Costa D'este Wanderguide

Feature Adventure: Take a Dive

No scuba lessons needed to dive The Breconshire wreck – just basic snorkel gear and a sense of adventure. Located 400 yards from Vero Beach in 10 to 15 feet deep water (sometimes, you can even see the boat’s bow in low tide), the British steamship that sunk in 1894 after striking a reef is the area’s most accessible dive. And with much of the algae-lined structure intact, it serves as a hidden city of angelfish, eels, rays, spiny lobsters, and nurse sharks. Costa d’Este provides snorkel gear, fins, and a kayak during their Saturday 11 a.m. tours to the wreck.

Kayaking Indian River Lagoon | Paddles by The Sea 1 mile from Costa d'Este

Enjoy the Indian River Lagoon by paddle board or kayak with a guided tour. Certified instructors will show you the wonders of the water way we loving refer to as The River. The trip starts at the dock in the marina with a quick lesson and review of the “float plan”, then off to find dolphin, manatee and otter.

Surfing Sebastian Inlet | Sebastian Inlet Surf Shop 16 miles from Costa d'Este

Sandy-bottomed jetty with several consistent breaks; find the biggest waves at First Peak, less-intense and less-crowded breaks to the north. Need a board? Sebastian Inlet Surf and Sport has you covered with killer deals on soft tops, longboards, and stand-up paddleboards. They also offer a two-day surf experience to jump-start your path to surfing stardom.

Airboat Tours | Gator Bait Airboat Adventure Tours 18 miles from Costa d'Este

See live alligators on Gator Bait Airboat Adventure's one-hour tours aboard a 24-foot-long airboat. These boats travel through the Blue Cypress Conservation Area marsh, home to alligators and swamp waterfowl. They guarantee you'll see a gator, and if you're lucky, you'll get to meet one of the local monsters, Big Bubba, King Kong or Wally Gator.

Treasure Coast Wine & Ale Trail

This self-guided tour encourages visitors to taste the best of the Treasure Coast. Follow the map to eight breweries and a winery, sampling as you go. At each location, you receive a “gold doubloon” sticker stamp for your trail map. Collect all nine stickers and turn into the bartender at your final location to receive a prize, typically a commemorative pint glass.

Grind + Grape | 450 ft. from Costa d'Este

This ocean-side coffee, dessert, and wine bar satisfies from sun up to sun down. In the morning, expect French-pressed coffees, espressos, and lattes, along with breakfast pastries; come evening, it serves small bites, flatbreads, cheese, and charcuterie, plus 100 varieties of wines and champagnes, 25 different bottled beer, and six drafts. Live music is also offered on their patio every night of the week.

Bigshots Golf | 2.8 miles from Costa d'Este

Golf just got a lot more exciting! Situated on 10 acres, BigShots Golf, located less than three miles from the resort in Vero Beach, is a two-story golf recreation and entertainment experience offering a full-service restaurant, 2 sports bars, event space and 30 climate-controlled tee boxes. Hit some balls, relax, and enjoy our chef crafted menu, creative cocktails and fun-filled atmosphere.

Farmer's Market Oceanside | .2 miles from Costa d'Este

Look no further than this Saturday market at Humiston Park for nearly any and everything you would need as a local or vacationer. Offering produce, baked good, fresh fish and beef, orchids and air plants, locally grown kombucha, coffee, treats (for humans and dogs alike), and live music, it’s a great way to spend the morning before you spend your afternoon lounging beachside at Costa d'Este.

Friday

7:30 P.M. | LAUGH OUT LOUD AT RIVERSIDE THEATER

An evening out doesn’t get any livelier than the Comedy Zone at the area’s only professional theater. Just a five-minute drive east of Costa d’Este, the night of laughs comes complete with dinner and drinks. Come early to experience the live music outdoors and to take advantage of the full lineup of comedians.

Saturday

6 A.M. | SUNRISE ADVENTURE

Start the morning with a sunrise stroll along the beach and experience breakfast al fresco at Wave Kitchen.

11 A.M. | STROLL MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN

Sadly, only 18 acres of what used to be an 80-acre tropical jungle garden in the 1940s remains in this hidden Vero Beach gem. Still, it feels like a little slice right out of the Amazon: wildly twisting trees with elaborate root systems stand guard among the paths, accented with little ponds, and 10,000 native and tropical plants.

3 P.M. | SHOP OCEAN DRIVE & DINNER

The stretch of Ocean Drive from Humiston Park north to where it intersects with Banyan Road has some great boutique shopping (and within easy walking distance of Costa d’Este), including Simon Pearce pottery at Veranda and Lily Pulitzer in The Lazy Daisy on Azalea Lane. Most of the stores close down by 5 p.m., so explore for a couple hours and then grab dinner on your way back at Ocean Grill, a historic 1941 wooden building perched precariously over the Atlantic.

9 P.M. | DRINKS AROUND THE FIRE

If you haven’t taken advantage of your complimentary “check in” mojito at Costa d’Este’s Cabana bar, now’s the time. Enjoy it at the bar’s new patio-based fire pit, surrounded by lounge chairs beside the beach.

Sunday

11 A.M. | BRUNCH AT COSTA D’ESTE’S THE WAVE KITCHEN & BAR

The creative Cuban flair that makes this chic restaurant’s dinner menu so popular is also found at brunch. Try the paella de pollo, dulce de leche–stuffed French toast, or empanada de pollo. Bottomless bloody Marys made from a homemade tomato juice mix come garnished with a pickled shrimp.