The Ideal 3-Day Myrtle Beach Itinerary for Canadian Travelers
Make the Road Trip Worth the Stay!
The drive south is part of the adventure, and the payoff is 100 km of warm Atlantic coastline waiting at the end of it.
Myrtle Beach has been welcoming Canadian travelers for generations, so much so that we throw a Can-Am Days Festival in your honour every spring. So whether you are pointing the car south from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, or anywhere else in Canada, you will fit right in the moment you arrive.
Not up for the drive? Myrtle Beach is also easy to reach by air. Canadians living near the U.S. border can take advantage of convenient nonstop flights from nearby cities such as Niagara Falls/Buffalo, Detroit, and Plattsburgh. For many travelers, a short drive across the border can mean a quick, hassle-free flight straight to Myrtle Beach and more time enjoying The Beach.
Better still, the Grand Strand area is famously easy on the wallet, with a beach that never charges admission, walkable boardwalks, and resort deals that leave more room in the budget for the fun stuff.
Here is how to spend three easy, sun-soaked days, from the Oceanfront Boardwalk to the seafood docks of Murrells Inlet.
Day 1: Downtown & The Boardwalk
Breakfast
Enjoy Your Oceanfront Resort
After a long drive south, there is no reason to rush. Sleep in, then ease into your first morning with a relaxed breakfast right at your hotel. Myrtle Beach is loaded with oceanfront resorts, and a handful sit directly on the Boardwalk so you can roll out of bed and into the action, including Bay View on the Boardwalk, Homewood Suites by Hilton Oceanfront, and the Holiday Pavilion Resort. Rates run the full range from budget-friendly to upscale, so it pays to scan the latest deals before you book.
Morning Activity
Stroll The Beach
Once you are fueled up, shake off the road with a barefoot walk along the 100 km of beachfront that gives the Grand Strand its name. If the timing is right, wade into the Atlantic, where summer water temperatures climb to a balmy 30 degrees Celsius, far warmer than just about any lake you swim in back home. It is the easiest way to remember exactly why you pointed the car south.
Lunch
Lunch Over The Water
The Boardwalk is anchored by a pier at each end, and both are great spots to eat with the ocean right beneath you. Grab a table at Pier 14 Restaurant & Lounge, which sits literally over the water mid-Boardwalk, or head to the Second Avenue Pier for fresh seafood at Wicked Tuna. Either one turns a midday bite into the kind of view you drove all this way for.
Afternoon Activity
Myrtle Beach Boardwalk
Follow the coast to the iconic Oceanfront Boardwalk, which stretches 2 km along the shoreline and packs in arcade games, souvenir shops, and attractions for the whole crew. Test your nerve at Ripley's Believe It or Not!, play a round at Ripley's Crazy Golf, or simply browse the shops and people-watch your way down the promenade. Plan to lose a couple of hours here without noticing.
Dinner
RipTydz Oceanfront Grille & Rooftop Bar
After a day of walking, playing, and shopping, refuel right on the Boardwalk with oceanfront views and a rooftop bar built for sunset. The two-level space keeps the energy up with great drinks and regular live entertainment. If you are after island vibes instead, 8th Avenue Tiki Bar & Grill is just down the way.
Evening
Myrtle Beach SkyWheel
Stay right where you are and let the Boardwalk light up around you. Climb aboard SkyWheel Myrtle Beach for a gentle ride high above the coast, where the shoreline glitters below and the dark Atlantic stretches out to the horizon. It is a simple, scenic way to close out your first day at The Beach.
Day 2: Broadway & A Show
Morning Activity
Broadway at the Beach
No trip is complete without a visit to the largest entertainment complex in South Carolina. Broadway at the Beach offers more than 30 attractions, including WonderWorks, Broadway Grand Prix, Hollywood Wax Museum, Myrtle Waves Water Park, and Pavilion Fun Park. Wandering the complex and its lakeside paths costs nothing, so you only pay for the attractions you actually want to do. Pick a few favourites and build your morning around the lake.
Lunch
The Hangout
This is lunch with a side of entertainment, and yes, you are allowed to dance on the tables. Expect music, games, and a crowd-pleasing menu of seafood, burgers, and salads that keeps the whole group happy. It is part meal, part party.
Afternoon Activity
PopStroke
Myrtle Beach is one of the continent's great golf destinations, with more than 80 courses that have made it a bucket-list trip for Canadian golfers for decades. If you would rather work on your swing while you eat, PopStroke offers 18-hole putting courses with a cold drink delivered right to your spot on the green. It is a laid-back, no-pressure way to get a taste of the area's golf scene, no tee time or full bag required.
Evening
A Night at the Theater
Wrap up an epic day with the thing Myrtle Beach does best: a great show. For an all-in-one evening, the area's signature dinner shows feed you and entertain you at the same time. At Pirates Voyage
If you would rather keep dinner and a show separate, take your pick from more than 15 stages, like The Carolina Opry, the Alabama Theatre, the Greg Rowles Legacy Theatre, or Legends in Concert, then cap the night with a meal at one of Myrtle Beach's standout seafood spots such as Hook & Barrel.
Day 3: Surfside, Pawleys & Murrells Inlet
Early Morning
Sunrise Walk on Surfside Pier
Set an early alarm and start your final day with a quiet walk out on the newly rebuilt Surfside Beach Fishing Pier. Watch the anglers cast their first lines, take in the panoramic ocean views, and breathe in the salt air as the coast wakes up around you. It is a peaceful, only-in-the-morning kind of moment before the day gets busy.
Breakfast
Johnny D's Waffles & Benedicts
Surfside Beach
A trip to The Beach is not complete without a true Southern breakfast, the kind of grits, biscuits, and benedicts you just do not find back home, and the Surfside Beach location of Johnny D's is just around the corner from the pier. Load up on waffles and morning favourites before you point the car south. It is the right kind of fuel for a day of exploring.
Morning Activity
Pawleys Island
Just a 45-minute drive from downtown, Pawleys Island is one of the most historic resort communities on the East Coast. Spend the morning on its quiet beaches and wander past the weathered, generations-old summer homes that give the island its character. It is the Grand Strand at its most unhurried.
Lunch
Hammock Shops Village
Pawleys Island
Tucked beneath moss-draped oaks, Hammock Shops Village pairs locally owned boutiques and the original Pawleys Island rope hammock shop with some genuinely good places to eat. Browse the shops and watch the famous hammocks being hand-woven, then settle in for lunch at on-site favourites like Local or Bisqit. Right across the street sit two of the area's best tables, Bistro 217 and Rustic Table, both from renowned chef Adam Kirby.
Afternoon Activity
Brookgreen Gardens & Huntington Beach State Park
Murrells Inlet
A short drive up the road brings you to two of the area's most beloved attractions, both rooted in the legacy of the Huntington family. Brookgreen Gardens showcases the country's first public sculpture garden among 250-year-old live oaks, while Huntington Beach State Park is home to the striking Moorish-style Atalaya Castle. Between the two, gardeners, birders, and history buffs could happily fill the whole afternoon.
Dinner
Drunken Jack's
Murrells Inlet Marshwalk
Craving seafood? Then dinner belongs in Murrells Inlet, a fishing village dating back to the 1700s that earned the title "Seafood Capital of South Carolina." Settle in at Drunken Jack's, a longtime waterfront favourite known for the kind of just-off-the-boat freshness that is a real treat if you are coming from well inland. The rest of the MarshWalk is right there to wander too, from Dead Dog Saloon to Wicked Tuna, along with other standout Murrells Inlet tables like The Claw House and Bovine's.
Evening
Live Music on the MarshWalk
If you are not ready to call it a night, the MarshWalk keeps going after dinner with live bands and marshfront bars. Pull up a stool at the Dead Dog Saloon, take in the breeze, and toast the end of a long weekend well spent. It is the perfect last stop before the drive back north.