6-Day Summer in Daytona Beach

Day 1 You'll See:

Daytona Beach, Florida Credit CVB

Day 2 You'll See:

Day 3 You'll See:

Day 4 You'll See:

Day 5 You’ll See:

Day 6 You’ll See:

Day
1

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse - The Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse is known to be the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest in the nation, a great first stop on your fun six-day Daytona Beach trip. This lighthouse is an integral part of the Ponce Inlet, known by some as the nation’s best beach, home to the best East Coast surfing and tons of historical, cultural, and entertainment opportunities. The lighthouse itself will allow your group to step back in time and learn all about the rich cultural background of the area, as well as take in the best views the beach has to offer! Standing at an astounding 175 feet tall and boasting 203 steps, this lighthouse is also known as the best-preserved and most authentic historic light station in the nation, with 170,000 guests annually climbing the steps to this National Historic Landmark. Be sure to bring your camera to capture these amazing views, and also plan enough time to take a historically and culturally informative group tour here before you go!

Marine Science Center - Next stop, the Marine Science Center, a fun and immersive "environmental odyssey" located on the Inlet that will allow you and your group to get up-close and personal with some of the native marine animals and learn all about their habitats. This sea turtle rehabilitation center is home to seven full turtle hospital pools (Turtle Terrace) and has seen more than 17,000 rehabilitated turtles swim in and out of their facility, as well as an impressive 4,500 seabirds. While here you will have the chance to visit a living reef aquarium with 300-year-old coral, a mangrove estuary, and several interactive exhibits such as the stingray touch pool, housing Atlantic stingrays in a 14,000-gallon tank! Be sure to save plenty of time to stop by the gift shop on your way out and play your part in contributing or donating to the cause!

Day
2

Ocean Walk Shoppes - Ocean Walk Shoppes and Movies, located right on Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach, is one of the most popular places to visit for locals and tourists alike, an amazing oasis of shopping, entertainment, and dining that is guaranteed to provide a little bit of something for everyone in your group! This open-air shopping mall was opened in 2001 and features a more modern design, many eye-catching bold, bright, geometric shapes catching the eye of passersby from blocks away. The setting of this complex is unique, a mostly urban architecture style building sitting right alongside a local historic Bandshell, as well as gorgeous beach-side panoramic views! This entire area will delight your group and provide them with some of the most unique and authentic dining, shopping, and entertainment experiences in all of Daytona Beach. After dinner and shopping it’s time for a show, the onsite theater complex providing a RealD 3D theater, IMAX, or Extreme Theater, complete with wall to wall screens and comfortable reclining seats!

Daytona Beach Trolley Boats - Right next to Ocean Walk Shoppes you will find an "amphibious adventure," an exciting and informative tour aboard a Daytona Beach Trolley Boat! On this fun and immersive tour of Daytona Beach, your group will get to see the sights of the Halifax River, Beach Street, and Daytona Beach itself. See the area between the mainland and the world-famous beach and spot many local iconic historic and natural sites. Enjoy free dolphin and manatee sightings, as well as several sightings of sea turtles, seabirds, and tons of other Daytona Beach indigenous wildlife. Your group will see many historic buildings and even be able to enjoy an educational 75-minute narrated tour that will lead you through road, river, and beach and fill you in on all the important Daytona Beach details! Be sure to bring your camera to capture all the amazing views!

Day
3

Cracker Creek Canoeing - Start your day off right at Cracker Creek Canoeing, absolutely one of the best places near Daytona Beach to get close to nature and spend some time exploring the aquatic ways of the Sunshine State. Cracker Creek is a privately owned and operated family ecotourism business that opened in 2006. This portion of the creek is located on the western end of larger Spruce Creek, a unique natural black water stream near New Smyrna. This gorgeous creek is one of only a few left undisturbed in Florida and will astound you with its natural beauty and abundant wildlife. This spot in Cracker Creek is one of the few launch sites to the Spruce Creek Canoeing trail, and truly the only public access point west of the highway. Enjoy hourly or daily canoe or kayak rentals here, your group able to rent 17-foot aluminum canoes or kayaks!

Beach Street - End your day and essential Daytona experience at this historic retail area located in the heart of downtown Daytona. This scenic riverfront shopping, dining, and entertainment mecca will give your group the perfect mix of local history and culture as well as fun and relaxation. These locally-owned shops and services provide great shopping opportunities, perfect for looking for that essential Daytona Beach souvenir. There are also multiple chances to enjoy great food with everything from fresh and local seafood or sushi to authentic Italian or French cuisine. You can even stop by the Angell and Phelps Chocolate Factory to fill that sweet tooth craving! On the opposite side, be sure to stop at Florida’s oldest farmers market, if you happen to be here on a Saturday, with an impressive spread of local delicacies. Beach Street offers opportunities to see the Daytona Tortugas play at the historic waterfront Jackie Robinson Ballpark, as well as visit the Halifax History Museum for local history and culture lessons!

Angell and Phelps Chocolate Factory - What better way to end your night than at the world-famous Angell and Phelps Chocolate Factory, the locally loved and nationally acclaimed chocolate factory with a history as rich as their chocolate! Here the chocolate is made the same way it has been since 1925, when two women by the names of Riddell Angell and Cora Phelps created some of the tastiest batches of chocolate in America, even in the heated days of pre-air conditioning Florida! Enjoy old fashioned principles alongside quick and friendly service, the products being some of the most flavorful and fresh of anywhere in the state. Enjoy a free tour as a great opportunity to learn all about the history, culture, and process behind the old-fashioned chocolate making. After you’ve sampled any of their most popular treats such as the macadamia "honeybee," dark chocolate covered pretzels, popcorn, strawberries, graham crackers, and even potato chips you will easily see why Tripadvisor has named this destination one of the Top 10 Sweetest in America.

Day
4

Beachtime - You have not experienced Daytona Beach until you have experienced just that: Daytona’s Beach. "America’s Original Beach" features over 23 miles of sandy white shores, each full of amazing wildlife, gorgeous scenery, spectacular culture, and tons of fun things to do! When you think of Daytona Beach you should think of fun in the sun simply by name, this beach is known to many tourists and locals alike as the original sunshine escape and family beach vacation location. Daytona is actually arguably the most famous beach in America, and undoubtedly among the most authentic beach vibe areas in the U.S. While at any of the available beaches you and your group will have the time of your lives choosing between such fun activities as paddle boarding, kayaking, surf lessons, fishing, boating, or even dolphin watching! There are over 10 total beachfront parks here in Daytona Beach, each providing exceptional ocean fun, pavilions for picnicking, splash parks and playgrounds for the little ones, fishing rental opportunities, and boardwalks full of shopping, culture, and fresh food!

Daytona International Speedway - Established in 1959, this race track quickly became known as the largest outdoor stadium in the state, one of the largest in the country. The history of racing locally along Daytona’s beach areas and of racing in general around the world is covered here during any field trip or all-access tour, the most popular tour being the 30-minute basic Speedway Tour. Aside from interesting history, you will also be able to enjoy international race car attractions, NASCAR Racing Experiences, and exciting films within the onsite IMAX Theater. The racing experience will give you several options of activities, from the passenger only ‘Ride Along’ experience to the World Champion set of driver races that you get to complete yourself!

Day
5

Daytona Lagoon - Get ready for an exciting day full of nothing but sun, sand, and fun as you start your fifth day of Daytona adventures at Daytona Lagoon Water Park. Daytona Beach’s premier family entertainment center offers more exciting activities than anywhere else in Daytona. Over a million gallons of water await you in the park offering tons of freshwater fun activities such as Blackbeard’s Revenge, a 62-foot slide, Adventure Mountain, the fastest racer slides at the park, Pelican’s Drift lazy river, or the thrilling yet completely realistic wave pool. If the weather isn’t up to par for any of those adventures, your group can find their inner kids at the extremely large on-site arcade, two 9-hole mini-golf courses snaking through the waterpark, fast-paced grand Prix go-kart course, or 13,000-foot laser tag facility. When you’re done working up an appetite (which you undoubtedly will with so much to do) your group can stop at Paradise Grill or Wave Grill for some fresh lunch or head over to the Crusoe’s Tiki Bar to cool off with some refreshments.

Dinner + River Cruise - Keep up the aquatic adventure fun with your next stop aboard the entertaining and scenic Cruise off of Daytona Beach. Imagine spending your evening dining on fresh local seafood delicacies aboard a floating buffet, on a scenic river cruise in New Smyrna making memories and seeing the sights, all for only $20! That is just what you’ll have to expect as you and your group board for the absolute best value attraction in New Smyrna Beach, the Dinner and River Cruise! The food you and your group will get on this cruise includes some of the freshest local shrimp, cod, flounder, scallops, Mahi, oysters, clam strips, crab, and even redfish! Bring your camera, some sunscreen, and your sense of adventure for this fun evening attraction, happening at either 1 pm or 5:30 pm every day, the latter option being perfect for sunset scenes of the Atlantic. Enjoy the open-air pavilion feast, warm ocean breezes, and Intracoastal scenery that very well may include dolphins, gulls, and pelicans at play!

Day
6

Ormond Beach Scenic Loop - Put on your most comfortable walking shoes and grab your camera as you and your group get ready to get active and get into nature at the nearby Ormond Beach Scenic Loop and Trail. On this large series of scenic state and county highways in Volusia County, you will encounter 30 plus miles of trails consisting of a double loop of roadways and some of the most beautiful and diverse natural Northeastern Florida scenery. On any of these trail sections or roads, you will have ready access to the Atlantic Ocean, North Peninsula, Tomoka, Bula Creek State Park, and several other cities and state parks along the way. Culture and history fans will love the museums and historic public buildings, and the adventurous crowd in your group will love the many recreation options. Enjoy boating, fishing, hiking, biking, or swimming as you spend some quality time along the trail, or perhaps go spot some dolphins, nesting loggerheads, or migrating right or humpback whales!

Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway - The Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway is a national scenic thoroughfare dotted with several hidden treasures and natural wonders you can only find in Florida. The byway is a mosaic of natural sites and communities surrounding one of Florida’s most distinctive ecosystems, the Big Scrub. Enjoy the incredible views of the surrounding pieces of land, including such gorgeous places as the Ocala National Forest, Lake George State Forest, Heart Island Conservation Area, and even Tiger Bay. The main attraction of this area is, of course, the many gleaming springs and waterways calling for the clicks of cameras far and wide. And of course, you’ll want to watch for the infamous Florida Black Bear, this area holding the largest density of the species in the whole state. This is one-stop everyone in your group is going to enjoy before you head home, an attraction with history, adventure, nature, and vacation all in one experience!

Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS) - The Museum of Arts and Sciences, commonly known as MoAS, is the premier art, science, and history museum in the central Florida area and is also the area’s largest museum. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute, this museum offers information on a wide range of interests hosting over 30,000 permanent objects. Located on a 90-acre Floridian nature preserve, MoAS houses several facets of education including the Cuban Foundation Fine and Folk Arts Museum which holds the largest collection of Cuban art outside of Cuba. Your group can also explore American or European Fine and Decorative Arts, Pre-Colombian and African Artifacts, Pleistocene fossils, an impressive outdoor sculpture garden, and learn about Florida and regional natural history. The complex boasts a 40-foot domed planetarium and a museum dedicated to the history and influence of Coca-Cola as well!