Fall for Myrtle Beach: Week 1 (November 2025)

Myrtle Beach, SC, 14th Avenue Pier

Most of our travels during retirement have involved lots of travel and sight-seeing. A typical trip involves multiple days of car trips, hiking, more car travel, and multiple hotels. But at least once a year we do a slow travel trip.

For the last three years we have been spending at least one month visiting Myrtle Beach, SC during the off-season. We rent a condo unit in one of the downtown beach front motels. We prefer to rent a two-bedroom condo so that we can have friends and family visit with us during part of the month.

We consider our month stay in Myrtle Beach as slow travel. Slow travel is a mindset that prioritizes depth over speed, focusing on connecting with a place and its culture over visiting as many sights as possible. It involves spending longer in a single location, engaging with local life, and allowing for a relaxed pace and spontaneous exploration rather than a packed itinerary.

Anderson Ocean Club and Spa

The two-bedroom condo we rented for the month of November has a very nice ocean view and is one mile from the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. The hotel has a nice fitness center, a pool, and two hot tubs. This year we were on the 21st floor.

Fitness Center, Beach, and Boardwalk

Much of our time at the beach is spent in the fitness center, walking on the beach, and walking on the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is about 1.3 miles in length. Walking is a big part of my regular exercise regimen. I have been averaging about 14,000 steps a day this year. However, I have averaged about 22,000 steps a day during this first week at the beach.

It has been fun seeing city workers putting up decorations this week along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk.

SkyWheel

This year we bought a season pass for the SkyWheel. It was a good deal and we have rode it several times at different times of the day during the first week.

Conway Riverwalk

During our month at the beach, we try to take one small trip away from Myrtle Beach each week to explore the area. During our first week we travelled 35 minutes to the city of Conway to explore their Riverwalk on the Waccamaw River. The Conway Riverwalk is a 1.5 boardwalk that begins in a city park and ends in downtown Conway. There are great views of the Waccamaw River, boat launches, and even an old railroad track. We finished our trip into Conway by driving to Anto’s Pizza Romana in downtown Conway for dinner. Anto’s is locally famous for recently winning first place in the Pizza World Cup in Rome. They have a small dining facility and the place was very busy. We had about a 25-minute wait for our pizza but it was well worth it.

Eating Out and In

We enjoy eating out when we go to the beach. During our first week at the beach, we ate at LandShark Bar & Grill (part of the SkyWheel complex), Anto’s Pizza and Romana in Conway, and at Big Mike’s Soul Food.

One night after riding the SkyWheel we ate dinner at the attached LandShark Bar & Grill. Tammie had the Seafood Lettuce Wraps with house-made shrimp and crab seafood salad. It was served with bibb lettuce, sliced jalapeños, and diced cucumbers and tomatoes. I had the LandShark Fish & Chips that were dipped in batter, fried and served with jalapeño tartar sauce and French fries. Both were very good.

On our trip to Conway, we ate at the award winning Anto’s Pizza and Romana. Because there was a 30-minute wait we decided to order the Garlic Knots as an appetizer. We got an order of 6 and they did a great job of keeping away the hunger pains as we waited for our pizza to be made and baked. We ordered the Leo’s Meatlover Pie which included pepperoni, Italian sausage, bacon, mozzarella, meatballs, red sauce and fresh basil.

Every time we come to Myrtle Beach we stop at Big Mike’s Soul Food for their Shrimp Boil. The Shrimp Boil includes shrimp, potatoes, corn on the cob, and sausage. My wife also ordered a side of collard greens. We highly recommend it.

Of course, we don’t eat out every evening. Tammie brought some meals she made at home and froze; she also cooks meals from ingredients we buy at local stores, and, of course, we eat leftovers as well. It is a good thing we are getting in extra exercise while we are here.