The 5 Biggest Mistakes Myrtle Beach Tourists Make, According To Locals

As one of the top beach destinations in the United States, Myrtle Beach holds a special place for vacationers. Overall, the city receives around 17 million visitors annually (via Visit Myrtle Beach), thanks to its gorgeous shoreline, abundance of attractions, and family-friendly atmosphere.

But being a top tourist spot means Myrtle Beach requires a bit of foresight and planning, especially if you want a hassle-free vacation. With so many people coming to the city and so many things to do, it's easy to not know exactly how to prepare your itinerary. Unfortunately, many first-timers make a lot of the same mistakes when coming to the city, which can sour the experience and may deter them from coming back.

To help you get the most out of your beachside getaway, we've scoured local tourism websites, blogs, and discussions from Myrtle Beach residents on websites like Quora, Reddit, and Tripadvisor to uncover common mistakes that visitors encounter. From exploring other spots like North Myrtle Beach (which has calm, wide beaches just 30 minutes away) to knowing when to visit, here's everything you need to know.

One thing you'll notice when looking at Myrtle Beach is the sheer number of hotels and resorts within the city. Overall, there are over 150,000 accommodation units across 425 properties, so you have plenty of options, including the five highest-rated and most affordable hotels right on the dazzling Grand Strand.

The mistake is not just where you book, but when you do it. According to local YouTube travel bloggers Carmen and Brian, who live in Myrtle Beach, many visitors reserve their rooms either too late or too early, leading to higher costs. For example, because rooms fill up quickly (especially during peak season, which runs from June to August), waiting until the last minute means you'll be paying premium prices, even for basic rooms.

However, booking well in advance doesn't necessarily prevent higher prices, as room rates can fluctuate throughout the year. So, it's best to review rates regularly so you can lock in a lower price when discounts are available. Unfortunately, there isn't a set timeline for booking a hotel in Myrtle Beach, so you just want to stay vigilant when planning your vacation. Also, according to locals on r/MyrtleBeach, it's better to talk to the hotel directly, rather than booking through a third-party website. Hotels can negotiate their rates, while booking sites cannot.

While June through August is considered peak travel season for Myrtle Beach, the fact is that there are various holidays or events throughout the year that can draw massive crowds. As you might imagine, planning a vacation during these events can be more of a headache, due to fewer available hotels, higher travel costs, crowded streets, and busy attractions.

According to another video on YouTube by Carmen and Brian, July is the busiest month at Myrtle Beach, and the week of July Fourth is always packed. Outside of July, though, they mention Memorial Day weekend as the busiest of the year, thanks largely to the annual Bikefest. Not only does the festival draw huge crowds, but the streets are packed with bikers, making it much harder to get around. Similarly, Labor Day weekend is another busy holiday, especially because it's the last chance for a vacation before school starts in some areas.

Oddly enough, while Myrtle Beach does get decked out for the holiday season, lower temperatures mean fewer crowds. So, if you're looking to have a beachside Christmas, you can likely get great hotel rates. The trade-off is that attractions may be closed due to the weather, so there are fewer things to do.

One of the most famous and well-visited spots in Myrtle Beach is the Boardwalk and Promenade, where you can find the SkyWheel, Myrtle Beach's "must-do" attraction with the best views of the city. It's also where you can explore various restaurants and shops. But there's more to Myrtle Beach than the Boardwalk, especially if you venture outside of the city center. 

In fact, if you head about a 15-minute drive north of the Boardwalk, you'll run into Myrtle Beach's entertainment hub with Coney Island vibes: Broadway at the Beach. Here is where you can find a wide variety of attractions, all within walking distance of each other, such as the WonderWorks amusement park and Ripley's Aquarium.  

Or, if you're looking for non-touristy things to do, the r/MyrtleBeach Reddit thread has plenty of unique suggestions from locals. Options include Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, a community hub featuring a botanical garden, sculptures, a zoo, and historic Lowcountry landscapes. You can also peruse the paintings, ceramics, photography, and textiles at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Myrtle Beach Art Museum. Plus, Myrtle Beach is the "Mini Golf Capital of the World," so you can get your putt-putt on at Mount Atlanticus or Hawaiian Rumble.

Eating out is an integral part of any vacation, but it's almost a requirement when visiting Myrtle Beach. With over 2,000 restaurants along the Grand Strand, there's an abundance of eateries to satisfy anyone's taste preferences. But, as you can imagine, there are challenges with finding a place to eat and getting a table.

One of the main obstacles surrounds reservations, especially during peak travel seasons. Many tourist-heavy spots, like Paula Deen's Family Kitchen or Margaritaville, accept reservations. Unfortunately, many other spots do not, opting for a first-come, first-served approach. Even if you do make a reservation, crowded restaurants may only hold a table for a short period, so you'll need to come early, just in case. This is a mistake I've made when visiting Myrtle Beach, as our reservation was canceled because we arrived too late. 

According to locals and frequent visitors on Tripadvisor, it's best to eat before 6 p.m. to avoid long wait times (think 30 minutes to over an hour). Alternatively, you can opt for eating later, although it's important to do your research beforehand to see what's open. Overall, while it can be fun to meander and find food wherever you happen to be, it might be best to take more initiative when figuring out when, where, and how you're going to eat on vacation.

One of the great things about Myrtle Beach is that it's part of the Grand Strand, a 60-mile stretch of shoreline that covers multiple cities, making the entire area feel like one giant beachside paradise. This extensive shoreline also means that you can get similar attractions, restaurants, and shops that make Myrtle Beach so inviting in other nearby cities. Based on personal experience and advice from locals, there are three main alternatives less than a 30-minute drive away: Murrell's Inlet, Surfside Beach, and North Myrtle Beach. 

Murrell's Inlet is also known as the "seafood capital of South Carolina," so it's a great place to go if you're looking for tasty bites. Top-rated spots recommended by locals on r/MyrtleBeach include Drunken Jack's Restaurant and Lounge or Hot Fish Club, although there are plenty of options throughout the city. 

North Myrtle Beach is known as a quieter, calmer version of Myrtle, and it's home to another top attraction: the waterfront Barefoot Landing. This area is similar to Broadway at the Beach, complete with attractions like the Alligator Adventure zoo and restaurants like Land Shark Bar and Grill, which overlooks the pond inside the landing. Finally, Surfside Beach is great if you want clean, pristine beaches with smaller crowds while still being close enough to all the fun attractions in Myrtle. This family-friendly area is more residential, boasting colorful houses along the shore.

No one wants a lousy vacation, but making mistakes like the ones we covered in this list can lead to a less-than-desirable visit to Myrtle Beach. For this list, we first listened to the mistakes outlined by locals, such as the YouTube channel, Carmen and Brian, and those who responded to the question "what should you avoid in Myrtle Beach" on Quora. 

From there, we dove deeper into each mistake by looking at local responses on sites like Reddit's r/MyrtleBeach and Tripadvisor to see what residents and frequent visitors were saying. Blog posts and travel guides from MyrtleBeach.com also helped provide additional insight. Finally, since I've traveled to Myrtle Beach in the past (and made one or two of these mistakes myself), I drew from personal experience to warn future visitors of making the same easy errors.