsy type stuff.

If you're gonna stay on the beach itself much, w/ an infant, I'd suggest either bringing your own cabana (pop-up or otherwise), or accessing the beach near one of the populated areas that rent them (but that limits the time you can spend at the beach based on when they rent, and you may want to go earlier or stay later).

Going to the beach w/ a kid is more work than by yourself or as a couple, in case you haven't tried. And the work load doesn't go down much as they get older, at least up until 7, as far as I know. Definitely can be fun, don't get me wrong, but being prepared is a good thing. Sometimes the beach is too hot or too windy, and some sort of cover is gonna be good for the little one and whoever is watching. Remember too, little kids are close to the ground, when the wind kicks up, we hardly feel it on our hairy legs, but their faces and eyes are down there, and they're not gonna like that much. One time w/ the kid at the beach, if I didn't have my pop-up cabana thing, the kid wouldn't have had any place to play coz she needed something to block the wind.

I know I recommended finding a condo or house in an earlier post, but if you do look for a hotel, some have more amenities than others. Some have lazy rivers you and the fam can float down, some have pools to lounge around, some have indoor pools that come in handy in rough weather, some even have kid activities or child watch, maybe not for infants, but just more food for thought later.

If you want some good food, Murrell's Inlet is known for some of the better restaurants, and there are hotels in nearby Garden City on the beach. Both of these are south of Myrtle Beach. There's also a shooting range and gun store right there on that main road down to Murrell's Inlet. Can't remember the name of it off the top of my head, but you'll see the sign on the right if you make that turn off 17 to Murrell's Inlet.

As far as tourist trap buffet's the best one I've been to is the one directly across from Broadway at the Beach (the big shopping center w/ the hard rock cafe pyramid and all that). That seafood buffet is a few bucks more than some of the other ones up and down 17, but imo is the best, tons of fresh crab legs, scallops, shrimp, oysters, etc., and the dessert bar alone is worth going for.

Broadway at the Beach is also a fun time to walk around, especially in the evening after the sun goes down. Lots of bars there, from nightclubs to piano bars, and even karaoke. There are some restaurants in there too, and boardwalks/bridges that take you around the shopping campus, you can feed the fish and watch em climb each other for the fish food you buy out of the container, etc.

Have fun.

Karz

PS if you are a golfer, I can make some recommendations there too...

I appreciate all the thorough detail, fellas, tried to press for somewhere that wasn't Myrtle, but Household 6 pretty muchw as decided...and ya gotta keep momma happy

We're staying at the Patricia Grand Resort

Ultimately she wanted beach access.  Still taking restaraunt suggestions in the area, i really enjoy a nice meal (Or as nice as one can have with a 5 month old in tow)

Again, thanks for your suggestions everyone, and if you have anymore...im all ears!

Myrtle Beach isn't as bad as some make it out to be, I think you and your family will have a great time. Make sure to check out the new boardwalk. As for food, I've never been but have heard great things about "Drunken Jacks" in Murrells Inlet.