Myrtle Beach Things to Do on a Budget
Myrtle Beach Things to Do on a Budget
Myrtle Beach genuinely fills a long weekend to a full week, but it’s a beach vacation, not a sightseeing march - treat the beach and pool as the daily spine and layer on one paid attraction at most per day. These 12 things to do run from completely free to a real splurge, ranked here roughly by cost, so you can decide up front which ones earn a spot on your trip.
12 things to do, roughly by cost
| # | Activity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The beach itself | Free |
| 2 | Myrtle Beach Boardwalk & Promenade | Free |
| 3 | Murrells Inlet MarshWalk (the walk itself) | Free |
| 4 | Mini golf | Under $20 |
| 5 | Myrtle Beach State Park | ~$5 |
| 6 | Huntington Beach State Park | ~$8 |
| 7 | Family Kingdom Amusement Park | Free entry, ~$45 wristband |
| 8 | SkyWheel | ~$21 adult |
| 9 | Golf (18 holes, stay-and-play) | Varies, real spend |
| 10 | Brookgreen Gardens + Lowcountry Zoo | ~$25 adult |
| 11 | A live show (Carolina Opry, Alabama Theatre) | Real spend |
| 12 | Broadway at the Beach’s Ripley’s Aquarium or WonderWorks | ~$43 adult |
Free: the beach, the Boardwalk, and the MarshWalk
The 60-mile Grand Strand of sand is why anyone comes, and it costs nothing. Swim near a lifeguard and know the flag system - green calm, yellow medium risk, a single red flag means stay out, double red closes the water, blue means marine life. The 1.2-mile Boardwalk (a 2010 rebuild, since Hurricane Hazel destroyed the original in 1954) runs oceanfront near the SkyWheel, and Murrells Inlet’s MarshWalk, a half-mile boardwalk over the marsh, is free to walk even if you skip dinner at one of its restaurants.
Under $20: mini golf, the Strand’s signature cheap thrill
Myrtle Beach calls itself the Mini Golf Capital of the World, with 50-plus courses along the Strand. Hawaiian Rumble’s 40-ft erupting volcano and the 5-story Mount Atlanticus Minotaur Golf are the standouts worth seeking out over a generic course.
$5-8: the state parks (two separate parks, don’t mix them up)
Myrtle Beach State Park, in the city, runs about $5 and adds a fishing pier and campground to a quieter stretch of beach. Huntington Beach State Park, across US-17 from Brookgreen Gardens, runs about $8 and is a completely different park, home to the 1930s Atalaya Castle and premier birding, 300-plus species logged.
$21-45: Family Kingdom, the SkyWheel, and golf
Family Kingdom is free to walk into, then pay per ride or buy the roughly $45 wristband; the Swamp Fox wooden coaster has run since 1966, and 2026 marks the park’s 60th anniversary with a new coaster opening that summer. The SkyWheel, a 187-200 ft climate-controlled wheel, runs about $21 for an adult. Real golf is a bigger spend: the Strand has roughly 80-90 courses (it bills itself “the Golf Coast,” not the official Golf Capital, a title reserved for mini golf), and stay-and-play packages bundling a round with lodging are the standard way to book.
$25 and up: Brookgreen Gardens, a live show, or Broadway at the Beach
Brookgreen Gardens runs about $25 for an adult, with the Lowcountry Zoo included in that single ticket, valid for 7 consecutive days. A live show at the Carolina Opry or the Alabama Theatre (at Barefoot Landing, founded by the band Alabama) is real money but a genuine Strand institution. Broadway at the Beach, a 350-acre district about two blocks off the actual Boardwalk (a common mix-up), is free to walk, but its headline attractions, Ripley’s Aquarium and WonderWorks, both run about $43 for an adult.
Read more: for the full free-and-cheap rundown with all 14 no-cost options, see the Myrtle Beach budget guide , or check the 2 day itinerary for how to fit one splurge into a short trip.