A look at what’s new in Daytona Beach

From endless activities to calm, quiet days spent sunbathing and beachcombing, visitors are finding just what they’re looking for in a Florida vacation along the 23 miles of world-famous iconic shores of Daytona Beach.

With area investments in progress and more hotel, attraction, dining and shopping options than ever, now is the perfect time to (re)experience all that Daytona Beach has to offer, including these new developments:

New attractions & renovations

• The Daytona Aquarium & Rainforest Adventure will be opening in Daytona Beach in early 2024 and will be the destination’s first aquarium offering an interactive educational experience featuring animals from both land and sea.
• Following the completion of the prestigious 66^th annual DAYTONA 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 18, Daytona International Speedway will welcome a new winning DAYTONA 500 car for display for the year, complete with the confetti, dents and scratches. The car will be on display inside the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America for the next year and visitors will be able to view the winning machine as part of the Daytona International Speedway Track Tour.
• Welcome to Rockville, one of the biggest rock music festivals in the United States, returns to Daytona International Speedway on May 9-12. The festival is expanding by adding a fifth stage and 50 bands to feature 150 bands in total over four days.
• The Museum of Arts and Sciences, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, has new exhibits planned for 2024 as well as a renovation of its state-of-the-art Lowell and Nancy Lohman Planetarium.
• Spanning a mile of Intracoastal Waterway, the Riverfront Esplanade is a premier gathering space and botanical garden in downtown Daytona Beach. Composed of more than a mile of waterfront running trail with comfortable benches and swings overlooking the Halifax River, the Riverfront Esplanade also features a dog park with an agility course and a state-of-the-art splash pad.

New accommodations

• Opening in 2024, the Renaissance by Marriott Daytona Beach Oceanfront on 640 North Atlantic Avenue offers modern hotel accommodations with private balconies, high-end seafood restaurant, state-of-the art design, multi-floor parking garage with valet parking services, infinity pool, oceanfront ballroom with amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean, and outdoor event space.
• Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach is a 200-room beachfront resort that recently completed a multi-million renovation with a focus on the popular pool deck, refreshed guestrooms and youth club, and revamped memorabilia throughout the retreat.
• Some other recent upscale arrivals to the destination include the 12-story oceanfront Max Beach Resort, which features 72 spacious one-, two-, and three-bedroom residence-style suites with an array of lifestyle features and amenities for a new generation of leisure and business travelers and the 27-floor, 456-room Daytona Grande oceanfront luxury resort that offers the only infinity pool in Daytona Beach. ONE DAYTONA, the world-class dining and entertainment complex across from the Daytona International Speedway has two properties: the 105-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Daytona Beach Speedway/Airport and The DAYTONA, an exclusive 4-Diamond 144-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel.