This post is long overdue as we visited Florida’s Space Coast over spring break but I still wanted to share as I’m sure many of you are always looking for great locations to visit with the fam! *none of this was sponsored or comped at all*
We caught a super early flight on Frontier Airlines out of Cleveland flying direct to Orlando – we are big fans of Frontier & if we’re flying anywhere, it’s most likely using them.
We rented a car to get from Orlando to the coast & splurged with renting a convertible. If you have older kiddos, I highly recommend doing that at least once – our son had the time of his life just driving around in it with the top down!
Since our check in time to the Airbnb we stayed at was later in the day, we started with going straight to the beach after running some errands/picking up some snacks for the house. It was about a 45 minute drive from the Orlando airport to Cocoa Beach.
What we loved about Cocoa Beach was the pier of course & watching all the cruise ships make their voyage out. The pier had a bunch of dining options as well but we opted to eat out closer to our rental house which was in Merritt Island, a quick drive away & a whole less busier than the Cocoa Beach area.
Our Airbnb was right on the water – if you’re interested in the listing, feel free to reach out & I’ll send you over the link!
The next day we ventured to the REAL reason we were in the area – we surprised our son with a visit to Kennedy Space Center. He loves all things NASA & only knew there was some sort of space attraction in Florida. His mind was absolutely blown. The surprise factor kind of ran out as there were a million signs leading up to it on the drive but still didn’t ruin his (& ours!) excitement.
I’d highly recommend a visit to the Kennedy Space Center at least once. This is also best for kids a little older as there are not many rides or “things to do.” They’d have to really appreciate all the things to look at & read, etc. I’d say at least 6 or 7 or if your kiddos are younger & LOVE NASA.
There’s also a bus tour portion where you go & visit the Saturn V. It was a 15 or so minute ride. We even got to see one of Space X’s rockets in transport after coming back from space!
Realistically, you only need a day here – two days max if you really want to.
The next day was another beach day at Cocoa Beach, dinner out, & a round of mini golf we found nearby. None were really extravagant to shout out but visiting the large Ron Jon Surf Shop was fun! If you like to walk around & take in the sights, we also liked the Historic Cocoa Village.
All in all this was a great quick destination from Cleveland! We are already planning to come back to watch a rocket launch one day.
Have you visited the Space Coast? Have any recommendations in the area? Comment below!