St. Augustine

[Freyja]

We´re thinking of doing a day trip to St.Augustine in approx. 3 weeks. Any advice on what to see and/or do? Is there a nice beach we could visit while there? Any favorite restaurants?

 

[deej696]

The St. Augustine/Crescent Beach area is very nice and would make a good day trip. The downtown square and St. George St. is kinda the historic area with some neat shops, etc. The Columbia Restaurant there is absolutely awesome! Very historic restaurant in Florida. Enjoy

 

[the Fidge]

Saltwater Cowboys a great restaurant. Heres the link for it: http://www.saltwatercowboys.com/restaurant.html
The city has plenty of places to see and the Fort is right across the street don't miss the canon shot! Also the lighthouse is right there and is open for climbing. Have a great time the beach is lovely! Check out the travel link lots of info:http://staugustine.com/

 

[spiceycat]

go visit the lighthouse

http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com/

my brother does volunteer work here

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Working from St.A south you have fort and the St.George area.

Next you have the beaches @ Anastasia State park which are nice but St.A beach next to it has a pier.

Continuing down A1A you go through the condo along the lovely beaches til you find Marineland www.marineland.net ,a small aquarum themed attraction.

To the south of that is Washington Oaks State Park http://www.floridastateparks.org/washingtonoaks/default.cfm
It has the only coquina beach formations in the US and beautiful gardens.

As you continue down A1A you'll find it winds it's way back to I95 around Palm Coast.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Might have to pencil a visit to St Augustine - it looks lovely

 

[digitalsiren]

I like Anastasia State Park and Crescent Beach. As far as things to do .... the downtown area is gorgeous. You can see the oldest house in the U.S. and an old school house too I think. In the area are the Alligator Farm, the Fountain of Youth and a Ripley's Believe it or Not. I also like to tour the San Sebastian winery - it's free, they give you samples and the Vinter's Red is just super delicious. Restaurants ... haven't been to many as I'm not into seafood but A1A Aleworks is popular.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We absolutely love St. Augustine and try to take a day trip out there every chance we get.

As others have said, there is the lighthouse, Castillo de San Marcos and even Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth. St. George Street is a pedestrian only street with eclectic little shops and restaurants - our favorite restaurant being the Cracker Cafe. Parking couldn't be easier as there is a parkade only a few blocks from St. George Street.

As for beaches, we've only ever been to St. Augustine Beach - which is very easy to find on 1A1 at the pier/tourist information location. Parking is available there too.

Here are some pictures from our 2007 trip ... http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/561349605WmoEEe

 

[Luv2Roam]

We did a day trip to St A a little over a year ago.
The stores are nice. (Historic buildings) But they are tourist traps, and after awhile one looks the same as another.
We spent some time in the museum, and that was nice. Even had a nice lunch there, where there are also more stores.
The lighthouse is reportedly haunted. (T.A.P.S -- Ghost Hunters -- did a show there and it was very interesting to say the least.)
They also offer nightly tours, focused on ghosts. But I would like to take it to find out the real history of the town.
I recall a Ripley's there too.
Nice little town. They offer a trolley service where you paid one price and could come and go as you wished. But we thought it was steep and just walked.
Did seem like everyone had their hand out. People even sold bottles of water on the street for a $1.
We also spent time in the fort.

 

[Freyja]

Thanks everyone! Saint Augustine sounds wonderful. We will definately go there NEXT WEEK (omg, can´t believe we´re so close). We´re thinking of maybe staying overnight, maybe at the Holiday Inn in the historical area (anyone stayed there?). Driving up there on thursday and coming back to Regal Palms on Friday. We´ll see

 

[spiceycat]

might go with the beaches - since this is offseason they might be a good price.

 

[surfpark]

I'll give you my top list:

1. Castillo de San Marcos. An old historic fort that you'll see on your way into town.
2. Cresent Beach/St. Augustine Beach. Relax on the sand. Tan. Enjoy yourself.
3. Shops on St. George Street. Yes, its very tourist-related, but fun. Lots of shops to wander around in.
4. Water cruises. Lots of these boats take tourist around the island for an hour. Beautiful.
5. Saltwater Cowboys. Good food.
6. Gypsy Cab Company. Awesome lunch place. Vote #1.
7. Fountain of Youth. A campy park based around Ponce De Leon's "discovery" of the fountain of youth and where they think the original landing spot was. Don't drink the water, but enjoy the scenery.
8. Bridge of the Lions. Its under construction right now, but look at some old photos of it before you go.

Things to SKIP:
- Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. Very large, campy museum of oddities. Overpriced.
- Fort Mantanzas. If you've gone to the other fort, skip this.

 

[Clifton]

I went early this year in Feb. and I'm going again the next few weeks. Most reason is the "Dark of the Moon" tours at the lighthouse. There isn't promising of ghost sightings but it's the night experience i'll enjoy. Reguardless, TAPS inspired me to check out the lighthouse

Theres lots to do at St. Augustine but only if you stay there a week. It's that beautiful up there. I plan to visit the Castillo Fort, Lighthouse moon tour, Great Cross/Mission de Dios, Potter Wax Museum, Old Jail, St. A Beach, Anastasia Park, visit the Tolomato cemetery and the rest of the town.

 

[tripletots]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in the historic area in August. We had the room with 2 double beds and a pull out sofa. The rooms holds 6 comfortably but they allowed us to have 7 in the room. We brought an air mattress with us and it fit in between the two double beds. There is a wet bar with sink, microwave and small refrigerator and coffee pot with coffee. The rooms were clean and the staff was nice. We did not eat there instead we went to a place for breakfast called The Bunnery, I forgot the exact street, but I think it might be on St. George near all the shops. It was wonderful! Our plans for next August are to stay in St. Augustine longer and then head to Disney World. I love St. Augustine. It's been my favorite place since I was a child. Visit the Fort, I believe kids under 15 are free and it's either 5 or 6 dollars for adults, good for the whole week. Enjoy your trip and let us know how it was.

 

[DOOM1001]

I went up in the lighthouse because I saw the Ghost Hunters episode where they caught ghostly shapes walking above them near the top of the lighthouse.I asked the lady working outside the lighthouse checking tickets if she had seen anything and at first she just nodded yes,but once she started talking she would not stop telling me how she would hear the voices of kids playing out in front of the lighthouse and how the door at the top of the lighthouse would be locked nightly but in the morning is mysteriously open and so on as the lightkeepers house also had a lot of things happen.Aside from the lighthouse St George Street has that historic feel mixed with gift shops and restaurants,I liked it.

 

[Freyja]

Wow. So many great suggestions. Thanks so much everyone! I appreciate it

 

[Crystal0608]

We drove through for an afternoon on our way home from Disney last year. Castillo de San Marcos was very nice and the view from the top was awesome! Just an fyi for the historic district- bring cash, nowhere took cards! We always use debit for everything & had to hunt down an atm to get cash. We ate at Mango Mango's at St. Augustine Beach- small diner near the ocean, fresh fruit served, good price too- dh still drools thinking of their mango.

 

[Freyja]

Can anyone recommend a boat tour in Saint Augustine?

 

[tripletots]

Try this website, you may have to copy and paste, I'm not sure if it will even work. I've never attached a link before. The boat tour info is under the activities section.

http://usparks.about.com/library/miniplanner/blfortmatanzasnm.htm

Also, I've never been on this boat tour because we never wanted to commit 50 minutes. Although I've heard it is nice.

 

[Clifton]

Good question: Has anyone did the "Dark of the Moon" tours at the lighthouse? They say to call to reserve but can I just go in and reserve? I figured i would do that while getting a suveneir for my friend at the giftshop