4 Days in Myrtle Beach: First-Timer Plan

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Four days is the same long-weekend spine as the 3-day plan , just with room to breathe: the same Boardwalk, Broadway at the Beach, and Brookgreen Gardens days, plus a genuinely slow fourth day rather than a rushed morning before departure. If you want golf and North Myrtle Beach added on top of this, move up to the 5-day plan .

Book these before you go

Day 1: Arrival and the Boardwalk

Morning

Check in and get straight to the beach. Swim near a lifeguard and check the flag: green is fine, yellow is medium risk, a single red flag means stay out, double red closes the water, and blue warns of marine life. Rip currents are the real hazard here.

Afternoon

More beach time. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, only circular umbrellas up to 7.5 feet are allowed and tents or canopies are banned to keep lifeguard sightlines clear; alcohol and glass are banned on the beach year-round regardless of season.

Evening

Walk the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk & Promenade, 1.2 miles of oceanfront and free, and ride the SkyWheel (about $21 adult, check the current price). Dinner nearby, Calabash-style seafood is the easiest find close to the Boardwalk; expect the roughly 11.5% restaurant tax inside city limits on top of the check.

Day 2: Broadway at the Beach and a live show

Morning

Spend the morning and early afternoon at Broadway at the Beach, a separate 350-acre district about two blocks off the Boardwalk. Ripley’s Aquarium (about $43 adult/$27 child) or WonderWorks makes a good anchor; that’s the one outing for the day.

Afternoon

Beach or pool time to recover from the morning’s walking.

Evening

Catch a show: Carolina Opry or Alabama Theatre (the latter at Barefoot Landing) both cover country and variety acts. Pirates Voyage is the dinner-show option if you’d rather combine the two, though it’s a Dolly Parton production also running in Tennessee and Florida, not exclusive to Myrtle Beach.

Day 3: Brookgreen Gardens and Murrells Inlet

Morning

Drive about 18 miles south to Brookgreen Gardens, a major sculpture garden with the Lowcountry Zoo included in the same roughly $25 admission, good for 7 consecutive days. Across the highway, Huntington Beach State Park holds Atalaya Castle plus some of the best birding in the state, about $8 entry; it’s a separate park with a separate fee from Myrtle Beach State Park back in the city.

Afternoon

Walk the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk, a half-mile boardwalk over the marsh lined with seafood restaurants.

Evening

Dinner on the MarshWalk: Dead Dog Saloon, Drunken Jack’s, Wahoo’s, Bovine’s, The Wicked Tuna, and The Claw House all sit along it. Murrells Inlet calls itself the Seafood Capital of South Carolina, and it’s easy to see why once you’ve walked the whole strip.

Day 4: A slower day

Morning

No outing scheduled; sleep in and get one more real beach morning in before you have to think about packing.

Afternoon

Browse Market Common, the upscale, walkable shopping-and-dining complex built on a former Air Force base, for lunch and some low-key shopping. It’s a lighter alternative to Broadway at the Beach if you skipped anything there on day two.

Evening

An early dinner and pack for departure. If you’re flying out of Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), remember Spirit exited in May 2026, so double-check which airline is actually flying your route before you book.

Getting around and where to stay

A car is essential for this itinerary; Brookgreen Gardens, Huntington Beach State Park, and Murrells Inlet are all a real drive south of the Boardwalk core, and Coast RTA transit won’t get you there. The core Boardwalk area works well as a single base for all four days, since Market Common and Broadway at the Beach are both a short drive from it. If you’re traveling June through November, keep an eye on the tropical forecast; Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, peaking mid-August to mid-October.

One concrete tip: book the Carolina Opry or Alabama Theatre tickets before you leave home if you’re traveling in summer. Evening shows sell out weeks ahead in July, with no walk-up guarantee once you’re on the Strand.