Tag: Watermark

Vacation on the Beach in Florida

English: Aerial view of New Smyrna Beach, Flor...
English: Aerial view of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, from the observation deck, top of the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse from across Ponce Inlet. (maximum zoom) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have stayed at the Watermark Condos, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida and it was wonderful.  They are located near Flagler Avenue and are right on the beach. The condos are owned individually and rented out by the week, month or season -whatever the owner decides.  Some owners are year round residents.

They are very large with 3 bedrooms and all of them over look the ocean.  The long porch on the front is just awesome.  Each resident has their own garage so the car is stored inside and not out in a parking lot.

This is a drive on beach and is open to traffic all day long and can get very crowded from about April to September or October.  I have stayed there in July which is very crowded and super HOT…and also the end of November when we had the beach all to ourselves and did some fishing.

I contacted one owner who is renting hers and I thought I might be able to get down to Florida to visit my son and all my friends this summer some time.   I would have to go in the summer because my son has school – otherwise I would not choose that time of year.

I doubt that it will happen because I just don’t have the money to take a trip, but here is the link to the condo. Be sure to check out all the pictures… very nice!

So if you are thinking about vacationing on the beach in Florida I would definitely recommend the Watermark.  It is located off of Flagler Ave. in New Smyrna Beach.

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Vacation Rental on the Non-Driving Beach

CNS Turtle Mound boardwalk06
Image via Wikipedia

I’m planning ahead to next summer when I might possibly get a VACATION!!! Not getting my hopes up too much yet, but I was talking to my good friend in Florida and mentioned that I’d like to get a place for a week over in New Smyrna so my kids and I could enjoy the beach while still being close to my old friends living in the Deltona area.

She started raving about the “Sea Dunes” townhouses where she and her brother’s family stayed one year. It seems that the place is divided between the fancy “on the beach” rentals (where she stayed for $2500 a week) and the ones “in the back by the pool” with a more affordable price tag. In fact I found one for rent- actually two- that would be in my price range.

$1150.00 a week plus tax, cleaning fee of $80 and a $500 refundable damage deposit. They only sleep 5-6 people and according to my friend, the one she stayed in slept 10. If I could get some of my friends or family members to commit to sharing it, I might be able to afford the beachside ones.

I really love the Watermark, up by Flagler Ave., at the north end of New Smyrna, but the advantage of the Sea Dunes is that they are situated on the “non-driving” area of the beach, which means no oil or gunk to step in when walking in the sand (doesn’t happen often) and no worries about the kids getting hit by a car. It can get hairy on the popular driving areas of the beach in the summer with not only people walking, but all the bike and scooter rentals, and on some days a constant line of traffic. The speed limit is 5mph and many people don’t watch their kids as well as they should (No!) and they dash out right in front of vehicles.

It reminds me of many years ago when beach-goers were allowed to park in two lines along the beach. Either up by the dunes – where everyone parks now – or closer to the water. Of course you could only do this during low tide. But too many people were getting hit and the city decided that one line of parking would be better. So now everyone has to cram into one line.

An obvious drawback to the Sea Dunes would be the fact that it sounds (and looks in one of the pictures) like a large place. Sure there is plenty of beach to share, but the pools might get pretty packed. After spending time on the sandy, salty beach most everyone showers off at the pool(s) and swims. So I’d worry about that. One of the units is right off the pool (picture) which you might think is great, but it could be noisy. Just things to keep in mind. Also, surfing is only allowed in certain places and I’m not sure where. If my daughter vacations with me, she will want to surf so I’ll have to find a place where surfing is allowed.

See a map of more places to stay, eat and visit in New Smyrna at Discover Our Town.com. Sea Dunes is not listed on this map.

Central Florida State Parks listing
Bethune Beach (at the end of the peninsula- it’s a drive folks! – it also has bathrooms)
Before Bethune Beach – &more -(we’d take a left on ? street to a small parking area, walk onto a fairly secluded beach- almost to the end of the road, just before the entrance to Turtle Mound– and Bethune beach)