Cocoa Beach FL: Cape Canaveral, NASA, and White Sandy Beaches in Florida...

One of the most famous beaches in the United States, if not the world, is Cocoa Beach FL. This is the home of the NASA Space Center, and Cape Canaveral where the space shuttles are launched from. This has been the official launch site of NASA for over 50 years, and has hosted some of the first astronauts and their wives. Cocoa Beach is also famous as the location for the “I Dream of Jeannie” show in the 1960’s, and even though it may not have been filmed there the town was the supposed home of Major Nelson and Jeannie…

Cocoa Beach FL has deep, soft, white sandy beaches, and it’s definitely a joy to spend a day at the beach here… You may not be able to drive on the beach like you can further north in New Smyrna Beach or Daytona Beach, but it more than makes up for it with the surfing conditions there! This is the place all the surfers on the east coast of Florida hang out, as it has some of the best waves in the area… The famous Ron Jon Surf Shop originated here, and it has since opened up shops in many other areas of Florida and beyond.

Orlando FL is less than an hour away, and growing up in that city as I did and going to high school there, Cocoa Beach FL was a frequent option for fellow students to skip school and go surfing on one of those perfect days when the waves were looking “tasty” or “gnarly… Just throw your surfboard on the roof, take off, and within an hour you were in the water catching that first ride! Cocoa Beach Florida waves may not be the North Shore of Hawaii, but for the east coast of the U.S. they are about the best it gets!

Cocoa Beach FL is one of those less touristy towns compared with Daytona Beach FL, but it can still get kind of crazy during spring break! Once college lets out for a week during March and April every year, hordes of stressed out college students invade the town with their sun tan lotion and party thinking, and soon the fun begins… The traffic can get busy, the beaches will get crowded, and MTV may come to town to work the crowd and start filming for an occasional show! The wet t-shirt contests come to life, and the beer kegs are opened up! It’s a fun time of year, but if you are a local you may get tired of all the fuss year after year… Still, if you get a chance…

NASA is just a short drive up the road, and you should definitely plan to spend a day there at the visitation center. It’s amazing, and you’ll be able to see up close and personal the many spacecraft that the U.S. has sent up in space in the past, including the largest and most powerful rocket ever created, the Apollo Moon Rocket! They have one of those rockets available for viewing and you won’t be able to believe your eyes when you see how big it is in person. It’s hard to believe that an object that massive could be launched off the ground, yet it was numerous time! Meet an astronaut, take a bus tour of the launch facility, and see the moon rover up close and personal… The NASA Space Center is an attraction that you shouldn’t miss Near Cocoa Beach FL!

If you are interested in taking a cruise, the Port Canaveral Cruise Terminal is also very close by, and you can take a 3 night cruise or even a full week long trip down to the Caribbean! It’s definitely a great idea if you have never cruised before… The Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge is nearby, and a great place to see Bald Eagles in the wild in addition to alligators and other tropical and exotic wildlife. If you are looking for a quiet time, there are also many parks and recreational activities in Cocoa Beach FL, and surf lessons available for you to take if you are a beginner. The water is pretty murky like Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach, and you probably won’t be able to see your toes at any time! But then that’s not really the attraction of Cocoa, is it? The surfing and sand rules the day here, and you’ll have a great time if you go… If you are looking for incredibly clear water with minimal waves, then check out Clearwater Beach, Fort De Soto Park, and Pensacola Beach over on Florida’s Gulf Coast… Have fun!

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