1st timer where to stay

Planning a R%26amp;R vacation for a week. Never been to MB before. Looking to rent a condo, with pool .however, not sure of the area I want.. I like walking the beach..but hate the commercial strip. Having read some of the forums maybe NMB would be better? Anybody have a recommendation for a condo. Not into golf, I like to shop and love sea food...and will have transport.. Any suggestions on where to stay and where to eat...thanks in Advance...September is the time I will be there...Cheers:)

1st timer where to stay

or another choice of where to stay would be the Garden city Surfside area. It is just south of Myrtle Beach.

1st timer where to stay

or another choice of where to stay would be the Garden city Surfside area. It is just south of Myrtle Beach.

The good news is that since you are going in Sept. things will be considerably slower than the busy summer months. And you are correct that NMB is a better bet as it does not have a Central Business District like Myrtle Beach. But if you are in NMB or MB and staying at any address on Ocean Drive, it will not be the most relaxing vacation you ever had.

If you are looking for relaxtion and a quiet location you will need a larger property (not just a single tower or low rise condo building on the beach). There are two large properties in the NMB area that have direct beach/ocean access, one is Ocean Creek and the other is Kingston Plantation. OC is about 55 acres and KP is about 150 acres. Both have a large variety of accommodations, ie: Lodges, Townhouses %26amp; Towers. And various size units, ie: studios, 1 bd, 2 bd %26amp; 3bd. If you are looking for peace and quiet and don%26#39;t want/need an ocean view, avoid the towers at both OC and KP. Lodge type units just behind the towers are very quiet and considerably cheaper on the wallet.

I think OC is more relaxing and quieter than KP. But on average the units are a little nicer at KP. But since private individuals own each unit at OC and KP there can be a big difference in the quality of the accommodations at the same property. Note that since KP is 3 times as large as OC, depending on where you are located on the property, you can have a pretty far walk to the beach at KP.

Each property has a web site that you can view to get an overall idea of what the properties are like.

Here%26#39;s OC%26#39;s http://www.oceancreek.com/ The ';accommodations'; link on the web site will give you a aerial photo of the property.

Here%26#39;s KP%26#39;s http://kingstonplantation.com The ';Directions - resort map'; will give you an overall layout.

Not trying to nit pic but need to avoid confusion. Kingston and Ocean Creek are good choices but they%26#39;re in the ';north end of Myrtle Beach'; area. Not the city of North Myrtle Beach. NMB is a few mile north of that area. Where ever you stay it%26#39;s not that bad of a drive to get around. Not half as confusing as it might sound.

Areas south of MB are quiet and relaxing. Many restuarants. For shopping you%26#39;d be driving a bit further. In MB you have the Coastal Mall. Towards the north end you have Broadway At The Beach, Tangers Outlets, Colonial Mall and Barefoot Landing. Plus another string of restuarants all through the area.

I agree with NMB or ';north end of MB'; for your first trip. You can always drive down to the ';strip'; to see what%26#39;s down there. Kingston, Ocean Creek and anything else in that area would be nice. Not crowded and away from the congestion of the strip.

NMB is a seperate city. Made up of four beach sections stretched out along a little less than ten miles of beach. Way I see it is in south end of NMB around Windy Hill you have the larger resort style condo complexes and they thin out the further north you go. At the north end in Cherry Grove you have smaller buildings(starting to build up).Something for all tastes and budgets.

Here is site for one of the largest selections of rentals in NMB. Half the fun is picking and chosing.

northmyrtlebeachtravel.com/book/query.html

Great section between 50th and 79th in the Northern section of Myrtle Beach.Prefer this area over North Myrtle Beach as it is much more centrally located.Forest Dunes, Beach Colony, Grande Shores and South Wnd are some good choices in this area.

If you want to drive South from North Myrtle Beach you have to pass thru 2 very congested intersections at Barefoot Landing and then at Galleria Shopping Center.Whereas the section mentioned above has easy access to Rt.17,Grissom Parkway,Rt.31 and 17 bypass.

Traffic would be a non-factor in September. Biggest problem I%26#39;ve had in summer is Barefoot Landing the nights they have a big name performer in town for a show. Have learned to stay away those nights.

From Cherry Grove it%26#39;s just a hop and skip out to Rt 31 and straight shot south. In May I saw some road construction around Main Street, Ocean Drive section. Wondered where it was going. Could that be another feeder to Rt 31 going in?