New Smyrna Beach
Discover New Smyrna Beach
In New Smyrna Beach, a city in Volusia County of Florida, blue skies meet 13 mi (21 km) of white sand on what has been named one of the world's "best surf beaches" by Surf magazine and National Geographic. New Smyrna Beach lays claim to the best Florida offers — excellent backwater, offshore fishing, golf, historical sites, cultural events, and eclectic shopping and dining experiences along Flagler Avenue and Canal Street. Although the beach is the "shark bite capital of the world," don't let that discourage you from visiting the beach and having a good time. New Smyrna possesses a distinct hometown quality reflected in its cracker architecture, lush subtropical landscape and community. You can spend the afternoon enjoying fresh seafood to steaks and pasta on the waterfront, or under an umbrella at a sidewalk cafe, and then retire to a bed and breakfast inn, family-size condominium or oceanfront hotel at the end of the day.
Famous Beaches
Taste of New Smyrna Beach...
New Smyrna's restaurants generally feature either American cuisine or seafood, but there are exceptions, such as an Asian-cuisine restaurant on Flagler Avenue and a couple Italian restaurants. The region's low cost of living means that there are restaurants with low prices given the quantity and quality of the food they serve. Restaurants along the coast are concentrated along Flagler Avenue, the eastern end of the South Causeway, and along the A1A Road/beach area. With the exception of the restaurant at the golf course, restaurants in Venetian Bay are gathered in a plaza area near Airport Road. This plaza area features a main shopping mall that includes apartments (accessed from a courtyard-like parking lot) and shops accessed from the outside. Around the plaza is a brick walkway, and at the far end from Airport Road is a park that goes from the clock tower to a lake. Starting in 2024, parking at Venetian Bay uses a paid-meter system which requires you to scan a pass to park. Some businesses will pay the fee for you. There are a large number of hotels, resorts, and timeshares along the beach, and they continue for miles along A1A south. These hotels typically face toward A1A or a small nearby beach road and face the other way toward the beach. The types of places where you can stay on the beach alone are diverse, ranging from smaller buildings of two stories to large resorts with several stories. As U.S.
A Rich Past
Explore the historical roots that shaped New Smyrna Beach into what it is today.
New Smyrna Beach, prior to European settlement, belonged to the Timucua tribe which inhabited the region. One of the city's important sites, now known as the Turtle Mound, is a former landfill used by the tribe to discard shells over a period of hundreds of years roughly corresponding to the European Middle Ages. Following the collapse of the massive sand dunes that once existed south of Ponce Inlet, Turtle Mound became the most prominent peak and one of the highest points in the entirety of New Smyrna. The Spanish are believed to have been the first Europeans to settle what is now New Smyrna Beach. They planted an orange grove on Bouchelle Island and likely also farmed on Chicken Island in the Intracoastal Waterway. However, the Spanish settlement of the region appears to have been inconsistent and did not result in a permanent settlement being established as took place in St. Augustine to the north. During the 1760s, Robert Turnbull and a company of British businessmen formed a unique concept for a colony on the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. He claimed several miles of land on the east coast of what is now Volusia County, and imported indentured servants from around the Mediterranean to farm this new region he called "Smyrnea" after the Ottoman city....
Festivals & Events
Experience the vibrant festivals and cultural celebrations of New Smyrna Beach.
Events in New Smyrna Beach include the weekly farmers' market, annual Art Fiesta, and a jazz festival held each spring. Anglers at nearby Mosquito Lagoon have set international records with giant redfish catches. Deep-sea charters leave New Smyrna Beach daily, giving offshore fishers an easy way to wet a line in the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Many historical and cultural sites make New Smyrna Beach noteworthy. From the Turnbull and Sugar Mill Ruins, to the Eldora State House, the area is rich in history. Since Flagler Avenue and Canal Street are in the cultural heart of NSB, they feature several quaint shops and cafes, and it's no surprise that the second oldest city in Florida is also home to many antique shopping pavilions. Neither Canal Street (the part of it east of US-1) nor Flagler Avenue are long roads, so while you'll find enough to suit your shopping and dining (see #eat) tastes, you also won't get exhausted from walking a long distance.
Climate
New Smyrna Beach offers a humid, subtropical climate characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters. Winter temperatures very rarely drop below freezing, and summers are longer than those encountered in many temperate regions. During summer, temperatures frequently reach approximately 90 °F (32 °C) in July and remain hot and humid into autumn, during which time forested areas should be avoided. The time to avoid visiting the city and Central Florida in general, unless you plan to spend all your time near the milder temperatures of the ocean, is June through September, when the region's weather matches that of a wet tropical climate. Summers often feature mid-day thunderstorms and — occasionally — tropical cyclones, while winters and early spring vary between cold, dry spells from the rest of the North American continent and warm invasions from the south.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsAlthough New Smyrna Beach has a Municipal Airport, it is chiefly used by private aircraft. Commercial flights to this area should be sought arriving to either Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB)(the closest); Orlando International Airport (MCO); or Jacksonville International Airport (JAX);. A relatively easy option for getting to New Smyrna Beach is through the Daytona Beach Airport. If you fly with Delta, you can go from basically anywhere in the United States to Atlanta International Airport; from there, you can get flights directly to Daytona Beach International Airport. Daytona's airport is fairly small and generally not too busy, and it's pretty easy to get a rental car, etc. From the airport, it's a short drive to I-95, and I-95 will take you to the portion of New Smyrna Beach near Venetian Bay. To continue, see Get in#By car below. & : New Smyrna Beach is easily accessed by car, as Interstate 95 passes through the western side of the city, and U.S....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Votran is the local Volusia County bus service, which also provides a public transit connection to nearby Daytona Beach. The buses offer service in New Smyrna Beach, M-Sa 7AM-7PM. Votran is a cheap way to get around and is handicap accessible. The website provides maps and timetables. Buses travel to most sites and places of interest. Cost: $1.75 per trip, or $3.75 for a one-day bus pass (Valid for all routes). Roads in New Smyrna Beach are excellent with few exceptions, and as a visitor you'll want a car to cover the distances around the city and the distance to its neighbors, especially if you're planning on traveling beyond the beach/coast area. The main road that goes along the beach is A1A. From A1A, numbered streets (1st, 2nd, etc.) go towards the beach. Some have beach parking or lead to the beach itself, so you can drive along it and park on the beach. However, A1A comes to a dead end south of NSB.
Where to Stay
There are a large number of hotels, resorts, and timeshares along the beach, and they continue for miles along A1A south. These hotels typically face toward A1A or a small nearby beach road and face the other way toward the beach. The types of places where you can stay on the beach alone are diverse, ranging from smaller buildings of two stories to large resorts with several stories. As U.S. Route 1 is the main highway, don't expect much from hotels along this route. As long as you use common sense and stay in areas a tourist would visit late nights, crime is not a significant concern in NSB. Nowhere in the city is dangerous during the daytime. Flagler Avenue can get rowdy during Spring Break and weekends. The city is home to alligators and sharks. Therefore, stay near the shore if you want to go into the ocean, and do not enter the water in any estuary, brackish water, swamp, or lake.
Money & Budget
Since Flagler Avenue and Canal Street are in the cultural heart of NSB, they feature several quaint shops and cafes, and it's no surprise that the second oldest city in Florida is also home to many antique shopping pavilions. Neither Canal Street (the part of it east of US-1) nor Flagler Avenue are long roads, so while you'll find enough to suit your shopping and dining (see #eat) tastes, you also won't get exhausted from walking a long distance. The streets are not part of commercial districts, either, though, meaning that you will not find many downtown-oriented shops once you get outside the immediate vicinity of Canal and Flagler and onto other streets. In fact, both Flagler Avenue and Canal Street are surrounded for the most part by residential districts.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
As long as you use common sense and stay in areas a tourist would visit late nights, crime is not a significant concern in NSB. Nowhere in the city is dangerous during the daytime. Flagler Avenue can get rowdy during Spring Break and weekends. The city is home to alligators and sharks. Therefore, stay near the shore if you want to go into the ocean, and do not enter the water in any estuary, brackish water, swamp, or lake. In the ocean, rip currents are an additional concern that you should avoid by staying close to the shoreline if you go in the water. Check weather forecasts in case a rip current/storm warning is in place. Florida, thanks to its wet climate, is home to many lakes and waterways. Explore these in a boat, not by swimming, since you do not want to risk being killed by an alligator in the murky waters of these lakes and rivers.