St Augustine?

[countthestars]

My family is looking for a place to go for a few nights during Thanksgiving. We will be flying from MA and the group is my parents (in their 60s), my family (2 adults and 2 kids 11 & 9), and my sister’s family (2 adults and 2 kids 9 & 7).

We previously did the Great Smokey Mountains - pigeon Forge, Dollywood, and Nashville. We like to have a variety of activities to do and don’t want to only sit on a beach. Some ideas were Colonial Williamsburg and St Augustine.

Has anyone been to St Augustine? How is it? What’s it like?

[underwaterrhymes]

I love St. Augustine! It’s super charming and lots of good Greek food. I’m totally useless with specific suggestions because it’s been probably 20 years since I went and it was a girls’ trip when I did so lots of eating and drinking and very little else. (I loved in Orlando at the time, and so it was a quick weekend visit for us), but there is a lot to do there. I do remember the Fountain of Youth being cool.

(ETA - I just googled and I think I’m misremembering about the Greek food lol. I’m useless. But it’s a fun city. I do know that.)

[VillainV]

We did a multi-generational family trip there a few years ago and it was great. We rented a house on Villano beach. Even in December we could hang out on the beach (not in the water, but on the sand). There are lots of good restaurants. Some nice spas. They have trolley Christmas light tours of downtown which are kind of fun, and I imagine will start around thanksgiving.

[basilosaurus]

Apr 6, 2024 20:19:43 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

I love St. Augustine! It’s super charming and lots of good Greek food. I’m totally useless with specific suggestions because it’s been probably 20 years since I went and it was a girls’ trip when I did so lots of eating and drinking and very little else. (I loved in Orlando at the time, and so it was a quick weekend visit for us), but there is a lot to do there. I do remember the Fountain of Youth being cool.

(ETA - I just googled and I think I’m misremembering about the Greek food lol. I’m useless. But it’s a fun city. I do know that.)

You might be thinking tarpon springs. I'm guessing who went there, too, as you lived closer.

I went to St Augustine as a kid, so I can't help with suggestions or adult did, but I absolutely loved it. I was super into the little house books, so I really loved all the historical stuff. What stands out in my memories are Castillo de San Marco, the school house, and the fountain of youth.

[underwaterrhymes]

Apr 7, 2024 3:29:47 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Apr 6, 2024 20:19:43 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

I love St. Augustine! It’s super charming and lots of good Greek food. I’m totally useless with specific suggestions because it’s been probably 20 years since I went and it was a girls’ trip when I did so lots of eating and drinking and very little else. (I loved in Orlando at the time, and so it was a quick weekend visit for us), but there is a lot to do there. I do remember the Fountain of Youth being cool.

(ETA - I just googled and I think I’m misremembering about the Greek food lol. I’m useless. But it’s a fun city. I do know that.)

You might be thinking tarpon springs. I'm guessing who went there, too, as you lived closer.

I went to St Augustine as a kid, so I can't help with suggestions or adult did, but I absolutely loved it. I was super into the little house books, so I really loved all the historical stuff. What stands out in my memories are Castillo de San Marco, the school house, and the fountain of youth.

YES! It was Tarpon Sorings. 😂 But St. Augustine is still lovely. Just not a location for good Greek food.

[tamarindy]

I live about an hour from STA and it’s a wonderful place to visit. We go often and alternate between visiting the historic area and the beaches. For a first visit you definitely want to stay downtown to experience all the old stuff. The only time we avoid it is in the thick of the holiday season because the crowds are bonkers. You should be better off at Thanksgiving though than later.

[jlt19]

I went to college there and go back about once a year, sometimes with sometimes without my kids. I’ll be there in May to meet up with my college roommates (just us girls) for 4 nights and I’m SO excited.

Anyway, with kids:
#1-trolley tour. Super touristy, but fun way to get on/off, learn about some history and not half to walk a ton. Parking downtown sucks, so it’s helpful for that too!

On the tour you can get off and do all the touristy things, that are also kind of fun:
Old Jail-kids liked
Ripleys museum -kids liked but it is the same as all the others
Fountain of Youth (boring IMO)
Alligator farm (probably kids #1) and if anyone’s adventurous, the zip line is cool).
Lighthouse -meh
Distillery tour
Visit the fort (or just walk around outside the walls to save $)
And of course strolling down St George Street is always fun.
You could do a walking ghost tour at night

I’m not a big foodie and I’m sure there are MANY places that have come/gone since I lived there 20 years ago, but my favorite will always be a bay side table at A1A Brewery. If you’re lucky, you can see dolphins playing by the boats.

[circa1978]

I got engaged in St Augustine. We stayed at the Casa Monica hotel, which was lovely and is still in operation. I thought the Fountain of Youth was charming - otherwise it has been many years since I was there but it's a pretty spot and St John's County in general is pretty as well.

[basilosaurus]

I remember canoeing st John's river as a teen, but that must have been when I visited relatives in Ocala.

That was a 3 gen day trip. Iirc it was super chill. Which may or may not suit younger kids. We were 4 adults and 2 kids, and my sister was bored, but I loved it. I'm not sure if they have that closer to the coast

[gardengal]

I think with St Augustine you gotta embrace the Old Florida kitsch.

In addition to A1A Aleworks, I’ve really enjoyed The Floridian (which is kinda Old FL kitsch itself iirc).

I’d be a long daytrip but you can also drive down to Kennedy Space Center

[redpenmama]

We've done several family vacations in St. Augustine and loved it. The historic district gives you lots to see and do beyond the beaches (which are also great). We'd go to the beach at Anastasia State Park, and they were pretty and quiet.

[rooster222]

We've been a few times but we always stay at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra which is between St A and Jacksonville. It's a resort with a shuttle to their beach club which has another pool, restaurant, and private beach.

We usually do a mix of beach, resort, shopping in Jacksonville, hanging out downtown St A, some history stuff, and something active like kayaking.

Highly recommend the Fish Camp restaurants if you enjoy seafood.

I'm partial to Gulf Coast beaches but I really love the beach in Ponte Vedra. It's big, clean, never crowded. Last time we were there I went for a walk in the morning and we could see dolphins swimming from the beach.

[followyourarrow]

We'll be there at Thanksgiving this year! So far our plans include the alligator park, the trolley tour, and a distillery tour.

[DarcyLongfellow]

St. Augustine is great!!!

I live just 20-30 minutes north of there.

I'd probably stay in condos on the beach. Downtown is fun, but with kids I think you'd be happier with the beach to romp on.

Definitely do the trolley tour - I'd recommend the regular one, not the special Christmas lights/carols one because it's super overpriced and you can just wander and see the lights for free.

The Fountain of Youth is seriously so cool. The actual fountain part of it is just right at the beginning (and kinda cheesy), but the rest is a huge area with a recreated native American settlement, then areas from when settlers came (with a working blacksmith area). The people who work there are awesome.

The Lightner Museum is quirky but fun, and Flagler College is pretty to walk around. Just slightly north on A1A is Guana Preserve (GTM) which has walking trails along the intracoastal.

If you aren't just interested in the beach, I'd stay in St. Augustine, not in Ponte Vedra. Ponte Vedra is a resort area, but it's mostly just residential. You can get to either downtown Jax or downtown St. Augustine in 30 minutes, but you aren't in a great area for activities.

The weather here should be perfect to do things outside. Not swimming weather unless you're used to swimming in like, Cape Cod or something, but perfect for outside activities.