MamaBearTeacher Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Is there a hotel on/near the beach and near the historic district that is clean and reasonably priced? We are thinking of spending 4 days there. We will have a rental car. Do you need to drive to the different attractions or can you walk to many? Are the streets somewhat hard to maneuver/park (narrow like Europe) or is driving there similar to anywhere else in Florida? Any recommendations of what to see etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Did you see this thread? There are several ideas there. If you want to stay at a hotel on the beach, you will then have to drive to most area attractions. However, it is possible to drive, park, and see several attractions in the area by walking to them. There is a large parking garage where you can park all day while you walk the old city and many of its attractions. You could do the fort, Ripley's, the pirate museum, St. George Street, and various others this way. Old Florida Museum and Ft. Mose would be a bit of a walk, while the Alligator Farm and the Lighthouse are on the other side of the bridge nearer the beach. Some of the streets are narrow, but driving around isn't difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 https://maps.google....ps?hl=en&tab=wl This is our experience from 3 years ago: If you notice, both beaches are across a bridge from the main historic portion of town. You can actually see the fort in the satelite image. Most of the "tourist" attractions are going to be west of the fort in the main portion of town. The large nature parks are south of St. Augustine beach and along the coast. If you go even farther south there is a dophin preserve but there is a fee for visiting, I think. It is located at the old Marine Land site- the views from that site are beautiful and the drive is interesting as well. If you go all the way through old town (west of the fort) and south there is a small mall that several years ago hosted a free museum of the history of African Americans who settled in the region. I would check to make sure it is still there though. There is a visitor center slightly north and west of the fort and a large wooden, fenced in playground behind the center that was popular with our kids. North of the fort on the main strip is the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum- we almost always went to this and the kids enjoyed it. It's not free of course. Check the visitors' center for coupon books. While I greatly disliked the dogs on St. Augustine beach (DS is anaphylactic to dog saliva), the beach itself has smoother sand than Vilano. There are very interesting rock outcropping and a pier on the Vilano side that are worth visiting though. Don't let the kids climb out on the rocks- one wave and they will be in bad shape. (We were warned by locals because it is VERY tempting to explore the holes in the rocks.) Read a book about tide pools before you go. When we went to Vilano, local fisherman were net fishing and let the kids help! (The fishing takes place around the corner past the outcropping.) Driving in Old Town is tight and it is probably better to park and walk if you can. Hotels near Old Town won't be near beaches and vice versa. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Is there a hotel on/near the beach and near the historic district that is clean and reasonably priced? We are thinking of spending 4 days there. We will have a rental car. Do you need to drive to the different attractions or can you walk to many? Are the streets somewhat hard to maneuver/park (narrow like Europe) or is driving there similar to anywhere else in Florida? Any recommendations of what to see etc.? I went about 35 years ago. No help here! I really only remember that fort and the cannons. You have to see that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 We visit for an afternoon most years. The old town area area and fort are fun. We usually do street parking by the water if possible--I think it is free. You can also do paid short term parking at the fort. We also see dolphins in the intercoastal usually.:) We plan to go to the fort with the ferry this year thanks to the other thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 We stayed in St. Augustine for a week in 2011 and had a fantastic time. We stayed at the beach in a condo, which was SO much more spacious than a hotel and was right on the beach. This is the resort rental agency we used - they were fantastic to work with, and came highly recommended from other friends who had also used them. When you go to the Old City, plan to park in the garage and walk the entire time. It's very easy to walk. I highly recommend the Spanish Quarter museum area, the Castillo, and the Columbia Restaurant for lunch. If you go to the Castillo on the weekend, they will actually fire the cannons. Very cool. The Alligator Farm was much more interesting than I expected. Their feeding demonstrations were excellent. My DS still talks about going there, and it's been a year and a half since our trip. 2013 is going to be a HUGE year for St. Augustine, commemorating the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon's landing there. I would imagine it would be crowded in April for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I don't know about hotels, but don't miss eating gourmet popsicles at The Hyppo. They are delicious!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 The streets here aren't hard to maneuver. If you stay in the historic district, you can walk everywhere or get a pass for the trolley which you can hop on and off all over the downtown area. If you're driving and parking downtown then you will have to pay at a station or meter between 8am-5pm. After 5pm, there is no fee at the meters. Parking is also free at metered spots on Sunday, except at the Castillo parking lot. We live here but still visit the Castillo, Alligator Farm, Lightner Museum (you can eat after at Cafe Alcazar which is at the museum - it's really good), Fountain of Youth, and historic district often. The Lighthouse would also be fun if you don't see them often. There is a rock wall that you can walk on that goes around the Castillo and view the intercoastal and boats. We always spot dolphins on this walk, and then like to picnic on the hill. For food, we love Scarlett O'Hara's, The Floridian, and The Bunnery Cafe. As someone else already said, The Hyppo has awesome popsicles. These are all in the historic district. As far as beaches go, I would pay the car fee and visit Anastasia State Park. The beach is cleaner, there are no pets allowed, they have a gift shop, snack shop, bathrooms, and showers. I'm not help on lodging, but there are several bed & breakfasts and hotels in the historic district that would make visiting the area easy and walkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBearTeacher Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thanks for all the advice! I am taking notes. Yum popsicles! How warm will it be mid-march? Will we be able to swim? It seems like the best bet might be to get a hotel that has trolley pick-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBearTeacher Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 We are also thinking of driving to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. Is it worth it if we are in St. Augustine for 4 days. Is it nice? Are there a lot of ticks there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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