Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence – All You Need To Know (2025)
WANT TO SEE THE COCOA BEACH BIOLUMINESCENCE FOR YOURSELF?
You’re in the right place as I’m about to tell you everything you could possibly need to know about Cocoa Beach bioluminescence.
It’s a fascinating spectacle which few people get to experience. In my opinion, it’s up there with seeing the Northern Lights. It’s beautiful!
But it can be hard to know the best spots to see the bioluminescence and the best time to see it too.
Or, finding the best kayaking tours.
Luckily for you, I’m a full-time traveller and I love the Cocoa Beach bioluminescence, so I’ve created this ultimate guide with everything you will ever need to know.
So let’s get into it, shall we?
What causes Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence?
To dive deeper into the Coca Beach bioluminescence and decide the best time to see them and where to see them; we first need to understand what causes the bioluminescence.
But first and foremost, I need to clarify that Cocoa Beach is a city in Florida – not just a beach. Many people get this confused and then aren’t sure how to find the bioluminescence.
By definition, bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism.
In the case of Cocoa Beach, this organism is Dinoflagellates, which are a type of plankton.
The chemical reaction produced by dinoflagellates is that when their cell walls receive pressure, they turn a beautiful bright glowing blue colour.
So the bioluminescence effect appears when they are touched. That’s why you will see videos of someone playing about in the water with their hands and leaving luminous blue trails behind.
It’s quite the phenomenon. Now we know what causes Cocoa Beach bioluminescence, we can get on with finding out the best time and place for seeing them for yourself.
Where can you see Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence?
There are lots of spots where you can see the bioluminescence near Cocoa Beach. In fact, I would go as far as to say that if you’re in the right area at least, then you’re more likely to see it than not (at the right time of year).
You can even see it from the shore sometimes, but I prefer to get out there and see it for myself.
That being said, there are three main spots in and around Cocoa Beach which are the most common and most popular for seeing that extraordinary blue glow. In order of distance from the city starting with the closest, these three spots are:
- The Banana River Aquatic Reserve
- Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge
- Indian River Lagoon
My personal favourite is the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge bioluminescent. The vibrant blue illumination is impressive anywhere, but having it against the trees and roots of the mangrove is especially pretty.
The best way to reach any of these spots is by kayaking. There are lots of Florida bioluminescence kayaking tours out there, and I’ll dive into the best ones later in the post.
In my opinion, taking a tour is the best way to experience the illumination for yourself.
Though unfortunately, it’s super hard to get good photos of bioluminescence. So, sorry about the photo quality throughout this article. It’s 100000x better looking and more magical in real life!
When can you see Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence?
It is possible to see the bioluminescence all year around, but there are times of the year when it’s more likely.
The chances are higher from the end of May to the middle of November. Throughout this window, it’s much more common to see the bioluminescence.
But from July to October, you are pretty much guaranteed to see it. If you are really keen on seeing it for yourself, be sure to visit Coca Beach in this timeframe.
3 Best Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence Tours
As I quickly said earlier, the best way to see Cocoa Beach’s bioluminescence is by taking a kayaking tour. There are lots of tours out there and it can be hard to find the best one.
When I was looking for a tour for myself, a lot of tours weren’t coming up. It seems you need to search certain words and the tours don’t come up for vague searches.
To make your life easier, I’ve put together this quick list of the 3 best bioluminescence tours which you can take from Cocoa Beach.
1. Bioluminescence Kayak Tour
⭐RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars (630+ reviews) | ⌛ TOUR LENGTH: 2 hours |
🌊 BOOK NOW
The best Cocoa Beach bioluminescence tour is the Bioluminescence Kayak Tour in my opinion. It has over 630 reviews and a rating of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Before I dive into my thoughts on Bioluminescence Kayak Tour, I’d like to point out the review above.
Not only do you get to see the fascinating Dinoflagellates turn the ocean a bright blue, but you have the chance of seeing some super cool wildlife.
The person above got to see a manatee and dolphins! For reference, some people travel all the way to Tampa for dolphin tours. And you can experience it as part of this tour!
But back to my thoughts…it’s incredible.
When booking a tour, I always like to go with the tried and tested option, and this tour has definitely passed the test of time.
The atmosphere on this tour is amazing and I can personally vouch for it. Unfortunately, as I said earlier in the article, my photos are a bit crap. But hopefully, they still capture how mesmerising it is.
You get to visit all of the best spots for the plankton, and you’re as close to guaranteed as possible to see it for yourself.
All in all, you can’t go wrong with the Bioluminescence Kayak Tour. If you want to see Coca Beach Bioluminescence, this is the best way to do so.
2. Bioluminescence Clear Kayak or Clear Paddleboard Adventure Tour
⭐RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars (36+ reviews) | ⌛ TOUR LENGTH: 2 hours |
🌊 BOOK NOW
Another tour I really recommend is the Bioluminescence Clear Kayak or Clear Paddleboard Adventure Tour. It also has an impressive 5/5 rating.
You want to experience bioluminescence by being amongst it, by being surrounded by it, by being immersed in the spectacle.
And I believe the best way to do that is by taking a kayak tour, and Bioluminescence Clear Kayak or Clear Paddleboard Adventure Tour is the best option.
But what I like about this tour, in particular, is that if you prefer paddleboarding, then you can do that!
Whether you want to kayak or paddleboard, that’s up to you.
The kayaks have a clear bottom so you can see the bioluminescence below you as you paddle. The paddleboards are clear too.
Whichever you choose, it’s a wonderful and memorable experience.
If you really really love the Cocoa Beach bioluminescence, why not do both? I know if I was there long enough, I would have loved to paddleboard too.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime memory for most people, being able to see bioluminescence, so make sure to book the Bioluminescence Clear Kayak or Clear Paddleboard Adventure Tour.
3. Bioluminescent Clear Bottom Kayak or Paddleboard Sit-On-Top Kayak Hybrid Tour!
⭐RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars (50+ reviews) | ⌛ TOUR LENGTH: 1.5 hours |
🌊 BOOK NOW
A third and final option is the Bioluminescence Clear Kayak or Clear Paddleboard Adventure Tour which also offers the option of both kayaking and paddleboarding.
The review perfectly summarises what it’s like to take a Cocoa Beach bioluminescence kayaking tour. If you have a second, I would encourage you to read it.
What I love most is the word “magical“, as this is the best word I could possibly think of to describe it.
Sure, Florida has Disney, Universal, Wild Florida and lots of other theme parks, but a hidden bit of magic in the Sunshine State is the natural beauty on offer.
The tours are completely safe too, and you don’t need to worry about gators or any other wildlife that might be out to get you.
Though Florida does have gators pretty much everywhere from Tampa to Miami, you are completely safe taking a tour of the bioluminescence around Cocoa Beach.
Like the last two tours, it takes you to all of the best hotspots which I mentioned earlier in the article.
You might be wondering why a kayak tour is better than just seeing it from the beach.
The answer is that every time you use your paddle, you create the bioluminescence effect as you are touching the plankton.
Essentially, you leave a trail of bright luminous blue behind you. It’s extraordinary.
If this sounds as cool to you as it does to me, then definitely book the Bioluminescence Clear Kayak or Clear Paddleboard Adventure Tour for your trip to Cocoa Beach.
There are lots more bioluminescence kayaking tours in Florida, and it would be impossible to list them all, but these are my favourite three.
Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence: FAQ
Below are some questions related to the Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence along with my answers to each question.
Cocoa Beach is a city, not a beach, so it is impossible to see bioluminescence on Cocoa Beach. But it is possible to see bioluminescence in the waters surrounding Cocoa Beach. There are lots of kayaking tours which leave the city in search of the glowing plankton.
The best months to see bioluminescence in Florida are from July to October. It is possible to see the phenomenon all year round, but it’s most likely in these months. Outside of this window, the planktons tend to move away from the colder waters.
The three most popular spots to see bioluminescence near Cocoa Beach are The Banana River Aquatic Reserve, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge and the Indian River Lagoon. My personal favourite is Merritt Island.
Cocoa Beach glows at night due to plankton called Dinoflagellates which glow a luminous blue when their cell walls receive pressure – in other words when they come into contact with something.
Final Thoughts: Cocoa Beach Bioluminescence
And there you have it, a complete guide to the Cocoa Beach bioluminescence.
To summarise, it’s caused by planktons which glow when they are touched, and it’s possible to see all year round, but the best months are July to October.
My favourite spot is Merritt Island and I recommend taking the XYZ tour to experience it for yourself.
It will be an unforgettable night, I promise you that.
Enjoy your trip to Florida, and enjoy your time witnessing the spectacle that is Cocoa Beach bioluminescence.
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