With Spring Break on the horizon, I thought it would be a good time to (finally) share about where we went last year on break. We road tripped to St. Augustine, Florida, in March, stopping in Cary, NC, and Charleston, SC, and we had such a great time! Joe’s parents rented a house near the beach which was really nice because it felt like we got the best of both worlds getting to drive into St. Augustine by day and staying closer to St. Augustine beach or cooking at home by night. It was also really nice to be able to enjoy slower mornings and not have to run out for breakfast and coffee! We were there for about 5 nights and we ended up with beautiful (and very windy) weather. While it wasn’t quite warm enough for my kids to swim, it was warm enough to spend time outside and take walks on the beach which I thought was perfect, especially since there was so much we wanted to see!
St. Augustine is incredibly beautiful and feels very European since it was settled by the Spanish in 1565 and is the oldest establishment in the US. We went into town without much of a plan and only really spent 2 days (more like a day and a half) in the historic part of St. Augustine. While we did and saw a lot, I think either a second whole day or third half day would be necessary if you wanted to do all of the touristy things in the historic district. We dedicated a separate day to the Alligator Farm, lighthouse, and visiting a local marina, since they’re not as easily accessed via walking. The Fountain of Youth is in the “off the beaten path” category, too, but most else that I listed below is walkable and in town. We were also a little choosy about what we went into because pretty much every attraction requires an admission fee and it adds up quickly.
THINGS TO DO & SEE IN ST. AUGUSTINE
This was the first thing we saw as we were walking from the parking garage to St. George Street. Built in 1801 and made of coquina, the Old City Gates were part of the city wall called the Cubo line and were the entrance to St. George Street.
2. Walk the Waterfront
There’s a lot to do on the waterfront including the Castillo, restaurants, shopping, and the Pirate Museum. We walked over to the docks towards the end of the day after touring the Colonial Quarter on one of our last days because the kids wanted to see the boats. It’s just so pretty!
3. Tour a Historic House
There are so many to choose from! We decided to tour the Jimenez-Fatio House. It was built in 1798 by Don Xoratio Jimenez for his wife and children and is made of coquina, rock made of shell fragments that have been cemented together. It was later turned into a boarding house and has been owned and operated by women for most of it’s lifetime. There’s also the Villa Zorayda Museum, the Oldest House Museum Complex, the Governor’s House Museum, and more!
4. Walk down St. George Street
This was a really cool experience. It’s a walking only street (so, no cars) and there are so many retaurants, ice cream shops, and stores to stop in! We could have easily just spent half a day walking up and down this street and just looking around. The street is a historical site on its own, dating back to St. Augustine’s founding in 1565!
This fort is a National Monument built by the Spanish to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route around 1695. It’s built out of coquina, a porous stone (actually made of tiny shells) and it’s significant because it made the fort nearly indestructible as it doesn’t crumble under cannon fire (it’s compresses)! Even though we just walked around the exterior and didn’t go inside, it was really cool.
6. Go to the Pirate Museum
This was infinitely cooler than I had anticipated. There’s a scavenger hunt for kids which made it a lot more fun for them and so much pirate history! I think kids and adults enjoyed this equally and we all learned something (or a few things!). Definitely recommend seeing this, and especially so if anyone in your group is at all interested in pirates. There’s also a Shipwreck Museum that looks interesting!
The Lighthouse isn’t far from the Alligator Farm and it was really cool to see up close. We ultimately decided not to tour it since there is an additional fee and we had already paid for the not inexpensive (but worth it!) alligator farm. We decided to grab lunch on the water instead but I would tour the lighthouse if we went back!
8. Take a Walk on the Beach
We actually stayed in Crescent Beach and we were right across the street from the beach. One of our favorite things to do is to have our coffee on the beach so one morning, Joe and I took the kids over before breakfast. The walk over the dunes was almost as stunning as the beach itself!
10. See the Alligator Farm
Technically, it’s the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park and it’s totally worth spending some time there. It was really cool! There were so many exhibits and alligators, plus it was nesting season so we saw a ton of incredibly beautiful birds like the Roseate Spoonbill and Blue Heron! We went on an overcast morning and then, after checking out the lighthouse, went to the Conch Marina for lunch (they’re all very close together). It’s right on the water, the food was delicious, and we walked the pier afterwards and saw a bunch of pelicans!
More Things to Do & See:
1. Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
2. Aviles Street
3. Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth
4. The Colonial Quarter
5. Old Jail Museum
6. Old Trolley Town Tours
Where We Ate:
1. Salt Life- in St. Augustine Beach, really good food, prepare for a wait
2. Meehan’s Irish Pub
3. Tedi’s Ice Cream
4. Crabby’s Beachside- in St. Augustine Beach
5. Casa Reina Taqueria & Tequila- they had the best Mexican food!
6. Conch Marina- near the Lighthouse and Alligator Farm, on the water
7. St. Augustine Seafood Company (none of us got seafood but it was delicious!)
8. Cousteau’s Waffle & Milkshake Bar
Where to Stay:
We stayed in a house on Crescent Beach with Joe’s family and it was really nice to be able to have our own food and space. We also enjoyed not having to rush out in the mornings for breakfast and waking up with actual coffee from a drip coffee machine (we were lucky and Joe’s sister made coffee every morning!). I think I would rent a house again but probably closer to St. Augustine Beach so that we could walk for coffee or to restaurants. Or I’d at least want to be on the beach because there’s a coastal highway that separates the beach from everywhere else that can be tough to cross.
If you’d prefer to stay in downtown St. Augustine, we passed by the Casablanca Inn on the Bay and it looked gorgeous.
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