There are plenty of reasons to visit North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, not the least of which is a good shag. Now, now, I see your jaws dropping out there. It’s not what you think. Allow me to explain what’s historic, modern, nostalgic and pure Americana about this beachside town (and the dance that keeps it on the map).

Save this article to help you plan your own experiences in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Photos and graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

Ways to Experience North Myrtle Beach, SC

JUST WHERE IS NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA?

It’s about a 30-minute drive north from the Myrtle Beach International Airport which is a moderate size and easy to navigate, including to the rental car area because you’re going to need a car to get around.

The city is located between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway with nine miles of beaches, marshes, fishing, golf and beach-town fun. It’s also only about 30 minutes from North Carolina.

WHAT IS THERE TO DO?

Get a feel for the area and its varied history at the North Myrtle Beach Area Historical Museum. Exhibits and programs cover the first inhabitants of the area (the Waccamaw and Winch Indian tribes) through to Spanish explorers, a role in the Revolutionary War, a sleepover by George Washington, all the way to the residents and visitors of today who comprise the thriving tourism industry. Becoming a tourist destination was thanks to the merging of Cherry Grove, Crescent Beach, Ocean Drive and Windy Hill, all areas that, together, created the city of North Myrtle Beach back in 1968. You’ll learn all about that at the museum.

Beyond time at the beach, connect with nature at the Heritage Shores Nature Preserve with its seven acres of walking paths. Interpretive signage throughout the park helps visitors spot the flora and fauna that can be found there.

Stroll along Main Street, which was named one of the 23 Best Small Town Main Streets in America by Country Living Magazine. With plenty of places to shop, eat, drink and more, allow plenty of time to take it all in, including the fun, retro vibe. Being a beach destination, you’re as likely to see golf carts and bikes as cars driving by.

A glimpse of Main Street in North Myrtle Beach, SC.

The rest of our recommendations are focused on one very special dance…

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT SHAGGING? 

It’s “the Carolina Shag” to be exact and it’s a dance that involves some very fancy, fleet footsteps, turns, swivels and twists, done in an eight-step pattern and six-count. It’s very impressive to see it done and, had I better dance skills, it would have been a blast to try.

Also known as the “swing dance of the South” and originating within the African American community of the late 1930s, the dance gained popularity when accompanied by beach tunes. In the 1940’s, college students celebrating spring break really glommed onto the dance and made it their own.

Fun note: When I mentioned to my sister-in-law that I was going to North Myrtle Beach, she immediately shouted out “The Shag! Have you seen the movie?” She was referring to the 1989 film starring Phoebe Cates, Scott Coffey, Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish, Page Hannah and Tyrone Power, Jr.  and she watched it over and over as a teenager. She was very envious that I was going to visit the birthplace of the dance!

The really cool thing is that The Shag is not a dance of yesteryear only. It’s very much alive and well and part of North Myrtle Beach’s nightlife.

2026 brings a year of Shag celebrations with dance lessons and competitions. As I write this, in the summer of 2026, the Society of Stranders (SOS) Fall Migration is coming up, September 18-27, where there will be 10 days of live music and dancing at the iconic Fat Harold’s Beach Club and Spanish Galleon. In conjunction, on September 26, the destination will launch the inaugural NMB Live!, a free festival featuring three stages of live music, local food, artists and makers, and more than 200 vendors.

Playing up The Shag isn’t just a ploy to attract tourists. It’s a proud part of the fiber of the local community. It’s easy to grasp just how important the dance culture is to them as you walk the North Myrtle Beach Shag Trail. Plaques laid in the sidewalk honor the names, venues, dates and events that helped shape North Myrtle Beach’s identity.

Other key spots devoted to the Shag are the OD Pavilion (aka the Ocean Drive Pavilion) which is the last of the open-air beach places to enjoy live music and have a place to do the Shag. Next to the Pavilion is the stage where Thursday night Music on Main concerts happen. Next to that is the Ocean Drive Beach & Golf Resort where you’ll find the Shaggers Hall of Fame Museum.

The OD Pavilion is the last remaining outdoor dance pavilion and has a long history. The ocean is right over the sandbar.

We walked in and, not seeing anything that looked like a museum right off the bat, asked at the front desk. A very nice woman said, “Well, how much time do you have?”

“Not that much,” we replied, to which she said, “Well, if you had more time, I’d suggest you start upstairs where you’ll see photos on the walls on several floors. But if you don’t have much time, head down the hall and down the stairs to where the Museum started. That’ll give you a good idea of it all.”

We headed downstairs where the walls were lined with photo portraits of people – some dancing, some obviously from their military headshots or formal portraits. An older man was there with a younger one, recounting stories of his mother in Shag competitions. It was interesting to eavesdrop on his personal connection to the dance.

To see the Shag in action, here’s the link to Explore North Myrtle Beach’s YouTube channel.

The Shaggers Hall of Fame is located inside the Ocean Drive Beach & Golf Resort.

Hungry for more? Read about the anniversary of The Shag in this article.

HOW ABOUT THE FOOD SCENE IN NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC? 

We were given several suggestions, including Honey Barrel Breakfast & Steakhouse, whose menu looked delicious. They are open for breakfast from 7am-2pm and then for dinner from 4-9pm. They have a varied menu that includes Steak & Eggs Skillet, Poke Tuna, Grilled Faroe Island Salmon, Mushroom Swiss Burger, French Toast and Myrtle Shrimp & Grits. We didn’t go there but, judging from the website, it looks to be slightly upscale but with reasonable prices.

We stopped by one of the other recommendations we received, something we weren’t expecting. Boulineau’s is a grocery store that has been around more than 75 years. It’s your pretty standard grocery store except for the addition of fishing gear and licenses (it is in an oceanside destination after all) but it also has an impressively large area of food to go or eat on the spot. There’s Betsy’s Bakery & Ice Cream with beautiful cookies, muffins, doughnuts and cakes. But across from that is the real reason it was recommended we go.

Elizabeth’s Kitchen is a long buffet with an even longer line of people, waiting for, depending on the time of day, hotcakes, eggs, biscuits & gravy, soup, rotisserie chicken, ribs and their famous fried chicken. A spacious seating area nearby was full of people with their trays of food as well as boxes of treats from Betsy’s. And, hey, if none of that strikes your fancy, there’s a salad bar that has pudding right next to the lettuce (because why not?) and the Frank’s Seafood section will steam a Maine lobster for you. Boulineau’s is clearly THE place to go, both a place the locals love and the spot visitors like me were told they absolutely had to go to.

Boulineau’s is a must-stop when in North Myrtle Beach.

Why didn’t we eat there? We were on another mission – to go to Hoskins.

We were warned to be ready to wait in the line. And wait, and wait. One local told me “Okay, this is what you’re gonna do” and proceeded to lay out the precise window in which I should line up, between the breakfast crowd, after the church crowd and before the lunch crowd. You’d have thought she was sending me into battle and I was ready.

We did, indeed, get there toward the end of the window for breakfast, before they shut down for a bit to prepare for the lunch bunch. I waited maybe 15 minutes outside which wasn’t bad but, because they sat us before lunch officially began, we waited another 15-20 minutes after ordering for our food to arrive. After the lull, servers came out fast and furiously with hot plates shingled precariously up and down their arms, expertly placing them down in front of the correct diner throughout the restaurant. Lunch service had begun.

I was so ready for this meal, having saved up plenty of stomach space for what was to come. I’d heard about the “Meat and Two” or “Meat and Three” concept, typical of this part of the country which is a meat offering and sides. I’d already perused the menu before even getting on the plane, to have my plan. But that got thrown all to heck by a couple we met in line.

He was “pushing 80 pretty hard” he told us and his lovely wife wasn’t far behind. They go to Hoskins every single day and she had the photos to prove it. This woman would do a social media influencer proud with her many, really good photos of the various specials she’s had there over the years. And I mean years (Hoskins has been around for more than 75). She recounted this dish and that one and told me which sides were best and which ones could be substituted. Now I was all confused about what I would order.

I ended up doing the Meat and Three with Country Style Steak (like Chicken Fried Steak) plus turnip greens, field peas and a combo of corn/okra/tomatoes. It was all really good and surprisingly almost healthy. The turnip greens were more sauteed than cooked down to an olive drab color with ham hock. The field peas were cute little reddish-brown things that also weren’t cooked to mush but still head some bite. And the corn, okra and tomatoes combination reminded me of a dish my grandmother used to make. Way too full for dessert, and knowing what our next stop was, we skipped dessert much to the surprise of our server who looked at us like “What do you mean you don’t want dessert? Everyone wants dessert!”

We passed the couple who we’d met in the line and exchanged debriefs on what we’d all ordered and what we’d thought of it. It was a lovely bit of connection with the locals and, for a few minutes, greeting them like we would neighbors, I, too, felt like a real North Myrtle Beach resident.

My Meat and Three option with Country Style Steak, Collards, Field Peas and a mix of Corn, Okra and Tomatoes and the sign outside you line up under.

Really, we didn’t have one speck of space in our stomachs for dessert but, hey, ice cream melts so, really, there’s always room for it. We had been told we had to go to Melt’s. “It’s a must,” another local had said. Another good recommendation.

The cute little turquoise blue and white wood-sided shop has a wide variety of flavors to choose from but our local had said we had to go for some of the homemade flavors which are kept in a separate cooler. The board listed options like Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Graham Central Station, and Cotton Candy from the regular options. But from the “homemade” offerings, we ordered Honey Lavendar and Banana Pudding although Toasted Coconut, Biscoff and Honey Butter Cornbread really tempted us.

Cones in hand (and soon to be all over hand), we proceeded to walk down the street licking our ice creams faster than we would have liked to in the summer heat. Finally, we just gave into the mess, pulled over under a tree, both bending over slightly at the waist so as to avoid our shoes and let the drippage happen over our fingers and down our wrists and onto the ground. The napkins we’d grabbed were no match. But, boy, was the mess worth it! The place isn’t called “Melt” for nothing!

Honey Lavender (left) and Banana Pudding (right) ice cream flavors from the “homemade” menu at Melt.

WHAT ABOUT HOTELS IN NORTH MYRTLE BEACH? 

While there are many places to stay on North Myrtle Beach, we were guests at Avista Resort which was named “Traveler’s Choice #1 Resort in North Myrtle Beach” by Tripadvisor for more than six years.

It was a unique mix of being a seaside resort with elegant chandeliers in the lobby and casual hominess in every room. Each has a kitchenette and living/dining area plus balcony. We had a fantastic view of the ocean and the swimming pool area which includes a lazy river. The beach outside the hotel was clean, with fine beige sand.

The room and views at Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach.

For a true slice of Americana with some fancy footwork and tasty food, visit North Myrtle Beach. Chat with the locals while you’re there are who friendly and more than happy to share some tips. You can also learn more on the Explore North Myrtle Beach website. To make reservations using your favorite booking site, click here.

-Story by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, RealFoodTraveler.com. Photos by Courtney and Jimmy McDonough.

Please note, as is common practice in this industry, this was a partially-hosted visit, however, all opinions are honest and based on the author’s opinion for the purpose of informing our readers.