Myrtle Beach in 5 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Myrtle Beach in 5 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Five days is where the pace should actively slow down. You’ve covered the free core and one nature half-day by day 3; add golf and a second district on day 4 and 5, but keep it to one outing a day and let the beach carry the rest.
| Day | Focus | Est. spend |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Free beach + Boardwalk, $21 SkyWheel | $0-21 |
| Day 2 | Broadway at the Beach + beach afternoon | $0-43 |
| Day 3 | Brookgreen Gardens/Huntington SP + Murrells Inlet dinner | $25-33 |
| Day 4 | Golf or mini golf + a live show | $10-60+ |
| Day 5 | North Myrtle/Barefoot Landing, slow beach day | $0 |
Day 1: Beach and the Boardwalk
Full day on the sand to start. Swim near a lifeguard and know the flag system - green calm, yellow medium risk, single red don’t swim, double red closed, blue marine life. Only circular umbrellas 7.5 ft or under are allowed between Memorial Day and Labor Day (no tents or canopies), and alcohol and glass are banned on the sand year-round.
Evening walk on the free 1.2-mile Boardwalk - a 2010 rebuild, since Hurricane Hazel destroyed the original in 1954 - then the SkyWheel (~$21 adult, ~$17 child) at sunset. Restaurant bills inside city limits carry roughly an 11.5% meal tax.
Day 1 spend: roughly $0-21 per person, plus tax on food.
Day 2: Broadway at the Beach
Morning at Broadway at the Beach, a 350-acre district about two blocks off the actual Boardwalk - free to walk, with one paid stop worth picking: Ripley’s Aquarium (~$43 adult, $27 child) or WonderWorks ($43). Afternoon back on the beach.
Day 2 spend: roughly $0-43 per person, plus tax on food.
Day 3: Brookgreen Gardens and Murrells Inlet
Morning at Brookgreen Gardens ($25 adult, ticket valid 7 consecutive days, Lowcountry Zoo included), then Huntington Beach State Park ($8) across US-17 for the 1930s Atalaya Castle and premier birding - a separate park and fee from Myrtle Beach State Park.
Evening dinner at Murrells Inlet’s MarshWalk: Dead Dog Saloon, Drunken Jack’s, Wahoo’s, Bovine’s, The Wicked Tuna, or The Claw House. She-crab soup (named for the female crabs’ roe) and shrimp and grits are safe orders anywhere along it.
Day 3 spend: roughly $25-33 per person, plus tax on food.
Day 4: Golf or mini golf, then a live show
If you golf, this is the day for it - the Strand runs roughly 80-90 courses (“the Golf Coast,” not an official “Golf Capital,” which is the mini-golf title), and stay-and-play packages bundling a round with lodging are the standard way locals and regulars book, usually cheaper than paying a single course’s rack rate. If you’d rather keep costs down, play a round of mini golf instead at one of the 50+ courses, including Hawaiian Rumble’s 40-ft erupting volcano.
In the evening, catch a show - the Carolina Opry or the Alabama Theatre at Barefoot Landing (founded by the band Alabama) are both established options. Keep valuables out of the car at any beach lot.
Day 4 spend: roughly $10-60+ per person depending on golf vs. mini golf and the show.
Day 5: North Myrtle and Barefoot Landing, slow beach day
Head north to Ocean Drive in North Myrtle Beach, the birthplace of the Shag, South Carolina’s official state dance since 1984 (the Shag is the dance; “beach music” is the genre it’s danced to, worth keeping straight). Walk Barefoot Landing, a free shopping and dining district on the Intracoastal, before heading back to a quieter stretch of beach for the rest of the day.
Day 5 spend: roughly $0, plus whatever you spend on food and any last souvenirs.
Money tip: swap day 4’s real golf for mini golf and you cut that day’s cost by most of the total - the rest of this itinerary (beach, Boardwalk, Barefoot Landing, North Myrtle) is largely free or already-paid-for attractions. Book golf tee times and any evening show a few weeks ahead if you’re visiting June-August; Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1-November 30 (peak mid-August to mid-October), worth a forecast check before locking in non-refundable plans. Have two more days? See the 7 day itinerary for how this adds a water park day and a Charleston day trip.