The VBML facility is located on four acres on the oceanfront of the barrier island beach at Vero Beach, Florida. The facility is approximately 40 miles south of the main campus at Melbourne. The laboratory provides access to a variety of subtropical marine habitats, including an open coast sand beach, subtidal sand bottom habitats and coquina reefs. The nearby Indian River Lagoon, with the most biodiversity of the estuaries in the continental U.S., contains a variety of estuarine habitats that include mangrove fringe, oyster bars, a wide variety of submerged aquatic vegetated systems, and intertidal mud and sand bottom habitats.

The VBML has two laboratory buildings with approximately 4,500 sq ft. The main building houses offices for resident and visiting research staff, a classroom, and small laboratories for support of marine research. The facility has a running seawater system and two-story wet laboratory, as well as a wide variety of aquaculture tank systems. A wave-data recording station operated by the University of Florida is housed at the site. Research vessels available through the Marine Operations section on the main campus of the university include the 60-ft R/V Delphinus for offshore and lagoonal work, and a variety of small craft from 14 to 29 ft for lagoonal and nearshore work.