Is the coastal drive pleasant enough? (Charleston, Myrtle Beach: houses, camp, to live)

[slalemand]

Hi folks. We will be heading down south in a few months and are considering taking a new route. (coming down from Maine - likely staying in Dover, DE area first night) We normally are on the other side of these states Route 81 to 77. But are thinking about Norfolk onto 158 down thru NC along the coast (Kill Devil Hills and such), over to #264 to 17 into New Bern. And likely 17 right to the end

The ending stop is in the Beaufort, SC area. Any thoughts on this route? Well likely stay along the coast route right down to the final destination.

Maybe New Bern for a couple of nights?

Worth a stop in: (or other nice small towns along the way?)
- Willington, NC
- Myrtle Beach, SC
- Charleston, SC

- Fun or interesting stops along the way
- Yarn Shops
- Bakeries
- Candy Shops
- Pleasant Walkways / walking paths
- Places to eat
- Places to stay

Thank you in advance

[CTyankee54]

You're asking about a huge geographic area so hopefully people with experiences in different areas will respond. We live in Murrells Inlet, SC near Myrtle Beach and have spent time exploring Charleston as well. In the MB area, I would recommend staying in either North Myrtle or Surfside Beach areas. MB itself can be noisy and not much fun to stay in depending on the time of year. For places to eat...the MB area has over a thousand restaurants so you'll have a variety of choices depending on what type of food you like. A few of our favorites...Hot Fish Club in Murrells Inlet, The Parsons Table in Little River, Biminis Oyster Bar & Seafood in the northern part of Myrtle Beach, Bonfire in Conway (barbeque) and Crooked Oak Tavern in Conway. If you want to experience something really different and have a lot of patience, try Luvans Fish Camp in Conway (cash only).



Conway has a very nice riverwalk. Myrtle Beach has a great boardwalk. There's a very nice part in Little River called Vereen Memorial Gardens with a boardwalk through the marsh and path through the woods. Myrtle Beach State Park has hiking trails and Huntington Beach State Park has trails as well. Do not miss Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet...beautiful, award winning gardens and sculptures. Downtown Conway is also nice to walk around and see the shops...a step back in time and they have a great bakery...The Trestle which also serves a nice lunch.



If you like to walk around touristy areas, Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the beach.. If nothing else, it's fun to people-watch. If you're here on a Wednesday or Saturday, La Belle Amie Vineyard in North Myrtle has a nice afternoon concert (the better one is on Saturday) with live bands, wine and food.



There are tons of other things to do and places to eat but I'm trying to keep this short.



As far as Charleston, if you like history there's tons of historical houses, museums and tours to do there. For shopping, they have the Charleston City Market with tons of vendors setting up their wares. If you have time, on your way to Charleston, take a quick side trip to drive around McClellanville which is a sleepy fishing village about 20 miles south of Georgetown. There's not a lot to do there, it's just a pretty, old very small town.

Re you headline question...the coastal drive is pleasant enough. We've done it a couple of time driving from CT where we used to live. But, it will add hours to your drive compared to taking the interstate.

If you have any questions let me know. You can also DM me if you'd like.

[Mr78609]

yes it is