re: Have hotel/vacation rental prices in South Florida always been this expensive?

It's a nice area, quieter than south Florida but if you're just wanting a beach hangout then can't go wrong there

Both Cocoa and Vero are small towns, so they will be more laid back.

Cocoa Beach is closer to Cape Canaveral, in case you were planning to spend any time there. Having said that, Cocoa is also more touristy. The town of Cocoa Village has a nice vibe, but the beach is full of condos, surf shops, and touristy things. There are more amusement parks, miniature golf courses, etc in Cocoa than in Vero. You'll also spend more time driving around, because the busy road along the beach is not very walkable.

Vero is quieter and the beach has a quiet, almost Cape Code feel to it - very walkable with older buildings, shops, ice cream stores, and restaurants, but no amusement parks. The beach is quiet, and often times, you may have large stretches of beach to yourself.

There is also no busy thoroughfare in Vero Beach, so it is the kind of place where teens can walk around and explore on their own. Vero is more of a haven for snowbirds, than tourists. We have our tourists, but they don't dominate the town. There is a nice live music and arts scene at VB, as well. The beaches are very accessible if you are not staying on the beach. There are a lot of beach front parks with free parking. Waldos, Ocean Grill, Citrus Grill, Mulligans, Cobalt, Riverside Cafe, etc are right on the water - some are expensive, others not.

Vero Beach is called "Zero Beach" by the younger crowd. If you want to listen to an Eagle's Cover Band, or go to a Jazz bar, VB has you covered, but if you are looking for night clubs and hip hop, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Might as well go to an all inclusive for that price

I would imagine it is cheaper, but it can be expensive, depending on if you want oceanfront, or not.

Here is a 2BR/2BA condo on the beach for under $2300 for a week. It a half mile north of town center.
Condo 1

This one is right in town, a block off the beach.
Condo 2

I used the week of 12/14 -12/21 for my search, so your choices will be different.

There is a Disney Resort on the beach north of town that is expensive. Gloria Estefan owns a beachfront resort and spa in the heart of Vero. The Kimpton is a few doors down. Those are probably some of the pricier places. There are cheaper alternatives and plenty of Air BnBs available.

bI did a little more looking for the week of 12/14-12/21 and saw the Prestige Hotel (on the ocean) and the Sea Turtle Inn (across the street from the beach) for $150/night. There also a couple of places south of South Beach in Vero in a very low key area with some cottages, condos and a few restaurants, like Sea Horse Cottages (old school beach cottages), which has 2 BR/2 BA cottages for around $300/night (minimum 1 week stay). You can save a lot of money by cooking yourself and there are 4/5 nice restaurants with walking distance.

Seahorse Cottages

If you need adrenalin, VB is not for you, but we have two great stage theatres (one local and the other professional), a great art museum, a couple of nice distilleries, a couple of fun breweries, the McKee Botanical Gardens, the Navy Seal Museum (15 miles south in Ft Pierce), and a lot of good restaurant choices. I was thinking about it, and I can't think of a single restaurant in VB that the locals don't eat at. There just aren't any restaurants that cater primarily to tourists, so there are a lot of hole in the wall type places.

I chose that week because I'm doing some research for a family friend who is coming down to visit that week and is asking for advice on where to stay. I'm sharing some of that information with you.

Thanks for the advice man! Appreciate it. Will definitely look into those places.

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People from the Northeast that are accustomed to $500/nt rooms is every major city.

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What?

I'm glad Vero is getting more flights, free parking is a plus although PBI is only $8/day which isn't bad. VRB is only an hr away from me so pretty easy to get to, I'll likely use it if I need to go to the northeast

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Any full-service hotel in Manhattan, DC, Philly, Boston is going to run you $400-600/nt during busy season. So to the South Florida winter hotel user, it's a normal price.

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Everything is super inflated in those cities so it doesn’t surprise me that $600 is a normal hotel price to those people

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Central America is full of Canadians, but it’s not hard to avoid Florida prices

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Central America is not without its risks that you wouldn’t get if you vacationed somewhere in the states.