Florida Travel Guide
Daytona Beach
In many respects this is the epitome of Florida's beach resort towns although it has one geographical feature that has marked it out as special.
Sure it has the sun, the sea, the teenage spring lunacy of many of its neighbours but it is the 20 miles of hard packed sand that has provided its distinguishing identity.
I'll get to the point shall I?
Daytona International Speedway
In the early 1900's, the solid, flat expanse of sand was used as a speed test area for the likes of Ford and Chevrolet. Englishman Malcolm Campbell really put Daytona on the map as a centre for petrol heads. He broke the world land speed record here 5 times between the wars. Eventually the speeds that were being achieved made it unsafe to continue using the sand but the town's obsession with internal combustion continued.
Now Daytona is home to the huge International Speedway track, in spring it plays host to the Daytona 500, March sees Bike Week and later in the year, it's Biketoberfest. On any given weekend there is racing here of one sort or another, all of it high octane.
If watching vehicles thrash round and round isn't enough then it may be worth your while to drop in at the Daytona USA museum, this includes one of Campbell's 'Bluebird' cars. For yet more, the Klassix Auto Museum lies a short walk away (but with your interest in these things what is the likelihood of you walking?).
Anything Else?
If you are not 'petrosexual' or a drink crazed teenager apart from asking 'why am I in Daytona?' you may want to visit the Museum of Arts and Science. This holds decent collections of art from Cuba, the Americas and Africa.
You could give yourself a view of the mayhem that is beneath you with a trip up the 500 foot high Space Needle.
Or you could…er, well that's it actually.
The Beach
The racing cars may have gone but the 500 foot wide beach still has room for many vehicles and all sorts can be seen crawling along the beach flashing their chrome at passers by, especially during Spring Break. Increasing levels of Puritanism and disapproval may have hit this US student rite of passage but it still goes on and at this time of the year Daytona Beach still goes nuts.
The beach is brilliant, it's safe at night, the waves are good by day, and there is always something going on. There are t-shirt shacks, fast food stands and bars by the score all there to encourage staying by the beach. And why not?
Eating, Drinking and Sleeping
There is an abundance of budget priced accommodation all along the beach although during big race weeks and Spring Break things change so check dates before going. Away from the beach, the pace is less frenetic with price and availability still good.
For nightlife look no further than the beach although if you do fancy a quieter time try downtown where the renovated Beach Street has good bars, shops and restaurants but much less noise.
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