Tours in New Smyrna Beach and its Surroundings in Northeast Florida
♦ Routes (free): Detailed travel itineraries in USA
General
New Smyrna Beach is a cute resort town located on the Atlantic coast, about an hour's drive northeast of Orlando . The town has an excellent sandy beach and in its heart are rivers and marshes with many animals and vegetation, which makes it an excellent destination for recreation in nature and the sea, including fishing, sailing, jet skiing, swimming, diving, surfing, paragliding, and hiking.
It is situated in an area known as the "Fun Coast" of Florida, thanks to the abundance of attractions, amusements, and vacation options in the vicinity.
Did you know? The town's motto in Latin is: Cygnus Inter Anates, which means: "A swan among ducks."
New Smyrna Beach is also considered an artist colony and hosts many festivals. The two most popular festivals are: New Smyrna Beach’s Festival of the Arts, held every January for 4 consecutive days in Riverside Park, and the New Smyrna Beach’s Annual Seaside Fiesta music festival, held annually in June on Flagler Avenue.
Flagler Avenue is the main street in town and ends at the beach. On the avenue are plenty of shops, galleries, restaurants, and cafes. It's fun to wander through it on foot among the low-rise historical buildings and have lunch or dinner with a view of the long beaches.
♦ Recommended Hotels in New Smyrna Beach:
SpringHill Suites by Marriott New Smyrna Beach
A high-quality suite hotel of the Marriott chain in a wonderful location on the central beach of the town and on the main avenue of New Smyrna Beach: Flagler Avenue, near plenty of restaurants. The hotel has private access to the beach, a swimming pool, a gym, and a lovely courtyard with a fireplace. The suites are spacious and suitable for 2-6 people. Some have a balcony facing the sea. Free internet. Covered parking available for an additional fee.
A recommended Bed and Breakfast with rooms and suites intended for 2-4 people, located on the town's main avenue about a five-minute walk from the sea. The price includes breakfast in the room. There is a kitchen shared by all rooms and a courtyard with garden furniture and BBQ facilities. Free internet and parking.
Coconut Palms Beach Resort II a Ramada by Wyndham
A 3-star apartment hotel on the seashore with 3 pools, a picnic area with garden furniture, and BBQ facilities. The resort has apartments with one bedroom and a living room or two bedrooms and a living room, suitable for up to 8 people. Free internet and parking.
Weather:
Similar to most cities on the East Coast of Florida, the weather in the town is subtropical, characterized by hot and humid summers and winters with comfortable and mostly dry weather. The dry season is from November to April. From June to October, there is a chance of tropical storms and even hurricanes.
Beach
The town has many kilometers of long sandy beach, particularly popular among surfers. The public has access to the beach from several places along it. The unique thing about this beach is that you can also drive on it with a private car—you don't need a 4X4—because the sand in the center of the beach is hard and passable for a regular vehicle; you just need to pay an entry fee of $20 per day per vehicle. On the beach itself, there are signs marking the path permitted for vehicles, and the rest of the beach is intended for pedestrians and bathers.
At the northern end of the beach is a lovely nature park called: Smyrna Dunes Park.
Smyrna Dunes Park
In the park Smyrna Dunes Park there are very long elevated wooden walking paths.
On one side are the lagoons with quiet water and on the other the open sea. Its northern part overlooks Ponce Inlet with a lighthouse, which is part of Daytona Beach, about which I will elaborate later. You walk along the elevated pier and descend from it each time to something else: a fishing pier in the lagoon, a dog beach, a fishing pier in the ocean—surrounded by many surfers—and long swimming beaches. The vegetation in the park varies greatly from one part to another; there are arid areas with sands and cacti, and areas with subtropical vegetation of dense trees and mangroves. You can also see a variety of animals in the park, especially for those arriving early in the morning, such as bobcats, various birds, turtles, and more. An ideal destination for hiking enthusiasts, beach lovers, and those interested in fishing and sailing.
The Lighthouse Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse
The lighthouse in Ponce Inlet Ponce inlet is considered the tallest lighthouse in Florida: its height is 54 meters. It is still active today but serves primarily as an open-air museum. It is recommended to climb its 203 winding steps and see the view all around for miles. You can enter all the buildings around it where its operators lived and see how they lived; it has a collection of all its lamps from all periods and also a collection of refugee ships that arrived by sea in dilapidated junk to Florida's shores. The site is located south of Daytona Beach and adjacent to Smyrna Dunes Park (with a narrow strait between them).
Adjacent to the lighthouse is a dog beach, a quiet beach in the inland waters area, and a long pier into the rough sea from which many surfers and numerous fishermen can be seen. Between the beaches and the lighthouse are elevated walking paths on raised platforms.
Short video on a trip to the lighthouse and its surroundings:
Marine Discovery Center
A recommended destination for nature lovers, representing a combination of a zoo, aquarium, and interactive museum where you can learn about the flora and fauna characteristic of the area in the sea, river, and the many marshes in the region. You can join ecological guided tours on foot or boat tours in kayaks or larger boats.
Daytona Beach
The city of Daytona Beach is located less than a half-hour drive north of New Smyrna Beach and about an hour's drive from Orlando. There is plenty to do and see in its surroundings for at least a full and packed day, including of course the famous race car center considered the number one attraction of the city - Daytona International Speedway.
This is one of the largest and most famous race car tracks in the USA and indeed the entire world. Every year in February, the "Daytona 500" race is held at the site, which is the largest NASCAR race.
For ordering tickets for NASCAR races:
A few other car races are also held on site annually. But even without a race, there is plenty for car enthusiasts to do at the site year-round.
At the historic racing site, guided tours of half an hour to three hours are held, including a "backstage tour" in the garage, the drivers' room, the press stand, a tour of the track itself, and a close-up inspection of the winning car. Those who aren't satisfied with just observing cars can drive a 600-horsepower race car themselves on the famous track. Of course, a valid driver's license and a substantial fee are required. Reservations must be made in advance!
A cheaper experience suitable for children and youth as well is the Ride-Along Experience. A ride in a two-seater race car alongside an experienced racing driver who will drive for you at high speed while other family members wave to you from the stands. The ride on the race track is not held every day. It is recommended to check the website or by phone when the experience is available.
Short video on tourists in race cars in Daytona:
In Daytona Beach, there is a lovely promenade along the beach Daytona Beach Boardwalk featuring plenty of shops, amusement rides such as a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, video games, and target shooting, restaurants, vibrant fishing piers, and of course expansive sandy beaches. In the summer, the place is filled with street performances by clowns, jugglers, and musicians, and every Saturday evening in the summer there is a fireworks display.
Shopping in Daytona Beach:
Daytona Beach is a wonderful destination for shopping enthusiasts. It has a recommended outlet center alongside several large shopping centers. Particularly recommended:
Tanger Outlets Daytona Beach with 75 outlet stores including sports brands such as: Adidas, Nike, New Balance, and Reebok; popular fashion brands from H&M to Levi's, American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger, and GAP, alongside stores for children's and baby accessories, shoes, food, and bags.
One Daytona - a large and new open-air shopping center near the car race track featuring shops, galleries, plenty of restaurants, cafes, and ice cream parlors, a cinema, an electronic game center, and even hotels.
Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral
Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral is located about an hour's drive south of New Smyrna Beach or about 50 minutes east of Orlando. This is an impressive and popular site, a must-visit destination for anyone coming to Florida. Although the site is veteran, new attractions are added to it every year (after all, they have to compete with the amusement parks of Orlando).
♦ Ordering tickets for the Space Center from the Expedia website: Expedia
It features simulators, interactive facilities, four-dimensional movies, IMAX, an indoor playground for children full of effects, tall slides between floors that children will be happy to slide down, an impressive rocket garden where you can join a guided tour, and impressive memorial halls for the astronauts who perished in the Challenger and Columbia, including personal corners for each of the astronauts, Ilan Ramon among them.
You can see the space shuttle here in life size,
the giant space telescope, the giant fuel tanks that launch the space shuttle, the rockets that launched astronauts to space and the moon, and the satellites. You can spend many hours at the site and its facilities.
The site is open to visitors even during these days of COVID, but at a lower capacity, so tickets must be booked in advance. The stay in the entire massive complex is with masks and maintaining social distance. The bus tour and astronaut training facilities are closed, but all other attractions are active. There are no queues and you can see and accomplish much more than usual. There is a huge store at the site with serious sales; you can find a variety of products, games, toys, and souvenirs regarding space.
There is also a wing with a display of the nature and wildlife in the Cape Canaveral area. The area is a long island belonging to NASA connected by bridges. There is also a large restaurant on site for the many visitors. The whole site is like a Disney-style park.
Highly recommended for all ages and compositions and a must-visit destination for aeronautics and space enthusiasts. Even those who have visited the place in the past will enjoy visiting again thanks to the many innovations it offers.
Short video on a trip to the Space Center:
Night Kayaking
Near Cape Canaveral, a night cruise departs immediately after sunset to observe tiny glowing jellyfish in the water (in winter months) or glowing plankton (in summer months). The guided kayaking tour is provided by BK Adventure - Florida's Best Bioluminescence Tours
It is recommended to arrive on moonless days as you can see the glow better. You sail with kayaks in channels among vegetation following the guide's kayak marked with a weak blue light. You can see the glowing creatures as they encounter the oar or when scooping the water with a strainer received from the guide. During the sail, you see seabirds and other animals, even alligators. A longer cruise combining sunset viewing is particularly recommended.
Cocoa Beach Pier
A long and lovely pier—244 meters long, about half an hour's drive south of Cape Canaveral and the Space Center. It is adjacent to beaches popular among surfers and beach volleyball players. On the pier, in addition to many fishermen and plenty of gulls and other seabirds, there are several shops and restaurants overlooking a lovely view of the ocean, the shoreline, and the surfers.
Information on additional day trips from Orlando in the article: Star trips from Orlando