Port Canaveral Departure - Hotels in other cities

[Deep68]

Hello,

 

Which other coastal towns within 45 minutes of Port Canaveral would you recommend for a pre cruise stay of 3-5 days?

[jazzynannie]

This past July I stayed at the Country Inn and Suites by Radisson in Cape Canaveral.  It's 6 minutes from the port and it was reasonably priced. 

[GTO-Girl]

18 hours ago, Deep68 said:

Hello,

 

Which other coastal towns within 45 minutes of Port Canaveral would you recommend for a pre cruise stay of 3-5 days?

We drive down I-95 South from Georgia and we stay in Titusville.  Rates are much better than in Cape Canaveral and you are only 20min to the port.  

[Marie51]

We always stay in Titusville at the Hyatt. Rates are usually less than hotels in Port Canaveral.

[Sand and Seas]

We stayed at Cocoa Beach Best Western with  ocean view. Restaurants were close and  they had a decent free breakfast.  

[Elaine5715]

I stay at WDW.  

[hrhdhd]

4 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I stay at WDW.  

Not a coastal town, though, which is what the OP is looking for.

[GTO-Girl]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:28 PM, Marie51 said:

We always stay in Titusville at the Hyatt. Rates are usually less than hotels in Port Canaveral.

that is where we stay also….

[DanJ]

On 9/14/2024 at 4:17 AM, hrhdhd said:

Not a coastal town, though, which is what the OP is looking for.

Everyone else is answering with hotels close to the port that people stay at for one night as well. I've stayed at Country Inn and Suites pre-cruise before as well, and it was a fine hotel, but no one is staying there several days before a cruise. Titusville isn't exactly coastal either if we are going to split hairs.  

 

My parents used to love staying in New Smyrna Beach. They used to have a timeshare in Daytona (which is also another option, albeit a bit outside of the distance range the OP is asking about, although still only about an hour or so to Canaveral) and when they had to vacate for bike week or race week, they would go to New Smyrna Beach. Helps to know what the goal the OP has in mind here. Sitting on a nice beach for a few days before cruising, or just wanting to be in the warm weather, doesn't really matter the exact setting. Any sightseeing goals in mind. Beaches are nicer in the Daytona area, but if sitting out on a pool deck relaxing and seeing/hearing the ocean is fine, then I would just stay in Cocoa Beach or that strip to the south. 

Edited September 15 by DanJ

[Bob NC]

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Titusville the night before a cruise.  Excellent hotel, only about 25 minutes to the Port.

 

We got lucky and the night we checked in there was rocket launch.  Hyatt has a room on the top floor with a giant picture window to watch the launches.

 

I'd stay there again.

[Capt_BJ]

how about a nice B&B a wee bit south of the port? 

 

https://www.windemereinn.com/

 

[KYTess]

There are some great places in downtown Cocoa on Airbnb.

Super fun area to explore and affordable too.

[Anita Latte]

There are plenty of places up and down the Space Coast to stay. For 3-5 days, there is plenty of local interest here, and with that time, depending on your interests, you can experience a few of the unique things in our area. 

 

Rocket launch. It depends which launch pad is the source for where the best viewing would be but most of the best viewing is in Titusville.

 

Bioluminescence kayak tours. They meet and set off at the Haulover Canal. Tours are best with less moonlight and time of year can make a difference in which one you see…warm waters are the algae and cool waters are the jellyfish (which aren’t really jellyfish).

 

Depending on which days of the week you’re talking about, you could also enjoy eating at Daley Trade in Titusville, which has been named one of the best restaurants in the US by USA Today.

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/02/15/daley-trade-in-titusville-named-to-usa-today-list-of-best-restaurants-in-us/72481257007/

 

Being a local, if you decide to be in Titusville, I could recommend more local faves.

 

Fishing in the Indian River Lagoon is world class for some species. It’s worth checking out depending on when you’d be here and if you’re interested. Along those lines, I used to see people having these kite board lessons a lot too, but the beach park they used to use here is being renovated and so I’m not sure where they went, but water sport in general along the Space Coast has great variety. There are other kayak places of note…1000 Island Conservation Area in Cocoa has a kayak trail through mangroves with mangrove tunnels and I think the Brevard Zoo also might have finished their renovation of their kayaking experience area, but I haven’t done either of those yet myself. Both of those are more southerly Space Coast so staying somewhere further south may work better, but for real, if you have a car, nothing is too far from anywhere up and down I95.

 

If you are a nature person, also closer to Titusville is the Black Pointe Wilderness Drive. Especially awesome for bird lovers…it’s one of those one way drives through various unique microclimates that attract a tremendous variety of birds, etc. Also access to the Canaveral National Seashore which is a completely undeveloped beach and shore area (there are hiking trails actually in the area) where the facilities are primitive (pit toilet style restrooms) but driving along you can see views of the SpaceX launch pads and then enjoy a beach unlike any other in the area. Admission is charged for both of these.

 

Another unique thing here that few talk about because you have to be vetted in advance is the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. We went on the least expensive tour which also includes Hanger C…excellent. You have to be vetted because you will be on Cape Canaveral Space Force base land.

 

https://canaveral.tours/lighthouse-tours/

 

If you’re interested in such things…there are airboat tours of the St John River west of Titusville on 50. Also, there are 2 parks of interest in Christmas…the Historic Fort Christmas Park which can be interesting for history buffs and those interested in pioneering life as there are many historic cabins there. Also the Orlando Wetlands park which is basically a designed, natural, passive, above ground, plan-based water filtration system to help clean reclaimed water in the St John’s Watershed to help protect the river. There are walking paths and, on some weekend days, a tram. Again, interesting or not depends on your interests. 

 

I’m a local…only moved here in 2019…but I love my area. I’ve tried to pick out some unique things that go beyond the typical conversation here. There’s so much more simple stuff…for instance, if you are interested in the Space Race or have had family involved in any of that, the Space Walk in Titusville is a simple thing but to those that have memories of those early years…it can be a thoughtful thing to do. Idk your age…

 

Also about staying in Titusville…the Hyatt is nice, but it’s pretty isolated from other local attractions, but travel is easy because it’s along highway 1 and again, easy to get places and your itinerary would dictate convenience. Also nearby is a Courtyard Marriott, with a rooftop bar with great views. The I95/FL50 intersection has a tremendous number of chain hotels and is in the commercial area of Titusville where franchises and chain restaurants abound. Along Highway 1, you’ll find a number of local, old style motels, the kind you would expect to see that feel like they date from the 50s/60s…all up and down at various points. Also, I know there are AirBnBs around, but the one of note I’m aware of is actually above the Hardware Store location of the local brewery, Playalinda.

[Deep68]

On 9/22/2024 at 8:56 AM, Anita Latte said:

There are plenty of places up and down the Space Coast to stay. For 3-5 days, there is plenty of local interest here, and with that time, depending on your interests, you can experience a few of the unique things in our area. 

 

Rocket launch. It depends which launch pad is the source for where the best viewing would be but most of the best viewing is in Titusville.

 

Bioluminescence kayak tours. They meet and set off at the Haulover Canal. Tours are best with less moonlight and time of year can make a difference in which one you see…warm waters are the algae and cool waters are the jellyfish (which aren’t really jellyfish).

 

Depending on which days of the week you’re talking about, you could also enjoy eating at Daley Trade in Titusville, which has been named one of the best restaurants in the US by USA Today.

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/02/15/daley-trade-in-titusville-named-to-usa-today-list-of-best-restaurants-in-us/72481257007/

 

Being a local, if you decide to be in Titusville, I could recommend more local faves.

 

Fishing in the Indian River Lagoon is world class for some species. It’s worth checking out depending on when you’d be here and if you’re interested. Along those lines, I used to see people having these kite board lessons a lot too, but the beach park they used to use here is being renovated and so I’m not sure where they went, but water sport in general along the Space Coast has great variety. There are other kayak places of note…1000 Island Conservation Area in Cocoa has a kayak trail through mangroves with mangrove tunnels and I think the Brevard Zoo also might have finished their renovation of their kayaking experience area, but I haven’t done either of those yet myself. Both of those are more southerly Space Coast so staying somewhere further south may work better, but for real, if you have a car, nothing is too far from anywhere up and down I95.

 

If you are a nature person, also closer to Titusville is the Black Pointe Wilderness Drive. Especially awesome for bird lovers…it’s one of those one way drives through various unique microclimates that attract a tremendous variety of birds, etc. Also access to the Canaveral National Seashore which is a completely undeveloped beach and shore area (there are hiking trails actually in the area) where the facilities are primitive (pit toilet style restrooms) but driving along you can see views of the SpaceX launch pads and then enjoy a beach unlike any other in the area. Admission is charged for both of these.

 

Another unique thing here that few talk about because you have to be vetted in advance is the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. We went on the least expensive tour which also includes Hanger C…excellent. You have to be vetted because you will be on Cape Canaveral Space Force base land.

 

https://canaveral.tours/lighthouse-tours/

 

If you’re interested in such things…there are airboat tours of the St John River west of Titusville on 50. Also, there are 2 parks of interest in Christmas…the Historic Fort Christmas Park which can be interesting for history buffs and those interested in pioneering life as there are many historic cabins there. Also the Orlando Wetlands park which is basically a designed, natural, passive, above ground, plan-based water filtration system to help clean reclaimed water in the St John’s Watershed to help protect the river. There are walking paths and, on some weekend days, a tram. Again, interesting or not depends on your interests. 

 

I’m a local…only moved here in 2019…but I love my area. I’ve tried to pick out some unique things that go beyond the typical conversation here. There’s so much more simple stuff…for instance, if you are interested in the Space Race or have had family involved in any of that, the Space Walk in Titusville is a simple thing but to those that have memories of those early years…it can be a thoughtful thing to do. Idk your age…

 

Also about staying in Titusville…the Hyatt is nice, but it’s pretty isolated from other local attractions, but travel is easy because it’s along highway 1 and again, easy to get places and your itinerary would dictate convenience. Also nearby is a Courtyard Marriott, with a rooftop bar with great views. The I95/FL50 intersection has a tremendous number of chain hotels and is in the commercial area of Titusville where franchises and chain restaurants abound. Along Highway 1, you’ll find a number of local, old style motels, the kind you would expect to see that feel like they date from the 50s/60s…all up and down at various points. Also, I know there are AirBnBs around, but the one of note I’m aware of is actually above the Hardware Store location of the local brewery, Playalinda.

Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed information