Daytona Beach, Florida

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Daytona Beach.

Daytona Beach is north-centrally located on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. South of the city of Jacksonville by about 80 miles and north of Cape Canaveral by 60 miles, it is one of the closest coastal cities to the fantasy land surrounding Orlando. Daytona Beach's population is around 65,000 permanent residents and increases significantly during the tourist season. Weekends and holidays see the city's beaches and roadways fill with weekenders and day visitors.

Daytona Beach may be best known for its early association with the automotive industry. During the first 4 decades of the 20th Century automobile test and race drivers pushed their company's products to the limits on the hard-packed, sandy Atlantic shores of Daytona Beach. The sleepy little town filled to the brim with visitors during those races and tests, much the same as it does with today's Daytona 500. Although the king of stock car races has moved from its beach beginnings to the inland area of Daytona, the beach town has not completely forgotten its heritage. In fact, very well known today for its motorcycle festivals, it caters to the piston crowd like no other.

To college kids in the 70's and 80's, however, Daytona Beach was best known as THE party town. Each year at the semester break, tens of thousands of pre-adult adolescents descended on the beach town turning it into a 24-hour non-stop center for drugs, alcohol and sex. Well covered each year by the media, scenes of destruction and debauchery were dispatched to the edges of the earth. The Spring Break ritual in Daytona Beach has since been toned way down from its early "anything goes" days and the lessons learned here spread rapidly to other beach towns where spring-breakers have been all but banned.

The town still carries a "party atmosphere" though, due mostly to scads of bikers, surfers and other adventurous revilers pursuing their early morning and late evening activities. Shopping downtown can be a revelation and those unaccustomed to the latest in body art or T-shirt candor will walk blushingly from shop to shop - probably right past the head shops, liquor stores, biker gear and surf shops.

Though definitely not your father's beach town, Daytona Beach IS fun. At the center of downtown is the pier and restaurant. They are easily accessed by beach goers from the Main Street Arch. For a kick, you can drive on the wide, sandy beaches, park your vehicle and spend the day catching rays and romping in the surf. Just off of historic Main Street the famous boardwalk starts. Here you can stroll for hundreds of yards along a concrete walkway running alongside the Atlantic surf. Morning walks are somewhat solitary and evening walks are romantic. Every few feet of the way uncovers a new adventure in eating, arcade gaming, thrill rides and finally possibly a concert at the beach. Shoppers can detour along the way to see the latest in fashion, including evening wear and beach wear while others can opt to take in a movie.

Visitors to Daytona Beach, FL can tour many local cities by car.  Jacksonville, one of the largest cities in Florida is about 90 minutes away. You can get to the Space Center or the theme parks around Orlando in about an hour. The beach town of Ormond Beach is just north and the lighthouse at Ponce Inlet is just minutes south. The historic city of St. Augustine is about an hour's drive north. This area can be accessed best by aircraft from the Daytona Beach International Airport.

Daytona Beach

Main Street Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach Boardwalk

Daytona Beach Beaches

The Original Daytona Beach Speedway

Daytona Beach Street Scenes

Daytona Beach Houses

Daytona Beach Waterfront Houses

Daytona Beach Miscellaneous