If you’re on the East Coast and haven’t been to St. Augustine, you should start planning a trip ASAP! From the cobblestone streets and rich history to the mouth watering food and fancy cocktails, it’s such a fun and beautiful city to hang out in. Below you’ll find a list of our top 5 favorite activities from our 10-day stay in the Ancient City. We also have a list of our favorite food spots HERE.

Alligator Farm

What a cool experience! At first we felt the ticket price was a little steep ($25-27 per adult), but after seeing all there was to offer, we decided it was well worth it. I had no idea there were so many different species of crocodiles in the world! We grabbed a couple spiked seltzers from the snack bar and wandered around the farm for an afternoon. We witnessed a fight between a crocodile and an alligator (we just happened to be in the right place at the right time, this was not a show), watched a couple hundred gators go nuts over a feeding, and saw snakes, monkeys, and A LOT of birds. Fun fact: Apparently, it is typical for Florida’s long-legged swamp birds to nest above alligator ponds, because the reptiles keep away mammals like raccoons and possums that would love to eat all of their eggs if given the chance. This, together with the long and winding boardwalks, makes the Alligator Farm a FANTASTIC place to get up close and personal with nesting birds such as egrets, herons, and our favorite the roseate spoonbill!

ripley’s ghost tour

I did SO MUCH research on all the ghost tours offered in St Augustine (there are A LOT) and did not initially want to go on the Ripley’s Ghost Tour mainly because it was one of the more expensive ones. HOWEVER, we ended up buying a package from Ripley’s that got us into the museum, a round of mini golf (also very fun), and the ghost tour for a somewhat reasonable price. I don’t fully believe all the ghost stories, but they did a kick butt job entertaining us. When you check in they give you a “ghost meter” and laser to detect shadows. You then hop on a train and they take you to three different locations where you listen to a few stories and walk around looking for ghosts. Laughing at our ghost meters going off more than getting spooked at the first two stops, our third stop was back at the Ripley Museum. I had no idea we would be going into the museum at night….Not going to lie, I was sufficiently freaked out when they lead us through the museum in the dark and into a room full of wax characters. I made Arthur stand as close as humanly possible for this part of the tour! I don’t want to give away too much of the tour, just know we would totally book this again! *Below are our friends Josh and Maya with their ghost detectors going off. In the second photo we may or may not have captured a photo of a ghost! That hazy streak could be an early settler of St Augustine or just a bug that flew in front of the light at the right time. We’ll let you be the judge.

bike or stroll around downtown

While the city isn’t particularly bike friendly, the speed limits are low and there are a lot of one way streets. The cobblestone streets and old architecture are absolutely worth taking the time to check out, and in my opinion, by bike is always the most fun way to do it. If you don’t have your own bikes we saw a couple places in or close to the downtown area where you can rent bikes. The photo is of the beautiful Flagler College.

castillo de san marcos

Full disclosure, we did not go inside the fort because we didn’t want to pay the ticket price. $15/person seemed a little much to us, especially since I’ve been in the fort before when I was a kid. You can however walk around the outside of the fort for FREE. We decided to take a walk around after our ghost tour hoping to catch a glimpse of something spooky. To our disappointment we didn’t catch any ghosts, but it was quite the site to see all lit up at night.

try some local beer

With a half dozen breweries around town, you really can’t go wrong with a nice cold brew. We throughly enjoyed Bog Brewing just outside the downtown area, Ancient City Brewing right downtown, and Auggie’s Draft Room had a number of local beers on tap.

indulge in the food

Of course we had to try the local cuisine! For a full list of our favorite spots in St Augustine click HERE. Highlights included rabbit pie and seafood stew from Ice Plant, frog legs from Prohibition, and ice pops from Hyppo. I don’t want to admit that I had to wear my elastic pants after this trip but…

Of course there are the beaches to check out! We didn’t go to any on this trip since we live on a boat and are outside 90% of the time, we figured our skin needed a break from the sun. BUT we both went when we were younger and only have fabulous memories of St Augustine beaches. One of which includes me barefoot skiing on the sand behind my dad’s pickup and rangers/officials pulling us over for it…. somehow we left with just a warning. I’m sure my dad told them he had annoying kids and just needed to entertain/try to kill us. ANYWAY, don’t barefoot ski on the beach, and if the beach is your thing, absolutely spend a few days soaking up the rays.

Have you visited St Augustine and loved it as much as we did? Drop us a comment with your favorite activities so we can add them to our list for next time!

St. Augustine - Our Top 5 Activities