Cocoa Beach almost always has something going on be it a festival, a carnival or a surf competition. Even when nothing is going on there, it’s just a fun vacation and party atmosphere.

First off, there is the Pier itself. Cocoa Beach Pier is 800 feet long extending out over the ocean and has bars and restaurants to suit anybody’s tastes and they have gift shops for all your tourist needs. We’ve gone to all of the restaurants along the pier at one time or another.

There is “Oh Shucks Seafood Bar” which is a casual open air type restaurant that is a great place to go for some fish and chips or buffalo shrimp or sandwiches while sipping something cold to drink. Nice atmosphere and a laid back feel to it. The worst part about it is it’s almost always busy and they are short staffed all the time. It’s too bad because it does have good food and good prices and you can’t beat the view. “Oh Shucks Seafood Bar” is first on the pier.

Another restaurant there that we’ve experienced there is the Atlantic Ocean Grill. This is a bit more upscale than the “Oh Shucks Seafood Bar” and as such, the prices are a good deal higher. We’ve gone here for our anniversary though and it was very nice, good service and good food. I just usually prefer the more casual restaurants for our normal outings. We had the Flounder and Shrimp dinner that came with salad, delicious fresh baked bread, vegetables and baked Potato. Beautiful view on the pier, excellent service, but pricey.

We’ve also eaten at Marlin’s Good Times Bar and Grill which is another laid back relaxed atmosphere. It’s a great place to get a burger, fish and chips, buffalo shrimp, wings or just grab a cold beer or something a little more elaborate like a Strawberry Daquiri or a Bahama Mama. Another great place to view the ocean, the surfers, the tourists and the locals. Good service, fair prices and good food here.

And then there’s “Boardwalk Bash” which is a popular spot especially on Friday nights to come after work and listen to live music and enjoy their specials. They always have things like Steamed Shrimp, Ribs, Lobster on specials to draw you in. It’s a great place to go for drinks and catch the smell of the salt air, the breezes, sound of the surf and order up one of the specials to graze on while you enjoy your Happy Hour that often turns into 2, 3 or 4 hours.

They also have live entertainment very often on the pier, most definitely on weekends but even other nights of the week as well. You might catch Reggae here, or a Jimmy Buffet sound or you might arrive on Karaoke night which can be entertaining and fun to watch.

They also have an ice cream parlor and arcade there called “Ricky’s”. I think they sell some subs and pizza too, but it’s mostly ice cream and ice cream specialties like elaborate sundaes and banana splits.

They have a couple gift shops on the pier as well. One is called “Oceanotions” and it carries a little bit of everything from “Pier Gear” to handmade items from local artisans and lots of nautical gifts, souvenirs and T-shirts.

They have a shop called “Tropical Threads” which is a boutique that sells lots of name brand clothes as well as some from local designers. They are pretty unique I must say.

The Pier is fine during the day for kids, and it’s fun to bring them here to go fishing or just to play in the arcade and then grab some ice cream at Rickey’s. At night though, it’s more of an adult crowd, or it should be. The bars can get pretty noisy and colorful and I wouldn’t bring a kid there at night for any reason. It’s always a fun atmosphere though, day or night and when there is something special going on like an event or a festival, it gets mad crowded!

Rating: 9