At the time of this writing, 2025 is just weeks away, and we at Happy Palm Stays are excited about what the new year will bring. New restaurants, special events, and the tried and true tranquility of our white sand beaches will ensure that if you are planning a visit at any time during the year, your vacation will be fulfilling, relaxing, and oh so exciting. This 2025 preview to what to expect from a Cocoa Beach vacation will give you a better idea as to when you should plan to fly the friendly skies straight to our Happy Palm Stays doorstep!
Special Events
The best way to experience new places is by attending the special events that each town is known for, and Cocoa Beach and the surrounding areas offer a variety of exciting ones throughout the year.
Paranormal Cirque in Palm Bay, 1440 Sportsman Lane NE in Palm Bay, January 24 through 27
Paranormal Cirque has turned the circus world upside down, and this amazing show is worth planning an entire visit around. Palm Bay is just a few minutes south of Cocoa Beach, and this spectacular ensures that we visit every year, offering sexy vampires, gruesome ghosts, and a sultry selection of illusionists, freaks, and witches. This show is one that shouldn’t be missed!
Ron Jon Beach and Boards Fest, March 12 through 16, Shepard Park
This area of Florida is known for its place in the space race and for surfing, with Ron Jon Surf Shop sponsoring the Beach and Boards Fest that takes place every year, celebrating the sport with vendors hawking their water related gear, demonstrations and competitions that include surfing, skateboarding, yoga, volleyball, and even a 5K walk/run. There’s also a sand sculpture competition, with the resulting entries sure to take your breath away. Costing nothing to be a spectator, if you want to sign up for an event, there are fees attached. This five-day festival will also offer a parade of food trucks to ensure no one goes hungry!
Cocoa Beach Centennial Celebration, July 5th, Downtown Cocoa Beach
Cocoa Beach has been providing the much-treasured beach lifestyle to travelers and residents for 100 years in 2025, and on July 5th we celebrate! Offering everything from a pickleball tournament to a golf cart parade, there will also be a drone show, the Cocoa Beach Splash 5K, an open pool, and of course, food and drink to round out the celebration.
New and Upcoming
Although we love the traditional, there is still something exciting about the shiny and new and this next section of our guide is dedicated to the new businesses, restaurants, and shops that are opening in 2025.
Cocoa Beach Mercado, Scheduled to Open in the Fall of 2025
Perhaps the most exciting up and comer is the 27,000-square-foot mega venue expecting to open in the fall. Offering 12 new restaurants, a private event space, a brewery, and a rooftop bar as well as an 8000-square-foot covered courtyard, the Mercado is expected to be the center of everything fun in Cocoa Beach. The courtyard will feature a tropical vibe that includes multiple water features and a 40-seat cocktail bar that will be enjoyed even more due to its serene surroundings. Planning on a Christmas wedding? Cocoa Beach Mercado will include private event spaces that can be used for special events or weddings, and the courtyard stage is destined to be center stage for live music and holiday events throughout the year. We are so excited about the possibilities of this mega event center and wish it would open sooner, but as they say, good things come to those who wait.
Champs Steakhouse & Bar, 100 N Sykes Creek Parkway in Merritt Island
Champs Steakhouse just opened on December 13 in 2024, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule, so we figure we can still count it as a new eatery for 2025. Offering views of the water and a sports bar feel, this restaurant will be offering generous portions of their steak and burgers, ensuring that no one leaves feeling hungry and will probably come home to their Happy Palm Stays Florida retreat with a doggy bag filled with delicious leftovers. Half-price appetizers after 8:30 make it a great late-night destination and in about a month, the Tiki Bar will be open, offering an ideal spot from which to watch rocket launches.
Destination Downtown Food Hall, 2 N Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach
Described as a celebration of food, culture, and the entrepreneurial spirit, Destination Downtown Food Hall will offer an elevated food court type experience with seven different restaurants to choose from. Also designed to celebrate small businesses, they are expecting one of the restaurants to be a wine bar and although they don’t have an exact date for opening as of yet, they do expect to be open for business in the spring or summer of 2025.
Explorations of Titusville
Titusville is a relatively small town on the Space Coast, offering just over 46,000 residents at the moment and located just 35 miles north of Cocoa Beach. Already known as a great place to watch rocket launches, we think its population and popularity is about to explode with the addition of a new housing community that will also be providing a mixed-use town center that will feature cozy boutiques and a grocery store scheduled to be open later in 2025.
Cocoa, Not to Be Confused with Cocoa Beach
Located across the Indian River west of Cocoa Beach, the town of Cocoa has plans for some new restaurants opening, and because it is close to us, you can count on us conducting a personal investigation to ensure that the restaurants are worthy of our guests. Also offering a special surprise for travelers, something that we will get into a little further down the page, your Cocoa visit is destined to be thrilling and exciting.
Oyster Shooters Raw Bar & Grill, 916 Florida Avenue in Cocoa
Oyster Shooters Raw Bar & Grill actually opened in July of 2024, but it is new enough that most people haven’t heard about it. We weren’t even aware of its existence until relatively recently, but we headed straight there when we did, crossing our fingers that we would love it, and guess what? We do! Offering a seafood-centric menu, that also includes a few landlubber delights, their Tuesday special, half-price martinis and mussels made us very happy, and now we can’t wait to test all their other specials.
A New Brightline Station
The Brightline is a high-speed train that travels quickly and easily to some of Florida’s most exciting destinations, including Disney. With the new Brightline Station coming, guests can travel to Disney and back, sleeping comfortably in their Happy Palm Stays sanctuary. There is a caveat, however, because building a Brightline rail and station is a time consuming job, and the station isn’t scheduled to open until 2026; it just gives us a little something extra to look forward to in the meantime.
Brevard Zoo Adventures, 8225 N Wickham Road in Melbourne
The Brevard Zoo is a family favorite for vacationers and residents, and there is always something new and exciting going on at the zoo, some of which may have just recently opened, some that may not open for a couple of more years, and all of which we will discuss below.
Bold Murals: The Joy of Nature, Coming to the Zoo February 15
14 Florida artists will be invited to the zoo to paint 8-foot murals that explain how nature brings them joy, live and in person. Guests will be able to watch the artists create their magic for the first few days of the exhibit, and then the murals will remain on display through May of 2025. And because less is never more at the Brevard Zoo, they are planning a second Bold Murals event in September, details to be released later.
Newly Expanded Expedition Africa Exhibit
In November of 2024, the Expedition Africa exhibit which has been a popular one opened its newly expanded version that includes a completed boardwalk loop that gives guest new views of the animals within and showcasing the new permanent home of the three lion brothers, Chobe, Karoo, and Ruaha. 15,500 square feet in size, the open air habitat features climbing platforms, a chill pad, and a cool new training wall. Two new experiences include the new Okapi Encounter and an updated kayak tour. In the Okapi Encounter, guests will be able to feed, pet, and take a picture with George, the resident okapi and if you are wondering what an okapi is, let us tell you that he is a creature that truly needs to be seen to be believed and has even been likened to a cryptid.
Adventures at Home with Happy Palm Stays
We don’t think you will be too disappointed to discover that not much has changed with Happy Palm Stays—other than our name, that is. The comfort you have come to expect from us, the high quality vacation experience, and the amenities we have always offered have stayed the same and will continue to stay the same for years to come. In case this is your first time visiting, however, we have also created this guide to the beautiful Space Coast vacation homes we offer.
Located Where You Want to Be
Although most vacation rental companies stay focused on one town, we at Happy Palm Stays wanted to be different, to give guests more options. We don’t just rent in Cocoa Beach, we cover most of the Space Coast, giving guests the opportunity to explore all the areas that make the Space Coast special and still be within a short distance of their home sweet vacation home. If you’re planning something last-minute, don’t forget to take a look at our last-minute Satellite Beach FL rentals!
The Amenities
Once upon a time, travelers were supposed to be fine with cramming their entire families into a single hotel room, sharing a bath, a television, and floor space with each other. The only amenities were a coffee maker, the television, and a pool and hot tub that always looked questionably sanitary; the rooms were just a place to rest in between vacation adventures, but today, that has changed. Travelers expect the little luxuries that make travel easy and comfortable, and those amenities are often found in our Florida retreats. Community pools (we promise they will be crystal clear and blue), community hot tubs, sports courts, beachfront rentals, and barbecue areas are popular amenities, and because we love our guests and want the entire family to be able to get away, many of our escapes are pet friendly as well.
All the Comforts of Home
Remember that condo you rented with the rock-hard couch, lumpy and bumpy mattress, and scratchy linens and towels? That is not what you will find with Happy Palm Stays, as we understand that the details matter. Our sofas will entice you to snuggle in, let the tension of the day evaporate, and maybe fall into a refreshing nap that you never have time for at home. After a long day on the beach, your slightly sunburned skin will appreciate the softness of the towels we leave hanging for you in the bathroom, and at night, when your eyes start to close and your brain tells you sleep is near, our beds will live up to their reputation of being the most comfortable in the state. Topped with silky linens and often offering a ceiling fan overhead, the sweet oblivion of an excellent night’s sleep will be in reach and when you wake up each morning feeling rested and recharged, well, it’s just another luxury amenity that Happy Palm Stays provides.
Reserve Your Favorite Florida Sanctuary Today
Life is too short for subpar vacation accommodations, and Happy Palm Stays is a name you can trust!
