Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach drive: Distance, time & best stops

The best road trip stops on the Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach drive are Titusville, Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral. The distance from Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach by car is 81 miles, with a 1h24m driving time.

Planning a Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach road trip itinerary

The Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach drive takes you along Florida’s Space Coast.

Daytona Beach is one of the most attractive cities on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. To many, it is most obviously associated with NASCAR racing at the Daytona Speedway, but there’s way more to it than fast cars.

Enjoyable Daytona Beach experiences include small group sailing cruises, paddleboarding or kayaking with dolphins and manatees, wine bar tours and a Polynesian fire and dinner show.

You can also try a dive bar crawl, zipline adventures and beach Segway rides.

Good Daytona Beach accommodation options with pools by the beach include the Days Inn Daytona Oceanfront and Bahama House.

Cocoa Beach is an attractive beach town on Florida’s Space Coast. It’s a great base for visiting the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, or for enjoying the long barrier island beaches.

It is also one of the best places in the US to go kayaking. For a kayak tour, choose between seeing dolphins and manatees in the mangroves and paddling through bioluminescent waters at night. There are also sunset tours.

Other great Cocoa Beach experiences include dolphin tours on the Banana River, happy hour bar crawls, multi-stop food tours and tiki boat cruises.

For Cocoa Beach accommodation options, plump for the beachfront Hilton Garden Inn or the well-located Hampton Inn.

Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach is 81 miles. This makes for a driving time of around one hour and 24 minutes. The quickest route is mostly down the I-95.

The best stops to add to a Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach road trip itinerary are Titusville, Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral.

Best stops between Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach: Titusville

The main attraction in Titusville is the American Space Museum and Walk of Fame. Here, spacesuits and launch consoles mix with celebrations of astronauts and space exploration programs.

Titusville’s location next to the Indian River is a big bonus, too. Here, you can kayak with dolphins and manatees or take a clear kayak through the fairy-like bioluminescent waters.

Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach road trip attractions: Merritt Island

Merritt Island is flanked by the Indian River and Banana, and has become something of a wildlife haven. You can see the dolphins and manatees on a boat cruise or kayaking tour.

For something spectacular, try night kayaking through the bioluminescence – the water lights up as your paddle glides through it.

Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach drive: Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral has wetlands and beautiful beaches, but that’s not why people come here. This Florida outpost has played a massively outsized part in space exploration, and the Kennedy Space Center is one of the very best attractions in the US.

Here, you can see a space shuttle and Saturn V rocket up close, get absorbed in video presentations about mission launches and learn about NASA’s future plans. The Behind The Gates bus tour, meanwhile, heads out towards the launch complexes and the gargantuan Vehicle Assembly Building.

An admission ticket is pricy, but well worth it.

For Cape Canaveral accommodation picks, take a look at the Shorewood and the Cape Canaveral Beach Resort.