Florida offers many good days out and if you are staying in Orlando you are not far from many of them. Being only 1 hour from both coasts offers you plenty of opportunities to go and explore. One of the best places to visit is Daytona Beach on the East Coast.
What marks Daytona Beach from other beaches in Florida is the fact you can actually drive along the beach (when the tide is out) and park up your vehicle a few yards from where you are sunbathing. This is a real bonus for people with young children as everything can be left in the car. Entrance onto the beach is $7 for a family car. When we went on the beach we had all sorts in the car (probably far more than we actually needed! ).
We found the air temperatures lower than inland, however the sea always seems to be very warm. This is ideal for those who don’t like the hot humidity of Orlando. The main reason for the lower temperatures seems to be the nice breeze coming off the Atlantic sea.
The beach at Daytona has a very shallow slope into the water and is ideal for young children. Our 2 year old loved it and never felt unsafe. As a parent the gentle slope gave me confidence that he would be safe to paddle and explore without needing constant supervision from me.
You can hire umbrellas and sun loungers, but these can be very expensive. We bought some deck chairs from a local supermarket and then took them onto the beach. This worked out much cheaper in the long run and could be used again if you wanted to go again later in your holiday.
If you are after a little more fun, you can always hire a windsurf, boogie board or surf board from one of the many mobile shops along the beach. We hired out a quad bike for an hour and managed to explore quite a lot of the beach. It is well worth it as you can get 2 people on them. You don’t need a motorbike licence to ride them either.
One thing I was surprised about was the price of the food on the beach. I initially thought the cost for food on the beach would be expensive, when infact it was far cheaper than eating in Disney. Most of the food revolves around fast food, however you can ask them to make something that is not on the menu if nothing takes your fancy.
Overall I would rate Daytona Beach as one of the must see places while you stay in Florida. It is not far away from Orlando, is easy to get to (even I did not get lost – follow the I4 all the way) and offers a great day out for the whole family. It is an ideal place to relax and just watch the World go by.
What marks Daytona Beach from other beaches in Florida is the fact you can actually drive along the beach (when the tide is out) and park up your vehicle a few yards from where you are sunbathing. This is a real bonus for people with young children as everything can be left in the car. Entrance onto the beach is $7 for a family car. When we went on the beach we had all sorts in the car (probably far more than we actually needed! ).
We found the air temperatures lower than inland, however the sea always seems to be very warm. This is ideal for those who don’t like the hot humidity of Orlando. The main reason for the lower temperatures seems to be the nice breeze coming off the Atlantic sea.
The beach at Daytona has a very shallow slope into the water and is ideal for young children. Our 2 year old loved it and never felt unsafe. As a parent the gentle slope gave me confidence that he would be safe to paddle and explore without needing constant supervision from me.
You can hire umbrellas and sun loungers, but these can be very expensive. We bought some deck chairs from a local supermarket and then took them onto the beach. This worked out much cheaper in the long run and could be used again if you wanted to go again later in your holiday.
If you are after a little more fun, you can always hire a windsurf, boogie board or surf board from one of the many mobile shops along the beach. We hired out a quad bike for an hour and managed to explore quite a lot of the beach. It is well worth it as you can get 2 people on them. You don’t need a motorbike licence to ride them either.
One thing I was surprised about was the price of the food on the beach. I initially thought the cost for food on the beach would be expensive, when infact it was far cheaper than eating in Disney. Most of the food revolves around fast food, however you can ask them to make something that is not on the menu if nothing takes your fancy.
Overall I would rate Daytona Beach as one of the must see places while you stay in Florida. It is not far away from Orlando, is easy to get to (even I did not get lost – follow the I4 all the way) and offers a great day out for the whole family. It is an ideal place to relax and just watch the World go by.