Daytona Beach Neighborhoods

Like most of Florida’s East Coast towns, Daytona Beach is in two parts: One part is on the mainland of the peninsula, while the actual beach portion is due east on a barrier island. Mainland encompasses the downtown area and anything west of the Halifax River.

Once you cross over the Halifax River, you’re on the barrier island that fronts the ocean. Daytona Beach’s “strip” is centered where Main Street, which runs east and west, hits the ocean. There’s a small entertainment district here, dominated by four bars that attract a sometimes rowdy crowd. Ocean Walk Village, the Hilton Ocean Village and the cultural venue, the Ocean Center, are all here, along with a variety of small restaurants, some souvenir shops and fast-food joints.

As you work your way south on Highway AIA from the Strip, the bars and stores give way to 1960s-era concrete block houses (on the landward side) and to high-rise hotels and condos on the beach side. Unless you’re staying in one of these, there’s not much reason to come down this way except to access the beach, which tends to be less crowded the farther south you go. Azure, the restaurant at The Shores Resort, is well worth the drive.

Although we haven’t been able to figure out who Wilbur was, the little town named for him is cute. It’s mostly notable as the place where the power elite from Orlando come to hang out and get sandy. Wilbur is mostly residential, and blends into Ponce Inlet where the high-rises begin again.

This is the south end of the barrier island, and it’s home to some of the priciest real estate in Central Florida. Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice has a home here. There’s a small working waterfront, with fishing boats, a boatyard and several restaurants, but its big attractions are the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse—a towering brick structure—and the beach. Down at this end, the beach is rarely crowded. The last access for cars is at Beach Street and the last few hundred yards north of the jetty that protects the inlet are closed to cars altogether.

The south shore of Ponce de Leon Inlet is Smyrna Dunes Park, an open, sandy area that has a small jetty. Just south of that is an older, historic section that has small boutiques and shops, along with the Victorian Riverview Hotel. South of town along AIA, the high-rise condos take over again. For longer stays, these can be a great deal for families, as they offer apartment-sized spaces and full kitchens, so you can cook breakfast and lunch in. Most have pools fronting the ocean. Even when Daytona Beach is going full throttle New Smyrna tends to be quieter, though it does fill up on race weekends.