Beach in Winter: Small Crowds, Big Deals

By JANE WELBORN HUDSON

Why would you plan a beach trip when the weather outside is frightful?

Because The Grand Strand beach area has a lot to offer in the winter, including inexpensive lodging, smaller offseason crowds, tons of shopping and spirited holiday shows.

There are fewer crowds during the offseason, and many of the resort properties that remain open year-round offer lower rates and special holiday packages to entice tourists to travel to the coast during the winter. Many of the large oceanfront hotels offer rooms at a fraction of the cost in the summer.

Myrtle Beach has an average temperature of 64 degrees with an average of 215 sunny days a year. And because many of the resort properties have heated pools, don’t forget to pack your bathing suit.

The Island Vista luxury resort not only has reduced rates during the offseason but also offers a two-night holiday-season package as well as three-night Christmas and New Year’s specials.

At the Long Bay family resort, rooms are available for as little as $29 a night. Some of the region’s 1,800 restaurants close after Labor Day weekend, when the summer season ends. But a number of good restaurants remain open all year.

If you want to impress, consider making reservations at The Library, Myrtle Beach’s only restaurant with a three-diamond rating from AAA.

The classic French menu includes Caesar salad, Steak Diane and cherries jubilee, all prepared tableside. Don’t miss owner Shad Velasco’s popular Blueberry Martini.

Another popular restaurant, the oceanfront Sea Captain’s House, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the winter. The breakfast buffet is popular with golfers.

If you’d like gospel music with your breakfast, head to The House of Blues for music and a massive buffet. While you’re there, check out the largest collection of folk art in South Carolina.

The restaurant-concert venue also offers concerts throughout the winter months — including the Chairmen of the Board on Dec. 30 and Styx on Jan. 19 — as well as Murder Mystery Dinners and a New Year’s Eve party.

Even in the winter, Brookgreen Gardens is spectacular. The live oaks and the Huntington family’s outdoor sculpture collection on the grounds of a former rice plantation may be even more impressive against the season’s stark backdrop.

If you need to get in the Christmas spirit, there are other seasonal events you might want to investigate.

Employees of Ripley’s Aquarium at Broadway at the Beach spend two months decorating and setting up more than 50 theme Christmas trees – - one for each of the states — for the annual Festival of Trees.

North Carolina’s tree, which is at the entrance to the touring “Pirates: Predators of the Sea” exhibit, is adorned with dogwood blossoms, miniature furniture and ornaments representing the major state universities, including East Carolina University. You’ll also get to view huge aquariums featuring an array of sea life.

The Carolina Opry’s Christmas Special is a theatrical song-and- dance extravaganza featuring yuletide music, comedy and dancing. It plays to packed audiences in November and December at the elaborately decorated Carolina Opry Theater.

Christmas shows also are offered at other theaters, including the Palace, The Alabama Theater and Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede.

Make sure you check out the incredible outdoor Christmas tree at Broadway at the Beach. The beach might not be your first thought when you consider a midwinter vacation, but Myrtle Beach offers a great getaway with a holiday atmosphere.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

Originally published by Cox News Service.

(c) 2007 Richmond Times – Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.