THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER and the Merritt Island Park and Cocoa Beach
Best Time Visit Florida
The Kennedy Space Center is a major attraction in the middle east coast of Florida, just a few dozen miles from Orlando and about two hundred miles north of Palm Beach (320 Kms). More precisely, the Kennedy Space Center complex is in the Merrit Island, side to side with the Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Cocoa Beach, some miles south the Kennedy Space Center, is a ten mile shore famous for its surfing conditions and its beaches. For those who are looking for some beach life and cheap accommodation, Cocoa Beach is an option to consider.
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Best time to visit the Kennedy Space Center, the Merrit Island Park and Cocoa Beach
MAIN GEOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
WHAT TO VISIT IN THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, THE MERRIT ISLAND PARK AND COCOA BEACH
The Kennedy Space Center
USA/Nasa space programs have their heart here, in the Kennedy Space Center. Space vehicles are developed and tested in this complex, that also includes historic museums and facilities where the visitor can watch satellites, space capsules, space movies and multimedia displays concerning launches and space issues.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is open all over the year except December 25 and some launch days. The Center Bus departs every 15 minutes and takes around 2 hours.
For details and tickets for tours, see the Kennedy Space Tickets Center. See also Kennedy Space Center site.
The Merritt Island Park
"Where Nature Meets Technology", is Merritt Island's slogan . And indeed, unexpectedly, the island offers not only the most advanced demonstrations of human technology but also a huge representation of wildlife. The island park includes several trails - the Palm Hammock, the Oak Hammock, the Cruickshank, the Black Point Wildlife Drive - and lots of alligators, raccoons, bobcats, armadillos and one of the greatest bird gathering in North America.
Cocoa Beach
This ten-mile shore offers many surfing opportunities, excellent beaches and cheap accommodation, and is just some miles south of the Kennedy Space Center.
For a regional map, see:
Daytona, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Orlando map
BEST TIME TO TRAVEL TO THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, THE MERRIT ISLAND PARK AND COCOA BEACH
If you want to avoid crowds, then choose the weekends to avoid college students visits) and the months of May and September.
If you want to avoid crowds, take into account especially packed days, weeks and weekends: Presidents' Day weekend (February), Easter week, Memorial Day weekend (end of May), the Fourth of July, Labour Day weekend (September), Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's.
Thunderstorms period should also be taken into account, since they may lead to the cancellation of some visits. You may want to avoid the months where these natural phenomena may more easily occur: the summer months (June to October), with their regular afternoon thunderstorms.
If you want to benefit from cheaper accommodation, then consider accommodation in Cocoa Beach. The distance from the Kennedy Space Center is short and the accommodation may be rather cheaper than that offered by the many motels along the high-ways near the space complex.
For other details on precipitation, temperatures, humidity and other weather variables, see Florida Orlando Weather Map and also Best time to visit Southern Florida.
