port canaveral to cocoa beach?

[andychris]

We are in port for a few hours and want to go to cocoa beach. Does anyone know how long the taxi ride would be to get there and the cost?Thanks

[susanf31]

Cocoa Beach is a 7 mile long strand of beaches. Cape Canaveral is just north of Cocoa Beach and is the north "tip" of Cocoa Beach. In other words, you can go to a beach in the city of Cape Canaveral as easily as you could in Cocoa Beach.

Jetty Park will be your closest beach to the cruise terminals. It's nice and has food/bathroom facilities. It's no more than 5 to 10 minutes from the terminals. Otherwise, your best bet would be the head to the beach at the Cocoa Beach Pier, or the public beach at the end of the 520 Causeway...it also has showers, bathrooms, etc...

Your taxi drivers will know all of these locations.

[GrouchyOleMom]

The most cost-effective way to get around this area is to ride the "FunBus". It is usually reserved for crew transport, but on port-of-call days will take passengers too. For a nominal price (I think around $6/person) you can ride the bus all day. The bus will take you to Wal-Mart, the Merritt Island Mall, or Cocoa Beach. There are also rental car shuttle vans in the parking lot. A taxi to Cocoa Beach should run $15-20 each way.

[Leosmom]

thanks grouchyolemom!

have you ever taken the "funbus"?
Do you find it right at the pier when you get off the ship? We will be on the Carnaval Miracle, will we be able to find the funbus where Carnival docks? We've never stopped at Port Canaveral on a cruise and have no idea about the port area or what to do there.
Does this bus run often?
Thanks for any more info you can provide.

[GrouchyOleMom]

I've never taken the FunBus...I drive one of the shuttle vans for a car rental company. The bus runs continuously all day. Many people go to Orlando for the day (Disney, Universal, etc.), Kennedy Space Center is a 20-30 minute drive away. If you like quaint little shops, Cocoa Village is nice for an afternoon. Brevard County has many public parks along the beach. If you want to see alligators, try an airboat ride.

If Momma ain't happy....ain't NOBODY happy!

[Leosmom]

thanks for the info grouchyolemom,
i think we will rent a car so we will be able to drive along the coast and stop where we want easily. Thanks also for the tips on what to do, i'll have to look into that airboat ride, sounds like fun!

[cruiselovinfamily]

We are interested in the air boat ride. Where do you go to get that? Is there a website where I can get info?

Also, do the rental car vans run from the pier to the car rental offices the whole time people are disembarking? We will be coming back on a Sunday morning.

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[GrouchyOleMom]

You can purchase the airboat ride through the ship or you can call them directly. [url="http://www.twisterairboatrides.com/"]Lone Cabbage Fish Camp[/url] is on the way to Orlando (the scenic route).

As for the shuttle vans, yes, we start at 7:30AM & keep going until 4PM. When you get off the Mariner, go across the crosswalk to the back of the parking lot. If you look straight ahead when you walk out the doors you should see the vans, if not, ask one of the security people.

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