My family usually travels to Myrtle Beach about every four years together. Our usual place we stay at is a condo that belongs to a friend in North Myrtle Beach. However on this trip my parents had just upgraded their camper and decided to "camp" or rather "glamp" at the beach.
They had looked at many other locations had decided on this one. Partly because we had stayed at this location before but in one of the villas owned by a friend. Pirate Land offers a unique experience and it's own identity or culture on the property and is mostly self contained.
There are several villas that are owned by residents that either stay here full time or part time and allow friends and guests to stay. Although these are not supposed to be rented out, I am sure there are some arrangements made outside of Pirate Land's pervue. There are also camping sites for tents, RV's, and camping trailers that offer full hook-ups. However, I would warn that the sites are pretty close proximity to each other and you become friends with your neighbors. Parking in your site is at a premium as there is just enough room for your camping trailer.
There are bathroom/shower houses available in pretty convenient locations throughout that may only be a short walking distance. The shower houses are pretty clean, coming from a former Boy Scout I think they are actually nice. There are private shower stalls with a changing area as well as toilet stalls and they are cleaned daily. The only item I would add is they have air dryers installed and I prefer paper towels as I believe they are more sanitary, especially as COVID is a concern. Of course, I would still recommend wearing some sandals while showering. The best times seem to be about mid-morning.
With the camping sites there are several located near and around the pool area that have trees and shade. as you get closer to the beach you loose that shade however it appears most of those sites have a hard pavilion in each site to offer some form of shelter or shade.
The location is laid out fairly well with streets and street names. There are several one-way streets so be aware of that, however, I have noticed hardly anyone obeys that rule. Most of the resort is central to the Camp Store but there are several outlying locations, those are mostly the villas with the permanent residents though.
This is a great place for families even with those with young children as you really don't have to leave for much entertainment. The camp store has several sundries as well as toys and souvenirs. Even some basic RV/Camper repair items and supplies. Connected with the camp store is the laundromat. You will need to bring your own detergent and they have a sign requiring it to be a liquid detergent. Cost is $2.00 per wash cycle and 25 cents per drying cycle ( I estimate about 15 minutes). They do have a coin machine inside the laundry mat. Just north of the camp store is the arcade and grill. Inside the arcade there are various amusements such as skeet-ball, basketball, claw machines, racing, and shooter games. The arcade does use a game card that you have to load and re-load for use. Additionally you can win prizes such like the arcades you would find inside shopping malls. Within the arcade is the Captain's Galley grill. They provide breakfast options and lunch/dinner options. Pretty reasonably priced I believe and will even deliver to your campsite (although we did not use this service as it was easy walking distance).
South of the camp store, in the basically the same parking lot area, is the Pool access, Putt-Putt Golf, and food truck. The pool includes a lazy river, swimming pool area, and children's play area with pirate themed splash pad. There are adequate space for lounging and tanning and restrooms. Honestly, if I had a small child I would probably spend most of my time in the lazy river or splash pad because it had so much to do and was really fun.
Everyday there is a food truck available for lunch or dinner options. They have signs up outside the location to let you know what trucks are there and when. Fridays and Tuesdays are shrimp nights from 4pm - 8pm, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday is BBQ truck 11am-7pm,; Monday and Thursday is a Chicken Truck 11am - 7pm. The average price is about $10 for a plate or about $7 for just an entree. Make sure to have plenty of cash for food trucks and beach vendors.
For the beach, access is really easy and convenient. There is parking for your golf cart and you can walk right out to the water with just a very short walk. I didn't see any large enough spaces for cars so really you have two choices, walk or drive your golf cart. The main mode of transportation around here is a golf cart and you can conveniently rent one during your stay on property (although the rental place is not owned by Pirate Land and is a private company that maintains a location on site). Speaking of golf carts, it is a common thing to decorate or "pimp your ride" with various things. Most people buy a large animal float and strap it to the top (unicorns, flamingos, alligators, etc) along with streamers, LED lights, flags and signs. Some have been able to install a Bluetooth speaker. Every night around 9pm there is a golf cart "cruising" parade on the main strip or street where the beach access is. People just ride from one end to the other, turning around, and going back.
The beach does not have any lifeguards that I could see so swim at your own risk. Also, I didn't see any flags to let you know water conditions so be cautious and do your homework to know whether the water is safe and no rip tides or other dangers. From time to time a vendor may come by with frozen lemonade or Italian ice priced around $4. Also be aware that tents and sports umbrellas are not allowed. Beach patrol drives up and down checking on this. Standard beach umbrellas and chairs are of course permitted. The best time to be at the beach if you want to avoid the crowds is 8am to 11am. After that it begins to become crowded.
A few additional notes:
As I said before this is a very family friendly campground and with that being said extra caution must be taken to look out for children on bicycles and playing in the road. Also for parents, pay close attention to where your children are. The roads or streets are full of campers coming in and leaving on certain days with large vehicles and trailers that makes it difficult to see, not to mention the various golf cart traffic.
There are a few fishing spots with in the campground as well as the beach so if fishing is your thing this would be another great activity to enjoy during your stay. If you plan on tent camping make sure to bring a rain cloth or tarp to place under your tent and maybe over your tent. The sites tend to flood since the ground pretty flat. Check the weather.
Cable connections are a little spotty. We could get a few channels on our TV but nothing great. Not that you should be trying to watch TV on your vacation. There is Wi-Fi here but I couldn't really connect to it. We use Sprint and Verizon for cell service and on average we had about 2 bars. Okay for calls but not so much for data. Just be aware of that.
COVID-19 thoughts:
For grocery shopping there is a Wal-Mart close by but a better secret that is much less crowded is actually the Food Lion. It was convenient and honestly had few people in there. The store was clean and you were able to keep social distance standards. I did, however, notice that a good majority of people did not utilize masks. Our family wore masks whenever we were inside a store (which was just groceries and a couple of souvenir places).
For Pirate Land, the camp store would sanitize your hands upon entering and they do have tape marking the floor of where to stand when checking out and at the Captain's Galley Grille inside the arcade. The pool would shut down every 2 hours for cleaning for about 30 minutes and re-open. For the beach, as I said earlier, just me mindful. Most people are and we stay within our family groups but the beach can still become crowded depending upon the time of day. The public restrooms were cleaned about once a day as far as I can tell. The only comment for improvement I would have is they only have one hand soap dispenser serving about 3 sinks and it is located at the end of the wall so you have to cross over people to access it. Also, they only offer a hand air dryer. Not paper towels. Paper towels are far more sanitary than air dryers which never reach the proper temperature and we read countless articles of fecal matter being found on POS screens at restaurants because of this, yet Pirate Land has a trash can for paper towels to be discarded in their restrooms. I would just carry my own into the restroom.
On the way in or out of Myrtle Beach if you have traveling down 501 I highly recommend a stop at SPARKY'S in Marion, SC. You will see several signs for them. They are great place to check out all leather gear (hats, boots, etc), a convenience store and gas station, fireworks retailer, souvenirs, a quick bite to eat, and even a delicious section of candied pecans, jams, sauces, and more.
Overall I enjoy this location even though it is located in South Myrtle, we prefer North Myrtle.
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