St Augustine, Atlantic Coast

Travel distance/time from Florida Delight (139 miles: 2 hours 17 minutes)

St. Augustine is the oldest city within the borders of continental United States and was established in 1565 by a Spanish Admiral.

We went for the day when we were staying at the coast at Daytona from where the drive was just over an hour. It was a very scenic drive along the coast up the A1A. From Orlando it is quite a drive but it is a wonderful place so really worth trying to get there.

As the oldest city there is of course a lot of history and it is very well set up for tourism as it does attract a lot of visitors. We started our day by driving to the  parking next to the Old Jail Complex at 167 San Marco Avenue where there is free parking for those who go on the hop on hop off trolley bus tour. This trolley bus tour takes an hour if you do the whole loop without getting off and there is full commentary from the driver about the history and places of interest.

Before starting the trolley bus tour we went into the Oldest Store Museum and the Old Jail. Both were guided tours and really interesting and fun. They are both located in the old town next to each other. We really enjoyed them.

Saint Augustine is a truly beautiful place and there are so many things to see either on the trolley bus tour on on foot. It would be hard to see everything in one day. St George Street is where the boutique shops, cafes and restaurants are and it is a very nice area to stroll along.

We thoroughly enjoyed all that we did during our day but the highlight for us both was a guided tour around Flagler College  which started at 2pm and lasted about an hour. There were about 30 people on the tour and the guides are students from the college. Our guide was very knowledgeable and an excellent presenter. The history of the college which was formerly a hotel is interesting and the building is stunning.