Cocoa Beach - Help

[Brich1]

Can anyone who has been to Cocoa Beach give me some information on what the beaches are like and such.

I am taking my family there for a weekend soon in early February and my kids want to know if they will be able to pick up some nice sea shells, sand dollars and whatever else? Is this a good area for doing this or can someone help me out with a good spot.

Also, are their any must do things around the beach area

Thanks!

 

[shamrock30]

To be honest, DH and I didn't care for Cocoa Beach at all. It was too built up, and not clean enough for my tastes. The Canaveral Seashore, however, is very nice.

 

[cherylcheryl]

I live in the Cocoa beach area and have my whole life. The beaches are ok...not great. As the other post said, the canaveral area is nice. Jeddy park is there and great for families. Other beach areas to check out are Cherie down park and Lori wilson park (cocoa beach, cape canaveral areas). Melbourne beach is nice as well. Port Canaveral is a great place to go for dining, ect.
If you are already booked for cocoa beach, check out the above places or if your locations are flexible, visit daytona beaches or St augustine are beaches.



Best of luck

 

[Brich1]

Can you tel me about the marine life in the cocoa beach area - like sea shells and such.

Thanks

 

[cherylcheryl]

Various sea shells. As for marine life, there are manatees and dolphins in the river that are beautiful to see.

 

[Tiger926]

I agree with Shamrock30 - DH and I gave up an extra day at Disney to spend in Cocoa Beach and we were so disappointed! We found the area itself to be full of: car lots, strip joints and diners. As for the beaches, they weren't all that great either. Definitely not the family destination that was advertised in our Florida magazine at all!

Tiger

 

[hercamore]

Didn't care fo rCoca Beach.

We did like the New Syrmna beach north of Kennedy Space Center about 45 min.

herc.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

Wow, So glad i ran across this thread, we were planning on spending a day there. Guess we will have to pick another beach.

 

[elvis loves disney]

I have lived in Orlando my whole life and have frequented Cocoa Beach. Definately not the best of what Florida has to offer. As far as seashells and such I have never found to much there or anything that was to spectacular.The other suggestions of where to go are very good ones. Clearwater beach and Marco Island are gorgeous but that is a day driving trip in itself.They are both south of Tampa a few hours drive.Hope this helps and have a great trip~ :jumping4:

 

[riu girl]

Last month we spent a week in WDW followed by a week at Daytona.
Next trip: we would like to do a week in WDW followed by a week at a beach.

This time we would prefer a beach on the gulf of Mexico within an hour or two drive of WDW (the closer the better since we may want to visit WDW one or two times during our beach week). We are thinking Clearwater/St Petes area right now but would prefer to be a little closer to WDW.

Any suggestions (town, hotel etc). We would love to stay in a motel/hotel room that has a full kitchen (but not a condo). We would prefer to be on or within a 5 minute walk to a nice beach. We are travelling with two children.

Any suggestions????

Suzy V.

 

[Immelman]

sorry, but the west coast beaches don't improve until the Miami/Fl Keys. the gulf beaches are much better. white sand and sunsets. but from Orlando, you're looking at a 2 hour drive. clearwater/st pete beaches are beautiful, but you have to deal with traffic. I suggest siesta key.

 

[FLORIDAFUNFAMILY]

I COULDN'T DISAGREE MORE!!! Cocoa beach is a very nice place to visit we go there often as afamily and have always enjoyed it. Port Canaveral has a lock system that you can drive up to and get out and see snook in the water as well as dolphin and manatees. Jetty Park is a nice place to have a picnic and if you go on monday,thursday,friday,saturday you can see the magic or the wonder come and go to the port . Alittle to the north is canaveral national seashore as well as the kennedy space center . In Titusville Dixie Crossroads is a must have meal while visiting they serve fresh seafood caught along the coastal water and it's like no other place I've been. If you drive south on A!A South of Melbourne Beach is Sebastion Inlet which has a state park some very nice beaches and I've got quit a collection of shells from down there. The whole area is much nicer than Daytona by far. This is only my opinion though.

 

[risy]

sorry, but the west coast beaches don't improve until the Miami/Fl Keys. the gulf beaches are much better. white sand and sunsets. but from Orlando, you're looking at a 2 hour drive.

I believe this was to say the EAST coast beaches...
There are very nice beaches starting in West Palm Beach - that is 2 hours south of Cocoa Beach. Ft. Lauderdale is another hour, and Miami is another 45 minutes. A very long drive.

Cocoa Beach is a residential area - it's not a hot tourist destination. Any beach trip is fun if you are going to enjoy "the beach," that is, playing in the water and the sand. Cocoa beach has The Pier where you can also get lunch and cocktails. You can also go down by Ron Jons Surf Shop where there will be more shops and eateries and places to rent water & sand toys. Nothing fancy.

If you want to spend a day strolling along the beach and shops, not rolling around in sand, you should try Daytona for the day.

All kids love the freedom of a big beach, so it might be worth a day trip. Then again, lounging around a big Disney pool is pretty fun, too!

Risy (former Cocoa Beach resident, now 20 minutes away)

 

[Tiger926]

In regards to the places that FloridaFunFamily described, if you notice, you didn't really talk about Cocoa Beach itself - which is how I and the others described it - a tourist area of restaurants and assorted other stuff not conducive for families. All of the other areas such as Titusville, Port Canaveral, Cape Canaveral and Melbourne are all outside of Cocoa Beach - we discovered this as we checked into our hotel with disappointment (kind of like the one and only time we stayed in Kissimmee - we hated it!) The front desk clerk (and we were right on the beach at the Hampton Inn - very nice hotel, by the way) who had lived there his whole life said, "There is not much to do here in our small Cocoa Beach, so we all drive to Melbourne, Titusville, Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center) in order to do stuff, so that is what I would suggest for you." He was point blank about it, and after driving around for an hour in Cocoa Beach, we couldn't agree more!

I mention this not to cause a disagreement, but because someone might read your post (such as the original OP who is looking for travel help) and assume that all of the places that you mentioned are all in Cocoa Beach, and they are not. We experienced the same situation while there with a small baby, and so I really want to make sure that people have the proper review of Cocoa Beach itself - there is stuff to do in the areas around Cocoa Beach, but these must be driven to and not all people may be able to do this.

Tiger

 

[duranfan]

don't forget about Disney Vero Beach Resort. I live in the area. This might not be the best year coz we had 2 hurricanes here and the VB-Dis resort did have some damage, though its up and running again.
Vero Beach is one of the MOST upscale communities in Florida. Not blue blood like Palm Beach but its some where for examples celebs can come to and be 'left alone'. Its very easy to get to from Disney World. Usually take the Osceola Parkway to the Turnpike then exit at YeeHaw Juction onto Road 60 take to the 'beaches' and turn north onto A1A.
Our beaches are white sand. The ocean itself can be calm one day or surfing conditions the next just depends on the weather. Lots of sealife. Not uncommon in the summer to see dolphins frolicking or harmless versions of baby sharks being caught by fisherman.
THe Vero area is CLEAN*CLEAN*CLEAN. you will NOT find any run down stuff in general, its all upscale.
Cocoa and Melbourne are more 'working towns".

As a native Floridian, I feel confident in saying that every beach in Florida is different somewhat. On the gulf you don't get the true feel of the ocean but there does tend to be more tourism.
Daytona is another one. Ok you can stay there mega cheap (course be sure theres not a bike week or something coz of the huge crowds). BUt again its that cheezy look. However, if you can get past the cheeze theres plenty of fun stuff to do, the beach is unique. If you love to walk on the beach for miles, this is my pick. You can walk on this beach for miles coz you don't 'sink' in the sand. However, the ocean itself is not appealing to me.

 

[kccmommy]

About how long does it take to get to Vero Beach?

 

[Disney01]

Where can we see manatees in Cocoa Beach? I'm not sure where that place the previous poster was referring to.

 

[eeyore0062]

If you go to the west coast, you could go to Clearwater Beach. That is very nice.

 

[simba928]

I love Cocoa Beach. It is my second favorite place in the world (after Disney World). When we went (January of 2003), the Columbia was finally launching (after 2.5 years of delays). We stayed in the hotel that all the Israelli dignitaries stayed in for the launch (the first Israeli in space, Ilan Ramon, was on it). It was very cool to watch. I still remember everything we did on the trip, especially if it had anything to do with the Columbia. That might be the reason that I loved it so much.

 

[Immelman]

Where can we see manatees in Cocoa Beach? I'm not sure where that place the previous poster was referring to.

it depends what time of year you go.. they follow warmer water. on this side of the state we can dive with them in spring-fed rivers this time of year. they also hang out near power plants in the run-off. what jetties are around cocoa?