MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Myrtle Beach has a reputation as a family beach – a workingman’s destination where a week of sun and fun with the kids won’t break the bank.

In a time of high unemployment and a recession, that makes the Grand Strand – the 60 miles of shoreline from Georgetown, S.C., to the North Carolina state line – especially attractive.

The area offers a bit of everything: weathered beach bungalows at Pawleys Island and mom-and-pop hotels amid pricier high-rise condos in Myrtle Beach; amusement parks where you pay by the ride; and plenty of golf. But the main attraction is, and always has been, the beach.

Start your visit at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce – better yet, go online before you arrive: www.visitmyrtlebeach.com. The office is a few blocks off the shore in the heart of Myrtle Beach. There’s a second visitors’ center at the airport and a third in the fishing village of Murrells Inlet to the south. The Chamber folks are invaluable.

Getting around: Most visitors arrive by car. On busy beach weekends, that can mean traffic. New roads in recent years have helped. The Carolina Bays Parkway, state Route 31, and the Conway Bypass, state Route 22, now provide expressway alternatives to what was once stop-and-go traffic.

At VisitMyrtleBeach.com, you can click a city of origin and get a gas-cost estimate. That ensures your budget isn’t bushwacked before you get there.

Free, or nearly free, faves: A mile-long, $6 million boardwalk, set to be finished this spring, is being built along the shore in the center of Myrtle Beach. It will have green spaces to sit and old-fashioned street lamps. During the summer, there are street performers, face painters and free concerts (www.myrtlebeachdowntown.com).

Broadway At the Beach, between the shore and the Intracoastal Waterway, is a 350-acre entertainment and shopping complex featuring an IMAX 3-D theater, a Ripley’s Aquarium, Hard Rock Cafe and pubs. As the weather warms up, there are free concerts followed by fireworks (www.broadwayatthebeach.com).

A change of pace from the bustle of downtown Myrtle Beach is the free Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk in nearby Murrells Inlet. It offers picturesque views of the fishing boats and wildlife such as herons and gulls in a quiet walk along the inlet. On the mainland side, the walk connects with eight seafood restaurants in the town locals call “The Seafood Capital of South Carolina” (www.murrellsinletmarshwalk.com).

Festival season along the Grand Strand includes concerts, parades and other free events, kicking off with the annual Canadian-American Days Festival, Saturday to March 21. The Sun Fun Festival takes place in June and the Beach Boogie and BBQ Festival winds up the season at Labor Day (www.grandstrandevents.com).

From June through August, the Market Common, a shopping complex on what was once the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, offers a KidZone every Monday with jumping castles and the like. Kids can jump all day for $10. Friday nights the complex’s Valor Park has free live music (www.marketcommonevents.com).

If you’re looking for something beyond sand and surf, stop by the Franklin G. Burroughs Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum. The museum, also free, has displayed contemporary art by Southern artists since 1977 (www.myrtlebeachartmuseum.org).

For a few dollars more: The Myrtle Beach area offers a variety of amusement and water parks. Family Kingdom Amusement Park is the only seaside amusement park in the area. Dating to 1966, it features the signature Swamp Fox wooden roller coaster and the largest Ferris wheel in South Carolina. There’s no admission to the park. There are individual ride tickets or a $33 combo pass for unlimited rides for a day at both the amusement and water parks (www.familykingdomfun.com).

The famous beachfront Myrtle Beach Pavilion closed down several years back. But a number of the smaller rides, and the funnel cake stand, have been relocated to the smaller Pavilion Nostalgia Park at Broadway at the Beach.

During spring and fall, you’ll find more people on the golf course than on the beach. With 100 regulation golf courses, there’s something for every golfer and most courses are public. One place to start is the Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday Web site, where you can log in with details about your trip plans and get quotes on golf packages with accommodations (www.golfholiday.com).

The Grand Stand has more than 50 minigolf courses, many with nautical themes. Full-price tickets run $8 for adults and $6 for kids.

Another big draw is shopping. You’ll find outlet stores, national chains like Victoria’s Secret and everything in between. The Grand Strand has 326 gift, novelty and souvenir stores, including ubiquitous beachwear shops.

The Grand Strand also boasts 1,700 full-service restaurants.

Lodging: With 60 miles of coastline, it’s not hard, or expensive, to find a room with a view of the water or one within a block or two of the shore.

The Grand Strand has nearly 90,000 rooms for rent, from upscale hotels to mom-and-pop motels to villas and condos on golf courses. Book your own online: Online rates for many condos and hotels in late March and April range from less than $100 to more than $200 a night.

Many hotels in spring and fall offer specials, giving visitors a free night or two if they stay a specified number of nights. You can also stretch your dollar by looking at amenities. The Dunes Village Resort has a full-fledged 15,000-square-foot indoor water park, free for guests, with a slide big enough for adults, so there’s no need for a trip to an amusement park (www.dunesvillage.com).

For camping out, Myrtle Beach State Park offers 350 campsites. Huntington Beach State Park, farther south, has 133 campsites (www.southcarolinaparks.com).

Bringing the RV? The Lakewood Camping Resort offers 1,100 campsites and 85 villas on a 200-acre oceanfront campground (www.lakewoodcampground.com).