Cape Canaveral Florida Hotels and Travel Guide
Since the dawn of the space race, Cape Canaveral has been synonymous with NASA and all phases of the US space program. While the city of Cape Canaveral occupies the northern tip of this Brevard County barrier island, the outlying area includes some of the most important features that Florida's Space Coast has to offer: Kennedy Space Center, the Canaveral National Seashore, and Port Canaveral.
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Kennedy Space Center is the site of the space shuttle launches, which are scheduled to continue until the year 2010. Visitors can purchase tickets to see the launches from the NASA Causeway (the closest viewing site for the general public) or watch the launch at no cost from one of the many public parks in neighboring Titusville.
Even when there isn't a shuttle launch scheduled, the Kennedy Space Center offers a fascinating look at NASA's past, present and future. There is an IMAX theatre, the Space Shuttle Launch Experience attraction, and chances to have lunch with one of NASA's astronauts. A tour bus will drive visitors to a special Apollo program exhibit, where there is a re-enactment of a vintage NASA control room and television coverage of the Apollo 11 landing. There is also a mammoth Saturn V rocket on display, as well as other artifacts from those historic early years of the space race.
Just a few minutes drive from Kennedy Space Center is the Canaveral National Seashore, which is operated by the National Park Service. This land was first occupied by Native Americans many centuries ago, and was the site of some of the earliest interactions between the Native Americans and European settlers, back when the area was originally referred to as Mosquito Lagoon.
The Canaveral National Seashore attracts visitors who appreciate many forms of outdoor recreation: boating, fishing, surfing, as well as observing the natural flora and fauna of the region. The pristine beachfront gives visitors a glimpse at what Florida's first inhabitants encountered when they arrived on the shores of the Atlantic coast.
And since the Atlantic Ocean plays such an important role in the local economy, it is no surprise that Port Canaveral recently became the home port to the world's largest cruise ship. Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas can carry up to 4,000 passengers and has an ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, and a surfing simulator.
With a storied past and a promising future, a visit to Cape Canaveral will remind travelers that the Florida Space Coast is a unique place where pristine wilderness can be combined with space age technology, and the sky is no longer the limit.
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