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.
We typically do not stay at hotels when we are in the area, we either stay with friends or we stay at an Airbnb. We are lucky to have friends that own some beautiful units on St Augustine and Crescent Beach.
If you are looking for a beautiful unit on St Augustine Beach, look no further than the Turtle's Nest. It's walking distance to restaurants and comftably sleeps 6. The condo unit is in a beach front complex that boasts a lovely pool area.
We have also had the pleasure of staying in Crescent Beach at the Crescent Beach Retreat. I absoutely love the view from this unit. It is so close to the beach that you can hear and see the waves from your own private balcony. Crescent Beach feels like you have the beach all to yourself and it's just a few minutes down the road from St Augustine Beach. It's a great place to walk the beach! You can also enjoy the beach from the comfort of the chairs and umbrella that the unit provides. I love this unit so much that I did a tik tok on it! Here's the view that I love:
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.
