Myrtle Beach in 7 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Myrtle Beach in 7 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Seven days is a full resort week, with room for a real day trip on top of everything shorter stays cover. Keep the same rule all week: beach and pool underneath, one outing layered on top, never two stacked back to back.
| 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 6 | Water park + dolphin/on-water excursion | $50+ |
| Day 7 | Full day trip to Charleston | Gas/tolls only |
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 after 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 (free to walk, about two blocks off the actual Boardwalk - a common mix-up), with one paid stop: 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, 7-day ticket, Lowcountry Zoo included), then Huntington Beach State Park ($8) 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) is a safe order 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
Real golf if you play it - roughly 80-90 courses along “the Golf Coast,” usually booked as a stay-and-play package. Otherwise, mini golf at one of 50+ courses (Hawaiian Rumble’s erupting volcano is the standout) keeps this day cheap.
Evening show at the Carolina Opry or the Alabama Theatre at Barefoot Landing. 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
Ocean Drive in North Myrtle Beach is the birthplace of the Shag, South Carolina’s official state dance since 1984 - the dance, distinct from “beach music,” the genre it’s danced to. Walk Barefoot Landing, free, on the Intracoastal, then slow down on a quieter stretch of beach.
Day 5 spend: roughly $0, plus food.
Day 6: Water park and a dolphin or on-water excursion
Morning at Myrtle Waves water park (~$50 general admission) or the oceanfront Splashes water park. Afternoon on a dolphin-watching or on-water excursion booked through a local charter - prices vary by operator, worth comparing a couple before booking.
Day 6 spend: roughly $50 or more per person for the water park, plus whatever the excursion runs.
Day 7: A full day trip to Charleston
Charleston is roughly 95 miles and about 2 hours away, but it genuinely deserves its own separate trip - a single day here only scratches the surface of the historic district. If you go anyway, treat it as a one-shot walk through downtown rather than trying to see everything; skip a repeat visit to any Myrtle Beach attraction today entirely.
Prefer to stay closer? Georgetown (about 35 miles, 53 minutes) is South Carolina’s third-oldest city and stacks easily with Murrells Inlet, Huntington Beach State Park, and Pawleys Island on one southbound loop, or Wilmington, NC (about 74 miles, 1.5 hours) makes a solid full day with its riverwalk and a Wrightsville Beach detour.
Day 7 spend: gas and tolls only if you already have a rental car; otherwise a day-tour rate.
Money tip: if a Charleston day feels rushed once you’re there, that’s normal - it’s the honest tradeoff of fitting it into a beach week instead of budgeting it as its own trip. Book any day-trip tour transportation ahead if you’re not driving yourself, especially in peak summer. Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1-November 30 (peak mid-August to mid-October), worth a forecast check before you lock in non-refundable plans for the week. For the full breakdown of everything this week covers, see the Myrtle Beach guide .