The surf. The sand. The shore.

While Hurricane Hermine churned up the Gulf, there’s always a day or a fresh weekend on the horizon that can feel like a holiday here in Cocoa Beach.

  • Cocoa Beach Pier is now part of Westgate Resorts
  • Visitors can get food delivered right on the beach
  • Bike rentals, surf lessons available

"It's the perfect destination,” said Rick Lohr, the general manager of the Cocoa Beach Pier, now part of the Westgate Resorts Company.

Florida is home to 650 miles of beaches. Yet, none have the lore like Cocoa Beach. Florida’s surfing community is rooted in these waves. 

The “space race” to put man on the moon started just a few miles north, and a day at the Cocoa Beach Pier can feel like a “staycation” for locals.

"We have bicycle rentals, raft rentals, surf lessons,” Lohr added. "There is nothing else you need to bring to the beach."

You can kick start a visit with renting a bike, like the Matthews family from Alabama. Yet this may take practice on a bike built for the sand.

"I fell right there, and it wasn't into a wave. It's just too big for me,” admits McKenzie Bell, visiting Cocoa Beach from Alabama.

The rental center can get you on the right-sized bike — with a fair warning.

"You cannot take it home,” cautioned the rental center attendant. "We give you a lock and a helmet.”

Here, you can rent a bike for $25 a day. This set of wheels is designed to get wet, but not popping a wheelie will be hard on the sand.  

After pedaling on the beach, you may be ready to eat. Put down your kickstand and then have lunch right on the sand.

Sunbathers can order lunch from a beach menu and then wait for lunch to be delivered, right to their towel.

"Here you go sir. Your pier burger right here,” said a waiter with a tray, just feet from where waves were breaking. Hamburgers and fish sandwiches here make up a classic surf and turf menu. The end of the pier also offers unparalleled views from a tiki bar.

"We heard Cocoa has pretty big waves,” said tourist Ethan Underwood. “We always go to the Gulf. This time, we came to the east coast.”

Underwood is right. The waves here allow surfers to practice their game.

The Cocoa Beach Surf School based at the pier gives one-on-one lessons to help you catch a wave in a warm environment.

Instructor Jake Olson says the Cocoa Beach Pier has become family-friendly in past years.  

“I think that is what the pier has come to kind of make this whole area into,” Olson said, “a fun, safe environment for kids to come out, learn to surf, parents included. You can hang out here as much as you want."

Lohr offers one final tip.

"Get here early though, because it gets busy,” he said.

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