Daytona Beach is known as the “World’s Most Famous Beach” and is home to the fabled Daytona International Speedway.
But this Atlantic coast Florida town an hour north of Orlando also boasts playful manatees and dolphins; the state’s tallest lighthouse; one of the country’s largest consignment shops; hiking, biking, and kayak trails; and glorious sunrises over 23 miles of beaches.
Daytona Beach was first dubbed the Most Famous Beach in the early 1900s when its hard-packed, smooth sand became legendary for automobile testing and racing.
The racing sport evolved from the early beach road course races beginning in 1936 to the founding of NASCAR in 1948 and culminating in the opening of the Daytona International Speedway in 1959.
Today there are daily Speedway tours ending at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America that showcases the stars of all forms of motorsports. For the ultimate Speedway experience, visitors can drive a real NASCAR race car for a timed racing session.
Don’t want to drive? Take a NASCAR Ride Along. Sit back and hold on tight as you ride shot gun with a professional racing instructor driving top speeds for the ride of your life.
Visitors can still drive a car out on designated sections of the beach with a beach driving pass. There are strict speed limits and no racing allowed. Biking is also permitted on the beach and a beach walk is the top choice for many visitors.
The beach also offers an ideal viewing spot for rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center, about an hour drive to the south. A rocket launched in the afternoon during our visit and it was easy to spot from the beach—a fun but quite brief experience. Check out the rocket launch website for the launch schedule.
Our expedition to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and nearby historic hotel museum and dolphin tour was a trip highlight. The visit was topped off with ice cream at Lighthouse Ice Cream at the Lighthouse Boatyard and Marina where the motto is “fish are friends, eat more ice cream.” Who could argue with that advice? There are cones, dishes, sundaes, banana splits, extreme milkshakes, and other ice cream concoctions.
The lighthouse has guided mariners along Florida’s coast for more than 135 years and the original light could be seen 20 miles out to sea. It was completed in 1887 replacing the 1835 lighthouse that was destroyed. It is Florida’s tallest lighthouse and one of the tallest in the country at 175 feet. Visitors are invited to climb the 203 steps to the top for a grand bird’s eye view.
It is a National Historic Landmark and one of a handful of lighthouses with the lighthouse keeper and other buildings still intact and restored. The original Fresnel lens was made in Paris in 1867 and is now part of the museum’s permanent display which is considered one of the finest collections of restored Fresnel lenses in the world.
If you are lucky enough to be in the area for a full moon, sign up for the Climb to the Moon adventure. Refreshments are served before the big climb to the top for a special view with the light of the moon. Reservations are required and sell out fast.
Across the street is the Constance D. Hunter Historic Pacetti Hotel Museum, a 19th century hotel that has been meticulously restored and is one of the oldest structures in the area. After four years of restoration, the hotel opened as a museum in 2024.
For water lovers, the best part of our adventure was the Dolphin & Manatee Eco Tour with our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide Jordan. The dolphins put on quite a show, swimming alongside our boat and rolling over and showing their bellies. They reminded me of water loving Labrador retriever dogs.
There were hundreds of true snowbirds on a beach we passed. They were white pelicans who fly down from Canada and western states and stay for the winter. They start making the flight home in March. They are much bigger than native brown pelicans.
Manatees are another favorite sight. They are remarkable creatures who are sometimes called sea cows. They can eat up to 100 pounds of aquatic vegetation daily and weigh as much as 1200 pounds. This marine mammal is more closely related to elephants than to dolphins or whales. They are an endangered species and protected by federal and state laws. Boat strikes, habitat loss, and cold-water stress are their biggest dangers.
Manatees cannot survive cooler winter water temperatures and seek refuge in warmer habitats such as springs and power plant outflows. The cold in Florida this winter meant crowds of manatees in some of their favorite haunts.
Blue Spring State Park, about 30 miles from Daytona Beach, has been attracting hundreds of manatees daily as they seek the 72-degree spring waters. On February 2nd, a record of more than 800 manatees was counted at the park spring. The slow-moving sea creatures are remarkably endearing.
Many regular manatee visitors have been named by the Save the Manatee Club. Sadly, scars from motorboat encounters often differentiate one manatee from another.
“There is something quite peaceful about watching the manatees,” explained Alex Russell, director of education with Save the Manatee Club. “I love to go out and listen to their breathing early in the morning. Visitors should arrive early for best chance to see the manatees. Later in the day, they often go to the St. John River for their meals.”
A short drive from Blue Springs is De Leon State Park, home to the Old Sugar Mill Pancake House, a perfect choice for breakfast or lunch for the whole family. Located in a 100-year-old replica of the original 1830s sugar mill, it features cook-your-own pancakes at the table. There are other food choices for the non-pancake eaters but what is more fun than creating your own pancakes?
Rosie’s Café in Dunn’s Attic, a huge consignment shop in downtown Ormond Beach about six miles from Daytona Beach, offers another unusual area dining experience. The Dunn family has owned and operated businesses in the county for 125 years spanning seven generations. Wes Dunn opened Dunn’s Attic in 2013.
The store boasts more than 30,000 items in stock, 4,600 consigners, 28,000 square feet, and 85 seats in the Café. The cafe is named after his wife and offers breakfast, lunch, snacks, and drinks. It is hard to imagine any diners leaving without wandering the aisles filled with a mind-boggling array of items including child friendly stuffed animals, dolls, and train sets.
“I opened this place because I was missing retail and wanted to bring back old-time shopping experiences,” explained Wes Dunn. “We have the most eclectic mix of items, and I am proud that I have returned more than $4 million to the community after selling people’s items.”
Chocolate lovers should make a pilgrimage to Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory in the historic downtown district of Daytona Beach. Since 1925, the company has been making sweet treats. Step into the shop and watch the candy making process through windows and then enjoy some samples. In keeping with the beach and tropical theme, there are chocolate shells, starfish, miniature palm trees, white chocolate sand dollars, and even chocolate covered bacon and potato chips—not tropical but hard to resist.
There is a wide array of accommodations in the area, many beach side. The Shores Resort & Spa was an ideal choice. Located on the beach, it offers a wonderful beach side pool and hot tub, firepits perfect for cooking s’mores, a spa, dining inside and out by the pool, and great sunrise viewing from your own balcony.
Travel Tip of the Month: For Daytona Beach information visit daytonabeach.com or call 386-255-0415. For the latest information on rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center visit rocketlaunch.org.
For manatee information visit savethemanatee.org. For The Shores Resort & Spa visit shoresresort.com or call 866-934-7467.
Deborah Williams lives in Holland, NY and is a veteran travel writer whose work has appeared in national and international publications. She is the recipient of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award.