Surf breaks and sandy beaches draw travelers to Cocoa Beach, Florida, a laid-back city located south of Cape Canaveral the Space Coast of the Atlantic Ocean. While Cocoa Beach is a gateway to the nearby Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, it also has plenty of its own attractions including Lori Wilson Park, the Cocoa Beach Boardwalk, and the Florida Surf Museum. There are many things to do in Cocoa Beach that involve fun in the sun, too, including surf lessons, kayaking tours to see manatees, paddleboard rentals, sunset sails, and biking along nature trails.
Surf’s up on the beach year-round, but you don’t need to be a wave rider to hang ten with them, since annual surfing competitions like the NKF Rich Salick Pro-Am Surf Festival offer a reason to skip summer and visit in September. When the spring breakers leave, you can also enjoy cooler (but not cold) weather alongside family-friendly fun during the Cocoa Village’s Children’s Festival and Earth Day Family Fun Fest. Both in April, these events cater to more relaxed visits that the whole family will love.
Cocoa Beach is a barrier island stretching 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) between Cape Canaveral and Satellite Beach. The good news is that Cocoa Beach is under a mile (1.6 kilometers) from east to west, so you can easily walk the island, going from your hotel to the beach and all the nearby restaurants or attractions. The island is also home to a trolley running from Port Canaveral to Cocoa Beach daily. Unless you’re an avid cyclist or relying on rideshare services, a car rental is needed to explore beyond the island.
If you’re visiting this neck of the woods, everyone heads north toward Cape Canaveral during their visit—and for good reason. Watching the NASA rocket launches is an unbelievable, otherworldly experience, but many visitors don’t realize that the Patrick Space Force Base is just south of Cocoa, where you can occasionally see (and hear) military jets take to the skies. Hangar’s Beach (Satellite Beach) and Tables Beach near the base are also less crowded than Cocoa’s shoreline usually is.
