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Look no further for the best all-encompassing guide to visiting ‘the beach’ in Daytona Beach, Florida!
In this article, you will learn all about what to do, where to park, and how to plan the absolute best day of Daytona Beach family fun!
As one of the most iconic beaches in the United States, Daytona Beach welcomes you with its multiple amenities, enormous size, and expansive shoreline.
If you’re going on a family vacation to Daytona Beach, or perhaps just visiting for 1-day, this post will describe how to experience a perfect day of Daytona Beach family fun.
Daytona Beach Family Fun: Introduction
During our 6-day Disney vacation to O
Daytona Beach is located on the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Daytona Beach, Florida. The beach is known for its 23 miles of expansive shoreline and hard-packed white sand (where car racing and NASCAR originated!).
Likewise, one of the best things about Daytona Beach is its enormous size.
Not only is the beach 23 miles long, but the shoreline is 500-feet wide at low tide.
What this means for beach-goers is plenty of elbow room to lounge and play without being crammed right up against other visitors.
Daytona Beach: A Little Bit of History
Its hard-packed sand made Daytona Beach a mecca for motorsports in the early 1900s.
Car races took place directly on the beach for over 50 years.
Daytona Beach is still known as the World Center of Racing through the ‘beach tracks’ were replaced by Daytona International Speedway in 1959.
As the current home of NASCAR headquarters, car racing is still the main draw to Daytona Beach, Florida.
Additional planning tip: A popular place to visit on a Disney vacation non-park day, many people question the distance from Disney to Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach is located 73 miles from the Disney theme parks and takes a drive time of approximately 1hr 15 min.
From Disney: Follow Interstate 4 East for approx 53 miles. Take the exit on the left onto I-95 N toward Jacksonville. Take exit 261 for US-92 toward Deland/Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach Amenities
When visiting Daytona Beach, it’s best to actually select from 1 of its 10 beachfront parks as your beach day base camp for your day
Though the beach itself is one physical location, it includes a multitude of different parking lots, pavilions, and other amenities spread throughout its 23-mile expanse.
Basically, choose a beachfront park as your starting point and head to the ocean from there. You can’t miss it!
The wide array of Daytona Beach parks offer families endless hours of entertainment with the conveniences of shade, picnic areas, pavilions, restrooms, and kids’ splash pads.
In addition, we found that each and every pavilion area was safe, clean, and very well-kept. An added bonus was the presence of a small playground and snack shop as well.
The following provides a list of the beachfront parks on Daytona Beach.
Additional planning tip: We parked, stayed, and played at Andy Romano Park whose pavilion can be seen in the photo below. This was a fabulous area and had every amenity imaginable for a perfect day of Daytona Beach family fun!
Daytona Beach Parking
There are literally thousands of free public parking spaces at numerous locations adjacent to Daytona Beach.
If not parking at one of the oceanfront parks, another great option is the Ocean Center Parking Garage. This parking garage is located at Ocean Walk Shoppes and right across from Main Street Pier.
Additional planning tip: Andy Romano Park has a free pavilion parking lot, as well as a beach parking on-ramp. Double bonus if you’re not quite sure which to choose.
On-beach parking
Because of Daytona Beach’s incredibly expansive beaches, there are still select sections where driving on the beach is allowed.
Beach driving is one of the most popular and iconic activities visitors have come to enjoy as part of their Daytona Beach vacation. After all, this is what has made Daytona Beach so famous!
The designated beach parking areas and entrances are well marked and are open from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset (tidal conditions permitting).
Driving on the beach comes with a small fee of $20 per vehicle which allows for an entire day of beach driving and parking.
A beach driving speed of 10 mph is enforced. You must also well drive with your headlights on, window down, with no cell-phone use or texting.
Additional planning tip: If you are visiting Daytona Beach with children and concerned about safety, you may want to choose a traffic-free zone.
The small traffic-free section of
With driving zones located on either side of it, we were still able to watch vehicles beach driving without them being close to where we were playing and sitting. (Plus we saved $20 by not parking on the beach.)
Accessibility
Daytona Beach is well-known for the consideration and importance that it places on being highly accessible for all.
For those needing assistance, beach wheelchairs are available for free. They are found on a first-come-first-serve basis from any of the four lifeguard stations. Likewise, a
You should know that handicap vehicles get free access to driving on the beach. If choosing to park at a handicap accessible beachfront parks (see above map), they include ramps to get down to the beach.
Daytona Beach Family Fun: Boardwalk and Pier
The Daytona Beach Boardwalk and Pier is a classic old-fashioned, all-American oceanfront experience!
A combination of many family-operated businesses, the Boardwalk offers gift shops, snack bars, restaurants, and a classic arcade. Another highlight of the Daytona Beach Boardwalk is the nightly street performers!
Centrally located along the Daytona Beach Boardwalk, the Pier is one of the area’s most recognizable landmarks. Also known as Main Street Pier, the Daytona Beach Pier has been standing since 1925!
Additional planning tip: Fishing is allowed on the east end of the pier 7 days a week from March 16 – October 31, 7 AM – 7 PM, and November 1 to March 17, 7 AM to 5 PM. There is no charge to fish on the pier.
Daytona Beach Vendors and Rentals
When you’re hungry, you’ll find plenty of food vendors offering all kinds of tasty food, snacks, and drinks.
Our
Vendors also rent beach chairs, umbrellas, surfboards, bodyboards, scooters, and much more. They are positioned all across the 23 miles of oceanfront in close
Additional planning tip: If you’re looking to save money, consider bringing along these easy and affordable homemade snack mixes to enjoy. They’ll fit perfectly into your beach bag!
More Dayton Beach Family Fun
If you’re looking to spend more time in Daytona Beach, Florida, there is a lot more to do!
Not only are there multiple family-friendly attractions in Daytona Beach, but many of them happen to be free.
Drive on or around Daytona Beach in style with a variety of golf carts, scooters, motorcycles, bicycles, and Sling Shots rentals.
Additional activities include the Daytona Lagoon waterpark, Screamer’s Park amusement park, or a tour of the Daytona International Speedway!
For the absolute best deals on where to stay in this area, browse and book here!
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Thanks for sharing this great tips! Its really very helpful Good job Jen !!!
Thank you! I felt overwhelmed visiting there the first time, so hopefully these tips help others 🙂
These are great tips for visiting Daytona Beach! I haven’t been there in years.
It is definitely a bit different than most beaches, so I think that tips for visiting there are essential 🙂
Daytona Beach sounds super fun!! We love all beaches but I had no idea all the great things Daytona has to offer! Great tips Jen!
Thank you! I wanted to share these tips because the beach itself is so big. Rarely can you find tips on where to park, where to hang out, etc. Thanks for reading 🙂
Daytona Beach sounds like a great beach for families! Great tips!
Thanks! Yes, we loved it there!
A very useful post! We lived in FL for years and never visited!! Now that we drive down to visit family, we’ve thought about stopping here. Thanks for the tips on where to park.
You’re welcome! I was quite overwhelmed at first due to its size, so was happy to fill everyone in on what to expect 🙂