Cocoa Beach anyone?

[Nana2Callie]

We were thinking of going to Cocoa Beach for a day at the end our trip - any thoughts or experience from anyone who has done this? Thanks,

 

[powellrj]

We love to visit there. We love to visit the Ron Jon shop while we are there.

 

[grimley1968]

My DW is from Cocoa Beach. Neither of us are fans of Ron Jon, though.

If you want a little quieter beach experience, with just as nice a beach, go a little further south of the congestion right at the A1A/528 interchange (near Ron Jon, the hotels, etc.). We like to go to 4th Street South (or even a little further south if possible). There are metered parking spaces there and easy access to the beach. The only negative is that if you want some kind of food or drink, you have to walk quite a way north on the beach (or drive). But it's a great stretch of beach there. Once you see the "Welcome to Downtown Cocoa Beach" sign, it becomes quite a bit less "touristy". Then once you cross Minutemen Causeway, you start hitting the "south" labeled numbered streets.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We love cocoa beach. There aren't many tourist attractions, but it is a nice, clean beach with great waves. Last summer we saw dolphins from the beach. They were way out there, but it was still a pretty sight. I like watching the big ships come into port too. I don't really see the appeal of RonJon's, it is just another gift shop. They recently opened a water park though, and I haven't been to that.

If you have time, I highly recommend a dolphin tour of the Indian river. It is just a nice, relaxing, scenic boat ride. The guide will give you a history of the area and you'll get to see wildlife up close and personal.

For a nice meal we love the Fat Snook. Pricey, but well worth every penny. DH loves Florida Seafood, I am not a big fan of them though. Madd Jack's Grillin Shack makes awesome BBQ. I would avoid The Mango Tree at all costs. It use to be the best place in Cocoa Beach, but it changed ownership, and it is terrible now.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We incorporated a Cocoa Beach day into our trip last summer. It was awesome. You can read about it here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3167818&page=8

beginning at post 109.

Lots of pics in my report, too.

We visited Ron Jons (loved it!), and used Lori Wilson Park as our beach spot. Free parking, washrooms and showers just off the parking lot, clean and quiet beach.

Easy drive from Orlando but lots and lots of tolls. About $10 round trip.

 

[jtopp]

It's great to have a beach day to relax during the middle or end of our Disney days. Cocoa beach is close enough, and a fun place to visit. Even though we are close to the jersey shore, we enjoy going to Cocoa Beach. Its also close to the Space Center, so sometimes we will take two days and enjoy both spots.