Cocoa Beach, Florida
Port Canaveral Cruise Excursions
By Lena Hunt
Before you sail away on your 3-, 4-, or 7-day voyage from Port Canaveral be sure to soak some of the things Cocoa Beach has to offer. Cocoa Beach is the nearby happening place. This barrier island is sandwiched between the Banana River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. Talk about location, location, location! It’s pretty amazing that this quaint surf town of 12,800 residents see approximately 2.4 million visitors annually.
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Port Canaveral Cruise Excursions
By Lena Hunt
Southern Florida Cruise Port Specialist
Tampa - Miami - Port Canaveral - Ft. Lauderdale
May 23, 2010
Many champion celebrity surfers come from this surfing capital of the east coast. The world famous Ron Jon Surf Shop (open 24 hours) is just across the street from the beach. This isn’t just your regular surf shack. It’s the ultimate surf shop experience. From swimwear to surfboard to exotic souvenirs, you’ll spend several hours in the two-story sand, sea, and sun lover’s paradise.
After you’ve spotted some famous surfers, be bop on over to the Ron Jon Surf School by Craig Carroll and try your hand... umm, feet ... at surfing. Hanging ten is easy to learn with their excellent instructors from around the world. Along with surf lessons, you can try kite boarding (kite surfing) as Cocoa Beach is one of the primo areas in the world to learn the sport that takes advantage of all wind directions. Stand up paddle surfing or stand up paddle boarding is another great activity to learn. Don’t let this sport fool you. It’s not just in the upper body. It’s an all-over body workout that is tons of fun!
If the salt water scene isn’t for you or if you want a change of pace, Cocoa Beach has more dining establishments than you can possibly have time. From pretty rad beach shacks with burgers and fries to fine dining restaurants that will launch your taste buds into outer space. Speaking of ... we’ll talk about Cocoa Beach’s location on Florida’s Space Coast in a bit but for now, let’s talk about food! From Bunky’s Raw Bar where you will find the seafood you came to Florida for to The Omelette Station where IHOP will only be a distant memory to Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse, this stretch of world famous beach will leave you hungry for more. More in a large variety of dining scenes and cuisines, that is. And let’s not forget dessert. Everywhere you turn are places to grab a pastry and delicious coffee in every flavor.
Before or after you launch out into the Atlantic Ocean on the cruise ship of your choice be sure to take advantage of Florida’s Space Coast (Cocoa Beach is part of this coast) as it is the only place on this planet where visitors can watch a live shuttle launch. The Kennedy Space Center offers the best viewing yet you can also feel and see the excitement along any of the public viewing areas: the beaches south of Port Canaveral, the Cocoa Beach Pier, along the Indian River shores, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, or the U.S. Space Walk of Fame.
So you see, your cruise will be out of this world when you add a visit to Cocoa Beach and The Space Coast along with your ports of call.
