South Carolina offers hundreds of miles of coastline with beautiful beaches and waterfront communities that make for a great vacation destination and also a popular retirement destination from the north with favorable real estate prices and warmer weather year round.
The Hammock Coast comprises of of several areas with Georgetown being the city center and Murrells Inlet, Pawley’s Island, Garden City and Litchfield Beach dotting the coastline.
We flew into Myrtle Beach about a 20 minute drive from Murrells Inlet. Spirit offer nonstop service and both Delta and American offers convenient flights from the Northeast.
The newest and most comfortable property in Murrells Inlet is The Inlet Sports Lodge. A boutique property with luxurious touches and a real homey feel. Located only a mile north of Murrells Inlet Marshwalk and Marina, the dining and entertainment capital of the area as well as a starting point for boat rides, fishing expeditions as well as water sports rentals. Rooms range from deluxe studios to luxury suites. All rooms feature kitchenettes with full size refrigerators, cooking utensils, and a sleeper sofa. These rooms are perfect for families or a group of friends sleeping 4 comfortably. Luxury suites are identical to studio suites with an adjoining room.
Coming from New York City and often writing about food we are pretty jaded when we travel about what to expect. We were very pleasantly surprised with the burgeoning foodie scene with many top notch eateries offering everything from local seafood, which is fresh and delicious, to Italian cuisine and beyond. Here is a list of our favorite restaurants:
The Wicked Tuna: A massive multi-floor waterfront restaurant overlooking the marsh walk. The menu is seafood based with the freshest sushi in the area. Specialties include just caught “Catch of the Day”, varies nightly, a raw bar, fresh crab and for meat lovers there are various Steak and Ribs options. The must have dessert is the S’more’s Baked Alaska, Layers of chocolate cake and chocolate marshmallow gelato, covered in toasted Italian meringue. Served with chocolate ganache and graham cracker crumble. On many evenings there is live music played in front on the marsh walk. Thewickeduna.com 4123 Highway Business Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 (843) 651-9987
Inlet Crab house and RawBar: Family owned and operated in Murrells Inlet since 1992. The Crab House is the only Captain and family owned eatery in the area. As the name suggests the menu is seafood based with crab being the obvious specialty. The She Crab Soup is world famous. The crab cakes are huge filled with fresh crabmeat and the Crabhouse Steam Pots let you try a bunch of items including clams, mussels, spicy shrimp, oysters, crab legs, sausage, corn and potatoes. Servings are plentiful and most definitely can be shared. Cocktails offered are frozen creations with locally themed names like “Inlet Freeze”: Pina Colada, Raspberry, and Rum. Inletcrabhouseandrawbar.com 3572 Highway 17 Murrells Inlet, SC (843) 651- 8452
Costa Coastal Kitchen & Bar: Located Adjacent to the Inlet Sports Lodge. A real find with excellent fare. Classic Italian favorites created by Chef Jimmy. Shrimp Olivia and Crab Stuffed mushrooms are a must for appetizers and The Zuppa de Pesce and the Chicken Marsala are delicious main courses. A wonderful wine list is available to pair with the meal. Costamyrtlebeach.com 46-06 US 17 Business Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 (843) 299- 1970
Bistro 217 in Pawley’s Island offers a refined American Menu with lots of seafood and meat dishes. Co- owned by Anne Hardee and Chef Adam Kirby both with over 20 years in the restaurant business. Painted brick walls, wrought iron tables and cozy booths and banquets. Bistro 217 is perfect for date night or a business lunch/dinner. Bistro217.com 10707 Ocean Highway Pawley’s Island, SC 29585 (843) 235-8217
Things to do In Murrells Inlet:
Huntington Beach State Park offers sandy pet friendly beaches, picnic tables, bird watching and alligator viewing.
Brookgreen Gardens 9100 acres of manicured landscaped gardens, exquisite sculpture gardens, a zoo with many species local to the region. Offers several tour daily, workshops, classes. Weekly passes available.
Black River Outdoors offers guided eco-tours through the salt marsh, on the Waccamaw River, swamp tours, and bird watching tours. Extremely experienced, family friendly and knowledgeable guides will teach guests about the area, look for wildlife, and will provide both adults and kids an authentic nature filled kayaking experience. Blackriveroutdoors.com
FashionsWeek: Beauty, Fashion, Travel, Tech & Dining By Maya Litovsky 