Planning a Trip

Getting There

The Daytona Beach International Airport is about an hour's drive south of St. Augustine, but service is more frequent -- and fares usually lower -- at Jacksonville International Airport, about the same distance north. The nearest Amtrak train station is in Jacksonville.

Visitor Information

Before you go, contact the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, 88 Riberia St., Ste. 400, St. Augustine, FL 32084 (tel. 800/653-2489 or 904/829-1711; www.visitoldcity.com). Request the Visitor's Guide, which details attractions, events, restaurants, accommodations, shopping, and more.

The St. Augustine Visitor Information Center is at 10 Castillo Dr., at San Marco Avenue, opposite the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (tel. 904/825-1000). There are numerous ways to see the city, depending on your interests and schedule; this makes a good first stop. For $1, you can watch Struggle to Survive, a 42-minute video about the town's difficult first 14 years. (History buffs will enjoy it; otherwise, it's a good way to kill an hour on a rainy day.) The free 22-minute orientation video is more helpful in planning a visit. Once you've looked through the extensive information and made plans, you can buy tickets for the sightseeing trains and trolleys, which include discounted admissions to the attractions. The center is open daily from 8:30am to 5:30pm.

Getting Around

Once you've parked at the visitor center, you can walk or take one of the sightseeing trolleys, trains, or horse-drawn carriages around the historic district. The trolleys and trains follow 7-mile routes, stopping at the visitor center and at or near most attractions between 8:30am and 5pm daily. You can get off at any stop, visit the attraction, and step aboard the next vehicle that comes along about every 20 minutes. If you don't get off at any attractions, it takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete the tour. The vehicles don't all go to the same sights, so speak with their agents at the visitor center in order to pick the right one for you. You can buy tickets, as well as discounted tickets to some attractions, at the visitor center or from the drivers.

Old Town Trolley Tours (tel. 800/213-2474; www.historictours.com) takes you on an hour tour with more than 20 stops at the historic district and its most famous sites. Best of all, you can hop on and off at your leisure all day. Tickets include admission to the Florida Heritage Museum and the St. Augustine Beach Bus, which picks up and drops off passengers at various resorts and attractions around town. The tour costs $21 for adults, $8 for kids 6 to 12. Rates are cheaper online.

St. Augustine Sightseeing Trains (tel. 800/226-6545 or 904/824-1606; www.redtrains.com) cover all the main sights except the Authentic Old Jail and the Florida Heritage Museum at the Authentic Old Jail, but its red open-air trains, operated by Ripley's of Believe It or Not fame, are small enough to go down more of the narrow historic-district streets. Tickets are $21 for adults, $8 for kids 6 to 12, and are good for 3 consecutive days. The company also sells package tickets for your convenience, and rates are cheaper online.

You may want to see the sights by horse-drawn carriage. St. Augustine Transfer Company (tel. 904/829-2391; www.staugustinetransfer.com) has been showing people around town since 1877. Its carriages line up on Avenida Menendez, south of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Slow-paced, entertaining, driver-narrated 45-minute to 1-hour rides past major landmarks and attractions are offered from 8am to midnight. Private tours and hotel and restaurant pickups are available for $85 per person. There is also a very cool, spooky ghost ride from 6pm until closing every night. Carriage tours cost $20 for adults, $10 for kids 5 to 11.

For more personalized group excursions, call Tour Saint Augustine (tel. 800/797-3778 or 904/825-0087; www.staugustinetours.com), which offers guided walking tours around the historic area. Rates vary based on the number of people in the group.

You can also search for old spirits with the nightly Ghost Tours of St. Augustine (tel. 888/461-1009 or 904/461-1009; www.ghosttoursofstaugustine.com), in which guides in period dress lead you through the historic district or to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Tickets are $12 to $22 per person, depending on the tour you choose. Also offered are 1-hour ghost cruises on the river in a 72-foot-tall mast schooner. These cost $35 per person, including soft drinks and snacks. Call for schedules and reservations.

The Sunshine Bus Company (tel. 904/823-4816; www.sunshinebus.net) operates public bus routes Monday through Saturday from 6am to 7pm. The line runs between the St. Augustine Airport on U.S. 1 and the historic district via San Marco Avenue and the Greyhound bus terminal on Malaga Street. Rides cost $1 per person. All day tickets are $3. Call for the schedule.

For a taxi, call Yellow Cab (tel. 904/824-6888).

Solano Cycle, 61 San Marco Ave., at Locust Avenue, 2 blocks north of the visitor center (tel. 904/825-6766; www.solanocycle.com), rents bicycles and scooters. Bikes cost $18 a day, while scooters are $75 for a single passenger and $80 for two. Open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Where to Park in "St. Aug" -- On-street parking is nonexistent in St. Augustine's historic district, and metered parking lots are not only difficult to find, but often full. Your best bet is to park in the brand-new, large, free Historic Downtown Parking Facility behind the visitor center on Castillo Drive. Plus, most of the top historic attractions are within walking distance of the center, as it is virtually across the street from the Old City Gates.