If you are looking for some fun family activities to do in St. Augustine, Florida, we’ve got some ideas for you! Just a few miles south of Jacksonville or North of Daytona Beach, St. Augustine offers a lot for the whole family. You’ll find America’s oldest city is full of charm, energy and lots of sunshine.
This is a fun, fast, and cool way to see St. Augustine. Explore Old Town with narration and the breeze to keep you cool, especially during the summer heat. Discover more history and things to do from America’s oldest city. If you find something you want to explore more, simply hop off and then hop back on another one later on.
You can see many popular sites like the Old Jail, Potter’s Wax Museum, the Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park, Castillo de San Marcos, Flagler College, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and more.
Just down the road from St. Augustine is Marieland. They have outdoor aquariums with multiple tanks of sharks, turtles, and of course dolphins! They have turtle, shark and dolphin talks daily. You can watch dolphin shows up close with jumps and tricks. It’s a must to get in the tank with one of the Dolphin Encounter experiences where you can swim with the dolphins. You get to hitch a ride on their fins, shake their flippers, give them high fives and even dance. Our kids loved this! You are in a group of 8-10 people and you get around 30 minutes of time in the water interacting and swimming with the dolphins. Two of our kiddos now want to be dolphin trainers when they grow up!
Check out all the spooky locations in this ancient city, including cemeteries, the Old Fort, and other little-known gems. Some guides wear consumes and may or may not tell bad jokes (dad jokes?!). This is a walking tour and most of them are smaller in number. Be sure to book in advance. *This is kid friendly, with a combination of humor and spooky stories.
4- Eat, Eat, and Eat
There are so many great restaurants in downtown St. Augustine and the beach. Seafood. Diners. Cafes. Home cooked, Spanish... There’s something for everyone. A few of our favorites include Sunset Grille, Gas Full Service, Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grill, St. Augustine Seafood Co., The Floridian, and Columbia.
Get a different perspective of this incredible town with a view from the boat. Learn about the Conquistadors and the importance of St Augustine to the Spanish empire. Get an incredible view of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and the oldest fort in America. Pass by the legendary Fountain of Youth park, made famous by Juan Ponce de Leon. We can neither confirm, nor deny it works. After the boat tour, get a different view with the land tour on a golf cart.
You had me at chocolate! We love visiting the different chocolate shops. Warning…you may over indulge!! A family favorite are the pralines! You can stop in the many options like Whestone or Kilwin’s. If you want, take the Chocolate tour and learn even more. This one is sure to be a big hit with the kids, unless you’re a dentist. Either way, you’ll make some sweet memories with this one!
7- Beaches
St. Augustine and surrounding areas have some beautiful beaches! Vilano Beach, Anastasia State Park, St. Augustine Beach, Crescent Beach, and one of our favorites is the beach at the Matanzas Inlet. Our kids love exploring the tide pools at low tied. Lots of fun critters to catch (and release).
For those that love gators, this is your place! Hundreds of gators, including an albino gator and Maximo, the 15 foot 3 inch, 1,250-pound gator! There’s also crocodiles, sloths, lemurs, exotic birds and snakes. They have a section in the farm where you can feed the alligators food. That was our favorite part. We loved throwing the pellets in the water and watching the gators chomp them up! Be sure to check out the feeding times where the staff feed the gators. Boy can those gators jump high out of the water for a meal! For those looking for a little more adventure, you can zip line over the gator cages and pools!
9- Stroll Down Aviles Street
Known as the countries oldest street, with artifacts dating as far back as the 1600s. This is the heart of the St. Augustine art district. Go on a Friday when only foot traffic is allowed or during one of the art festivals. You’ll have access to plenty of good restaurants as well.
There’s nothing like going on an airboat ride! Go explore the hard to reach waterways, swampy and marsh areas. You can learn about local pirate legends of lost treasure. Check out the local alligators, but don’t go for a swim! Cruise over the grass and water of the St. Johns River for an excursion everyone will love!
There’s no shortage of fun things to do with the family in St. Augustine, Florida. Let us know what fun things you like to do!