I just went back to one of my favorite Florida beach towns: Daytona. A college spring break hotspot back in the day, Daytona is now a calm, cool and old-school slice of beach living. The sand is amazing, the water is warm, the vibe is chill and the prices are affordable.
Not much has changed since the Daytona of my youth. Maybe, to some, this is a bad thing but, to me, it’s great. A1-A is still lined with hotels and restaurants of every size and shape on the beach side and shops filled with sandals and seashells on the inland size. When the tide is right, you have the option every few blocks to drive right down onto the beach and find your own ocean-side parking spot (an advantage of the endless beach of Central Florida’s Atlantic Coast). Or, if you want a little distance from the car crowd, head to the traffic-free section of beach south of Seabreeze Boulevard. You can park in the Ocean Center garage or in public parking on the side streets .
The traffic free zone includes the historic pier and boardwalk area and the Ocean Walk Shoppes, giving you a choice of post-beach entertainment. Options include the movies, a waterpark, arcade games, bumper cars, people-watching, eating, drinking and shopping. The city of Daytona has pumped millions of dollars into rebuilding the pier and it will soon be the home of a Joe’s Crab Shack.
If you are a nautical type, head 10 miles south to see the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and climb the 175-foot-tall tower for a great view of the sprawling beaches and surrounding waterways. Speaking of waterways, Ponce Inlet is your jumping off point for deep sea fishing. Or head north into the beautiful Halifax River for calmer waters and a view of some beautiful homes tucked among a mix of palm trees and spanish moss-draped live oaks.
The bottom line is that Daytona is not Disney or South Beach or even Hilton Head. It’s a place where the south and beach blend, commercialism isn’t overwhelming and a glimpse of the past shines through to the modern world. For some, it’s a town of race cars and motorcycles, which is true a few weeks of the year. The rest of the time, it’s a stretch of beach that’s easy, accessible and not to be forgotten.
