Of all the places I have vacationed, this was probably my favorite as far as the beauty and relaxation and just overall happiness. We went about every other day to Disney World, and I loved going there, but I thought it was worth the days to unwind, relax, and wake up later, to be a little bit more lazy if you will.

The atmosphere was amazing. It had the perfect weather there because of the wind coming from the ocean and wasn't extremely crowded; most others there kept to themselves, and if they did converse, it was fairly polite conversation, which added to the relaxation. There were many things to do depending on your interest. They had all sorts of water and beach rentals.

It was beautiful during the day, but it also had a different beauty at night too, but I am a night person, so that may be part of it. We did go to the Daytona 500, and I know I'm going to upset a lot of people by saying this, but I thought that the other things offered there were more worth the time and money, but also take into consideration that I'm not really a big sports fan. It was somewhat fun to see something that was that well-known, but it just wasn't my thing. I would like to visit many other places, so I have plans to do that first to get more of a diverse experience, but if given the chance, I'm fairly positive it would be on the top of my list of repeat vacation places--I miss being there just thinking about it right now.

In the last three years, water parks have been created, much larger hotels erected, and a city walk designed. They are turning this old beach city into a growing tourist trap. For now, though, the changes are nice. It's helped the city to grow with the times. As long as they don't over do it, the city should be able to keep its charm.

The newly created city walk boasts a few more expensive resturants, a movie theater, and some expensive stores. It looks nice, though, and has a walkway over the road from the parking garage, to the stores, and beach access. I personally never did much here because it was too touristy for me. I like the older side of Daytona myself.

The beaches are wide, and the water is nice. The time of your visit will determine the crowd. I like to go around the beginning of July, for my birthday. The crowds aren't too big, there's plenty of room on the beach, and the hotels aren't all booked up. If you come here during race week, bike week, spring break, or any holiday weekend, it's a whole different story.

As an interesting fact, Daytona is one of the only two beaches in the state of Florida that you can drive on. Actually, I think maybe in all of the USA (the other being New Symrna). You will also notice that the ocean-facing side of all the lights around your hotel's pool area are painted black. This is to keep baby turtles from mistaking them for the moon and crawling the away from the ocean.

If you're heading out this way, I suggest the Ocean Villas Hotel. Families and groups of friends will love this place!

From May 1 through October 31, the sea turtles emerge from the surf at night to lay their eggs in nests dug into the dry sand; then they return to the sea. Two months later, about a hundred baby turtles or hatchlings emerge from each of these nests and crawl to the ocean. Volusia County has taken several steps to protect these gentle creatures. This is a great time to visit and watch this great act of nature!