Daytona Beach, Florida: Take it fast, take it slow – but take it in!
Daytona Beach is the capital of the fastest and the slowest holiday styles in Florida. Speedway, stock cars and racing thrills or 23 miles of relaxing white sand beaches – the choice is yours
Daytona Beach is the capital of the fastest and the slowest holiday styles in Florida. Speedway, stock cars and racing thrills or 23 miles of relaxing white sand beaches – the choice is yours.
You can take Daytona Beach as fast as you can or as slow as you like. Whichever style you prefer, you shouldn’t miss it.
During Spring Break and Bike Week, the town is jumping, crowded and more alive than an ant hill! The rest of the year, it is whatever you want it to be.
First things first though. To get there, pick up Highway 4 from the North-Eastern end of Orlando. Head North and you’ll land in Daytona Beach in about an hour or so.
Anything with an Engine Comes to Daytona Beach
If you decide to go to Daytona Beach, you could be in for a whole lot of fun. Lovers of the thrills and spills of motor racing will feel as if they have come home at last. If it’s got an engine, it has probably been raced in – or ON – the sands at some time since 1903 when the first official race took place there.
To watch the action, go to The Daytona International Speedway site and check up on race dates and ticketing information for stock cars, race cars, speedway and go-karts.
To play the speed-freak in person, go to the Richard Petty Driving Experience – it’s hair-raising but it’s fun!
For interactive racers, we recommend the simulators, exhibits and IMAX at Daytona USA . It’s the most exciting interactive almost-museum we’ve ever been in.
To keep speed-loving kids happy, try Go-Kart City where the go-karts are made in the form of replica stock cars.
And for the motor-history buffs there is the FREE Living Legends of Auto Racing Museum.
23 Miles of the Best Beaches in Florida.
When you’ve had your fill of the speed and excitement of the track, you can toddle off to the Beach.
There are 23 miles of white sandy beach so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a spot – and there are practically no Germans so you’ll have no trouble finding a sunbed either!
The winds that blow in from the sea keep the beach warm in winter and cool in summer so it’s a good place to be at practically any time of the year.
Relax with a good book or, if you’ve really been bitten by the speed bug, keep the old adrenalin rushing with some of the water sports available on the beach.
There’s everything from surfing schools to kayak (canoe) rental to banana rides to sport fishing and parasailing.
Something Completely and Chocolately Different.
For something completely unique, we highly recommend a visit to Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory. They’ll give you a free tour of their traditional handmade chocolate factory and throw in some scrummy free samples. It’s a must for chocolate monsters everywhere!
The New Improved Daytona Beach
The town has had some bad press in the past. People have complained of run-down areas along the approaches to Daytona Beach and some rather unpleasant smells too! We have driven into the area about a dozen times and we have never noticed any of these things – maybe we just go around with our eyes closed!
The good news is that the city has invested millions in redevelopment over the past few years and the investment is now starting to pay off in terms of visitor numbers and satisfaction.
The new face of tourist activity can be found at the prestigious new Oceanwalk development. If you like your holidays to be squeaky clean and cutting edge you should probably stay, play, eat and drink down at Oceanwalk. Go for one of the big new resort hotels and play till you drop.
When you choose your accommodation in Daytona Beach, remember that you can only see a sun RISE over the Atlantic from the East Coast of the Americas – so hang the expense and get a room with a sea view. I promise you it is worth getting up for! And remember you can always catch up on your sleep later on the beach if you need to.
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