Half-day inshore
Flat water, short run, constant bites. Redfish, trout and flounder. The trip to book if anyone in your group has never been on a boat.
$300–525/boatmost run $450–500Checked September 2026
Check ratesGrand Strand fishing
Six charters leave Murrells Inlet before sunrise. Here's how to pick yours.
Half-day inshore from $300–525, a full day offshore, or a seat on a head boat. We price what the market actually lists, say who each trip suits, and tell you when it isn't worth it.
$300–525
Inshore private, per boat
$450–500
What most inshore trips run
$600–1,200
Offshore private, per boat
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Trip types
Pick the trip before you pick the boat
The biggest mistake visitors make is booking by price. Start with how far out you want to go and who's coming.
Full-day offshore
Bottom fishing over live reef for grouper, snapper and amberjack. Long enough to reach real structure, short enough to be back for dinner.
$600–1,200/boat8-hour average $1,198Checked September 2026
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Head boat
You buy one seat, not the whole boat. Rod, bait and license included. Crowded on summer weekends, so go on a weekday morning.
$49–60/personmost half-day seats are $50–55Checked September 2026
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Gulf Stream run
Mahi, tuna and wahoo in blue water. Leaves before dawn and it’s a long ride each way. Skip it if anyone gets seasick.
$2,000–2,600/boat12-hour trips start at $2,000Checked September 2026
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Shark trip
Blacktip and spinner sharks a few miles off the beach, June through August. Big fight, short run, and everyone gets a turn on the rod.
$445–650/boatmost 4-hour trips run $450–650Checked September 2026
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Private charter
The whole boat and the captain’s full attention. It costs more per head than a head boat seat at any group size, so book it for the schedule and the target species, not to save money.
$300+/boathalf day $500–750, full day $1,350–1,500Checked September 2026
Check ratesThe short answer
What does a Myrtle Beach fishing charter cost?
A private half-day inshore charter runs $300–525 for the boat, typically four to six anglers, and stays in the creeks and inlet. The bottom of that range is a two-hour trip; most four-hour inshore trips run $450 to $500, and the average is $510.Full-day offshore trips run $600–1,200, with the eight-hour average at $1,198. A head boat seat is $49–60/person for four to six hours, the cheapest way onto the water and the right call with young kids, because you buy one seat rather than the whole boat.
Most families do best on a half-day inshore trip. The full day is worth it in May and June, when the fish are close and the water is calm. It usually isn't in August, when afternoon storms cut trips short.
Based on 155 Myrtle Beach listings on FishingBooker plus published rate cards from eight Grand Strand operators, checked September 2026.
Prices checked September 2026 · Murrells Inlet, Little River & North Myrtle BeachDeparture points
Where the boats actually leave from
"Myrtle Beach fishing charter" almost always means a dock somewhere else. Here's who leaves from where, and how far you'll drive.
Murrells Inlet
~20 min south
The deepest fleet on the Strand. Inshore, nearshore and offshore, all off the MarshWalk.
Little River
~35 min north
Head boats and long Gulf Stream runs. The quickest ocean access on the north end.
North Myrtle Beach
~25 min north
Private inshore and shark trips, plus most of the family-boat operators.
Myrtle Beach
In town
Fewer docks than you'd think. Most in-town bookings sail out of one of the other three.
The booking clock
Everyone books in July. The boats you want are gone by then.
Charter demand on the Strand across a full year. July is nearly ten times November, and March is when the planners move.
Book in March
March demand jumps past April and May, which is families locking in summer trips months ahead. Book a July charter in March and you get first pick of captain and tide.
Go in shoulder season
May and September fish well and cost the same as August. Half the boats, same water. October is the local's secret and almost nobody is out there.
The Strand
What you get besides the fish
Sixty miles of coast, and most of it is still salt marsh and tidal creek rather than beachfront. That is where the boats go and it is the reason a half day out here does not feel like a half day anywhere else. Herons and egrets working the flats, osprey overhead, dolphins in the creeks on the incoming tide, and the marsh grass turning gold in the last hour of light.
The docks fill up in the evening with families waiting to see what came off the boats, and the restaurants along the water start their music about the same time. Plenty of people book a trip for the fishing and remember the rest of it.
Read first
The guides worth ten minutes before you book
What a Myrtle Beach fishing charter really costs in 2026
What each trip type costs, with what's included and what isn't.
Deep sea vs. inshore: which is worth it?
How far out you need to go to catch what you're picturing.
Head boat or private charter with a family of four?
The head boat wins on price at every group size. Here is what private actually buys.
Shark fishing on the Strand: season, cost, and what you'll see
June to August, close to shore, all catch and release.
Murrells Inlet vs. Little River: where should you sail from?
Drive time, fleet depth, and which one suits your trip.
The best month to fish Myrtle Beach
Month by month, what's running and what it costs.
Seasonal updates
Know what is running before you book
What is biting each month, what a trip costs then, and when to book it. A few emails a year, sent when the seasons turn.
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