St Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach Vacation

St. Augustine and Jacksonville's Hidden Gems for your next trip!

This year, at the request of my little one, we had a special birthday trip—one that she dubbed the "Mommy and Me" day, a short trip to explore the northern Florida cities of Jacksonville and St. Augustine. We once resided in St. Johns County, Florida, and the area is full fond memories for us. Despite traveling back often, we seldom indulge in its tourist offerings, because we tend to spend time with friends. However, we decided to make this trip a little different and become wanderers within our former hometown.  If you are traveling to this area, here are some tips. 

Where to Stay in the St Augustine or Ponte Vedra Area? 

We are a family that loves the beach so I typically choose properties that are close to the beach.  We love to go for a walk and look for shells and shark teeth.  For this trip, we stayed at the Marriott Sawgrass.  The Sawgrass was not right on the beach but provided transportation to their beach club.  The property was well-maintained and had a couple of restaurants where we enjoyed dinner one night. They also have a Starbucks location inside the property, which is very helpful in the morning.  They also had fun lawn games where we played Connect Four outside.  Luckily we were upgraded to a suite and this made our experience even better.  Our room had ample space to relax and not feel like we had to leave because it was so small.

What to do in St Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach?

• Explore St Augustine! Start with the  Castillo De San Marco, set aside an hour to explore one of the oldest masonry fortifications in the continental United States

• Do you love light houses?  I love visting light houses.  If you do too, you should visit the St Augustine Lighthouse.  It's one of the few that still allows you climb it!  It was a long hike up the stairs but well worth the view.  The kids enjoyed the lookout point near the top and looking down the stairs.  It was well worth the cost of admission.

• My daughter insisted that we visit the St Augustine Alligator Farm.  I was not a fan but went along with it.  When she asked to zip line over the gators, I drew the line.  We compromised and did the behind the scenes tour.  It definitely took you behind the scenes but still kept you safe.  They give you food to feed the gators and that was pretty neat.

• One of my favorite places is the St Augustine Distillery.  I enjoy the distillery tour and seeing how they make everything.  The liquor is not bad either.  

• The Basicalla of St Augustine is also worth seeing!  It's free and you get out of the Florida heat.  There is a behind the scenes tour but I have not done that yet.

• Another site to explore is The Oldest Wooden School House.  It's full of historical charm.  Seeing how kids in the past learned shows us how far we have come!

Where to Eat?

These are some of our favorite but is by no means a comprehensive list.

• Harry's has a great location and outdoor terrace.  I enjoy seafood and their chowder is delish!  It's walking distance from the Fort and Bridge of Lions.

• If you are looking for fabulous crafted drinks, you must go to the Ice Plant.  They are right next door to the St Augustine Distillery.  They also offer Farm to Table food but it can be hard to get into so I would recommend making a reservation.

• Prohibition Kitchen is also a neat place and their food is good.  I love the theme of the restaurant.  Everything we ate was tastey but I wished for a little more variety in the menu.

• Near St Augustine Beach, we like Salt Life Food Shack and Sunset Grille.