{"id":472,"date":"2008-02-12T11:27:14","date_gmt":"2008-02-12T17:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/daytona-500-travel-survival-tips\/"},"modified":"2017-03-31T17:56:52","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T22:56:52","slug":"daytona-500-travel-survival-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/daytona-500-travel-survival-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Daytona 500 travel survival tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Daytona_beach\"<\/a>
\nBy Jim Cohn, Orbitz Sports Travel expert<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Daytona Beach and much of Central Florida have been humming for more than a week
\nalready, as the Super Bowl<\/strong> of NASCAR, the Daytona 500<\/a><\/strong>,
\napproaches Sunday, Feb. 17.<\/p>\n

This is the 50th running of the Great American
\nRace, and if you’re a race fan, there’s no better time for a Daytona Beach vacation<\/a><\/strong>. If you’re
\nnot<\/strong> a race fan, there’s no worse time to be here. The annual pilgrimage to Daytona Beach reaches its peak this weekend,
\nbut the crowds will be building beginning with Thursday’s Twin 125 qualifying
\nraces.<\/p>\n

Crowds for Sunday’s race at Daytona International Speedway<\/a><\/strong> will well exceed 150,000
\npeople. And while many will conveniently
\nretire from a long day of partying before, during and after the big race to
\ntheir mobile homes and RVs parked in and around the speedway, thousands more
\nwill make the short drive to one of the many Daytona Beach
\nhotels<\/a><\/strong> and motels.<\/p>\n

Chances are, if you’re thinking about heading to Daytona for
\nSpeedweeks<\/strong> or the 500, you’ve already made plans or are soaking up the speedway
\nsun as we speak. If you’re within driving
\ndistance, it’ll be a lot easier to get there at this point, but hotel<\/a><\/strong>
\navailability is tightest this week, as well as other busy weeks including Black
\nCollege Reunion<\/strong> and Bike Week<\/strong>. But this
\nis the busiest week of the year, no question.<\/p>\n

Most, if not all three- and four-star hotels<\/a><\/strong> in Daytona Beach are booked
\nsolid. But you might be able to find a room at a two-star property, such as
\nDaytona Inn Beach Resort<\/a><\/strong>, which has rates starting at $225 per night. A couple of other two-star properties are
\nlisting availability in the $400 per night range, and up. Your best bet, at this point, would be to
\nventure outside of Daytona Beach and check out
\nplaces like Lake Mary<\/strong>,
\nwhich is a far north suburb of Orlando, or Palm Coast<\/strong>,
\nwhich is just outside Daytona. You might
\nalso be able to find something in Ormond Beach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, most who attend the 500 make their hotel
\nreservations<\/a><\/strong> as much as a year in advance. Please visit http:\/\/racing.orbitz.com<\/a><\/strong>
\nfor comprehensive travel planning to racing’s biggest events throughout the
\nyear. Here you can book travel, find
\nrace tickets and much more.<\/p>\n

Tickets<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The race is sold out but you can still find tickets. Orbitz’ racing site<\/a><\/strong> offers race
\ntickets through a partnership with StubHub<\/strong>. Tickets are selling for about $180
\nand up, or you can always take your chances on picking up some outside the
\ntrack on race day.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you’re going to watch from the infield, a popular spot
\nfor many, a couple of things you’ll want to remember. Get in as early as you possibly can. As you’re reading this, thousands are already
\ncamped out and have been for some time in order to get a prime spot. You won’t have a very good view, but you
\ncan\u2019t beat the party. If you’re at the
\nrace simply for a good time, this is the place to be. If you want to see the race or are traveling
\nwith kids, do your best to get a seat in the grandstands.<\/p>\n

\n

If you do wind up in the infield, the best spot to see cars
\nzoom by close up is on turn 4.<\/p>\n

\n

Leaving the race, a couple of strategies. Either be ready to run the minute the race
\nends, and even if you do you’re going to be stuck in traffic. So your best bet is to stay in the infield
\nand wait it out \u2013 several hours. Keep
\nthe grill going and relax, it takes a good four hours for the traffic to
\nsubside. So make the most of the
\nexperience and make some new friends. Just please don\u2019t drink and drive.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have, or can’t get tickets, there’s plenty to
\ndo in and around Daytona and the atmosphere around the speedway is great. Daytona USA<\/a><\/strong> is arguably the best racing
\nmuseum you’ve seen and a great tribute to the sport. And this time of year, if you’re from
\nanywhere outside the Sun Belt, you can’t go wrong with the beach.<\/p>\n

If you want to escape the crowds, the best beach<\/strong> is New
\nSmyrna<\/strong>, which is a short drive south from Daytona Beach right off of Highway 44. If you’re looking for fun and don\u2019t want to
\nescape the crowds, well, you won’t have a problem with that.<\/p>\n

Traffic<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

Traffic is heaviest on Sunday, but can certainly be
\nproblematic Thursday, Friday and Saturday also. In fact, if you happen to be in or around Orlando Sunday, don’t head eastbound toward the beaches before noon or westbound back
\ntoward Orlando
\nfrom the beaches after 4. It will take
\nyou hours.<\/p>\n

\n

Related Orbitz resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n