Myrtle Beach is one of the few places on earth to offer such a wide variety of leisure-time activities that will fulfill your vacation days. You will find amusement parks, water parks, nature centers, historic gardens, museums, zoos, racecar tracks, arcades, championship golf courses, deep sea fishing, and much more. Since Myrtle Beach encompasses more activities and entertainment than one vacation can possibly handle, you'll want to return year-after-year to experience what's next to come. With so many things to do on the Grand Strand, it's not easy to decide where to begin. So we're going to let you in on our little secret (shhh), here's a few of our favorite "must do's".

Hit the beach. After all, the beach is the No.1 reason people visit the Grand Strand. There are many, many sub-categories herein, including swimming, running, fishing, shell gathering, sand castle building, Frisbee throwing, volleyball, etc. etc. That's what makes the beach so great!

Shop, dine, and be thoroughly entertained at Barefoot Landing, featuring 100-plus shops, great restaurants, Alligator Adventure, The Alabama Theatre, the Barefoot Princess Riverboat, and the House of Blues.

Challenge friends and family to a race at NASCAR SpeedPark, where visitors can experience the excitement of NASCAR on seven challenging racetracks. Follow up with lunch or supper at the NASCAR Cafe.

Let the talented cast of the Carolina Opry entertain you and yours for an evening. Enjoy pop music, country, show tunes, comedy and more.

Create a cuddly creature at Build-A-Bear, located at Broadway at the Beach.

Spend a day and a night at Broadway at the Beach- not necessarily in the same 24-hour period. Besides biggie attractions like Ripley's Aquarium, Imax Theater, the Butterfly Pavilion, and the Palace Theater, there are lots of other attractions and activities to keep you entertained, plus unique shops and restaurants galore. The Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood are among the fun places to enjoy a meal.

Chill out at a water park. The biggest are Myrtle Waves in the heart of Myrtle Beach and the Wild Water Water & Race Theme Park on the South Strand. Both have multiple slides, lazy rivers, wave pools, and kiddie pools, plus lockers, concessions, video arcades, picnic areas and more.

Go to the rides! Amusement parks bring out the kid in all of us, whether we ride the rides or simply eat cotton candy and people watch. The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park is home to the Hurricane Category 5 roller coaster, dozens of rides, a historic carousel and band organ, and the oceanfront Pavilion. Down the boulevard is the Family Kingdom Amusement Park & Oceanfront Water Park, famous for the Swamp Fox roller coaster, the state's largest Ferris Wheel, tons of rides (many for small children), and a water park overlooking the ocean. Smaller parks also can be found throughout the area.

Rent a Jet Ski or sailboat for an hour or more of fun beyond the breakers.

See the area's newest show, "Spirit of the Dance," a high-stepping Irish dance show similar to "Riverdance".

Satisfy your need for speed at Myrtle Beach Grand Prix Family Thrill Park, featuring Formula 1 Grand Prix cars for licensed drivers, go carts for ages 5 and up, and lots of other rides for all ages.

Hit the flea markets. The Grand Strand has some great ones.

Join the fun at the Dixie Stampede, where guests enjoy a four-course meal along with singing, dancing, comedy, and friendly competitions between North and South.

Enjoy the Alabama Theatre's brand-new house show, "One," featured on evenings when no celebrity concerts are booked.

Journey into the underwater world of Ripley's Aquarium, voted the state's No. 1 tourist attraction in 1999. Other Ripley's attractions in the area include Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, Ripley's Moving Theater, and Ripley's Haunted House.

Play a game of miniature golf. (Yes, it's that "golf" word again, but the 115 courses mentioned above don't include the area's nearly-50 miniature golf courses.) To entice visitors, each course has a fun theme-everything from swashbuckling pirates to man-eating dinosaurs. Fun! Myrtle Beach hosts some of the most beautiful and challenging championship golf courses with more than 100 courses from which to play and has been rated in the Top 10 Golf destinations in the World.

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