St. Augustine, FL

[wall*e2008]

How many days would it take to do all the "big" stuff in the area. My girlfriend Katie Rose wants to take a trip there for a short get away. She has two young boys. Is there enough for to keep them interested too.

I have never been there, so I am not help. I told her a good Disney fan never leaves WDW when they travel to FL.



This is unrelated, but why is it called St. Augustine grass. Was it discovered in St. Augustine, FL?

 

[PrincessPAC]

Oh, we enjoy St. Augustine!!! It's such an old city that is actually pretty entertaining. We took the boys there last year so they could learn a little history, but they weren't quite looking to be educated -- I think they were looking more for dinner.


I've never done any of the tours...I just don't like being told what to do. I just kind of talk to the locals (who are usually pretty nice) to get some tips, then just sort of go in my own direction.


Now, that being said:

It sounds kind of weird saying that I can be entertained by St. Augustine. I've never been a huge fan of history, so most relics don't typically impress me. So far, this place appears pretty intriguing; but, I've only seen the superficial aspects of the city (and not all of them, I'm sure). I'm not very good at first impressions.


Also, we've visited spots nearby, and many people I've talked to say that some of the people of St. Augustine can be pretty "uppity" and try to act like experts on everything. (I did have one guy try to convince me of something that I absolutely knew was not true. My high school world history class taught me more than this guy -- and I didn't even pay attention in there. ).

But, anyway, this is just my initial impression of the city. I'm SURE that there are others out there who know much more (possibly everything) about Augustine.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I'll have to check with my mother, she lives a town or 2 over from St. Augustine and I know she has said that DH & I would enjoy going there to wander around as we love to look at the older buildings, history in real life vs. reading in a book, and take in the environment. I will check with her on going there with 2 children vs. just adults and see what she has to say.

 

[rparmfamily]

I've been there many times with my children. There are many sights to see and lots of shops and restuarants as well. The fort (Castillo de San Marco) is awesome and a must see. There are many "haunted" cemetaries there as well. (we did a ghost tour at night, without our young kids.) The beaches at Anastasia Island state park are beautiful. The Alligator Farm is also in the area and my kids love that as well.

 

[maelstrom]

It depends on what you consider the "big" stuff. There's a lot to do in St. Augustine, depending on your interests.

Castillo de San Marco, the old jail, the fountain of youth, Ripley's, Flagler College, Lightner Museum / old Alcazar hotel, St. George Street & the surrounding area (shops & restaurants), San Sebastian Winery, etc. Also, right across the bay on Anastasia Island is the St. Augustine alligator farm, the lighthouse, and Marineland (has been completely redone with brand new dolphin tanks and it is amazing). The Bridge of Lions is being redone right now, and a temporary causeway and bridge is in its place (done in the style of London Bridge, where a piece of the causeway moves up and out of the way for passing sailboats). It's quite an interesting sight.

I was just there in July and feel ashamed that I don't remember more. So much had changed since the last time I was there (February 2003).

 

[LaraK]

My dad lives about a half hour from there. The fort is cool. We didn't do the fountain of youth. The alligator farm is great...the kids will love that. Also, one of the best crab houses I've ever been to (and remember, I'm from Annapolis Maryland) is just south of there. The owners used to live in Annapolis. I was trying to think if my dad said it had closed...I hope not, it was WONDERFUL!

 

[nataliela]

I'm interested too! But for 2 20 year olds- Whats the night life scoop?

Is it safe? I'm not a fan of trashy bars(Like Bourbon St.)- so if you know of any, let me know so I know NOT to go into there Sometimes I'm a worry wart?!

 

[Golf4food]

I'm interested too! But for 2 20 year olds- Whats the night life scoop?

Is it safe? I'm not a fan of trashy bars(Like Bourbon St.)- so if you know of any, let me know so I know NOT to go into there Sometimes I'm a worry wart?!

Yes, downtown in the Old Town area of St. Aug is plenty safe. The cops patrol all the time but in all of our visits (we live an hour away so hit St. Aug for the day at least every few months if not more often) I have never seen any problems in the old town day or night. I love St. Augustine and don't know that I will ever grow tired of being there.

To the OP: I would say they would need at least two or three days to do everything and no feel rushed (especially if they want to have some beach time). It is very easy to get a hotel near the old town and walk to everything if the weather is nice - nothing is very far away (but you can certainly do a lot of walking!). Lots of shops and restaurants, museums, historic buildings, forts... and plenty of your typical tourist traps, too. (I would rate the Fountain of Youth as nothing but a tourist trap, though it may be worth a one time visit.)

To get to the beach or the lighthouse or the Alligator Farm you'll need to leave downtown so you'll need a car or hire a taxi. Anastasia Island State Park is near the lighthouse and is beautiful. Further down is the main public "beach" for the area (with shops and restaurants, ice cream, etc.). A little south of that is Fort Mantanzas, another small Spanish fort that was built to protect the "back door" to the city - it is small, but neat - a little museum and you take a boat from the visitors center to get to it and it is very isolated from the rest of the world - you see marshes and water but not a lot of "modern" life so it is a much more immersive experience than even the big Castillo in downtown where you can still see and hear the modern world around it.

Jacksonville is only an hour north of St. Aug and has other activities, and Daytona is about an hour South. It would be easy to spend longer time and use St. Aug as a jumping off point to explore both of those other areas.

I'd be happy to offer any other advice or suggestions, answer questions.

(We'll be in St. Aug tomorrow actually. )

 

[wall*e2008]

Katie Rose has another guestions.

How scary are the ghost tours? The boys are 5 and 8. Would they be scared of this tour.

 

[Planogirl]

There's several ghost tours so it's hard to say how scary they would be for kids. The one we tried wasn't scary at all but more of a walking history tour. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the tour.

The fort is amazing! I know that kids would love that. The beaches are quite nice too and it's just fun to walk around and discover things.

 

[cccm]

I would answer weeks. DSister lives there.

I would say 3 days to do all the stuff I wanted to do, 4 for a beach day.

I remember stopping for a day or two on our way to WDW back in 1977.

 

[JimB.]

I live in St Augustine.

Most of the other posters have covered the high points. I love the town, but like everywhere it has highs & lows. A fair amount of "tourist trap" places. I won't specify, but they are easily identifiable by sight.

St George Street has a nice mixture of historical buildings and "eclectic" shopping.

Trinity Episcopal Church downtown is the oldest protestant church in the country. It has REAL Tiffany stained glass window.

How scary are the ghost tours? The boys are 5 and 8. Would they be scared of this tour.

There are walking ones that are pretty benign. There are some that are motorized that are done up pretty well. I actually had a call a few years ago where 2 people fainted on part of one.

Lots of nice B & B's in the city, and hotels on the beach. I have not been to the beach since Fay came through, so I am not sure what kind of shape they are in. Most likely, the closer to Crescent Beach you are, the better the beach will be.

Ditto to the "avoid the Fountain of Youth" post. Avoid the Santa Maria restaurant over the water.

If oyu have any specific ??, just repost or pm me.

Come see us! Have fun! Spend your money!!!!!

 

[rparmfamily]

St Augustine is high on our list when we move back to FL. I LOVE St Augustine!!! We came "this close" to buying a condo on Anastasia Island but orders for Hawaii came thru for us,so we backed out and just kept our house in Clay County.

The history in the area is just incredible. St Augustine is one of my favorite cities!

 

[soccerchick]

The Alligator Farm is $$$$. Go on line and print a coupon. If you are a member of your local zoo, you get a discount. (DSis had a membership to the Jacksonville Zoo, so that helped a lot). It's also very smelly, but your kids WILL probably like it.

Ditto the Castillo de San Marcos. Kids loved that (except for the gun firing demo - they hate loud noises). There's the oldest school house too, not sure if I saw that one mentioned.

There are also the outlets, definitely NOT for the kids, but there is a Disney outlet store at the Belz one.

We ate at a place near the town square/park. Second floor restaurant. It was good, basic fare - chicken, wraps, etc. but I'm totally blanking on the name. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[C.Ann]

I hope to visit there sometime in the future with my sister (who currently lives in Florida - 50 minutes or so north of Orlando).. Looks like a fascinating place..

 

[JimB.]

but there is a Disney outlet store at the Belz one.

FYI, the outlet center's name has been changed to Prime Outlets (Or maybe "Outlet World") It is the outlet center on the EAST side of I-95, next to Camper's World & Gander Mountain. Currently undergoing a major expansion, renovation, but it's still fully open.

We ate at a place near the town square/park. Second floor restaurant.

A1A Ale Works??

 

[wall*e2008]

Katie Rose is back from her trip to St. Augustine. She called me last night and said they had a great time. The boys loved the fort (sorry I forgot the name). They ran all around. Her older son is some what of a handful. Well when they were in the fort he went into this little tunnel and would not come out. She was afraid to go into that small tunnel after him but she was also afraid not to.

Finally she she got up the nerve and went in. She said it was a large room that had only that small entrance. After she "caught" him she had to exit again via the small tunnel. She was so glad when that was over. She even threatened him that now that she new there was only one exit she would just wait for him or leave him there and board up the tunnel and get him the next day. He stayed close to her after that.

She said she has so much more to tell me, but had to run, since the boys were fighting. She said she has a story to tell about the boys and a dog. They both want a dog so bad, but she does not want on.

 

[kristilew]

We usually stop in SA on our way to Disney. Last December, we spent a night there, then headed into the downtown area to find brunch. We ended up in the middle of the local Christmas parade. It was a blast! We would definitely do that on purpose in the future - it's the first Saturday in Dec, I think.

 

[wall*e2008]

We usually stop in SA on our way to Disney. Last December, we spent a night there, then headed into the downtown area to find brunch. We ended up in the middle of the local Christmas parade. It was a blast! We would definitely do that on purpose in the future - it's the first Saturday in Dec, I think.

That sounds like fun. I will make sure to do it if I am ever in the area at that time.

After what Katie Rose said we need to make a trip there. Just not sure early December is in the cards this year.

 

[Golf4food]

FYI, the outlet center's name has been changed to Prime Outlets (Or maybe "Outlet World") It is the outlet center on the EAST side of I-95, next to Camper's World & Gander Mountain. Currently undergoing a major expansion, renovation, but it's still fully open.



A1A Ale Works??

Harry's also has some second floor dining. Ditto the mill restaurant and the Tappas House on St. George above the gellato bar. Columbia has some, too. I guess there are more than I initially though when I hit the reply button!

Heck, for that matter so does Pizzalley's but I'm pretty sure that's not the one they were talking about!