March 8, 2012 by Lynn Byrne

I just finished watching a Travel Channel show on the top ten beaches in Florida. Daytona Beach came in at number 10. I won’t argue with their list, but I’m going to give you my own list.

Travel Channel Top Ten Florida Beaches

1. South Beach, Miami
2. Siesta Key
3. Palm Beach – Breakers Private Beach
4. Lovers Key Beach
5. Clearwater Beach
6. Smathers Beach – Key West
7. Sandspur
8. Panama City
9. Sanibel Island
10. Daytona Beach

Top rated Florida Beaches

1. South Beach – Oh, what a show. A nice beach, but it’s all about the show.
2. Pensacola Beach – Clear water and the whitest sand I’ve ever seen.
3. Daytona Beach – 26 miles of beach. Something for everyone. Driving is still allowed in many places. This is the best combination of temperature, breeze, white sand and show. Surfing is good. The ocean breeze keeps it cooler except during the hottest part of the day.
4. Clearwater Beach – Clearwater makes the list for all the activities on the beach. Great Tiki bars and restaurants right on the water, but the water is too warm in the late summer and too shallow. There’s no surf.
5. Sanibel Island – Great for collecting shells, but it’s expensive here.
6. Ft. Lauderdale – More show and night life. Not as good as it was in the 70s, but still interesting.
7. Cocoa Beach – Good surfing and nice beach.

Now, any favorites list is personal. I haven’t visited all the beaches in Florida, but I have lived on both the east coast and the west coast, and I’m partial to the east coast because it’s just more comfortable here in the summer. The Gulf water temperatures reach into the high 80s in the late summer. We get a nicer breeze on the east coast and since it’s coming of the water, and the water is cooler, the breeze feels much cooler.

Daytona Beach is number 3 on my list of beaches, but number two on my favorite places to live. I must admit that Key West is my favorite, but it’s just too expensive. I still maintain that Daytona Beach is the best bargain in Florida for beachside communities. I’ve lived on the beach here, and while I now live on the mainland, I’m on the beach at least a few times a week. The beach runs through Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Ponce Inlet, Wilbur by the Sea, Ormond by the Sea and Daytona Beach
Shores.

Daytona Beach homes and condos are better priced and the area is generally safer and much less congested than south Florida and the Gulf coast. It’s a better place to live and raise a family. I’m a little biased, but decided to move here before I became a real estate agent in Daytona Beach. In other words, I feel in love with the area before I started selling it.

Daytona Beach Beaches can be anything that you want. There are places where few people go. Then there’s the area around the boardwalk where it’s much more crowded and more of a show. There places to drive, fish and surf. Daytona Beach real estate offers homes and condos for any lifestyle or budget. Come feel the breeze.