Have an opportunity to head to Vero Beach in about 6 weeks. Looking for marina recommendations in or near that area. Also anyone have live aboard experience there?
I would look on Active Captain to see what's available. We spent a few nights at the Vero Beach City Marina and it's very nice. The city runs a bus service that stops at the marina office. It goes to town and makes a loop. You can get to Publix Walmart and West Marine and of course, many other stores As I recall, it's free.
The Vero Beach City Marina has both docks and a large mooring field. The moorings are very reasonably priced at under $20 I think. They also have a fairly large dinghy dock. It's a friendly and convenient place to stay. This is one city that values the cruising community.
The Suntex marina on the west side of the ICW (formerly Loggerhead) is very nice especially if you plan on staying for awhile, with good on shore facilities, including a nice pool, in a fairly upscale development. Note they feature a picture with a Pilgrim 40 and 2 American Tugs prominently! http://suntexverobeach.com/vero-beach-marina-photos.htm
We stayed there as transients once and enjoyed it, quiet and clean. We more commonly stayed on a mooring a few times over at the city marina, but at the time it was included in our Loggerhead lease in Hollywood. More noise and hustle and bustle at the city marina, but the shuttle is a nice feature.
Yeah, check them out on Active Captain. The usual suspects have already been mentioned but if you will have wheels, don't forget Fort Pierce is only about 15 miles further south with Fort Pierce City Marina being interesting for its lively weekend farmers market.
We have used both the mooring field and the marina at the municipal marina (last year) and would recommend it for the reasons stated above. Plus there is a nice restaurant and bar about 300 yards away. Easy in and out as well. Plus well protected from any ICW wakes.
Another vote for the city marina. We liked it for the reasons mentioned above and it is located on the beach side of the ICW, enabling us to walk or bike to the beach action easily, about 3/4 mile, no bridges to cross. Free bus also goes to the beach if you don't want to walk