What are the beaches like along the coast of Charleston? (Myrtle Beach: hotels, houses)

[SME710]

How do the beaches along the coast of Charleston compare to Myrtle Beach?

What is the sand like,what is the water like, are there lifeguards? are there commercial stores, boardwalk, etc... Does anyone have any pictures too?

[DJShymansky]

They're not as commercialized as Myrtle is, nor as long. Isle of Palms comes closest and caters to more tourists. Folly is more local, better surfing. You should be able to find great picks of Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, etc., online.

[fisher33]

agree w/ djshymansky, but even w/ all our beaches (iop, sullivans, folly) there are mainly houses lining the beach, not hotels or stores or restaurants; however there is a restaurant in walking distance from all the beaches.

here are some links to photos of folly (i didn't take these photos, but this is really what the beaches looks like +/- a few people depending on the time of day)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/11...fe232c2a96.jpg
http://www.shanevaldez.com/follybeach01.jpg
http://www.follybeach.us/Folly-Beach-Pictures/images/Folly-Beach-Sunrise.jpg (broken link)

isle of palms:
Susan Bryant - Mt. Pleasant (http://www.searchschomesonline.com/as.asp?aid=1234912567&fid=5009447&popped=1 - broken link)

http://mikedurrett.blogspot.com/uplo...705-738003.jpg

sullivan's island:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...fBoardWalk.jpg

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/3410...ans_Island.jpg

once you go to a beach in charleston, myrtle won't seem like the real beach anymore!!

[AMMORRISON]

We are used to the brown sand of va bch and the white sands of fla. How does Folly Beach compare? Is there a lot of pebble or debris in it? Is it gritty?

[DJShymansky]

Closer to the sand of VA Beach than the white sand of Fla.

[AMMORRISON]

Thanks for the info DJ!

[DJShymansky]

You're always welcome. I recall the sand feeling a little less gritty than VA Beach and Ocean City, as well. So, certainly somwehere in between.

[fisher33]

no pebbles, but lots of shell bits. not white, but not brown. somewhere in the middle (fitting since it's in between the two places!).

[PalmettoGuy]

Closer to the sand of VA Beach than the white sand of Fla.

Not sure I agree with that one. VA Beach sand is rough and yellowish-brown, like you're on a beach of ground corn. Lowcountry sand may not be dazzling white, but it's way better than VB.

[Jim3310]

It almost depends on what section of beach you are on.
Our high & low tides are VERY different. It can be a couple of hundred yards to the water or 10 yards, depending on the tide.

Because of this, our sand is a bit harder, you can ride a bike on it with no difficulty.

However, the wind ALWAYS picks up at 3pm and the fine sand up by the dunes will blow your way.
jim