Kennedy Space Centre from Cocoa Beach

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

I can see this topic has been asked about a few times in the past but hopefully no one will mind me trying to get some updated info as I'm looking at sailing out of Port Canaveral for the first time in December.

 

To make a long story short, we are not looking at renting a car but are trying to go in 2 nights early so there's a day to visit KSC. It appears there is no public transit to get there. I can see one option is to rent a car for the day but it appears none of the local agencies do pickups so I I have to Uber to/from the car rental outlet just to pick up the car, and then pay a bit for gas and parking,it adds up and is less of a bargain (or time saver).  

 

I gather it's not too hard to Uber there (and it looks like it's roughly $50) but I've seen suggestions I could end being unable to find a taxi or uber back later in the day. I get it - because it is a bit remote - but it's also a huge tourist centre (especially during the December holidays, I'd think). Is it actually probable that if I took an Uber there I would be unable to get back to Cocoa Beach? And what happens then? Do they let you sleep in the rocket garden?

 

Are there really no other practical options??

[lallak1]

I'm not sure I can answer your specific question, but we are doing similar next March.  Flying in two days early, with plans to spend a day at KSC.  We are flying into MLB rather than MCO, but decided to rent a car from Budget for the time.  Pick up at airport and drop off at Port Canaveral Budget location, includes free shuttle from there to ship.  It's estimated to cost us $174 US (plus gas), but the flexibility to have car to see a bit more of the area, go to dinner, etc and not stress about if we could get an Uber sealed the deal for us.

[EatonDoolittle]

Looks like you've done your research, but have you thought of calling the hotel where you will stay?

 

I doubt any of those places have a concierge, but a competent front desk or reservations agent should be able to advise if they have a certain cab or transport company that they work with frequently. Most lodging places do. I'm  sure you are not the first to ask that question 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

A fair point. I narrowed down options but haven't booked a hotel yet, partly because I'm trying to be somewhere near the port and where I can find my way to KSC 🙂

 

If I stayed in the Port Canaveral area, for example, several hotels have shuttles to the port, where I could rent a car more easily than down in Cocoa Beach but it's also a more isolated area; one variable is my wife and daughter don't really care about the space stuff and in Cocoa Beach they could walk to the beach and stores etc. I also tried one cab company that wanted $75 one-way, which seems excessive.

 

(Another variable, which I posted about elsewhere is that my daughter uses a wheelchair and renting an accessible vehicle is prohibitively expensive and accessible transfers to/from the airport and port exist but are scarce.)

 

So, I'm trying to work backwards, looking at all the transportation and lodging options and find a combination that works for all of us.

[Anita Latte]

You are right that there is no practical way to get to the KSC Visitor Center. The location is remote, on a wildlife preserve surrounded by KSC and the Cape Canaveral base with literally no services for miles. One service not mentioned much here but I have seen around is Cab 54. They are a local taxi service. I’m not endorsing them, just saying I’ve seen them around. 
 

https://cab-54.com

 

[MathMusic]

You might be surprised about how cost effective renting a car could be. I did something similar from a trip I just got back from, only our KSC day was the day we returned.

 

I did one way rental from MCO to Port Canavarel when we arrived at a corporate rate of about $40, and when we got back I rented one way from the port to MCO for about $40 and we spent the day at KSC.

 

EDIT: Just saw the wheelchair issue, that explains some of the issues 

 

If the daughter in the wheel chair isn't a space fan, maybe just pick up a rental car from the Enterprise at the port for the day of they are open? They are only open on days a ship departs though, so you may or may not be able to do that the day before

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Thanks - Yeah, I'm now thinking I may do what you are suggesting. Using credit card points I can rent a car for "free" from one of the places at the port and even if I have to uber to/there from the hotel, it still appears to be cheaper (and obviously more convenient) than a cab; I called one place and they wanted $75 one-way from Cocoa Beach to the Space Centre. So, even if I paid full price for the one-day rental I think I'd be coming out ahead there.

 

That's actually a good tip about those rental places only being open on sailing days; I didn't know that....but it looks like there are 4 ships at the Port on that day, so it's not the easiest option but it seems like it should work. (It's annoying we can't just rent at MCO and we'll still have to arrange accessible transportation to/from MCO and from the hotel to the port but that's par for the course....)