Local Highlights

GARDEN CITY SC - Garden City’s main attraction is Garden City Beach, only steps from Sea La Vie. Grab a boogie board and body surf on the waves, relax in the sun, take a walk on the beach, or build sand castles with the kids. For more exciting water fun, drive up the road to visit Myrtle Waves, a large water park with fun water slides and a lazy river. Or for more privacy, relax by Sea La Vie's private pool. Favorite Garden City activities of the kids are the Yum Yum Shop ice cream parlor, the Garden City Pavilion Aracade and the many miniature golf courses off of HWY 17. Adventurous adults can try para-sailing above the ocean and relaxing with a fishing pole on the 668 foot long Garden City Pier. Garden City Pier has something for the entire family and has been ranked Best Pier by Sun News 6 times since 2004. For surfers, Village Surf Shoppe, the home of Perfection Surf Boards, has everything you could need. Right accross the street from the Pier is the home of the original Sam's Corner, famous for its hotdogs and open 24 hours a day for casual dining. Seafood is the order of the day in the Grand Strand and one of the finest seafood restaurants around is right in Garden City, Sara J's, located on the marsh, and if the weather is good, you can enjoy your meal outside on the deck. For great food and oceanfront dining you can dine at Conch Cafe. For beach wear and souvenirs, Beach Billy's/Palmetto Outfitters at the corner of Seabreeze and HWY 17 offers excellent selections.

GRAND STRAND/MYRTLE BEACH SC - There are so many things to do on the Grand Strand and at Sea La Vie you are only minutes away from all Myrtle Beach has to offer. Myrtle Beach has a new boardwalk and attractions including a giant Ferris wheel. Visit Ripley's Believe It or Not museum and see the oddities, play in an arcade, or get a hot dog from Peaches Corner. At Broadway at the Beach, you have a wide choice of restaurants including Margaretville, owned by Jimmy Buffett, and enjoy mini golf, a movie theater, and countless shops. There are numerous restaurants up and down the Strand offering a myriad of choices. For entertainment, visit Carolina Opry, Legends in Concert, and the House of Blues. You can find clubs to go dancing or quiet little bars to have a dink. Myrtle Beach offers a variety of shopping options from second hand shops to boutiques to shopping malls. For mall shopping visit Barefoot Landing, Broadway at the Beach, Inlet Square Mall, Market Common Myrtle Beach, Coastal Grand Mall and 2 Tanger Outlet Centers.

GOLF at GRAND STRAND - Myrtle Beach is famous for its golf courses, many designed by the top course architects in the business. Sea La Vie is located centrally, no more than 30 minutes, to any of the Grand Strand's best courses and sleeps up to 14 to accommodate large golf parties. Following are a few of the courses available:

Champion golfer Davis Love is from NC and helped used regional knowledge designing Barefoot Resort and Golf's Love Course with elevated greens and tree-lined fairways, acclaimed by Golf Digest as one of Myrtle Beach's best. The Dunes Golf and Beach Club has consistently topped golf "best" lists since its 1948 opening due to its rolling terrain, oceanside proximity and grassy aggravations., landscaped by course architect Robert Trent Jones. Plantation Golf and Country Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is located at Pawleys Island on a former rice and indigo plantation and covers 600 acres of magnolias, salt marshes and azaleas. Also on Pawley, Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and its sister course True Blue, draw fans with centuries old moss draped oaks, antebellum clubhouses, down-home food and courses designed by world-renowned architect Mike Strantz.

More Green for Less Green (More affordable courses) like Heron Point, Wicked Stick, Heather Glen, Whispering Pines, aMyrtlewood Golf Club are designed by acclaimed course architects and offer unique charms that stand up to the big boys. For more information go to MyrtleBeachGolf.com

MURRELLS INLET SC - Located 15 minutes South of Sea La Vie, along a beautiful saltwater estuary, you'll find the historic village of Murrells Inlet, known as the "Seafood Capital of SC". Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk offers beautiful marsh views, waterfront dining on savory Low County cuisine of fresh seafood, the finest steaks and a range of mouthwatering delicacies prepared by award winning chefs, from casual to upscale dining. In the evening enjoy alternative to beach or country live music. Experience the beautiful and historic Murrells Inlet marshes up close and personal kayaking, SCUBA diving or para-sailing. Book a tour for the "Ocean Sightseeing" or "Dolphin Watching" to see dolphin, sea turtles and so much more. Book fishing excursions with some of the best Captains around at Tee to Sea Fishing and Captain Shannon's Inshore Fishing. If visiting the marsh by boat, you'll find plenty places to dock for lunch or dinner and full marina services at Crazy Sister Marina. Just across from the MarshWalk lies The Lazy Gator with over 15,000 square feet of unique gifts and Christmas treasures. Less than 5 miles from the MarshWalk you'll discover Brookgreen Gardens, a National Historical Landmark with one of the largest collections of figurative sculpture in an outdoor setting by American artists in the world. The thousands of acres in Brookgreen's Low Country History and Wildlife Preserve are rich with evidence of native plants and animals as well as the great rice plantations.

PAWLEYS ISLAND SC - Only 20 minutes from Sea La Vie is Pawleys Island, a popular historic town in Georgetown County that includes the Atlantic Coast barrier island and the unincorporated community on the mainland adjacent to the island. The island, settled by wealthy rice planters in the 1700s as a healthy alternative to their families living along mosquito infested rivers in the summer, is one of the oldest beach resort areas on the US East Coast. Cypress sided cottages on the island gave the community one of its monikers: "arrogantly shabby." Some homes that were blown away by Hurricane Hugo have been replaced by more "shabbier" homes but there is a ban on commercial or industrial buildings on the island with the exceptions of a 70s condominium complex and Sea View Inn which were grandfathered in. Today, Pawleys Island boasts many notable golf courses, many churches and dozens of shops and fine restaurants.

Among the most popular tourist attractions at Pawleys is The Hammock Shops, a village of boutique shops including the Hammock Weavers and original Hammock Shop. Restaurants include the bisQuit and nearby Creek Water Inn .

CHARLESTON SC - Just 70 miles South of Pawleys Island is Charleston, the oldest city in South Carolina and one of the most beautiful cities of the South. Founded and settled by English colonist in 1670, Charlestonn grew from a colonial seaport to a wealthy city my the mid-eighteenth century and through mid-nineteenth century, Charleston's economy prospered due to its busy seaport and the cultivation of rice, cotton and indigo. In April 1861, Confederate soldiers fired on Union occupied Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor, signaling the beginning of the Civil War. Charleston was slow to recover from the devastation of the war; however, its pace of recovery became the foundation of the City's greatest asset...its vast inventory of historically significant architecture. Short on capital after the war, Charleston was forced to repair existing damaged buildings instead of replacing them. Whether on a walking tour or from a horse drawn carriage through the cobblestone streets, discover the historic antebellum houses and fantastic views at Battery Park, colorful historic Rainbo Row, the beautiful Cathedra of Saint John the Baptist, Arthur Ravenal Jr Bridge, Mount Pleasant Pier, Charleston Waterfront Park. Enjoy shopping in the Old City Market and waterfront dining at one of many fine waterfront restaurants along The Battery or casual dine at Bubba Gumps. Folly Beach County Park and Fishing Pier, Cypress Gardens, Isle of Palms County Park, McCleod Plantation, Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, Magnolia Plantation, Boone Hall Plantation, South Carolina Aquarium are just a few of the many attractions.