Best scenic route from Raleigh to Myrtle Beach (Fayetteville, Wilmington: hotels, houses)

[Deadsaint]

Hey guys, we just moved to the area and will be heading to Myrtle Beach soon. I wanted to know what route everyone takes and the best scenic routes. Also which hotels do you guys prefer and attractions.

[cyn7cyn]

Scenic isn't really how I would describe it. Drive 5 miles in Eastern Nc and that's about what it all looks like. Of course there is South of the Border going 95. Now the smart option is to take a look a the signs and big sombrero as you drive by. Do not actually exit and go. Trust me when I say your imagination is better then the reality. Tourist trap and a bad one at that. However if your into tacky stuff and enjoy some kitsch be my guest. Conway is a quaint small town to drive thru and used to be a necessity to reach Myrtle but I think some ways might bypass it these days. I'm not good on directions so I'll refrain from advising a specific route. I've gone the new and old way and there's really not a big time difference. Mainly just the preference for 2 lane country roads or interstate. I'd like to say the back way is more scenic but it's really not. My GPS did navigate me a back way one time but unless you consider overgrown weeds over trailers and extreme rural poverty and sweepstakes cafes scenic I'd keep to the beaten path. Sadly interstate billboards are the most memorable site along the way. But you got a lot of them . You'll see......

[poppydog]

well said cyn7cyn. I-95 is an ugly, but fast road. I think I-40 to Wilmington/Wrightsville is more "scenic" but that's stretching the word a bit.

[Poggly Woggly]

I drove the scenic route home from Myrtle early this morning. I always take 40 to 95 from Raleigh...87 S. from Fayetteville...131 from Tar Heel...right on 41 and back left onto 131...410 to 701 to 9 to beaches...I thought Bladenboro was especially nice this morning around 6:00 time...3 hrs and 15 minutes...3 short stops.

[twingles]

We got taken through the scenic route on our way back from MB a few years ago courtesy of our GPS. It was not too bad, and was actually faster than the way we went to MB (40 to 17). But it felt kinda long.

MB is big - your route may depend on whether you're going to the northern or southern end.

[rfb]

I don't really find farmland and an occasional small town all that scenic, so I tend to take the fastest route I can to Myrtle Beach. I do take the I-40 to US-17 route every so often as my son likes to visit the NC Battleship. Plus, you can stop off at Wilmington for lunch, which IMO actually is scenic.

[Francois]

You really would not describe that route as "scenic"--most of it is very boring, flat Eastern NC farmland that you just want to get through as fast as possible. Maybe take 40 to Wilmington and then 17 to MB, which would run you along the coast somewhere--but the roads to the beach were built to be efficient and get people there, not to be "scenic". It's not like the California Coast by any stretch.

[carolinadawg2]

I assume by "scenic" you simply mean the "back way", not literally the way that has beautiful scenery. If thats the case, take 401 to Fayetteville, then 87 to Elizabethtown, 701 south to Loris, SC. Hwy 9 to state highway 348 to 22 (Conway Bypass) takes you right into MB.

[Poggly Woggly]

Scenic to me means fields on all kinds, tobacco barns, old country stores, farm houses, small town main street and it's inhabitants...that type of stuff

[poppydog]

If you go down 87 through Tar Heel you get to see the world's largest meat processing plant. You might want to keep your windows rolled up.