Travel Guides > Daytona Beach, FL

Daytona Beach Travel

For more than a century, vacationers have been attracted to central Florida's Daytona Beach. Since the first hotel was erected in 1874, thousands of chilly Northerners have been making this beach town their preferred winter destination.

Daytona Beach, however, is pleasant all year around. With average temperatures of about 60 degrees in the winter and around 78 in the summer, the weather is just about perfect.

Many snow birds come here in the winter for the fine golf. With a selection of nearly two dozen golf courses in and around Daytona Beach, the avid golfer couldn't ask for more. Many courses are consistently voted among the best in the state and have played host to a number of national championships.

The wide beaches here are, of course, one of the main attractions. While the winters are a bit chilly for swimming, you can still enjoy the sun as well as an activity unique to Daytona... driving on the beach. You can also jet ski, snorkel and scuba dive, kayak, parasail, fish, and surf at Daytona Beach.

When it's time to come in out of the sun, the city offers plenty of other interesting and enticing attractions. Make your way to the Daytona International Speedway, home of the famed Daytona 500. While you're there, stop at Daytona USA, an interactive motorsports exhibit that invites guests to drive a simulated stock car, announce a race, or experience NASCAR racing in their IMAX Theater.

African-American history is rich in Daytona Beach. Visit the Freemanville Historic Site, an historic community settled by free slaves after the Civil War; the Howard Thurman House, home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s mentor; the Jackie Robinson Ballpark, where this baseball legend played the first integrated game in major league baseball history; and the Mary McLeod Bethune Home and Gravesite, former home and burial place of this well-known civil rights leader.

Archaeology fans should visit the Tomoka State Park and make a trip to the Tomoka Mounds and Middens, a large complex of burial mounds and shell middens that make up one of the earliest Native American settlements on the central coast of Florida.

The Halifax Historical Museum contains artifacts from pioneer days as well as memorabilia from the early days of auto racing in Daytona. It's housed in a 1910 Beaux Arts building with gorgeous stained-glass windows and intricate hand-painted murals.

Much like most beach towns, there's plenty for families to do here to Daytona Beach. Check out the many cool miniature golf courses, go-kart tracks, and amusement piers full of fun rides and challenging games-of-chance that you'll find near the beach.