Poolside Relaxation Steps from Natural Beachfront

North of the elongated barrier island that forms Cocoa Beach, rockets roar toward the sky atop fiery billows on Cape Canaveral. Out in the Atlantic, surging sea crests send surfers shooting through the water. But in the white lounge chairs around the Olympic-size pool at International Palms Resort & Conference Center, kinetic energy is having a tougher go of it. Here vacationers can revel in the pure stationary bliss of the warm Florida sunshine, with only the calm waters and the poolside bar to induce them to move.

Sited on 13 acres abutting the Atlantic shoreline, International Palms combines its Space Coast location and broad range of facilities to offer travelers a satisfying mix of activity and relaxation, action and inaction. Within Standard double or king rooms, semi-translucent sand-hued curtains blunt the sunlight, and striped white linens complement a quartet of pillows atop the bed. Outside, sunscreen-slathered sunbathers lounge on the pool deck, tense muscles unwind in the hot tub, and youngsters shake off the stress of their legal careers in a pirate-themed wading pool complete with cross-sectioned ships dripping with ladders and slides. Lighted tennis and shuffleboard courts help keep heart rates up, as do on-site rentals of surf and boogie boards, ideal companions on the adjacent beachfront.

As sunset over the mainland transforms the sky into sherbet, travelers can replenish energy sapped by the day’s exertions with the Caribbean fare of Mambo's Beachside Bar & Grill, which also serves up oceanfront views. Another on-site eatery, the Captain's Grill, quashes cravings with a menu of casual American fare, and next door, the Commanders Club pours spirited potables amid televisions and nightly entertainment.

Cocoa Beach: Surfing Hub with Space-Exploration Legacy

Home to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame and host to multiple annual surfing festivals, Cocoa Beach is a magnet for great ocean waves and board-toting thrill seekers alike. Year-round subtropical temperatures keep wave wranglers happily paddling, gliding, and codifying new slang well into the winter months. Between saltwater dips, visitors can stroll along the Cocoa Beach Pier, peeking into shops and restaurants accompanied by the soundtrack of surf crashing into wood posts.

Jutting out into the Atlantic, the boomerang-shaped edge of Cape Canaveral points away from nearby Kennedy Space Center, the only location to have launched manned U.S. space missions. Adept flyers can also be found among the vast avian flocks sheltering in the area’s nature reserves, several of which are noted on the Great Florida Birding Trail.