Daytona is Changing
Written: Aug 17 '03 (Updated Jul 23 '06)
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Pros: Beautiful area; an hour from major attractions; great family vacation spot
Cons: Some parts of the beach are abandoned to prepare for condos
The Bottom Line: I would recommend Daytona Beach to anyone, but especially to families and senior citizens.
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| rrogersweather's Full Review: Daytona Beach, FL |
THIS REVIEW INCLUDES UPDATES AFTER VISITS IN JULY 2004, JULY 2005, AND JULY 2006 VISITS
Daytona Beach is an exceptional ocean-side city. I have been to many beaches, including Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, and Panama City Beach. I feel that the Daytona Beach area is better! Although I like Myrtle Beach, Daytona is a little slower pace. The Daytona area also includes the cities of Port Orange, Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach Shores, and Ponce Inlet. The beachside portion of the city sits on a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the wide and beautiful Halifax River on the other side. At the southern tip of the peninsula is Ponce Inlet, where the Halifax empties into the ocean. Ponce Inlet separates the Daytona area from the New Smyrna Beach area.
Daytona Beach is widely known for its Speedway where NASCAR races occur. I’ve never been to a race, so I won’t be commenting on that aspect of Daytona in this review.
THE BEACH
Daytona's off-white beaches are wide, but not as wide as they used to be thanks to the beach erosion caused by several 2004 hurricanes. Unlike other beaches, cars are allowed to drive up and down the beach until nightfall. This is a hazard for young children, but otherwise, I think it is a good idea. If you are taking young children to Daytona, be sure to accompany them ANY TIME they are on the beach. There is a traffic-free zone on the beach around the Ocean Walk Resort and the Hilton Hotel in an area known as Ocean Walk Village. In the summer time, there are numerous vendors parked on the beach selling anything from ice cream to surf boards. While you catch some rays by your motel’s pool or on the beach, you can watch small airplanes flying up and down the beach carrying advertisements behind them on area dining and attractions. Just watching all of this activity is entertainment in itself!
WHAT TO DO
The boardwalk has been somewhat revitalized. At the boardwalk is the famous Main Street Pier, where you can go eat or fish. There’s also an enclosed space needle that you can go up and view most of Daytona from the top. Parasailing over the ocean is offered, starting at around $65 per person. There are several miniature golf places in Daytona and Ormond Beach, too, such as Pirates Cove and Congo River. The past three summers, our family visited Ocean Walk Village, right on the beach--it's a combination of new hotels, new shops, restaurants, and a 10 screen movie theater that has rocking chairs and stadium seating. You can read about it at www.oceanwalkvillage.com.
A relatively new attraction in Daytona is the TrolleyBoat Tour which departs from Ocean Walk Shoppes several times each day. The TrolleyBoat is just what it sounds like--a trolley and a boat. It takes you on a tour of Daytona by land and water. The cost is about $20 for adults, with discounts for seniors and children under 12. The amphibious vehicle starts out on the streets and then heads over to the Halifax River for a tour of some old historic buildings and landmarks before going back on land through downtown Daytona and then over to the beach. I must say that this tour was not as good as I expected. The heater was running in the front half of the trolley boat on a hot day, and several passengers began to feel sick. The tour guide said they haven't figured out how to turn the heater off yet! Also, unless you are thoroughly interested in Daytona history and the occasional view of dolphins in the river, you may want to skip this attraction. With some improvement, this ride could be much better. The website for this tour is: http://www.trolleyboattours.com/trolleyboats_of_daytona_beach.htm.
On the inland side of the Halifax River is Daytona's downtown. There are numerous small shops and restaurants in the revitalized downtown. During the summer, you may find special events there, such as concerts, block parties, fireworks, etc. The relatively small downtown sits right on the Halifax River.
Daytona is not known for its shopping, but does have Volusia Mall, which is nice. The mall includes stores like JC Penney, Macy's, three Dillard’s department stores, and Sears. In Ormond Beach, Bellair Plaza, one of the area’s largest shopping centers, has undergone an extensive revitalization in the past few years.
Daytona Lagoon, formerly known as Adventure Landing Water Park, which first opened about 6 or 7 years ago, has re-opened under new management. It is located near Ocean Walk.
The Daytona area is not the place to go if you want constant activities, however. It is not as “carnival-like” as Myrtle Beach, for example. Yes, the boardwalk area can get crowded, and sometimes a little rowdy, but otherwise, there’s not many amusement type parks in the area. When my family goes to Daytona, we normally take one day during our vacation to go to Orlando (about an hour away). Of course, Orlando is home to Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios.
Cape Canaveral is also about an hour away, but I would not recommend a trip there unless you are thoroughly interested in the space program. I found it boring.
About an hour north of Daytona lies St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S. It is a charming city with lots of old buildings, shops, restaurants, attractions, and historical sites.
Silver Springs is a nice family-oriented park located in Ocala, which is about an hour and a half away from Daytona. Silver Springs is good for the whole family, and it’s not as crowded as the major theme parks in Orlando. The only problem with Silver Springs is that it tends to rain almost every afternoon in the summer. The storms are usually brief, but can put a damper on your activities. So, I guess my message here is that if you get bored with beach activities, you can use Daytona as a hub to venture out and do other things.
WHERE TO EAT
The Daytona area offers many nice restaurants, too. I especially enjoy Aunt Catfish's in nearby Port Orange and Billy's Tap Room in Ormond Beach. Billy's does require reservations. Another nice place to eat is Julian's in Ormond Beach. It is an upscale restaurant with excellent dinner food accompanied by live soft music. Julian's may be a bit boring for young children, but is excellent for adults looking for a nice meal in a pleasant atmosphere. However, after our visit to Julian's in 2005, we found out it is under new ownership, and the service was lacking, as well as the quality of the food. The Ponce Inlet area (a 10-15 minute drive) has many restaurants to offer as well, like Inlet Harbor. Inlet Harbor is a great place to go to get that tropical feel with live music and a large dock. It also includes a restaurant that serves mostly seafood. And, who could miss going to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company?! We went there for the first time in July 2004, and have been twice since. It is located in the Ocean Walk Shoppes. You may read my review on Bubba Gump at http://www.epinions.com/content_150737227396. The Daytona area offers its fair share of chain restaurants as well, including, Cracker Barrel (near the Speedway), Bob Evans, Denny’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Long Horn Steakhouse, Bennigan’s, Piccadilly, and several IHOP locations.
CHANGES
Daytona Beach is currently undergoing a lot of change. Just since our visit in 2004, many things have changed. Condo developers are offering huge sums of money to buy existing small motels and hotels, and many are selling. We noticed many vacant lots and vacated buildings along the beach that we had not noticed before. We also think that the damage incurred by these motels and hotels during the 2004 hurricanes has speeded up the process. Also, insurance rates for motels have gone up in recent years, making it less profitable to operate small lodging establishments.
So, to make a long story short, many parts of the beachfront are in a transition phase. The goal for many Daytona politicians and residents is to rid the beach of the family-owned lodging establishments and replace them with high-rise condos. Even many of the larger hotels are converting their rooms into condos. We were told by a worker at one hotel that Donald Trump is one of the people buying up much of the land so that he can turn Daytona into an Atlantic City-type destination. The motel that we have been staying at since the mid-1980s was bought out in 2005. It is still open, but the owner plans to tear it down in a matter of a few years to make room for a parking lot for an adjacent proposed condo. We had to find a new place to stay, and have settled on Atlantic Ocean Palm Inn in Daytona Beach Shores.
Our family has been going to Daytona almost every summer for decades, so we are having a hard time accepting these changes. Hopefully, in about 5 years, many of the condos will have been constructed, and the beachfront will become cleaner and more attractive. It won't be the same without all of the motels, but hopefully some will still be around for families to enjoy. For this reason, I have reduced my rating of Daytona Beach from a 5-star rating to a 4-star rating.
-Other Travel Reviews-
1. Williamsburg, Virginia: http://www.epinions.com/content_125826535044
2. Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens (Columbia, SC):http://www.epinions.com/content_188879900292
3. Gatlinburg, Tennessee: http://www.epinions.com/content_139471851140
4. Homewood Suites (Chattanooga, Tenn.): http://www.epinions.com/content_159617748612
5. Chattanooga, Tennessee: http://www.epinions.com/content_161285377668
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
rrogersweather
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Location: Georgia, USA
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
I like to write reviews about travel and electronics!
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