Two iconic beach towns, Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach, are both located just south of Myrtle Beach, and just north of Murrells Inlet. They have so much to offer vacationers, they’ve become beloved seaside destinations for generations of loyal visitors.

Each of the two neighboring towns boasts its own pier, its own version of Main Street with arcades and amusements, along fine restaurants and pizza parlors, and you’ll also find plenty of soft, sandy beaches to spend your days.

Unlike the urban high-rise atmosphere of Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, these beach towns feature mostly single-family homes, duplexes and the occasional small condo building and a hotel or two.

Surfside Beach, stretching from 16th Ave N. to 16th Ave S. bills itself as “The Family Beach.” The town is bisected by Surfside Drive, and has residential neighborhoods stretching from the ocean to U.S. 17 business.

Garden City Beach’s oceanfront neighborhood is built upon a portion of a sandy spit of land that juts out into the ocean. In many places this “spit” is just wide enough for a narrow two-lane road, Waccamaw Drive, and one row of oceanfront homes and condos. Here you can enjoy the ocean on the east side and the tidal marshes and creeks of the west side for excellent crabbing and in-shore fishing. On the west side of U.S. 17 Business Garden City Beach also has two excellent golf courses; Indian Wells Golf Club and Tupelo Bay Golf Club.

Both towns offer plenty of shopping from big-box retailers, to beachwear stores, large grocery stores, famous little surf shops, and all manner of restaurants, from 24-hour old-fashioned dinners, to casual fine dining, and everything in between.

At just a short drive to Myrtle Beach or Murrells Inlet, these two towns are considered a “best-kept secret,” that now you know about, too.