Ormond Beach: An Ideal Florida Town to Retire, Spend the Winter, or Just Visit

Whether you are looking for a relaxing place to spend a beach vacation, a winter snowbird destination, or a warm and sunny place to retire, Ormond Beach, Florida, has all the amenities you want without the big-city hassles and higher living costs.

 

Ormond Beach often ranks high in lists of places to live and retire, and it’s no wonder:

• The Ormond Beach/Daytona Beach area boasts 23 miles of white-sand beaches along the Atlantic coast.
• The area’s natural beauty extends well beyond the beach. Ormond Beach’s parks, rivers, lakes and scenic trails make it a popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts.
• The city has an excellent choice of housing communities that cater to retirees of all budgets, including gated 55+ communities, condominiums, and low-maintenance villas. Later in this article, we will share details about some of the more popular neighborhoods for seniors.
• The location offers easy access to some of Florida’s best hospitals, major airports, and popular attractions.

With only 42,000 year-round residents, Ormond Beach is often overshadowed by its much larger and “world famous” neighbor, Daytona Beach. Both are part of Volusia County, which has more than half a million residents. Being next door to a larger city has its benefits, providing Ormond Beach residents and visitors with more options for dining, shopping, healthcare and recreation. Daytona Beach even has its own international airport, served by Delta, American, and several international airlines. When the need arises for major-city attractions, Orlando is just over an hour away and Jacksonville is a 90-minute drive north, both via interstate highways.

Despite being part of a much-larger metropolitan area, Ormond Beach maintains its own unique identity and small-town charm. When you first turn off Interstate 95 onto Ormond Beach’s busiest corridor, Highway 40, known locally as Granada Boulevard, and head east toward the beach, you will notice the beautifully landscaped highway medians, attractive, well-maintained commercial and business districts, and the vitality of the city’s economy. Ormond Beach is more polished and better cared for than some other Florida cities. Even on most stretches of State Road A1A, the beach road, Ormond Beach has managed to avoid the tackiness that often characterizes beach towns.

The Daytona Beach/Ormond Beach area gets its share of favorable attention in the national media. AARP ranked Ormond Beach (along with nearby Daytona Beach and Deltona) as one of its top picks for retiring on a budget. The area also gets favorable reviews from Niche, U.S. News, and other news outlets.

No community is perfect. Nearby Daytona Beach hosts an annual “bike week” in the spring and “race weeks” at Daytona International Speedway. During these events, especially when the motorcyclists come to town, you can expect some spillover traffic and noise in otherwise quiet and sedate Ormond Beach. Most residents grow accustomed to these annual events and know when to hunker down at home to avoid long lines at restaurants. On the other hand, if you are a motorcyle enthusiast or follow NASCAR auto racing, then you may find these weeks something to look forward to each year.

What to See and Do in Ormond Beach

Miles and miles of beautiful beaches

Many of the same amenities that make Ormond Beach a great place to retire also make it a fun spot for a Florida vacation. The main attraction is the beachfront. The sand isn’t as bright white here as on Florida’s Gulf Coast beaches, but Ormond’s beach has harder-packed sand with fewer shells, so it is easier to take a walk, even barefoot, than on the Gulf beaches.

Because the beach is wide and more solid, it is also ideal for riding bikes on the beach, one of our favorite activities. Bike rentals are widely available, and most shops will deliver and pick up bikes at your hotel. We rented from Daytona Electric Bikes. Electric-powered bikes (“e-bikes”) are much easier to pedal on the beach than traditional bikes. They are worth the higher rental cost. (See our recent blog post about the growing popularity of electric bikes for senior adults.)

Thanks to the hard-packed sand, you can rent a variety of other fun vehicles to cruise the beach, including motorscooters and golf carts that are designed for beach use. Some sections of the beach even allow motor vehicle traffic on the beach, but the county’s daily access fee for vehicles is $20.

Ormond’s beaches are not as crowded or boisterous as some of nearby Daytona Beach’s oceanfront. Ormond Beach is the more family-friendly and senior-friendly choice. If you really want a quieter beach, go a mile or more north of Highway 40 on the main beach road, SR A1A. This section has more single-family homes and smaller, mom-and-pop hotels, so the beaches are rarely crowded.

Other things to do in Ormond Beach

There’s much more to see than just the beach. No trip to Ormond Beach would be complete without driving the Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail, known locally as just The Loop. This 30-plus mile meandering path takes you through beautiful “Old Florida” scenery, with plenty of overhanging oak trees and spanish moss. It takes you past both intracoastal waterways and the ocean road, SR A1A. You’ll see stately homes and maybe some wildlife along the way. Click this link for a map and more information.

Another popular attraction is The Casements, the former winter home of famous business magnate John D. Rockefeller. Just a few blocks from the beach, The Casements has been fully restored. It now is owned by the city and serves as a cultural center. Tours are offered daily. You can learn more about The Casements by visiting their website.

Ormond Beach residents and visitors alike are blessed with an abundance of parks and outdoor recreation opportunities. Two state parks, Tomoka State Park and Bulow Creek State Park, are located within the city and offer thousands of wilderness acres to explore. They are popular for kayaking, fishing and other water sports, as well as for hiking, birdwatching, and history.

If you enjoy parks, don’t miss the city’s own gem of a park, the 149-acre Central Park. It is an ideal spot for hiking, biking, picnics, kayaking, fishing and other leisure pursuits. Central Park is also home to the city’s Environmental Discovery Center.

Shopping and entertainment

Ormond’s proximity to Daytona Beach opens up a larger world of exciting shopping and entertainment. For routine shopping errands and appealing walkable shops near the beach, Ormond Beach has plenty to offer, primarily along Highway 40 (Granada Blvd.). SR A1A also has several tourist gift shops, restaurants, and one larger shopping center.

Daytona, however, is where you will find the mega shopping venues and national brands. One of the newest is Tanger Outlets Daytona Beach. Opened in late 2016. Tanger Outlets includes more than 70 stores and is part of an even larger retail development named Tomoka Town Center. One of the area’s premier destinations for shopping, dining and entertainment is One Daytona, a large and innovative complex located on Speedway Boulevard in Daytona, across the street from the Daytona International Speedway. In that same vicinity you will also find the Volusia Mall, a traditional enclosed mall anchored by Macy’s, Dillards, J.C. Penney and Sears.

Speaking of which, the attraction Daytona Beach is best known for, other than the beach, is Daytona International Speedway. Auto racing enthusiasts will want to include a tour of the speedway on their trip.

Where to Stay While Visiting Ormond Beach

You won’t find high-end, five-star oceanfront hotels in Ormond Beach, but there are plenty of mid-range and smaller hotels right on the beach. Some of the nicer properties include The Cove at Ormond Beach and the Royal Floridian Resort. The latter is a well-maintained timeshare resort with an extra large pool deck and garage parking. It often has short-term rentals available. Like many timeshares, units at Royal Floridian Resort have full kitchens and closed off bedrooms and are generally larger than hotel rooms.

Traveling with your dog but want to stay at a beachfront hotel? Try the Lotus Inn & Suites, an older property that has been remodeled. It is one of the few pet-friendly hotels on the beach.

Ormond Beach is a quieter stretch of beach than Daytona Beach to the south. You will find a good selection of privately owned condos and homes available for rent, many of them directly on the ocean or across the street from it. Try searching rental sites such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway.

Retiring to Ormond Beach

As evidenced by the growing number of attractive retirement communities, many of which are described below, Ormond Beach is attracting its share of retirees looking for a warm and sunny spot to either spend the winters or live year-round. Ormond Beach stacks up favorably with many other Florida beachfront communities in terms of cost of living, traffic congestion, and overall quality of life. The community offers a pleasing blend of quality healthcare, shopping, entertainment, history, and culture. It excels at outdoor recreation. The roads and other infrastructure are well planned.

Ormond Beach is ideally located, offering the benefits of a smaller city with large-city amenities not far away. Using healthcare as an example, the Ormond Beach/Daytona Beach area is well served by two large and respected hospitals, Halifax Health Medical Center and AdventHealth Daytona Beach. You may never need to leave Volusia County for healthcare needs, but if you do, some of the state’s most respected hospitals aren’t far away. Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic is less than 90 minutes via Interstate 95. Shands Hospital, a research hospital affiliated with the University of Florida’s medical school, is less than two hours away. Orlando’s growing healthcare community is only an hour to the south, via Interstate 4.

You won’t feel isolated or bored retiring to Ormond Beach.  Pro sports, broadway plays, major concerts, theme parks, and larger international airports are all available in nearby Orlando and Jacksonville. One of the state’s busiest cruise port terminals, Port Canaveral, is only an hour-and-fifteen-minute drive from Ormond Beach. Other nearby attractions include historic St. Augustine, Kennedy Space Center, and several beautiful state parks, lakes and springs. Your grandkids will be happy about your choice of retirement spots.

Popular Retirement Communities

Ormond Beach has an excellent selection of attractive residential communities that are ideal for senior adults, with something sure to please nearly every retiree, regardless of budget. The list below will give you an overview of some of the more popular senior-adult communities, but it is far from a complete listing. If considering a move to Ormond Beach, we recommend you visit the area, do online research to get better acquainted with the city and its neighborhoods, and then connect with a respected, full-time local Realtor who knows the market well.

Latitude Margaritaville

As a sign of the area’s popularity with senior adults, Daytona Beach was chosen as the location for the first of three Jimmy Buffett-inspired Latitude Margaritaville 55+ mega-communities being built by Minto Communities. These large and innovative communities are drawing national attention, including putting the Daytona Beach/Ormond Beach area even more on the map as a top-notch retirement destination. The site is just south of the Ormond Beach city limits.

Eventually, about 3,400 homesites will be developed at Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, along with a long list of lifestyle amenities that will include restaurants, stores, bike trails, and live music.  This community will appeal especially to active retirees who enjoy the social scene. With just the first few hundred homes finished, Latitude Margararitaville is already being ranked as one of the top 55+ communities in the nation by groups such as 55places.com.

 Huntington at Hunter’s Ridge

Huntington at Hunter’s Ridge is another new 55+ community that is still being developed. It features low-maintenance villas and single-family homes from the low $200’s to the low $300’s. The site plan calls for 326 homes, but Huntington is part of the larger, 5500-acre Hunter’s Ridge planned development. That means residents will benefit from a broad range of amenities including a large clubhouse, walking and biking trails, a fishing pier, and swimming pools.

Ormond Renaissance Condominiums

For a different style of retirement living, consider Ormond Renaissance Condominiums. While most 55+ neighborhoods in Florida feature either single-family homes or manufactured homes, Ormond Renaissance offers condos for those who want low maintenance and no yards. It is a new, gated community featuring two and three-bedroom condos ranging in size from 1,248 to 15,15 square feet. The first building is now under construction, so you can still pick your choice of unit and make choices about interior finishes.

Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club

While not exclusively for senior adults, Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club will appeal to seniors who want a luxurious, gated, golf-oriented, planned community. This 3,600-acre expansive community includes 45 holes of golf, two clubhouses, a fitness facility and on-site spa services. Single-family homes range from $300,000 to over $1 million, but of special interest to many seniors may be the more affordable and low maintenance new golf villas. The villas come in two and three-bedroom floor plans and start in the mid-$200,000 range.

Halifax Plantation and Breakaway Trails

Another high-end community in Ormond Beach that will appeal to seniors but is not exclusively for them is Halifax Plantation. Like Plantation Bay, Halifax Plantation features both single-family and villa-style resale homes, plus new estate homes. The gated community features an 18-hole golf course, a 25,000 square foot clubhouse, on-site dining, trails for walking and biking, swimming pool and other amenities.

If Plantation Bay and Halifax appeal to you, then also check out Breakaway Trails. It’s yet another large, gated, luxurious community with all the amenities. It is not age restricted, so expect a mix of families with children and senior adults.

55+ Manufactured Home Communities

If you want to retire to Ormond Beach but are on a tighter budget, or maybe just want a less-expensive place for spending the winters while keeping your home up North, then be sure to visit some of the city’s well-maintained 55+ manufactured home communities. Manufactured homes, which are also known as mobile homes, are a popular choice in sunbelt retirement spots, especially in Florida and Arizona. Built exclusively for senior adults, these communities offer plenty of amenities, typically including a swimming pool, clubhouse, and courts for playing games such as bocce or shuffleboard. Many of them are gated for added security. Some include lawn mowing or cable TV in your monthly fees. Golf carts are the main form of transportation within the communities, followed by bicycles.

If you’ve never visited a higher quality, well-maintained 55+ manufactured home community in a retirement area like Florida, trust us when we tell you it will change all of your previous perceptions of “mobile home” living. The newer homes and nicer communities will surprise you for their quality features and pleasing lifestyle.

Here are three of the larger 55+ manufactured home communities in Ormond Beach:

Bear Creek

Bear Creek offers residents a choice of three clubhouses, each with its own swimming pool and spa. The clubhouses include space for dancing, aerobic exercises, crafts, shuffleboard, billards, and special events. One includes a fitness center. The community includes trails, ponds and plenty of landscaping. Prices for resale homes in Bear Creek recently ranged from $34,900 to $83,500.

Plantation Oaks of Ormond Beach

The newest 55+ manufactured home community in the area is Plantation Oaks of Ormond Beach. This gated community includes a clubhouse and community center featuring a beach entry swimming pool, pickle ball, tennis and shuffleboard courts, a large activities room, and an exercise room. New model homes range in size from 1,200 to 2,400 square feet and sell for $139,995 to $234,995. All new homes include two-car garages, which is not common at most other 55+ manufactured home communities. Lawn mowing is included in the community’s monthly fees. 

Aberdeen of Ormond Beach

One of the first things you will notice when driving into Aberdeen is the green space. Homesites are larger than in many other 55+ manufactured home communities and developers maintained as much open space as possible on the 300 acres, filled with lakes, forests, and well-maintained landscaping. Nearly all the homes have rear views of ponds or woods; no two homesites share a rear property line. Aberdeen’s amenities include a community center, swimming pool, and courts for shuffleboard, horseshoes and bocce ball. Resale homes currently listed are being offered at prices ranging from $51,900 to $77,500.

Ormond Beach Strikes the Right Balance

Florida is full of wonderful communities suitable for a vacation, snowbirding, or retirement. Choosing the one that’s best for you isn’t always easy. Ormond Beach doesn’t necesarily stand out above the rest on any one single point, but what it does do is execute well across the board. The location, the beach, the outdoor lifestyle, and proximity to excellent healthcare, shopping, and entertainment make Ormond Beach a great choice for spending a week, the winter season, or the rest of your life.

(Note: This article does not include any sponsored or affiliate links. The views expressed are the author’s only and are included for informational purposes for the benefit of our readers.)

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