Ideas for weekend in St.Augustine....

[momminnie]

Can anyone give me some ideas for a weekend in St. Augustine with my husband and teenage son, the weekend of MLK. Cheap as we can cause I'm saving for our Disney trip. We are leaving from SC. Thanbks in advance

 

[kingagdar]

Night of lights are still going until 1/31. Whole city is lit up with white lights. You can take a trolley tour and see everything.

 

[NinaBella]

We have only been for a day trip. We did the Trolley tour where you can get on/off all day for one price. We enjoyed it. I would say to get over to the lighthouse and beach if you have time.

 

[missnic]

Definitely do a ghost tour, tour the Castillo de San Marcos and the lighthouse. If you're into antiquey type stuff, the Lightner Museum is kind of cool, and you can have lunch in what was the swimming pool. The pirate museum and the Colonial Quarter are both pretty neat, and you should be able to find some coupons in the little tourist books around town. There's also a Ripley's museum, the Fountain of Youth, and the Oldest Jail.. all kind of hokey and not worth the money imo.. but if that's what you're into..
I can't really comment on lodging (I live 20 minutes away), other than I know it isn't cheap in the historical district.. but parking can be scarce if you're trying to drive in from the beach or interstate.

 

[Ephany]

We did Old Town Trolleys a few years ago. They have packages online or you can buy tickets when you park at the Old Jail. So much easier using the trolleys than driving with a car during the day and trying to find parking. We did the one with Ripleys and had a great time. Sure parts of the tour were touristy, but that's what we wanted for that trip. I think next time we'll do more of the history type tours; we missed the Lightner Museum and only had two days. We also drove out to the lighthouse, DD loved that part.

 

[Disbug]

Visiting the fort (Castillo de San Marco) and strolling along the cobbled streets (i.e. St. George Street) are definite MUST do's! There are several historic churches in the town square that are free to tour. The restaurant missnic refers to as being in a former indoor swimming pool is called Cafe Alcazar and was actually part of a huge indoor spa when the Lightner Museum was a hotel. Lunch is delicious, but not super cheap. The Casa Monica Hotel lobby is fun to explore and has a Starbucks accessible from the street and the lobby. Tons of sightseeing for free in the historic district. Grab a slice of pizza on St. George Street and just enjoy being in the oldest city in the United States! The St. Augustine Bicycle Rental company on King Street will rent bicycles, scooters, and SEGWAYS! We just used a Groupon to do a Segway Tour of the Nights of Lights. It was Amazing and so fun! Another not to be missed tour, is the Flagler College. They will actually do tours of the Ponce de Leon Hotel. Very interesting and historic. Hope you enjoy your stay. It is a great city to visit!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Has anyone mentioned stopping at the Fountain of Youth and getting a quick drink of that water to keep you young? We also walked around the park area there - it was pretty when we did it.

It's not free but you can get a combo ticket with the lighthouse. Here's the website: http://www.fountainofyouthflorida.com/

 

[Tondee]

Make sure to look for the times they shoot the canons. Sometimes they have a "pirate" ship you can explore or take a cruise on. My family is from St. Aug and we love that area!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I'm thinking of taking the family to St. Augustine over MLK weekend, also. I've been several times myself, my husband and I have been once together, our oldest son went on a school trip, but our youngest son has not been before.

Groupon is offering discounted tickets to the Florida Museum and I think Living Social has ones for the Lightner Museum. I haven't been to either of them, so I imagine we'll do at least one of them if we get to go.

Like the others said, the Castillo de San Marcos is a must-do. My husband and I did the Ripley's museum when we were there and it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. We also went to the wax museum and did a ghost tour. We'll definitely take the boys on a ghost tour if we go, and I'd like to do one of the evening tours of the lights if we go this month.

I'm looking at staying in the historic district. I know it's more expensive, but I'd rather be able to walk everywhere than have to pay to park at the welcome center or somewhere else.