St Augustine

[stardoman]

Hi,

We were in MacDonalds the other day and a stranger came up to us and struck up a conversation. He's lived in Florida all his life and told us to make sure we visited St. Augustine.

We've always concentrated on the theme parks but this man was so enthusiastic that I'm thinking about going their in our last week (we are in Orlando at the moment).

What is there to do in St. Augustine and is it worth the 2 -3 hour drive from where we are staying?

Thanks.

[YorkshireT]

Florida is a wonderful state. It’s a shame to only go to Orlando. Time to rectify I’d suggest!

St Augustine is definitely worth a trip. I stayed there 4 nights last year and loved it. It’s the oldest settled city in USA, a few hundred years before the Pilgrims made landfall. Great old town, very atmospheric. Fort built by the British. Lovely place.

Also get yourself to the Gulf Coast at some point. Further South you go the nicer it gets, we like Naples area in particular.

Additionally the panhandle is wonderful, particularly places like Seaside.

Florida is nearly the size of England, and is quite varied with some real natural beauty a million miles away from Orlando. Not knocking Orlando as I like going to Orlando a lot myself. We find a mix of a holiday between parks and somewhere else is best.

[Universal VR]

Last year we did a trip to Myrtle Beach, Charleston, St Augustine then finishing in Orlando. St Augustine is probably the only one of those places I’d not go back to. I can’t say what it was that I didn’t like about it though. It’s quite popular among Dibbers but it just didn’t do it for me at all. A few highlights though were the chocolate factory tour and the old schoolhouse. OH enjoyed the distillery and the Castillo de San Marcos was interesting too. I guess it very much depends on what kind of things you enjoy.

[YorkshireT]

Some photos of St Augustine last year

[stardoman]

Thanks.

Love the photos, the ones of the craftsmen make me think of San Diego.

I've been looking at Trip Advisor and have noticed that there are bus tours. Think my sons would love the chocolate factory. I've booked one night there but can cancel. We were going to have another night at Universal for the front of line passes, but migth do this instead. We've already had one night had Universal, so pretty much done everything.

I visited here as a teenager with my parents as my aunt had a house near Clearwater. Would love to go back there.

[mick]

Oldest continuously inhabited European settled community in continental USA. Only been once as a day trip but a lovely place just to wander.

We parked at the old jail and caught the trolley tour.

Mick

[wanye]

Originally Posted by stardoman

I've been looking at Trip Advisor and have noticed that there are bus tours.

See more...

i'm assuming you mean the trolley tours

trolleytours/st-augustine

buy a pass, then jump on and off as you wander. unless its changed, its valid for 48 hours, so i'd recommend staying over and spending a couple of days wandering around, theres tons to do!

[IndianaMac]

Did two nights there last August - loved it, such a change of pace.

Tours bang on about the Flagler dude a lot, he was evidently the local JR Ewing Patriarch (/tongue in cheek)... it's actually an interesting history, and a wee bit dark (Matanzas River? Massacre/Killing/Slaughter).

San Sebastian Winery and the Distillery were obvious draws, chocolate factory for tyke, the Castillo de San Marcos... on foot around the Historic District... really enjoyed it.

As for the drive, we did the freeway to Ormond Beach (about an hour), stopped for an IHOP lunch, then stuck to the A1A Historic Coast Road all the way up (adds about twenty minutes on to the 50/60 min trip the I-95 would've been). Great drive, beautiful coastal scenery (though the properties around Flagler and Painters Hill had me buying extra Euromillions tickets!). We came back the same way - so much more pleasant than getting lost in a sea of trucks and rigs on the interstate.

[wanye]

if you go, check out events at the st augustine amphitheater. went to see chvrches/death cab for cutie there a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic! lovely open air venue

pizzalleys in the old town and salt life crab shack on the a1a opposite the beach are nice places to eat

also, another vote for san sebastian winery (and their orlando counterpart lakeridge winery on US27) - free tours and tastings!

[Jennywren]

We are planning to return to St Augustine for a couple of nights in October to get away from the Theme Park madness for a while. Another vote for the A1A route its fantastic.

This time we are also hoping to do a short stop at the St Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. The Restaurants are great too. But best part of our stay by far is sitting on the porch watching the sunset over the water and the bridge going up and down with the water lapping just feet away from where we are sitting. Beautiful.