Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
371
and RV campsites (some of them shady, most with hookups) cost $25 to $47 a night,
depending on location and time of year. No pets are allowed.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES & SPECTATOR SPORTS
BASEBALL
The
Washington Nationals
play spring-training games at
Space Coast
Stadium,
5800 Stadium Pkwy., Viera (
&
321/633-4487
), located south of Cape Canav-
eral and north of Melbourne. Tickets are $5 to $20. The stadium also hosts minor-league
action from the Brevard County Manatees, an affiliate of the Nationals.
ECOTOURS
Funday Discovery Tours
(
&
321/725-0796;
www.fundaytours.com)
offers a variety of day trips, including dinner and sunset cruises, airboat and swamp-
buggy rides, dolphin-watching cruises, bird-watching expeditions, and personalized tours
of the Kennedy Space Center and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Reservations
are required.
FISHING
Head to Port Canaveral for catches such as snapper and grouper.
Jetty Park
(
&
321/783-7111
), at the south entry to the port, has a fishing pier equipped with a
bait shop (see “Beaches & Wildlife Refuges,” above). The south bank of the port is lined
with charter boats. Try deep-sea fishing on
Miss Cape Canaveral
(
&
321/783-5274,
or
407/648-2211 in Orlando; www.misscape.com), one of the party boats based here. All-
day voyages departing daily at 8am cost $70 adults, $65 seniors, $55 kids 11 to 17; if
you want two cans of cold beer, bait, and tackle, it's $25 more.
GOLF
You can read about Northeast Florida's best courses in the free
Golfer's Guide,
available at the tourist information offices and in many hotel lobbies.
The municipal
Cocoa Beach Country Club,
500 Tom Warringer Blvd. (
&
321/868-
3351;
www.golfcocoabeach.com), has 27 holes of golf and 10 lighted tennis courts set
on acres of natural woodlands, rivers, and lakes. Greens fees (including cart) are about
$53 in winter, dropping to about $46 in summer.
On Merritt Island south of the Kennedy Space Center, the
Savannahs at Sykes
Creek,
3915 Savannahs Trail (
&
321/455-1377
), has 18 holes over 6,636 yards bor-
dered by hardwood forests, lakes, and savannas inhabited by a host of wildlife. You'll have
to hit over a lake to reach the 7th hole. Fees with a cart are about $50 in winter, lower
in summer.
The best nearby course is the Gary Player-designed
Baytree National Golf Club,
8010 N. Wickham Rd., a half-mile east of I-95 in Melbourne (
&
321/259-9060;
www.
baytreenational.com), where challenging marshy holes are flanked by towering palms.
This par-72 course has 7,043 yards with a unique red-shale waste area. Fees are about
$90 in winter, dropping to about $50 in summer, including cart.
For course information, go to www.golf.com or www.floridagolfing.com, or call the
Florida Sports Foundation
(
&
850/488-8347
) or
Florida Golfing
(
&
866/833-
2663
).
SURFING
Rip through some occasionally awesome waves (by Florida's standards, not
California's or Hawaii's) at the
Cocoa Beach Pier
area or down south at
Sebastian Inlet.
Get outfitted at
Ron Jon Surf Shop,
4151 N. Atlantic Ave. (
&
321/799-8888;
www.
ronjons.com), or learn how to hang five or ten with
Cocoa Beach Surfing School
,
150 E. Columbia Lane (
&
321/868-1980;
www.cocoabeachsurfingschool.com). The
school offers equipment and lessons for beginners and pros at area beaches. Be sure to
bring along a towel, flip-flops, sunscreen, and a lot of nerve.
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