Take A Trip to the Beach – Daytona Beach!

Take A Trip to the Beach – Daytona Beach!

When you need a break from the hectic whirl of Orlando and its many theme parks and other attractions, the simple answer is to head for the seaside. And, from Central Florida, that’s an easy journey to arrange.

Nature’s own theme parks pretty much line Florida’s coast in unbroken splendour, and it’s not hard to find a stretch of beach that is ideal for providing some epic chillout time. And, if you’re looking for somewhere with great name recognition, it’s hard to look beyond Daytona Beach.

Just to start with, Daytona is a name full of 20th century appeal. It was here that Sir Malcolm Campbell set his world land speed record of 276mph in 1935 in his famous Blue Bird speedster, and it remains the home of American motor-sport to this day. Its beaches are rightly world famous, the wildlife is ever-present, and its history goes all the way back to 1513, when explorer Juan Ponce De Leon pulled ashore with Spain’s conquistadores.

At just 90 minutes from Walt Disney World, this is also in an easy drive, straight east along main motorway I-4, and there are some good stopping points to break up the journey.

You should definitely start with breakfast at De Leon Springs State Park. It costs $6 per car to enter the park, but it’s home to the wonderfully rustic Old Sugar Mill Pancake House, a local favorite that specialises in pancakes you cook on special griddles set into every table. It is great family fun and an authentic experience inside this 100-year-old replica of a 19th century sugar mill. Be sure to wander around the Springs, too, for another taste of genuine Florida.

Continue to Daytona and start by doing what the locals do by driving ON the beach. That’s right, for a $20 all-day fee, you can cruise along the hard-packed sands with your windows down and take in a big chunk of the 23 miles of open, white beach promenade. Stop by the Daytona Beach Pier, try the neat array of amusement rides and arcade games, go shopping at the Ocean Walk Shoppes, try your hand at fishing from the pier and chow down at locals’ hangout Joe’s Crab Shack.

Head south and you reach the little hideaway of Ponce Inlet, home of one of the tallest lighthouses in America, the Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, with a fascinating glimpse into 19th century Floridian history. It takes 203 steps to climb the 175ft tower, but it’s worth it for the immense view from the top.

Families will enjoy the Marine Science Center, with a great window onto the coast’s wildlife. Here you’ll find fish, sea turtles, stingrays and 300-year-old brain coral (!), as well as a wealth of fun educational and environmental exhibits, many of them with children in mind.

After all the land-based fun, you need the sea-going view, too, and that is provided by Ponce Inlet Watersports, who offer parasailing, fishing, paddle-boarding and kayaking along the Halifax River and Indian River estuaries, as well as fabulous eco-tours looking for dolphins and manatees, stopping at isolated beaches and collecting shells.

Away from the beaches, the other local icon hereabouts is an equally big attraction, in every sense. Dating back to 1959, Daytona International Speedway is a massive homage to high-octane racing of every kind, including the Rolex 24 each January, the Daytona 500 in February, Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August and many other races. It boasts a 101,500-seat main grandstand that’s almost a mile long (with a total venue capacity of 250,000 on race days) and offers daily tours that provide a driver’s eye view of this mind-boggling racetrack, in addition to the Motorsports Hall of Fame. You’ll need at least two hours to see it all, but it’s well worth it, even for non-race fans.

For night-time fun, the neighboring One Daytona is a modern shopping, dining and entertainment complex featuring 17 places to eat and drink (try coffee shop Copperline and Dahlia Mexican Kitchen for memorable dining), almost 20 individual shops and boutiques, the Game Time arcade centre, two hotels and a state-of-the-art 12-screen cinema multiplex. There is live music at weekends and a pretty lively vibe throughout, and we rate the Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery a great choice by day or night.

To sample even more of the attractive coastal scene hereabouts, backtrack slightly on Highway 1 and visit the equally welcoming town of New Smyrna Beach, another superb example of old world Floridian seaside charm. Unlike its bigger neighbor, New Smyrna is a more down-home, small-scale experience, albeit still with great shops, restaurants and a blissful 17 miles of white-sand beach (which you can also drive on).

The super-cute town centre runs along Canal Street, which is full of one-off shops and cafes, as well as the New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company (try their Shark Attack for a flavorful IPA while the Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter is another standout). Art lovers should head for The Hub On Canal, a superb ‘artist colony’ of painters, sculptors and other artists who offer an original array of artwork, gifts and even classes.

Flagler Avenue holds the beachy heart of New Smyrna, packed with more cafes, bars and shops. Breakers Ocean Front Restaurant & Bar is a distinct local institution, as is the Ocean Breeze Tiki Bar with its tropically-themed rooftop bar, while Smyrna Dunes Park is an impressive 184-acre stretch of pristine sand dunes, elevated walkways and picnic areas where the locals bring their dogs for a paddle (admission $10/vehicle).

Finally, on the drive back to Orlando, we heartily recommend stopping off in DeLand, about 25 miles back along I-4. As well as being the gateway to De Leon Springs, it boasts another ultra-cute town centre (voted Best Main Street in America in 2017), full of unique shops and restaurants, plus Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co and the 1883 campus of Stetson University, which makes for a pleasant half-hour walk.

And that is our inside track on enjoying this particular corner of Florida. As ever, there is a LOT to take in, so you should start planning. Soon!

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