Merritt Island and Space Centre

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Hi MNs
Did anyone visit Merritt Island and The Space coast on their trip to Orlando? I am desperate for some wildlife and wondered whether it was a worthwhile trip and whether anyone managed to see the manatees there?
If you did, did you hire a car or do an excursion or spend a night there? Thanks so much.

We spent a couple of hours out on the space coast in an attempt to see a launch (it got cancelled, sadly). Gorgeous unspoiled beach and nature reserves, but we didn't really do much exploring as we headed to the space centre for the day once it became clear the launch was unlikely to go ahead.

We did the Lake Apopka wildlife trail drive (only open Fri/Sat/Sun), which was brilliant - it's an 11-mile one-way drive, and you can stop to get out of your car as often as you want. It's free of charge. We saw masses of alligators, condors, herons, snakes and turtles.

We didn't get to see any manatees, but high summer is the wrong season for them, really.

We did. We stayed a few nights in between WDW at Cocoa Beach and went on a great 2 hr boat tour with Cocoa Beach dolphin tours. Saw lots of manatees and dolphins close up. Then also had a tremendous day at the Space Centre, thoroughly enjoyed by us all (2 adults, 3 DC aged 12, 10 and 7).

Last week we stayed at Daytona and, on the way back from Kennedy Space Centre, we were lucky enough to see wild dolphins and manatee at a viewing point on Merritt Island - a fabulous experience!