Daytona or Cocoa Beach?

[jsweeks@cogeco.ca]

Hi everyone! I did not know where to post this so I am trying here. We would like to go to the beach next Friday as we don't have park tickets until Sunday. We have been to Daytona 2 times and are willing to try Cocoa Beach. What do you think about Cocoa Beach? How does it compare to Daytona? Which would you choose? Any tips or advice would be appreciated Thanks in advance!!

 

[tennessee]

cocoa beach, a little further down is melbourne beach. We love that. Not so busy and more family there and laid back. We stay at crown plaza on the ocean, really nice place with a private beach.

 

[cheerbaybee]

I Live very close to Daytona Beach, and i would say go to Cocoa Beach. Its a lot nicer down there. Daytona really needs some up keep. I can't talk because thats where I go to the beach. However, if your are looking at other places near daytona... You could always try Flagler/ st Augustine are or Ponce Inlet. Ponce Inlet has a really nice beach!

 

[nkereina]

We spent the night in Cocoa Beach before our cruise and weren't impressed. We found the area to be dirty with not a ton to do or see. If all you are interested in is the beach, it was nice and big and not too crowded. So that was nice. If you are spending a whole day there, I would prefer Daytona. But I think Cocoa is a little closer.

 

[simplestar]

cocoa beach, a little further down is melbourne beach. We love that. Not so busy and more family there and laid back. We stay at crown plaza on the ocean, really nice place with a private beach.

Not to steal the thread - but thanks for the tip about Melbourne Beach. We were planning and doing a few days at the beach on our way home and were thinking about Cocoa Beach - but Melbourne looks gorgeous!!!

 

[Mrs K]

We love Cocoa Beach. We always spend a few nights there to relax before a WDW trip. The water is beautiful and we've always found the beach to be clean. We always stay at the Hampton Inn and they have access to the beach. The area is touristy but fun. Ron Jon's is a cool place to visit and there is a nice restaurant in the Cocoa Beach Surf store. Much nicer than Daytona IMHO.

 

[KatieKat]

I've been to both, and like Cocoa Beach wayyyy better! Park right by the pier and park your towels right by there The beach is way nicer, not as crowded, and the crowds weren't as college spring break-y either! Plus the food and drinks on the pier were better than the daytona picks.

 

[thej]

I grew up in Cocoa Beach, and have been to Daytona many times. They are very different vibes. Daytona has wider, busier, more active beaches, and the town is much more commercial and built up. CB is quieter and the beaches are nice but a bit narrower. There's a lot less night life in CB, and it's somewhat less touristy.

If you are not staying the night out at the beach, CB has a couple of nice parks I'd suggest (Lori Wilson and Sidney Fischer) both are on the beach a mile or two down A1A from 520. Both are very nice and less crowded than the Pier or Alan Shepherd park at the end of 520. They do have facilities (restrooms) and the fee is only about $5 for the day. If you don't care about picnic tables and restrooms, many of the cross streets further down in CB have parking (most with meters) and access at the beach end.

Check out the the CB park page:

http://www.cityofcocoabeach.com/citylife/city_parks_recreation.htm

As an alternate, right at the end of 528/Beeline is Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. It has a bit more in the way of facilities (fishing pier, the Jetty, in addition to the beach) than the CB parks. It's away from the commercial areas of CB entirely if that matters to you. There's also a great restaurant at the port called "Grills" where you can watch the ships come and go from the port while you eat dinner. Depending on the day you might even see one of the Disney ships!

http://www.jettypark.org

Have fun!