Gay Dolphin Gift Cove

Gay Dolphin Gift Cove is a Gift Shop in Myrtle Beach, SC, located at 916 N. Ocean Blvd. It is Myrtle Beach’s oldest, largest, and most unique gift shop, offering a wide selection of sea shells, apparel, home decor, collectibles, jewelry, and shark teeth. The shop features seven photo opportunities ranging from a lifesize Yeti and Elvis to Egyptian guardians and pirates. It is located one block south of the SkyWheel on Ocean Boulevard and the Oceanfront Boardwalk. The business holds a 4.50 rating based on 4065 reviews.

Justin Plyler founded the business in 1946 with a vision for Myrtle Beach as an affordable, family-friendly vacation destination. What started as a small gift shop with a large amusement park for children has grown into one of the most visited attractions in the Grand Strand. In the early 1940s, Justin and Eloise Plyler purchased their first oceanfront lot and added several businesses, including the Tom Thumb golf course, the Tuck ‘Em Inn, the Coast Inn, the Just Inn, a reptile show, Myrtle Beach’s first aquarium, a monkey exhibit, Gorillaland, a rifle range, Kiddieland with rides like a Tilt-a-Whirl and bumper cars, Gay Dolphin Park with the Wild Mouse roller coaster, Jones Bingo, and a donut shop. The first gift shop opened was called Shell Craft.

The original store was destroyed in Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and rebuilt in phases. The oceanfront part was rebuilt first, then the basement and stockroom were added. In the early 1960s, construction expanded the store to Ocean Boulevard, and the iconic tower was built. The business has been family owned and operated for more than 70 years by Justin Whitaker Plyler and Eloise Plyler, their daughter Kay Plyler Brandon, and their son Justin A. “Buz” Plyler, who runs the Gay Dolphin today. Along with Lazelle’s Flower Shop, it is one of the oldest businesses in Myrtle Beach still owned and operated by the original family. The shop is open from 9:30 a.m. to midnight in summer, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. during the shoulder season, and 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in winter.

Gay Dolphin Gift Cove has built a solid reputation among the customers it has served, supported by an established track record reflected in its large base of customer reviews.

Gay Dolphin Gift Cove combines its long history as a Myrtle Beach tradition with a unique shopping experience that continues to attract visitors to Ocean Boulevard.

The shop sits on North Ocean Boulevard, just steps from Fun Plaza and Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. It is also near Justin W. Plyler Boardwalk Park and Plyler Park, both about a tenth of a mile away.

BizScoreAI gives the business a Performance score of 97 out of 100, which measures how quickly the website loads to keep visitors on the page and aid search engine ranking. It also holds a Discoverability score of 75 out of 100, ensuring AI crawlers can find every page so the business can be recommended by AI assistants.