St. Augustine, FL in a day – travel guide
As most of you know, Tyler and I just got back from our Adult/Business trip to the South. It was an awesome trip and we couldn’t be more thankful for Tyler’s Mom and Aunt for flying down to San Diego to watch our kids. If you want to see some of the live action, then be sure to follow me on Instagram (@jennysilva84) and watch my stories. Okay, so now that the formalities are all done – back to the post.
Our trip spanned over a 7 day period, and we spent the first 2 in St. Augustine. We flew into Jacksonville and took a 40 minute drive to our VRBO in St. Augustine. We didn’t get going until the next day because we got in pretty late, so we really only had 1 day to do everything, which was totally doable. We were located right in the middle of everything, so we ended up walking to a lot of our destinations.
When I was doing my research on what to do, I pretty much came across the same things on every site, so I based everything off of that.
I had mapped everything out so we wouldn’t have to go back and forth, however, Tyler likes to mess with me and get me out of my comfort zone, so we went out of order. Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth was the furthest out for us and was supposed to be first – but it wasn’t…. The entry is lined with Oak Trees covered in Spanish Moss, and just looks like something out of a fairytale. We decided not to go in because the fountain is covered, so that kinda ruined it for me. There’s a lot of history there so I would recommend checking it out if that’s your thing. I just wanted to see a fountain.
First up What ended up being first up – we walked the Bridge of Lions, which is a drawbridge that takes you into St Augustine Beach. We only walked halfway because it was so frickin’ windy and I was TERRIFIED! You get some pretty awesome views on the walk, so it’s definitely worth doing. We then drove around St Augustine Beach to do a little exploring and stopped by to check out the beach, which was full of broken shells because of the crazy storm that passed through. The pier behind us is a fishing pier that you have to pay to get access to. We weren’t fishing so there was no need for us to do that. If you’re into gator action, then you should visit the Alligator Farm that’s on this side of town as well.
We ended up driving back to our VRBO and walking to Flagler College to do our own tour, and to the other destinations because parking is not your friend, and probably Karma kicking me in the ass for not working out like I was supposed to before our trip. If you’re not good on feet, then there are hop on hop off trolley tours that take you around.
The Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine is gorgeous and has so much history. It’s right down the street from Flagler College so it was very easy to get to.
We then made our way to St George St, which is full of shops, restaurants, and the oldest wood school house. I heard some great things about Cousteau’s so we stopped in for ice cream, and it did not disappoint. Tip: Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because of the cobblestone roads.
Across the street is the Castillo de San Marco, which is the oldest masonry fort in the US. This is something that I’m sure my son would think is pretty awesome. There are reenactors that are in period dress that demonstrate cannon firings, and when we were there – gun firing.
After we got back to our VRBO to get ready for dinner, we went to the San Sebastian Winery. I wish I would’ve taken more pictures on this tour because I learned so much about wine and it was fun! The wine tasting is free with a tour, which is free as well, and takes off every 20-25 minutes. There’s also a free distillery tour and tasting right next door at the St Augustine Distillery. I really wanted to check this one out but we ended up not doing it because we met up with one of our friends for dinner. Long story short with this one – visit these 2 places before you head out for dinner. What better way to pre party then with free drinks?!?!?!
So that pretty much rounded out our visit to St Augustine. It was pretty cool to visit the Nation’s oldest city and learn about all the history around, and even though this was an adult trip, I think we would’ve enjoyed this a whole bunch more with our kids. Have you been to St Augustine before? If so, I’d love to hear what some of your must see and do’s are?
Wow! You have some incredible pictures from your trip! The place you stayed was absolutely gorgeous! I will have to make a trip to St. Augustine soon!
Thank you. You should definitely stay tuned for the rest of my Southern trip series.
how picturesque is this place!i have not been but now i want to just for the sake of photoshoots, it is quite unique!
It’s definitely worth a visit.
St Augustine looks so beautiful. I love to travel and I will have to add this to my list of places to go to.
It’s definitely a must. After all – it is America’s oldest city.
I love St. Augustine! We used to go with our close friends. He has since passed away, but we’ll always think of this couple when we think about St. Augustine. We used to stay at the Blue/Green there and always ate at Harry’s- we loved the outdoor patio and music and the great food!
I will definitely be saving this post! We mostly hung out- but would love to explore when we return! It’s such a pretty place!
What great memories to have. I believe we ate at Harry’s as well! I think I’ll do a food tour next time.
Every Snap is worth it. It looked like a cool photo album.The place looks really wonderful and felt like I was there with you all. Thank you for the imagination trip. :p .Will make some day to this place,once I can afford it.
Thank you and I’m sure you will be able to one day. You’re a blogger as well so just keep at it and keep reaching out.
I am blogger but not a travel one.
Awesome place and lovely pictures.. I want to visit this place 😊
You should definitely put it on your bucket list.
So many great photos right here. Looks like I have found another place I need to add to my travel list 😉
You definitely should!
St. Augustine is one of my favorite places to visit in Florida. The historic district is so much fun! I’m heading there next month and can’t wait to get a Cousteau’s waffle. I’ve never tried one of their milkshakes. I need to add that to my list!
They have awesome flavors! It’s not a long menu, but still hard to choose.
And it’s so cozy inside! Do they still have the “get a discount if you wear a red hat” promotion?
I didn’t know about that so I’m not sure. That’s good info to know though.
What a beautiful area. I’ve always wanted to go here. One day, I hope. I would love to check out the fort. I am all about history.
This is definitely the place for you then. It’s the oldest city in America.
Fun place! Personally I never been to St. Augustine I love visiting and seeing lots of historical architecture. Such a stunning designs! The Cathedral Basilica is on my bucket list!
It’s gorgeous inside with an interesting story and history behind it as well.
This place looks amazing. Such a lovely blend of architecture and scenery. I’ll never say no to a beach. Great travel pick.
Thank you. Be sure to stay tuned because I’m going to be posting about the rest of this road trip, in the next couple of weeks.
I have never been there but it I had a chance to go there I would go everywhere to see how beautiful this place is.
That’ll be 2 or 3 days then, lol.
What a nice and sweet trip! Would want to be able to do something like that anywhere for day. Then you can say that it was a day well spent. 😀
It definitely was a day well spent. I really need to do this more where I live – San Diego. People travel here to vacation and I don’t even take advantage of it.
I’d love to visit St. Augustine. It’s not that far from me. I’d have been scared of the bridge too!
You should definitely check it out. I would just be prepared to pay for parking and do lots of walking.
Oh wow St. Augustine sounds like a really great stop to visit. Would love to see the Castillo de San Marco cause it looks so rich in history.
It really is. You should definitely check it out.
Love your pictures!! St. Augustine looks a great place for travel! I like to visit this place!
These are all great photos! It looks like you had a great time. I have never been to St Augustine but I’ll be sure to check some of these places out if we ever get the chance to travel there. Thanks for sharing!
Such great photos from your trip, I will need to visit this fountain of youth! lol
Thank you! I think a great night cream would be a better investment, lol.