Florida’s Space Coast: from Kennedy Space Center to Cocoa Beach - why Melbourne, Florida is your next holiday destination

When one mentions Orlando, first thoughts usually jump to Mickey Mouse ears, but not too far from the Disney ‘magic’ is something else quite spectacular: Florida’s Space Coast.

The Space Coast is filled with everything you could possibly imagine when choosing a holiday destination: beautiful sandy beaches; an eclectic range of cuisine; luscious green shrubland surrounding picturesque lakes as well as the hidden gem of Cocoa Beach’s bioluminescent waterways.

And of course, the main attraction: The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, which wonderfully treads the line of Museum vs Amusement Park, providing entertainment for every possible age - mainly because any attending adults can immediately revert back to their childhood selves to uncover the wonders of space.

My trip with KSCVC allowed me two full days at the visitor complex yet there was still more to be seen.

The complex’s most recent project, Gateway, offered voyages to Mars, Saturn, the Moon and Uncharted Worlds as well as showcasing the Orion EFT1-Capsule which was launched in 2014 for Lockheed Martin’s maiden voyage test mission and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser - a reusable space plane which will perform cargo resupply missions to the ISS.

However, if five minute rollercoaster-esque experiences into outer space aren’t your thing, then feel free to walk around the Rocket Garden where rockets from NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programmes stand in magnificent wonder. Or take a trip through the Heroes and Legends building before watching a 3D film at the complex’s own cinema.

And of course, what better way to embrace the Space Coast than by actually meeting an astronaut - a personal highlight without a doubt (and I really hope veteran astronaut Jose Hernandez follows through on his promise to come visit me in Edinburgh - he was an icon).

After two days at the visitor complex, which felt like just two hours, I had been able to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis, take part in Astronaut training exercises, such as a Mars VR challenge and try their very own Space Dot ice cream - delicious - and I hadn’t even ventured to the rest of Florida’s Space Coast yet.

Just 20 minutes down the road, sits the quaint streets of Cocoa Village. Cocoa Village is what Americans might call ‘historical’ but its tranquil, Gilmore Girls-vibe was a lovely antidote to the scientific campus of the Kennedy Space Center and Merritt Island situated just a few miles up the road.

May I recommend to you that when you do in fact make the trip with TUI to Melbourne Orlando (as I know you want to) that you take part in Halim’s Food Tours where you will be able to pair what would otherwise be a very short walk around the town with sampling the many different eateries, from Mexico to Thailand.

During my first ever trip to America, in which a trip to Walmart was an understated highlight (who knew such large bottles of shampoo existed?!) I also ventured on a surfboard for an inaugural attempt with Cocoa Beach’s School of Surf.

I would recommend, however, that the weather be checked before any surfing plans are made. Attempting to re-enact any Baywatch scene is hard enough when you’ve never been on a surfboard before (and wearing a rash vest), but it’s even harder to do when there is quite literally no wave.

But the penultimate activity of our trip was undoubtedly one of the most spectacular life experiences I’ve ever been lucky enough to participate in.

Bioluminescent kayaking on the Indian River with thunder and lightning as a backdrop (I may not be able to promise this for your trip) was an incomprehensible marvel and I spent much of the time pondering how I had been quite so fortunate as to end up gliding above luminous waters on a bioluminescence eco kayak tour with Fin Expeditions.

There are only a handful of places in the world that can boast this natural phenomena and Cocoa Beach just happens to be one of the best of those very few locations. The Indian River is an exquisite beauty in the day, but at night it becomes an ethereal vision and something I could quite happily have spent all night exploring.

If this wasn’t enough for one holiday, and you’re feeling in need of even more culture, then let me interest you in a trip to Eau Gallie’s Art District, which was until 1969 an independent town.

The vibrant community boasts an eclectic mix of art and even without entering a gallery, one can admire the numerous murals featured around the district. Artists from around the world are represented in this small square footage of town and walls filled with Space Men or Native American headdresses can be admired.

A few weeks ago I would have very ignorantly told you that the KSCVC and NASA were most likely the same thing while I looked up where Cocoa Beach was on a map. But in what was only a four-day trip I was opened up to something quite literally out of this world and I can very confidently say that it was one of the best adventures of my life.

I look forward to a time when I can return to the pool-noodle-filled Sandbar Sports Grill where karaoke appears only to be allowed if it’s country music, and more importantly I hope my inevitable return to the area is not too far into the future as Florida’s Space Coast is a paradise-filled cacophony of hidden beauty and scientific wonder.

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