Patrick Montalvo

If you haven't heard of Cocoa Beach, you must be living under a rock or at least somewhere that isn't very comfortable. Personally, for the longest time, I've heard of it, but I hadn't really ever known anything about it, but either way, you've come to the right place to learn about one of the most amazing places on the planet.

Let's see, where to begin... I guess first things first. Cocoa Beach is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River Lagoon on Florida's Central East Coast and is one of the closest beaches to Orlando (you better have heard of Orlando). Probably the best and most noticeable feature of this area is the temperature, which is very unique because it's positioned between where two climactic zones meet (sub-tropic and temperate), which means it usually avoids extremes. The average summer temperature is around 83° while the average winter temperature is around 61°, making the average yearly temperature around 72°. Not to mention the cool coastal breezes coming in from the ocean. I don't know about you, but that is absolutely perfect for me.

Alright, now on to the fun stuff. Since the term 'beach' is in the title, I guess I'll start there. Cocoa Beach is known as the small wave capital of the world so it is a very popular place for beginner surfers and even experienced surfers who want to show off their skills. People also like how the water is so warm that most of the year, you don't even need a wetsuit. Furthermore, one of the most admired Ron Jon Surf Shops in the country is located right off the beach with the latest surf attire. Besides surfing, there are endless activities to do and try for the first time: parasailing, fishing (recreational or offshore sport fishing), water sports, airboat rides, kite surfing, jet skiing, kayaking, skim boarding, volleyball, and dining and shopping right on the beach, but my favorite is watching a space shuttle launch while relaxing right on the beach. While doing any of those activities, there's a good chance you'll see dolphins at play and may be lucky enough to see an occasional whale migration.

Other than the beach, there's an unbelievable 27-hole golf course completely surrounded by the Banana River Lagoon containing the seventeen lakes within the course, which provides a habitat that attracts an abundance of waterfowl and other birds... A very enjoyable attraction for the golfers to say the least. There are also cruises (the latest over the top fun-boat being the Disney Dream), a great variety restaurants (jazz clubs, Irish, German, intimate dining) that serve food within hours of being caught, great shopping of all price ranges (there's even a place where you can buy dinosaur fossils), and arcades. Within just 15 minutes of Cocoa beach is Cape Canaveral, Port Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, and Jetty Park that all offer an infinite and diverse amount of fun.

On more of a long term note, there are several annual festivals and shows every year including Easter Surfing Festival, a Beach Fest every May, a Space Coast Art Festival, and several air shows and shuttle launches. Did I forget to mention the largest charity surfing festival held every Labor Day Weekend? Oh, well it's the National Kidney Foundation Pro-Am Surfing Festival. Obviously there are other great events for major holidays like Mardi Gras, spring break, 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, and New Years to name a few.

Cocoa Beach is a mainly a residential community and there's no wonder why so many of Cocoa Beach's first residents experienced the place as visitors who eventually relocated there. The casual beach lifestyle is the way to go. To get a taste of that kind of lifestyle, the best place to go is PreviewStay.com. There, you can actually rent a real estate property for a couple nights to experience the house, the community, and the area to help you decide if you want to purchase that property. Even if you decide not to purchase it, you spent the same amount of money, maybe even less, than you would at a hotel, but you spent it in a actual home with all the amenities that give you a more of a private, enjoyable, and restful experience than you'd get at a mediocre hotel where you just want to get out and stay out of the room and use it only for sleep. You can actually use PreviewStay.com for hundreds locations around the world, I'm just suggesting Cocoa Beach... It's awesome.

Traveling with your family is fun and it creates a lot of memories that will last a lifetime, but think of how much more fun and how many more memories would be made if you stayed at your own property instead of a hotel. Buying resort property is a lifestyle investment in order to enjoy better vacations with family and friends with high quality accommodations that allow the freedom to enjoy yourself and relax in an actual home. A home with spacious floor plans, fully equipped kitchens, a dining area, and more home-like common areas to enjoy a real meal or family time together instead of a dark, one bedroom cave with one window and a small TV where you have to eat take-out Chinese food on the bed or spend a lot of money for the entire family going to a loud and crowded restaurant.

Sadly, some of the most memorable moments I have when I travel are the hotels that I stay in where the only thing I want to do is get out of them and only use them to sleep, not to mention the travel time and gas money it takes to get back and forth from the hotel. Also figuring out what to do with my pets, which usually ends up with me paying hundreds of dollars for them to stay at the kennel, and then worrying about them while I’m traveling. Now think about the depth of memories would be made visiting the same beautiful property over and over with family and friends where one of the purposes of the vacation would be to stay there for an entire day (probably several days) and enjoy everyone’s company while drinking some beers, cooking out, swimming in the pool, walking to the beach, relaxing in the hot tub, playing pool and foosball, playing with the dog and taking it for a walk, and enjoying the views. A hotel is nothing compared to your own resort property.

An amazing place to own one of those properties is St. Andrews Bay in the Panama City area on the panhandle of Northwest Florida. One of the main attractions that offers an abundance of activities is St. Andres State Park known for its sugar white sands and emerald green waters located on the Gulf of Mexico and the Grand Lagoon with over one-and-a-half miles of beaches. Water sports and boating enthusiasts can enjoy swimming, surfing, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, and canoeing while land dwellers can enjoy two nature trails that wind through a rich diversity of coastal plant communities, which is a wonderful opportunity for bird-watching. This park also has full-facility campsites making it a popular overnight destination. History buffs can also enjoy this are with its rich history recording back all the way to the last Ice Age, and even more recently in the late 1800s when the area flourished and was advertised by the companies with this descriptive:

“The loveliest location in all Florida. In a land where the genial climate of a winterless round of years will reward your every effort with the most bountiful harvests; where the summers are joyous seasons of refreshing breezes and invigorating nights of cool and healthful slumber; and where the winters are but bewitching contrasts to the summers in heightening and intensifying the delicious pleasure of a life in the fairest land the sun ever blessed with its genial kiss. There is but one Florida, and St. Andrews Bay is its brightest jewel.”

A great place to search for property in that area is PreviewStay.com where you can actually stay at a property of interest for a couple days (for the same price as a hotel) to experience the property, the community, and the area so you can make an informed decision whether to purchase or not. Even if you don’t purchase it, it would still be a little vacation and an experience in a new area for the same price as a hotel. If you haven’t experienced vacationing at your own property, you have to try it. Once you do, you will never want to stay at a hotel again.

What better way to decide if you like a property and community than to stay there! At PreviewStay.com, that’s exactly what you can do with hundreds of properties around the world. Even if you decide not to purchase the property, the couple days you spend there would just be a little vacation getaway, and it would cost you less or close to the same price you would pay to stay at a hotel. But why can you only look at and walk around a property before buying it? That’s like buying a bed without laying on it. Seriously, when you’re thinking of buying a $100,000 home, what’s $69 to spend 2 nights in that home? $69 is a nice family meal at a restaurant or it can help you make one of the most important decisions of your life.

For example, Panama City, located on the panhandle of northwest Florida on the beautiful St. Andrews Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, is the perfect place to experience the properties and communities before purchasing. It provides a highly attractive living environment that’s compatible with a variety of tastes and life styles offering a comfortable climate (an average annual temperature of 68.8 degrees!), friendly atmosphere, boundless types of entertainment, and a pleasing small town environment for raising a family. If you love water sports, boating, or fishing, you can’t go wrong with Panama City because of the city-owned marina and St. Andrews Marina that provide excellent docking services for vessels up to 130 feet. If boating isn’t your thing, Panama City also offers a wide variety of cultural and entertainment opportunities with its civic center, Martin Theatre, and the Visual Arts Center. Not to mention, beaches! There is something here for everyone.

Although not every single property has the option to rent for a couple days, most of them do, and if you do decide to visit a property for a couple nights, you really have nothing to lose. Let’s say there’s a property you’re interested in and rent it for a couple nights. If you like it, then it’s a possibility for purchasing. If you don’t like it, then you’ll be comfortable and absolutely sure about your decision, and it would be a little getaway where you experienced a new area and community for the same price of a hotel, but with the privacy and comfort of an actual home. It’s a win-win situation. Check out how buying property should be, and will be in the future, at PreviewStay.com.