St Augustine / Daytona

[saratoga2005]

Starting to plan next years vacation. Is either St Augustine / Daytona worth a visit. We fancy doing something different next year and see more of Florida. What sort of travelling time are we looking at from LBV? Also, if we do decide to go whats there.

Any replies would be appreciated.

[FLGirl-UKNow]

Both are great options for time away from the theme parks.

Travel time from Lake Buena Vista to St. Augstine is estimated at just over 2 hours. This is probably the city limits so I would plan for at least 2-1/2 to get to the historical section of town.

Travel time from Lake Buena Vist to Daytona Beach is estimated at 1 hour 22 minutes but again I would add to that and plan for 1-3/4 hour to get you over to the beach.

As for things to do they both have their own history (St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States) with a variety of things to do. Bed & Breakfast options are very popular in St. Augustine and can be booked up pretty far in advance so I would plan ahead for this if you want to stay at a B&B. There are plenty of hotel options otherwise.

Take a look at their websites for things to do, places to eat, places to stay, etc..

St. Augustine Website (http://www.oldcity.com/)

Daytona Beach Website (http://www.daytonabeach.com/)

*Keep in mind that February, July and October are very heavy months for Daytona Beach as this is race week and bike week time. Spring Break use to be equally as busy but it has died off a bit but is still consider a peak travel time.

[*source*]

Daytona does get really busy...

St Augustine would probably be better ~ friends of ours got married there and they just love the place!

[Nicole]

I would prefer Daytona at least you have a beach and they have some old shops and a fantastic fish restaurant.I found that St Augustine was still a bit manufactured even though it was the oldest town

[joblot]

Just south of St Augustines there is Anastasia National Park which has probably the best beach I have been to on the Atlantic Coast and also Fort Matanzas National Monument if you are into American History. You can fit in St Augustines and the other two in a day

[FLGirl-UKNow]

Anastasia Island is just 6 miles from St. Augustine and it is a great beach to go to. The beach itself is 4 miles long.

Anastasia State Park (http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/)

[tiggers friend]

Visited St Augustine last year and had a really good day out. History is good and some nice, different shopping options. Good choice of places to eat and get drinks.

[saratoga2005]

Thanaks for the feed back. I definitely fancy going...must now persuade the kids !!

[truesdpr]

We spent Easter weekend in St Augustine a couple of years back and had a great time. It's really lovely with plenty to do. We stayed in the Casa Monica Hotel which was central and very good - we got a really good rate even for that weekend. www.oldcity.com
We drove back down the coast and through Daytona but didn't spend any time there so can't comment on it specifically but we plan to go back to St.Augustine at some point.

Pam.
:wavey:

[wrpac00]

We spent Easter weekend in St Augustine a couple of years back and had a great time. It's really lovely with plenty to do. We stayed in the Casa Monica Hotel which was central and very good - we got a really good rate even for that weekend. www.oldcity.com (http://www.oldcity.com)
We drove back down the coast and through Daytona but didn't spend any time there so can't comment on it specifically but we plan to go back to St.Augustine at some point.

Pam.
:wavey:

We are planning to do exactly that next summer.

I did earmark a hotel but will take a look at the one you stayed in to compare.

[nbodyhome]

We may go to St. Augustine for our anniversary, there are a lot of bed and breakfast options I found on Trip Advisor (many with excellent reviews).

[castanea1985]

Hi
We love St.Augustine.
Disney and Universal are fantastic, but to steep yourself in real American history is superb.
Take the train ride, it will take you round all the different places of interest, then you can get off where ever you fancy.
We enjoyed the old school house in the spanish area, and the tour of the indian settlements.
I still think about the 5 foot europeans getting off their boats and coming face to face with 7 foot native indians. Facinating! A great trip for all the family.
Tracy

[woodville]

Saint Augustine is definitely worth a visit but not really one for the kids. We had two or three days there last year and loved every minute visiting all the museums and ancient homes. Make sure you get a ticket for one of the road trains where you can hop on and off at about fourteen different stops to see the sights. It's a real step back in time.

Colin

[truesdpr]

Have to say my DD LOVED St.Augustine. She was 6 when we visted and loved the old schoolhouse and we spent ages in there and at the fort. She had a great time climbing on the canons and watching the talk with the guy dressed as a soldier firing the musket! She still has a little brass canon sitting on her windowsill from the fort. She liked the boat ride round the harbour and the little train that takes you round town and loved eating out in the lovely restaurants. There was lots of emphasis on pirates which she was really into at the time and some people were dressed up that you could have photos with. Some lovely litle shops as well where she bought a pirate T-shirt with her holiday $$$$.

Pam.
:wavey:

[castanea1985]

My kids loved St.Augustine too! They loved the bumpy train and going in the old 'school' house!
Tracy