The Salt Life

pressable March 23, 2012

Living in Melbourne, the beach is only 15 minutes away. The one thing I always wondered before driving down to Florida Tech for the first time was what are the beaches like? Well, I decided to couple flying with touring yesterday, for your benefit! I brought my camera along with me during a maneuvers flight to give y’all a usually unseen view of Melbourne Beach, Sandy Shores Beach, Sebastian Beach, and Cocoa (didn’t make it up to Cocoa, but it still deserves a solid review). Obviously I wasn’t taking pictures while flying, my instructor took over while I snapped a few photos.

As a little treat I’ve included the rest of the pictures I took on the flight included at the end of this post.

Melbourne Beach:

This is the most popular beach for FIT students. It has free parking, if you can find some of course. Being as it’s so popular and free the parking lot, though recently redone, isn’t really big enough for mid-day on weekends. Still, the surf here is usually the best for surfers compared to Indialantic Beach (straight across the Melbourne causeway on 192). I usually combine Indialantic Beach with Melbourne Beach when I talk with other people though since they are really so close together and accessible. There are shops around it for awesome food (Robburritos, Melbourne Beach Market to name a few).

Sandy Shores:

Typically less traveled being that its more of an extension of Melbourne Beach and is further down the A1A with less parking. Its a good alternative to the busy days at Mel Beach. Has nice waves and is a relaxing stay for the day.

Sebastian Beach:

This is the ‘local mecca’ for surfers apart from Cocoa Beach (which is a little north of Melbourne). It has a point break due to the jetty for the Sebastian Inlet (pictured above and in album). I’d say about 90% of the time the swell and wave height here is at least a foot or two higher than projected at Mel Beach. The inlet is heavily traveled and has fishing on its pier for those more inclined. There’s a charge for parking to go to the pier area, but its worth the price. There’s even a place to get supplied for tackle and grub for the fish. Its a great gettaway for a few hours or to make a fun day trip out of it. Its got lots of great places to eat and things to see.

Cocoa Beach:

This beach is the largest and most developed (and usually busiest) of all the beaches around the Melbourne Area. It’s about a 30-40 minute drive out to A1A and then northbound until you get there. It’s got Ron Jon Surf Shop, but to be honest it’s mostly overpriced there (of course, everyone needs to visit Ron Jon at least once when they go for the first time!) The surf is usually good, or at least better than Mel Beach. Good food all around and places to see after a good beach sesh.

The flight was so much fun. Even though I see these sights daily, it’s always great to get lower for sightseeing! The last sight of the flight was good ol’ Florida Tech welcoming us back to Melbourne and the airport (top of the image).