Our Guide to New Smyrna Beach

Enjoying a villa holiday in Orlando does not have to be all about Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter or any of the other characters found in the famous theme parks. The Sunshine State of Florida has plenty more to offer than just rides and rollercoasters, so let’s take a look at something as far removed from this as we can get…

Surfing at New Smyrna Beach

If surfing really is your bag, New Smyrna Beach is an extremely popular classic small-town surf haven on the east coast of Florida, about an hour and a half away from our range of Kissimmee Villas. With narrow streets and wide sandy beaches with vehicle access, it will suit the ‘surfer-dudes’ in your family perfectly.

New Smyrna Beach has one of the most consistent surf breaks on the East Coast due to some useful rock ledges just offshore. The waves aren’t large here, but they are certainly reliable, with almost year-round surfing available and the beauty of the place still draws some of the best surfers in the world. No wonder the American Professional Surfing Association holds one of its premier contests here every summer!

In 2012, National Geographic Magazine recognised New Smyrna Beach as “one of the world’s top 20 surf towns.” and Surfer Magazine has ranked it consistently in its top ten list of “best surf towns.”

Tucked between the famous Daytona Beach and the equally popular Cocoa Beach, which are undoubtedly worth a visit too, New Smyrna Beach is perched right between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River lagoon - North America’s most biologically diverse estuary. With more than two miles of accessible boardwalks over the dunes there’s every chance you will catch sight of bottlenose dolphins swimming in the lagoon or frolicking alongside surfers. In warmer months, manatees migrate here and can spend up to eight hours a day eating seagrass and other aquatic plants. If you’re really lucky, whales travelling from Nova Scotia to the warmer Florida waters can be spotted during calving season. Because of the volume of fish in the water near the popular Ponce Inlet, don’t be surprised if you see the odd shark in the area as well.

There are plenty of local traders that can hire surf boards and wetsuits and, if necessary, a few of them offer surfing lessons to people of all ages and abilities so you can get the hang of surfing basics in just a couple of hours.

Because we are a specialist villa holiday company that deal primarily with Package Holidays to Orlando, surfing isn’t our main area of expertise; so for more detailed advice we’ve found you some links:

Official New Smyrna beach Website

Surfline

Red Dog Surf Shop

Surf Lane

Nichols Surf Shop