Vero Beach Regional Airport, Vero Beach, FL!
Welcome To The Vero Beach Regional Airport!
Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB, KVRB) is a towered, public-use airport owned by the City of Vero Beach. It is located one mile northwest of downtown Vero Beach, Florida, in Indian River County, and is the current home and headquarters of Piper Aircraft, Inc.
The traffic control tower is manned from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., 365 days a year. It has three asphalt runways as follows: 04/22 is 4,974 ft., 12L/30R is 3,504 ft., and 12R/30L is 7,314 ft.
FBO & Services
Corporate Air is the full-service on-field FBO at Vero Beach Regional Airport. They can provide a courtesy/crew car for short local trips. Availability depends on demand.
This airport has commercial air service from Breeze Airways, JetBlue, and American Airlines, and is one of the last remaining airports in the U.S. with free long-term parking for up to 21 days.
There are two flight schools on this field: Paris Air and Skyborne Airline Academy, Vero Beach.
Additionally, there are numerous businesses here not related or only partially aviation-related: Catelli Cigar Lounge, Dragonfly Boatworks, Sherwin‑Williams, iTHINK Financial, Technology Partners, Girard Equipment, Inc., Hybrid Sources, Beacon Building Products, Image360 Vero Beach, Summit Construction, Rosner Motorsports, Ferrellgas, and Treasure Coast Storage.
Transportation
Budget Car Rental is in the terminal. However, other companies are available in Vero Beach: Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, and National. If you are going to the beach, you can rent anything from a paddle boat to a pontoon.
Vero Beach is not a stop for the new Briteline fast train from South Florida to Orlando.
Both Uber and Lyft operate from this airport.
Where to go for the Finer Things!
In this part of the world, one of the finer things is the beach! If you’re looking for the best East Coast surfing, try Tracking Station Park near town or Sebastian Inlet, about 7 miles north. Wabasso Beach is also a surfer hangout with the Wabasso Beach and Surf Shop right off Highway 1.
Wabasso Beach is a popular surfing destination!
If you want a sunrise, try Sexton Beach at the end of Beachland Boulevard. If you want something cool for the kids, take them 3 miles north to Treasure Shores and the pirate-themed playground. There is also St. Lucie County Aquarium south of Vero Beach in Ft Pierce and the Sebastian Skate Facility for older kids north in Sebastian. The Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is always a great choice.
Vero Beach, or simply Vero, is home to world-class shopping and art. For a little culture, you can visit the Vero Beach Museum of Art, the Florida Art Gallery & Auction. There are also personal studios/galleries downtown. If you’re interested in military history, the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is out on Highway A1A.
Vero has a First Friday Gallery Stroll from 5-8 p.m. on the first Friday of every month downtown. You can meet the artists and partake of some wine and cheese. Downtown Friday is the last Friday of each month from 6-9 p.m., and it’s a street party with live music, food vendors, and talented artists in the open air. Go! Go downtown and immerse yourself in the gorgeous evenings that come with the sea air on the Treasure Coast.
Places to Stay Near Vero Beach Regional Airport
Prices and names change frequently. For current prices, amenities, and new owner rebrands, check Expedia.com or Hotels.com. All listed hotels are within a five-mile radius of GIF. Looking for a whole house? VRBO.com has properties here.
There are too many to check out personally, but the Holiday Inn Express was nice and clean with breakfast included. If you are staying awhile and want to be near the Jackie Robinson Sports Complex, I recommend the Star Suites. Additionally, it is right by the Vero Beach Regional Airport, has a full kitchen, and (maybe only important to me), you can bring your dog. Dogs are great beach buddies, but be sure to check the signage as they’re not allowed on most beaches here.
Splurging? Go for the Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel and Spa or the Costa D’Este Beach Resort and Spa.
The Driftwood Resort has a private beach and a great porch sitting place.
The less expensive hotels are usually by I-95, with the more expensive ones nearer the beach.
Local Vero Beach Pubs, Shopping, and Great Food!
For fun and a little history, try the American Icon Brewery. Serving great burgers and enough handcrafted brews to please everyone. Like most pubs, there are some constants on the menu, but the “Currently on Tap’ menu is changed frequently, so you never know what your favorite is going to be.
Recommendations for Irish-style pubs include the Sean Ryan Pub or the Kilted Mermaid. For open-air dining, Cravings, right on Ocean Drive, with its red awnings, is hard to miss. Made from scratch bakery products and enough variety on the menu to make everyone happy, always a winner! If you want to go out of town, Captain Hiram’s in Sebastian is my personal favorite. It’s lively, fun, and a little eclectic. It’s also a cool place to stay right on the water!
You should also check out Mulligan’s Beach House, The Crab Stop, Cobalt, Citrus, or the Riverside Cafe. Riverside seems to be a local favorite, and although I haven’t been in a few years, I loved the view and the atmosphere of Mulligan’s.
The terminal has a place called C.J. Cannon’s, where the food is great! I have not eaten at Olivia’s on the airport field, but they say it’s good too.
Looking for some upscale ambience, try The Tides on Cardinal Drive. As for shopping, Vero is filled with locally owned specialty shops and plazas for everything from diving equipment to locally grown citrus. There are three malls: Indian River Mall, Vero Beach Outlets, Treasure Coast Plaza, and a shopping paradise on lovely Ocean Drive. It’s filled with anything your heart desires. There is also historic downtown Vero, where you can spend as many hours and dollars as you’d like.
Things To Do
On The Water
The beach, of course! Shopping and dining, yes! Also, just a short trip north to Sebastian and a left turn towards Fellsmere, you would find yourself in the world-famous Stick Marsh adjacent to the Farm 13 reservoir. Although it is primarily managed as a catch-and-release lake, it is rated a top 10 trophy bass area in Florida. This is big bass fishing at its absolute finest.
There are options for airboat rides all around Vero Beach, with the most popular being through the marshes, but tours on the Sebastian River are also available. The marsh tours are incredible and filled with wildlife. You’re sure to find something photo-worthy.
Spotting dolphins on the river tours is a great day trip. The inland waterways have an abundance of fishing charters and boat tours. I’m pretty laid-back, so the Cabana Boat Tours suit me fine. For those who prefer fishing, if you want to ‘go big or go home,’ try the Vero Beach Inshore Fishing Charters.
Golf
No Florida “Things To Do” list would be complete without mentioning golf courses. So, there are three public courses in Vero and two in Sebastian. Sandridge, Vista Plantation, and Fairwinds are in Vero Beach, while Sebastian Municipal and Barefoot Bay Golf Course are in Sebastian.
I have friends who are avid golfers, but as I am not one myself, I can’t personally recommend one over the other. I’m so bad that the only things my friends allow me to do are drive the cart or wait in the air conditioning with the bartender for company. (Who says I don’t have this game figured out?) I’ve seen pictures, and they look beautiful, but www.golfnow.com.com has much better information about the surrounding courses and can reserve your tee time.
Baseball
If you are a baseball fan, historic Dodgertown is a cool place to explore. If you’re lucky, you might catch a game going on. They host a lot of youth teams tournaments here these days.
Night Life In Vero Beach!!
The east coast of Florida is one of the best places in the world for enjoying the outdoors at night, barring natural disasters. Accommodations for both indoor and outdoor seating are available throughout Vero Beach. Keep in mind, you are in Florida, so ‘Eau de Bug Spray’ may need to be your scent of choice if opting for the latter. Most pubs feature live music.
Waldo’s is the restaurant/lounge in the Driftwood Resort and usually has live music on weekends. Driftwood Resort is also a really cool place to stay if you haven’t made other arrangements. If music and cocktails aren’t your thing, you’re in luck, you’re in Florida! A beach, a breeze, maybe a hand to hold, or just a conversation with the moon on a walk with no particular destination, that’s here too.
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Safe flying and smooth landings,
Jo@Jettreks.com