Myrtle Beach: 6-Day Itinerary
Six days is close to a full resort week, and it’s where the water park and a real on-water excursion finally earn a slot. This plan takes the 5-day itinerary whole and adds a sixth day mixing rides, a water park and a dolphin or on-water outing. The 7-day itinerary extends this same spine with a full day trip. Background on the destination sits in the Myrtle Beach guide .
Book these before you go
- A Myrtle Beach dolphin or on-water excursion : boat capacity is limited, and good-weather afternoons fill first.
- Myrtle Beach golf tee times : stay-and-play packages sell out prime slots weeks ahead.
- Myrtle Beach hotel rooms and condos : six nights in July and August book out earliest of all.
Day 1: Arrival and the Boardwalk
Drive in if you can (Spirit exited MYR in May 2026). Check in, beach for the afternoon. Learn the flag system: green calm, yellow caution, single red don’t swim, double red closed, blue for marine life. From Memorial Day through Labor Day only circular umbrellas 7.5 ft or smaller are allowed, and alcohol and glass are banned on the beach everywhere on the Strand, year-round. Evening is the Boardwalk & Promenade, a 2010 rebuild, plus the SkyWheel (around $21 adult, $17 child) at dusk.
Day 2: Broadway at the Beach and Murrells Inlet
Beach in the morning, Broadway at the Beach in the afternoon, a separate district about two blocks off the Boardwalk. Ripley’s Aquarium (around $43 adult, $27 kid) or WonderWorks (around $43) is the headline stop. Dinner on Murrells Inlet’s MarshWalk: Dead Dog Saloon, Drunken Jack’s, Wahoo’s, Bovine’s, the Wicked Tuna, the Claw House. Expect roughly 11.5% added to the check inside city limits.
Day 3: Brookgreen Gardens and a live show
A full morning at Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park, about 18 miles south. Brookgreen (around $25, ticket valid 7 consecutive days) pairs the sculpture collection with the Lowcountry Zoo, included in admission. Huntington Beach State Park (around $8) adds Atalaya Castle and birding, and stays separate from Myrtle Beach State Park in town (around $5). Beach in the afternoon, a live show at night: Carolina Opry, Alabama Theatre, Legends in Concert, or Pirates Voyage (a Dolly Parton production, also in Tennessee and Florida).
Day 4: A slow morning and mini golf
Sleep in, beach all morning and early afternoon, no plan. Save the one outing for the evening: mini golf, 50+ courses on the Strand, Hawaiian Rumble’s erupting volcano or Mount Atlanticus’s five-story course.
Day 5: Golf and North Myrtle Beach
Golf in the morning if you play, 80-90 courses along “the Golf Coast,” not the “100+” figure that gets repeated. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, The Dunes Club (host of the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic) and TPC Myrtle Beach lead the list, stay-and-play packages are the standard way to book. In the afternoon, North Myrtle Beach and Barefoot Landing on the Intracoastal Waterway, home of the Alabama Theatre. North Myrtle’s Ocean Drive is the birthplace of the Shag, South Carolina’s official state dance since 1984, the dance, not the “beach music” genre it’s danced to.
Day 6: Water park and a dolphin or on-water excursion
Morning at a water park, Splashes right on the oceanfront at Family Kingdom or Myrtle Waves nearby (around $50 general admission). Family Kingdom’s Swamp Fox wooden coaster has run since 1966, and 2026 is the park’s 60th anniversary, with a new single-rail coaster opening summer 2026 if you want a ride day rather than a pure water day.
In the afternoon, book a dolphin-watching or Intracoastal Waterway boat excursion, prices vary by operator and trip length, so check current listings rather than expecting a fixed rate. Round out the evening with an unhurried beach walk, this late in the trip, that’s earned.
| Day | Focus | What it actually costs (USD, pre-tax) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beach, Boardwalk, SkyWheel | SkyWheel around $21 adult / $17 child |
| 2 | Beach, Broadway at the Beach, Murrells Inlet dinner | Aquarium around $43 / $27 kid; dinner plus ~11.5% city tax |
| 3 | Brookgreen Gardens, Huntington Beach SP, a live show | Brookgreen around $25; Huntington SP around $8 |
| 4 | Beach all day, mini golf in the evening | Mini golf pricing varies by course |
| 5 | Golf (or beach), North Myrtle Beach, Barefoot Landing | Golf priced by stay-and-play package |
| 6 | Water park, dolphin or on-water excursion | Myrtle Waves around $50 GA; excursion price varies by operator |
What does six days actually add over five?
A genuine break from the sand routine: a water park or Family Kingdom’s coaster for the kids, and a dolphin or on-water trip that gets you onto the Intracoastal or the Atlantic itself rather than just looking at it from the beach. It’s the first day in this whole plan that isn’t anchored on the sand from morning to evening, and by day six of a beach trip, that variety is welcome rather than wasted.
One concrete tip: book the water excursion and any remaining show tickets before you leave home, not once you’re there, boats and weekend shows both run tight on capacity by mid-summer.