Daytona Beach Area Fun Things To Do

This isn’t a travel writer’s version of Daytona Beach. This is the local’s guide — written by someone who actually lives here.

Daytona Beach is on Florida’s east coast about an hour north of Orlando and an hour south of St. Augustine. It’s famous for three things: the Speedway, the beach you can drive on, and Bike Week. But there’s a lot more going on once you get past the tourist strip.

Here’s everything worth doing in the Daytona Beach area, from the boardwalk to the backroads.

The Beach

Daytona Beach is one of the few beaches in Florida where you can still drive on the sand. It’s been that way since the early 1900s when the hard-packed sand made it a natural racetrack — that’s literally how NASCAR started.

Beach driving is allowed on designated sections. $20 per vehicle to enter. The sand is firm enough for regular cars — you don’t need a truck. The speed limit is 10 mph. Peak season (March-September) has the most access points open. Watch the tides — getting stuck at high tide is a real thing.

Beachside stretches from Ormond Beach in the north down through Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Wilbur by the Sea, and Ponce Inlet at the southern tip. The whole strip is about 23 miles of continuous coastline.

Best beach spots: The area near the Main Street pier is the most active (boardwalk, restaurants, shops). If you want quieter sand, head south toward Ponce Inlet or north toward Ormond.

The Boardwalk & Pier

The Daytona Beach Boardwalk runs along the beachfront near Main Street. It’s the classic Florida beach boardwalk — arcades, souvenir shops, and the rides at the Daytona Lagoon amusement area.

Main Street Pier — Extends 1,000 feet over the Atlantic. The restaurant at the end (Joe’s Crab Shack) gives you a view of the entire coastline. Fishing from the pier is popular.

Daytona Lagoon — Waterpark and amusement rides right on the boardwalk. Lazy river, wave pool, go-karts, laser tag. Decent for a half-day with kids.

The Bandshell — An oceanfront amphitheater that hosts free concerts and events. Part of the larger boardwalk park area with splash pads and playgrounds.

Daytona International Speedway

The “World Center of Racing” hosts NASCAR’s biggest event — the Daytona 500 every February. But the Speedway runs events year-round:

• Daytona 500 (February) — The Super Bowl of NASCAR
• Coke Zero Sugar 400 (August) — Night race under the lights
• Rolex 24 at Daytona (January) — 24-hour sports car endurance race
• Bike Week (March) and Biketoberfest (October) — Massive motorcycle rallies
• Turkey Rod Run (Thanksgiving) — Classic car show

Speedway Tours — Year-round tours of the facility including pit road, the infield, and the 31-degree banking. The DAYTONA 500 Experience museum has race simulators and historic cars.

Wildlife & Nature

The Daytona area has surprisingly great wildlife viewing:

Alligators — They’re everywhere. Seriously. Read our full alligator guide →

Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse — The tallest lighthouse in Florida (175 feet). Climb all 203 steps for a panoramic view of the coast. The museum at the base covers the area’s maritime history. About 15 minutes south of Daytona proper.

Marine Science Center — Sea turtle rehabilitation, stingray touch tank, and a raptor exhibit with non-releasable birds of prey. Small museum, genuinely educational, and the sea turtle program is legit conservation work.

Manatee Island Park — During cooler months, manatees gather in the warm water around the Halifax River. The park in Holly Hill (just north of Daytona, landside) is one of the best viewing spots.

Blue Spring State Park — About 40 minutes west in Orange City. One of the largest winter gathering spots for Florida manatees. Peak season is November through March — hundreds of manatees in the crystal-clear spring run.

Tomoka State Park — Where the Tomoka and Halifax Rivers meet. Kayaking, fishing, nature trails, and the Fred Dana Marsh Museum. Osprey, herons, and eagles are common.

Parks & Outdoors

Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park (Ormond by the Sea) — Oceanfront park with covered pavilions, nature trails, and one of the more scenic stretches of beachside.

Bailey Riverbridge Gardens (Ormond Beach) — Small but beautiful botanical garden on the Halifax River. Free, quiet, and genuinely charming.

Birthplace of Speed Park (Ormond Beach) — Where the land speed record attempts happened on the beach in the early 1900s. Historical markers and a monument to the races that eventually became NASCAR.

Sun Splash Park (Daytona Beach Shores) — Beachside park with splash pad, playground, picnic areas, and beach access. Popular with families.

Sugar Mill Gardens (Port Orange) — The ruins of a 19th century sugar mill surrounded by botanical gardens and dinosaur statues. Free admission. One of those weird Florida things that somehow works.

Nightlife

Daytona’s nightlife centers on two areas: Seabreeze Boulevard (beachside) and Main Street near the boardwalk.

Seabreeze has the denser cluster of bars and clubs — Razzle’s, Ocean Deck, and the Boot Hill Saloon (a biker bar institution since 1976). Main Street leans more tourist but has live music venues and beachfront bars.

During Bike Week and Biketoberfest, the nightlife cranks to another level. Live bands on every corner, vendor tents down Main Street, and the entire beachside strip becomes a rolling party.

Nearby Towns

The “Daytona Beach area” includes several smaller communities worth exploring:

Ormond Beach — Just north. Quieter, more residential, with good restaurants and the Ormond Memorial Art Museum. The Casements (John D. Rockefeller’s winter home) is open for tours.

Port Orange — South of Daytona, landside. Spruce Creek Fly-In (a residential airpark where people taxi their planes to their garages), Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens, and Riverwalk Park.

New Smyrna Beach — About 20 minutes south. A more artsy, laid-back beach town with a growing food scene, galleries on Canal Street, and excellent surfing. NSB consistently ranks as one of the best small beach towns in Florida.

Ponce Inlet — The southern tip of the beachside peninsula. Lighthouse, restaurants, and Disappearing Island (a sandbar you can boat to at low tide). Quieter and more relaxed than Daytona proper.

DeLand — 30 minutes west. A charming small-town downtown with antique shops, the Athens Theatre, and Stetson University. Surprising food scene for a town its size. Also: skydiving capital of the area.

St. Augustine — 60 minutes north. The oldest city in America. The Castillo de San Marcos, St. George Street, Flagler College, and the Old Jail tour. Worth a full day.

Food

Buffets — Daytona has a solid all-you-can-eat scene. We’ve compiled the full rundown of every buffet in the area — Chinese, seafood, pizza, and the casino buffets at the Hard Rock in Holly Hill.

Seafood — Inlet Harbor (Ponce Inlet), Down The Hatch (also Ponce Inlet), Hull’s Seafood (Ormond Beach), and Aunt Catfish’s (Port Orange) are the local picks.

Beachside Eats — Racing’s North Turn (literally built on the old beach racing course, with photos on the walls), Ocean Deck (cheap drinks, live music, burgers on the beach), and Crabby Joe’s on the boardwalk.

Fine Dining — Rose Villa (Ormond Beach) for upscale Southern, Ceviche Tapas (Daytona) for Spanish small plates.

Vacation Deals

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Related Pages

• Daytona Beach Alligators — Where to See Them →
• Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral →
• Orlando Florida →
• All Vacation Deals →