North East Coast
The North East of Florida offers visitors and residents a rare blend of state-of-the-art technology, old-world charm and natural beauty. The area is the last frontier of the Sunshine State, stretching from Cape Canaveral to the border of Georgia, taking in many sights and sounds along the way.
The primary draw for tourists is the Kennedy Space Centre, listed among Florida's top five attractions – located on Merrit Island. NASA shares its space Coast with the National Wildlife Refuge and the Canaveral National Seashore Park, meaning that NASA's neighbours include bald eagles, alligators and even the shy manatee.
Continuing north up Highway 1 we reach New Smyrna Beach, a popular spot with young families due to its self-styled "world's safest bathing beach", New Smyrna Beach has 13 miles of pristine white sand and excellent year round fishing, while the city itself is the second oldest in Florida, it boasts street after street of beautifully restored turn-of-the-century houses.
Daytona Beach, a little further up the coast again is framed for its stretch of hard-packed sand which became a Mecca for automotive racing enthusiasts between 1903 and 1935, in fact no fewer than 13 new records were set here. The tradition continues with world-famous annual events such as the Daytona 500. The beach is full of bustle, and has many activities on offer such as boat trips, canoeing and excellent surfing. There's also an abundance of nearby golf courses.
North of Daytona you will find Ormond Beach, Families looking for a great value coastal vacation home, and retirees all find life in Ormond Beach very pleasant. With its Intracoastal waterfront homes it provides a wonderful pace of life. Ormond Beach was recently rated one of the top 100 cities to relocate by National Strategy Group.
A little further north is Palm Coast, a new city that at times has held the accolade of the fastest growing area in the USA. It's canal communities give access by boat to the beautiful intracoastal waterway and the ocean. It has some of Florida's finest golf courses with premium properties in the Hammock Dunes Golf communities.
By the time you get towards St Augustine, the coast becomes a lot less developed and is characterised by nature reserves and quaint seaside towns. St Augustine itself was founded in 1565 by Spanish settlers, making it America's oldest European settled city, it contains over 144 blocks of historic buildings and sites. Many of the structures, from forts to bandstands are made from coquina, Florida's oldest building materials. Formed over millions of years from shell fragments, quartz sand and calcium carbonate, coquina is a soft, porous, but very durable stone. More recently, St Augustine was the site of groundbreaking events in 1964 when Dr Martin Luther King fronted protests the eventually led to the city's desegregation; it was formerly renowned for being one of the most segregated in the country.
The primary draw for tourists is the Kennedy Space Centre, listed among Florida's top five attractions – located on Merrit Island. NASA shares its space Coast with the National Wildlife Refuge and the Canaveral National Seashore Park, meaning that NASA's neighbours include bald eagles, alligators and even the shy manatee.
Continuing north up Highway 1 we reach New Smyrna Beach, a popular spot with young families due to its self-styled "world's safest bathing beach", New Smyrna Beach has 13 miles of pristine white sand and excellent year round fishing, while the city itself is the second oldest in Florida, it boasts street after street of beautifully restored turn-of-the-century houses.
Daytona Beach, a little further up the coast again is framed for its stretch of hard-packed sand which became a Mecca for automotive racing enthusiasts between 1903 and 1935, in fact no fewer than 13 new records were set here. The tradition continues with world-famous annual events such as the Daytona 500. The beach is full of bustle, and has many activities on offer such as boat trips, canoeing and excellent surfing. There's also an abundance of nearby golf courses.
North of Daytona you will find Ormond Beach, Families looking for a great value coastal vacation home, and retirees all find life in Ormond Beach very pleasant. With its Intracoastal waterfront homes it provides a wonderful pace of life. Ormond Beach was recently rated one of the top 100 cities to relocate by National Strategy Group.
A little further north is Palm Coast, a new city that at times has held the accolade of the fastest growing area in the USA. It's canal communities give access by boat to the beautiful intracoastal waterway and the ocean. It has some of Florida's finest golf courses with premium properties in the Hammock Dunes Golf communities.
By the time you get towards St Augustine, the coast becomes a lot less developed and is characterised by nature reserves and quaint seaside towns. St Augustine itself was founded in 1565 by Spanish settlers, making it America's oldest European settled city, it contains over 144 blocks of historic buildings and sites. Many of the structures, from forts to bandstands are made from coquina, Florida's oldest building materials. Formed over millions of years from shell fragments, quartz sand and calcium carbonate, coquina is a soft, porous, but very durable stone. More recently, St Augustine was the site of groundbreaking events in 1964 when Dr Martin Luther King fronted protests the eventually led to the city's desegregation; it was formerly renowned for being one of the most segregated in the country.
