Florida Beach Blog

New Symrna Beach is Daytona Beach’s hipper southern neighbor. It shares Daytona’s obsession for driving cars on the sand, but that’s about where it ends. Separated from its better-known neighbor by an inlet, New Smyrna Beach has a different atmosphere and mindset.

“I’ve lived my entire life on New Smyrna Beach, but I have never been on Daytona Beach,” a native told us. “My feet have never actually touched the sand. I pefer the quiet stability here. I tried to move away once, but came home after six days. “ She, like all locals, pronounces Smyrna nat as it looks but with an extra syllable: “Sa-myrna.”

There is more to this town than initially meets the eye. In years past, what the eye met as it approached New Smyrna Beach on U.S. 1 was a string of rickety motels and biker bars. But that’s only the outer layer. Downtown New Smyrna and its beach are a 10-minute drive east from U.S. 1 via the A1A causeway. It is fair to warn you that New Smyrna Beach, whill still a far cry from Daytona Beach, is no longer the quaint, quiet beach town it used to be. Not only has the second causeway bridge been built to the barrier island – the North Causeway, an extension of Flagler Avenue – but the bulk of New Smyrna’s eight-mile beach has become a wall of high-rise condos and second homes for the part-time use of folks from Orlando. As a member of the Volusia County Beach Patrol told me, “on weekends and during special events, New Smyrna is just as packed as Daytona Beach.” I was impressed with the town’s retail makeover – particularly Flagler Avenue, which is lined with boutiques, bakeries, and surf shops. Just how good the surfing is here can be gleaned from the abundance of surf shops and surf bars. Even a local bakeshop is called Beach Bums Bakery and Café.

The town’s name originated with its founder, Dr. Andrew Turnbull. He christened it New Smyrna Beach in honor of his wife, who came from Smyrna, in Asia Minor. Prior to European colonization, the area had been home to Timucuan Indians. Juan Ponce de Leon landed somewhere in the vicinity in 1513 (thus the name Ponce Inlet). New Smyrna Beach was briefly the most lucrative of the British colonies in the New World.
Little of this local history has been preserved. For instance, the only Timucuan shell mound that wasn’t used to pave local roads can be found inside Canaveral National Seashore. The roads have lately reached the saturation point, in terms of development. If they would only leave well enough alone, I’d certainly look forward to future visits to New Smyrna Beach.

For more information, contact the Southeast Volusia County Chamber of Commerce, 115 Canal Street, P.O. Box 129, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32069, 386/428-2449, www.sevchamber.com.