Best known as the place where the United States launches rockets into space, Cape Canaveral is also an excellent tourist destination with more variety than many travelers might suspect -- and with the added benefit of being only about an hour's drive from Orlando. Visiting the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral should be at the top of any traveler's list, but it shouldn't be the only thing on the list.
The Space Coast is the name for the Florida coast near Cape Canaveral, and it offers visitors a variety of natural settings for recreation. Miles and miles of beaches, for one thing. Some of Florida's best beaches are Space Coast beaches: white sands, blue waters and good surf. They're also some of the most important places in the country for the nesting of sea turtles.
A variety of eco-tours are available for fans of nature, or for fans of riding in airboats on the St. Johns River, the Banana River and the Indian River while looking for colorful birds and nasty-looking alligators.
Queen of the natural attractions near Cape Canaveral, however, is Canaveral National Seashore, on a 25-mile long barrier island just north of the Space Center. Recreation of all kinds is possible at the National Seashore, including boating and kayaking, camping and hiking, and fishing and swimming.
The towns near Cape Canaveral, mostly linked by Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 1 or Florida Highway A1A, have attractions for the whole family. Some of them, such as Cocoa, Cocoa Beach and Titusville, have historic downtowns ideal for shopping and dining.
The Cocoa Beach Pier takes things a step further by offering visitors a choice of restaurants, bars and shops, along with a vantage from which to fish or watch surfers catching the waves. Much of the year, there will be free musical entertainment too.
In Titusville, visitors can see the Valiant Air Command museum with its vintage aircraft collection, or the American Police Hall of Fame, the nation's oldest law- enforcement museum. In Viera, the Brevard Zoo has more than 550 animals to delight all ages. The Andretti Thrill Park in Melbourne offers go-karts, arcade games and laser tag, and the Palm Bay Aquatic Centers has water fun of all kinds.
The Kennedy Space Center tour, the centerpiece of any visit to the Space Coast, includes a guided tour to the International Space Station Center, plus the LC Observation Gantry -- from which you can see the lay of the land and all the launching pads used for America's historic space missions, as well as missions of today. Finally, the tour takes you to the breathtaking Apollo/Saturn V Center, which includes an actual Saturn V rocket, called the most sophisticated machine mankind has ever built. It's certainly the only one that has ever taken human beings to another world.
More in-depth tours are also available. NASA Up Close gets up close to the Space Shuttle launching pad and Cape Canaveral: Then & Now visits historic sites in the U.S. space program. Both also visit the Saturn V, and both sell out quickly, so reservations are recommended.
Visitors to the Space Center should also see the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, located in Titusville. Beside educational and inspiring displays about America's space pioneers, the museum also features an enormous collection of astronaut memorabilia, including the Sigma 7 Mercury spacecraft that took Wally Schirra into orbit and the Apollo 14 Command Module that flew around the Moon in 1971. The Hall of Fame is part of the Kennedy Space Center, and included with the price of general admission.
