Myrtle Beach Message Board

Through the years we've made a number of trips to family events and ball tournaments. They weren't exactly vacations but we visited several places we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. New England, Niagra Falls, Florida, Pigeon Forge, etc......Nice places for short visits but could never see them being a destination for a week long vacation.

Always end up at MB for the rest and relaxation vacations. Have considered Florida, cruises and even down to an island. Crunching numbers such as travel times and expense plus "bang for buck" (accomodations, dining, attractions) the other places just don't add up. We can do two beach trips for the cost of one cruise. I can relax just as easy on the tan sand of MB as I could on the snow white sand of Florida or a deck chair on a boat.....

Pigeon Forge is a six hour drive from here. We've considered heading there for a short trip sometime because it's attractions are a lot like the beach.. only....no beach. When it comes time to actually do it. An extra two hours we could be at the beach. Six hours...sorta like the beach....Eight hours....The beach.....No brainer....

I've been most of those places mentioned.. got a grandson in tenn. so we've been to a lot of places there, been thru a lot of New England, the gulf coast, have a sister near the outerbanks, but the one place we have never been that was mentioned was Vegas.. would love to go there. 20 years ago we rode a motorcycle with another couple and went from Ohio all the way to Needles, Calif. I remember Texas, new mexico arizona, saw the grand canyon, death valley, etc.. I kept a record of it.. so I can go back and relive it. Go now, while you can. Don't wait.. yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery.. live today! We grow too soon... old!

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A vacation is having nothing to do, and all day to do it in.
Even Jesus had a fish story!

If you don't mind me asking, out of that $2,000 how much is the air and rental? If the hotel is a good chunk have you thought about checking out the South Point hotel? I've never stayed there personally but a friend has. It's super nice and reasonably priced.

always vacationed in St Petersburg Florida
until we tried Myrtle in May of this year. Bought a timeshare there, we loved the place

I looked at travelocity. For a five night round trip flight, the airline tickets were about $1,300 a piece for non stop, the room at the Luxor was $400 and something and I figured $150 for a rental car. I have several friends who have been and stayed there and said it was real nice and it was about the cheapest hotel in Vegas on travelocity. The money is not the big deal. But that is my excuse so I don't have to fly for now.

I am pretty sure you can get a cheaper flight. I flew Delta out of Atlanta direct to Vegas for around $450. We stayed in a time share so I can't help with hotels, but you might want to research renting a car if you ever go. There are very few places to park on the strip. Most people either walk, taxi or ride the strip bus that I hated.

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Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think. ~Robert Henri

I live here in the Pigeon Forge area and all I can think about is spending time in Myrtle Beach. If anyone has any questions about the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area I would be happy to try and answer them. We have lived here 25 years. The mountains are beautiful but do not quite measure up to the ocean. Las Vegas is also a place we like to go. Less than a year ago we flew roundtrip from Knoxville to Las Vegas for less than $400. each roundtrip. We stay at the South Point which is a a few miles from the main part of the strip. Rooms there during the week are often in the $40. range. They are very nice large modern rooms. We have stayed there at least four times and have been very pleased. One drawback is the casino area gets rather smoky. That seems to be a problem in lots of the hotel/casinos. There is plenty to do at the South Point including a bowling alley, movie theaters, equestrian center, etc. A half dozen restaurants including causal ones like Steak 'n Shake for the times you do not want a big meal. There is a shuttle that takes you to the strip, cannot remember what the charge is. In the times we have rented a car we have found them to be quite reasonable at the airport. Just wanted to put my two cents worth in about Las Vegas.

For your information, our area (Pigeon Forge, etc.) has had very large crowds throughout this month. October is peak season for the leaves so it is normally pretty busy but this year even more people than usual. I guess that is good for the local economy.
Judy

We've only gone to Myrtle as a family. We have thought about Disney since we had the kids, but we have King's Island in our back yard, and Cedar Point is only a 3 hour drive, and the boys aren't really into the Disney characters that much, not enough to spring for the trip anyway. We would be more interested in Sea World. Maybe one day. To us, if there isn't an ocean, it's not a vacation. We've been here so many times that it feels like our second home, so you don't lose that day or so trying to find everything. We do switch hotels and try other places to stay so it is different every year. Boring to other people probably, but we love it.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!

That's the same issue we have with Vegas. It's too far to drive and airfare would cost us almost $700 if not more. I can't see spending the money unless I get a REALLY good deal :)

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~Kari~

I would try to do Disney at least once if the finances were available. It really is at another level compared to parks like Kings Island as far as attention to details go. It is expensive, but I would recommend everyone going at least once if possible.. We have not been back since our youngest daughter was born, and plan on going back next year. It's not a trip that I have to do every year like Myrtle, but it is very nice.

I'm sure we will eventually do Disney. I went about 12 years ago with my mom and best friend. I had never been so at 24 my mom and I got to finally take our Disney trip together!! We only went to Magic Kingdom, and honestly, we were bored to death. My little ones are still at the age they are a little scared of the costumed characters. The Animal Kingdom park or whatever it is called I think they would love. When they are a little older we may try to plan a trip. Right now, our boys are already asking when is it time to go back to the ocean..we have turned them into beach babies too!!!

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!

Howdy neighbor! I live about 30 mins north of Kings Island :)

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~Kari~

Its been a few years but we have good memories of vacations to the NC Outer Banks.
I don't like the beach itself as much as MB for several reasons. The sand is not as soft, the ocean floor drops off quicker so its harder to wade out very far, and the ocean is often quite rough. They don't call that part of the coast “The Graveyard of the Atlantic” for nothing. When hurricanes come, the area often gets devastated. The NC outer banks are second only to Florida for hurricane strikes. I saw the biggest snake I have ever seen in my life, outside of a zoo, on the outer banks. It was crossing the path near the Bodie Island Lighthouse. The huge timber rattlesnake was so big that when I first saw it I didn't realize it was a snake. When I was in college a friend of mine and I were almost trapped by a forest fire while on the way home from OBX. Even though we knew enough to be scared, we probably didn't realize how much danger we were really in.

Ok, I realize that I'm not selling this place too well. Let me start over.

Hurricanes and rattlesnakes aside, from Corolla to Ocracoke it's really a great family vacation spot. The best part for me is all the historical sites. Much like the Charleston SC area, this place is “dripping” with history. This is where Sir Walter Raleigh's company tried to settle North America in 1585. “The Lost Colony,” a must see outdoor drama that recalls the efforts of the first English settlers has been performed every summer since the 1930s. They have a tour of a 16th century sailing ship with a crew that stays in Elizabethan character as they guide you through the operation of the ship and the daily lives of sailors. Damnyankee invaders made an amphibious assault here in 1862, though much of the area of that battle is now underwater. The Wright Brothers made their first flight here 1903. The monument and museum are at Kitty Hawk. Manteo is a delightful little town that has, among other attractions, a NC State Aquarium. The US Lifesaving Service, before the days of the Coast Guard, once patrolled the beaches here, and reenactors on the beach demonstrate the equipment they used to rescue ships in distress. Wild horses in the northern part have been here for hundreds of years. There are lighthouses to climb, and kayak or jeep tours to take you to the more remote areas. Hang gliding off of the 80+ foot tall sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park was one of my favorite OBX vacation adventures. If you are into scuba diving you can arrange a dive on a sunken Nazi submarine resting offshore. Jodie wants to learn to scuba dive, but it will be a while before we are ready for that one. The free Ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island, where Blackbeard once roamed, is not to be missed. From Ocracoke you can arrange a visit to the once thriving, but now abandoned town of Portsmouth, NC population 0. Some parts of the outer banks are quite touristy, and other parts are very, very desolate, so you can find something or some place that suits you.

Las Vegas trips, as somebody mentioned, if you book the flights and hotels as a package you can get a room on the strip for 7 nights for roughly 430.00 per person. I was recently checking price for next September. This was at the Excalibur, and some rooms and flights at the Flamingo on the strip were 600.00 per person for 7 nights or 1200.00 for 2 with the flight. Ive paid this just for a room in Myrtle Beach before for 1 week in the summer.

As long as I have a clean room I.m happy with a shower and a place to sleep.

Of course this is flying from Pittsburgh round trip for 2.

If you do not plan on leaving the city to sight see you do not need to rent a car. We used the monorail, very convenient and inexpensive. You do have to do some walking to get the monorail tho. There are also some free shuttles from some of the hotels, I think the Paris, the Rio, and Caesars.

There are cheaper places to eat such as McDonalds, and other restaurants which are$$$$$$.

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Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first and the lesson afterwards.
Author unknown

Honestly, Myrtle Beach is the only place i've vacationed since 2005. It's really the only place I want to go. I have gone on weekend trips to Ocean City, Philly, and Pittsburgh, but the only REAL vacation i take is to MB. I love it THAT much.

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