New Smyrna Beach has waves when the rest of Florida's east coast is flat, thanks to the sandbar at Ponce Inlet just north of town. Behind the surf sits a longer story — a 1768 colony of 1,400 Mediterranean settlers, coquina plantation ruins, and an artist residency that has hosted some of the century's great names.
Why visit New Smyrna Beach
- 01
Florida's most reliable surf
The shoal at Ponce Inlet produces consistent breaks in most swell directions, and the town supports a deep surf-shop and instructor culture.
- 02
A beach you can drive on
Volusia County still permits beach driving in designated zones — one of the last drivable ocean beaches on the east coast, with seasonal limits for nesting sea turtles.
- 03
Ruins with no admission
The New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins on Old Mission Road are the coquina walls of an 1830s plantation works, burned in the Second Seminole War.
- 04
Two downtowns
Canal Street on the mainland is the gallery-and-restaurant side; Flagler Avenue on the island is the surf-shop strip.
How to spend a day
Check the inlet buoy in the morning and surf or walk the beach early. At midday, drive to the Sugar Mill Ruins and, if exhibitions are open, the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Locals' rule for the evening: dinner on Canal, drinks on Flagler.
Before you go
New Smyrna Beach is about an hour east of Orlando via I-4 and SR-44. Beach driving carries a daily access fee.