St. Augustine

[nw6675]

We just decided to tack on 2 nights in (well, near) St. Augustine on our way to 9 nights at Disney. Yoo hoo! We would check in on a Saturday afternoon and leave midday Monday for Disney. We are staying on a cool farm so will be hanging out there some of Saturday and Sunday morning. The only thing we really want to do in St. Augustine is the fort. Is half a day or a few hours plenty? Would you go on Saturday or on your way out of town on Sunday?

Does it make a difference that it will be November and the weekend after Thanksgiving?

Thanks!

 

[kymom99]

You only need an hour or so at the fort. Check their schedule. Last time I was there they weren’t open every day.

Consider going to the fountain of youth. I was pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

 

[kymom99]

I’ll also add, the fort is walking distance to St. George street. lots to see and do in that area.

 

[White Cat]

Maybe an hour for the Fort. St Augustine is very over rated in my opinion. It’s one giant junk store.

 

[Wendy31]

We visit St. Augustine 2-3 times each year, &, in fact, just returned from a 2-week visit this past Wednesday.

You can easily do the fort in 2-3 hours.

November should be pleasant weather-wise - in summer, the fort can get miserably hot & humid, especially if you’re not used to heat in the south.

During the holiday season, St. Augustine has “Nights of Lights,“ &, if I’m remembering correctly the lights may be officially turned on either the week before Thanksgiving or the weekend directly after.

”Nights of Lights” is extremely popular, & the crowds will continue to grow the closer it gets to Christmas.

The historical district - where the fort is located - is also small & doesn’t always handle the extra crowds & traffic well - traffic can get very congested. The earlier in the day will be less crowded - the crowds build throughout the day.

That said, all the lights are gorgeous, & the historical district is just beautiful during the holidays.

Across from the fort is the Pirate Museum which was designed by a former Disney imagineer & is very well done.

Our favorite restaurants in the historical district are The Columbia, Floridian, & Harry’s. OC White’s is good too. Both Harry’s & OC White’s have ghost stories associated w/ their buildings. Our favorite brunch is The Ice Plant - which is located over the St. Augustine Distillery. We also really enjoy Prohibition Kitchen. Casa de Reina & River & Fort are 2 relatively new restaurants, & both have good food & gorgeous ambience.

The Tini Martini Bar is a great bar w/ a lot of history - they famously stayed open during one of the hurricanes & were featured on CNN.

The fort is right there at the Bay which is a lovely place to walk, &, across from the fort, is the historic district w/ tons of interesting shops & little cafes & bakeries in addition to the restaurants.

EDITED TO ADD - the Fort is NOT one giant junk store. The architecture of it - made out of coquina - is amazing, & there is so much history & culture to the fort. Yes, it’s older & is showing its age, but it’s a wonderful piece of not only American history - but also world history.

 

[HopperFan]

Here now ~

There is a parking deck behind the visitors center across the road from Fort. Fort has a parking lot but it is small and fills up fast. I wouldn't waste tons of time looking for parking, just head to deck.

Fort does not take long at all. Getting closer check it's schedule to see if they will be shooting cannons, fun to be there when they do that.

For sure use some time to wander St. George St and side streets if nothing else it's America's Oldest City with lots of really cool things to do. Might want to see if you would like to come back.

Yes lights go on before that weekend so if you can be downtown at night it is beautiful!

Very foodie town so if you like good food, many restaurants are chef owned.

We have visited for decades and bought 7 years ago ~ barely scratched surface of all there is to do.

https://www.visitstaugustine.com/

 

[Minnesota!]

It's FAR from a junk store

Such a cool town with so much history ...presented in kitschy and non kitschy ways. Gorgeous architecture, too.

Fort will only take an hour or two. But, allow time for Night of Lights, St George Street, Fountain of Youth, quick trip to the pier in SAB, Greek Church exhibit, etc. Literally, endless things to do, see, eat, experience, learn.

Enjoy!!

 

[Stratman50th]

We like the trolly to get around. There's parking at the trolly depot.
We also took a trolly tour one evening after Christmas and the lights really were very nice.
We too love St. Augustine

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

We went during the summer a couple years ago. We took that trolly thing around town. One day was plenty, there was a lot of cool stuff to see. If we had more time, probably could have dug deeper into some of the stuff. Unfortunately for us, it was SO HOT that day that I was really in the mood to get back inside to some AC. The time of year you are going, I would hope it wouldn't be too hot.

 

[HopperFan]

Maybe an hour for the Fort. St Augustine is very over rated in my opinion. It’s one giant junk store.

Could not be farther from the truth.

 

[GSDGlitter]

Another St. Augustine loving family here! On our most recent trip, we enjoyed the self-guided tour of the St. Augustine Distillery and then toured Flagler College - stunning architecture that felt a bit like a warm weather Hogwarts - before making our way toward the historic district for a late lunch. We've also enjoyed visits to the St. Augustine lighthouse and the Lightner Museum and there aren't many sights more beautiful than the Bridge of Lions at sunset. If you want to keep with the "fort" theme and have the time, Fort Matanzas is about 15 miles south of the city. It's free, the rangers are so knowledgeable, and the drive along A1A is fun.

 

[nw6675]

Awesome! Thanks for all the first hand experiences.

 

[disneyseniors]

We had the good fortune to take a trip down the Florida Coast on the Atlantic side when we first got married. This was in late 60's I think. I know, it was ages ago.
We stopped at St. Augustine and loved it. We toured the fort and wandered around. There weren't many tourist attractions back then.
We traveled to Miami, crossed below the Okechobee (sp?) lake by many poor people around the southern lake. Then we worked our way up the Gulf coast. That area was very depressed at that time.
The thing I remember most is how beautiful and peaceful St Augustine was back then.
Even WDW was not built at that time, which is hard to believe.
We went to the one Marineland in Florida at the time right on the beach, but can't remember the town, on Atlantic side.
There was hardly any tourism at all and we went through a lot of beautiful orange groves on our drive.
I know you will love St. Augustine too