St. Augustine Florida Travel Guide

Those who frequent St. Augustine hotels or know the area well will attest: The local art scene is always lively. America’s oldest city happily plays host to live music, theater productions and film organizations, as well as dozens of art galleries, a summer concert series and special “First Friday” Art Walks.

St. Augustine’s Flagler College presents regular gallery openings, welcoming the public and St. Augustine hotel guests to peruse the work exhibited by fine art students. The St. Augustine area has a very diverse music scene as well. From country western to rhythm and blues to jazz, rock, folk and classical – if you’ve heard it, it’s here. Live bands from many genres can be enjoyed at various venues around downtown St. Augustine and Anastasia Island.

Mix an exciting evening out with delicious outdoor dining and live music, and you’ve got a St. Augustine hotel vacation experience not to be missed. Visitors to such area hotels as The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village truly can’t get enough of the city’s vibrant artistic ambiance – or its outdoor dining and accompanying culinary excellence.

With everything from full service restaurants to quaint cafes in the historic district, you can always find a restaurant, bar or casual dining venue that offers live music as you dine downtown. St. Augustine hotel guests can also listen to live music in the various clubs and nightspots located along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Whatever you prefer, the St. Augustine music scene has plenty to offer you. The City of St. Augustine hosts an annual “Concerts in the Park” series every summer. These concerts are held in the Plaza downtown on Thursday evenings and feature local bands, as well as an out-of-town band or two. Access is free, but St. Augustine hotel visitors are reminded to bring a cushion or chair to sit on. Or better yet, just wear your dancing shoes!

Also, don’t miss St. Augustine’s “First Friday” Art Walks, which are held on the first Friday of every month. On these evenings, all the local galleries open their doors and offer free drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Live music performances can be enjoyed by St. Augustine hotel guests during the walk. First Friday or not, art galleries all over town are always glad to welcome interested parties of every variety – whether browsers and buyers.

Ripley’s Sightseeing Trains – yes, as in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” – has been providing St. Augustine visitors and Florida golf resort guests with a unique introduction to the nation’s oldest city for more than 50 years. By day, enjoy an interesting, fact-packed historic tour. By night, find out if St. Augustine is actually haunted on Ripley’s Ghost Train Adventure.

Ideal for the whole family, each narrated train ride transports tourists, local visitors and guests from such premier Florida golf resorts as The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village along a seven-mile circuit and back in time. During the day, Ripley’s Sightseeing Trains make over 20 stops at some of the nation’s most intriguing and historically significant attractions.

Each ticket purchased for the daytime train tour is valid for up to three days. Thus, visitors taking a Florida golf resort vacation are welcome to hop on and off the train at selected sites, including such St. Augustine attractions as “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” Museum, the Fountain of Youth and the famous fort, Castillo de San Marcos.

For those Florida golf resort guests brave enough to go on Ripley’s 90-minute Ghost Train Adventure, which runs Tuesday through Saturday evenings starting at 8:30 pm, you’ll arrive in a Victorian Era parlor for check-in. Here, you’ll receive a device to assist in detecting unusual energy and a camera to record your experience. These will be your ghost-hunting tools as you tour the most haunted areas of the nation’s oldest city.

Florida golf resort guests who would rather be frightened on foot can take walking ghost tour as well. Whether by train or by foot, Ripley’s ghost tour hosts will thrill you with tales of St. Augustine’s haunted history. Each ghost tour is then followed by a half hour of exploration in Ripley’s dim Castle Warden, complete with stairs that creak and spooky ancient artifacts.

Whether you’ve come to the area primarily for a Florida golf resort vacation, to enjoy the beaches, or to discover America’s oldest city, Ripley’s Sightseeing Trains and walking tours offer an engaging way for the whole family to relax, explore and learn.

Ripley’s Sightseeing Trains – yes, as in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! – has been providing St. Augustine visitors and Florida golf resort guests with a unique introduction to the nation’s oldest city for more than 50 years. By day, enjoy a sunny, interesting, fact-packed historic tour. By night, find out if St. Augustine is actually haunted on Ripley’s Ghost Train Adventure.

Ideal for the whole family, each narrated train ride transports tourists, local visitors and guests from such premier Florida golf resorts as The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village along a seven-mile circuit and back in time, with over 20 stops at some of the nation’s most exciting and historically significant attractions.

Whether you’ve come to the area primarily for a Florida golf resort vacation, to enjoy the beaches, or to discover America’s oldest city, Ripley’s Sightseeing Trains offer a most interesting way to relax, explore and learn. Each ticket purchased by Florida golf resort guests is valid for up to three days. Thus, Florida golf resort guests are welcome to hop on and off at selected sites, including Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, the Fountain of Youth and the Castillo de San Marcos.

On the coast of Florida, St. Augustine hotel guests discover more than one beach to enjoy. Some of the area’s beaches are quiet, while others draw crowds. But all are equally inspiring, whether you’re seeking to obtain peace of mind – or a piece of the action.

Just south of the famous beaches of St. Augustine is Crescent Beach, which is situated on Anastasia Island, a wildlife refuge. This beach appeals to St. Augustine hotel guests as one of the most scenic, unspoiled beaches in Florida. Great for a day trip for those staying at such St. Augustine hotels as The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, Crescent beach offers boating, diving and fishing among its many refreshing pastimes.

Head north of Crescent Beach and you’ll hit St. Augustine Beach, where you can enjoy sandy shores, the St. Johns County Pier, a playground, pavilion, fishing pier, volleyball courts, fine dining, shopping and worlds more. Always popular among St. Augustine hotel guests, St. Augustine Beach attracts visitors all year long to America’s oldest city.

Ponte Vedra Beach is located in northern St. Johns County, south of the city of Ponte Vedra, which is home to the PGA Tour, the Players Championship each spring, and the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. As a guest at The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, St. Augustine vacationers enjoy access to the private Serenata Beach Club on Ponte Vedra Beach, offering exclusive amenities, waterfront dining and beach access.

At the Alligator Farm Zoological Park, visitors to St. Augustine, Florida are invited to take a walk on the wild side. The nearby Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, St. Augustine’s most accommodating hotel, offers guests the opportunity to experience this fascinating attraction, which features animals such as a 1250-pound crocodile and albino alligators.

At 15”3’ and 1250 pounds, Maximo is the largest animal in the park. He is a saltwater crocodile who astounds St. Augustine hotel guests, having grown to be 15 feet in length in less than 30 years. Guests can view this impressive specimen from underwater viewing windows at the park. Park visitors can additionally catch a glimpse of albino alligators that originated from the bayous of Louisiana, considered rare and mystical creatures. There is a legend that those who gaze upon these reptiles will receive good fortune.

You can also explore a native bird swamp exhibit, where hundreds of wading birds roost in the late afternoons. Herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills and wood storks seek out evening roosts above the alligators, as alligators keep tree-climbing predators away. From April through July, the birds are in full plumage, building nests and raising families right in front of visiting St. Augustine hotel patrons.

The mammal collection at the zoological park includes seven species of endangered monkeys. They range in size from the world’s smallest monkey, the mouse-sized pygmy marmoset, to the large South American spider monkey. Rounding out the collection are the exotic birds. South American toucans and parrots, Australian kookaburras and emus, Asian pheasants, and African turacos are among the exotic birds St. Augustine hotel guests find on display.

Rise, shine and take your pick from not just one, but two championship golf courses, both of which consistently receive four-and-a-half stars out of five from Golf Digest magazine. Where can you enjoy the privilege, you ask? At The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida, which itself is rightfully recognized by Conde Nast as a Top 100 Golf Resort.

Preferred among Florida golf resort destinations for numerous reasons, The Renaissance Resort overlooks the one-and-only King & Bear course, named for its co-designers, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. For the legendary pair’s sole course co-design, Palmer and Nicklaus sought to create something eminently playable and picturesque. They nailed it with King & Bear, which showcases challenging par-fives amid lakes, loblolly pines and 200-year-old live oaks.

Golf Hall of Fame members Sam “The Slammer” Snead and Gene “The Squire” Sarazen served as consultants to course architect Bobby Weed for the Slammer & Squire course, also steps from The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village. Florida golf resort guests who experience the course are awed by memorable par-threes, natural beauty, preserved woodlands, wetlands and views of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Heralded by golf publications, avid connoisseurs and Florida golf resort frequenters alike, both courses have hosted professional golf tournaments, including the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, a Champions Tour event, Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, and other nationally televised events. When you experience The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, located south of Jacksonville and minutes from historic downtown St. Augustine, Florida, our well-played greens are yours for the taking.

Retrace the footsteps of a 19th-century lighthouse keeper at St. Augustine, Florida’s famous lighthouse. Climb the tower’s 219 steps to the top to see the working light, as well as breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding St. Augustine area and beaches. Available to all visitors – including Florida resort guests enjoying a stay at such notable properties as The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village – a tour of the tower, keeper’s house and grounds is always intriguing.

Florida resort guests are continually amazed by this working historic lighthouse, which is also one of only six lighthouses in Florida even open to the public. Florida resort guests are equally astonished to discover that of all of the state’s original lighthouses, St. Augustine’s is among the mere 30 still standing. Lighthouse tours are provided to Florida resort guests and local visitors daily, each tour enhanced by exhibits and videos. In addition to hosting occasional events, the lighthouse now features a “Dark of the Moon Tour” as well, where Florida resort guests enjoy interesting tales as they explore the grounds at night.

The sights along the winding cobblestone streets of St. Augustine, Florida tell of a town with a long, rich and well-preserved history. America’s oldest city, St. Augustine is marked by 100s of years of character. At the same time, it is still brilliantly suited to entertain today’s visitors to the area. Whether St. Augustine hotel guests escape to the area for a spa weekend, a golf getaway, a beach vacation or prime shopping, they always make time for sightseeing in this intriguing city. The new Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village is highly regarded among St. Augustine hotels, providing an ideal base from which to branch out – in addition to a full-service spa, two championship golf courses and “worlds” more, all just steps away.

In downtown St. Augustine, hotel guests can explore such sights as Flagler College, with its ancient stone buildings. Also a National Historic Landmark is the González-Alvarez House, dating back to the 1700s and recognized as the oldest surviving Spanish Colonial dwelling in Florida. Since 1893, St. Augustine hotel guests and area visitors have toured its historic buildings. They find themselves intrigued by the Spanish, British and American eras of the city – enjoying a glimpse at a time before St. Augustine hotels like The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village boasted the golf, spas, amenities and conveniences of today.

PGA TOUR Spa Laterra, the first to boast the PGA TOUR name, keeps men and women centered at the new Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, a Florida golf resort located in beautiful St. Augustine. With treatment areas that include private “floating cabanas,” PGA TOUR Spa Laterra proves that athletic activities aren’t the only outdoor option that keeps people coming to our Florida golf resort year after year. Massage therapists and estheticians perform an array of treatments for Florida golf resort guests in 11 indoor treatment rooms as well. Also, because of the abundant Florida golf resort activities our guests enjoy, traditional and golf-related spa treatments are available.

A Spa Boutique, where Florida golf resort vacationers can select from product lines that include Sonya Dakar, Eminence, Babor, Mama Mio and more, is another favorite amenity at PGA TOUR Spa Laterra. For a Florida golf resort wedding, event or occasion, the full-service salon at the spa will make you look magnificent. A luxurious lounge and outdoor sanctuary complete with a koi pond relaxes Florida golf resort guests. And your every wish throughout your Florida golf resort vacation – from the spa to your beautiful accommodations – is our command when you stay with us, at the new Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village.

The most challenging part of your visit to the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village isn’t finding something to do at this premier Florida golf resort, it’s deciding what adventure to enjoy next. Those seeking culinary experiences will delight in our Florida golf resort’s varied dining choices. Likewise, a selection of area dining establishments surround our Florida golf resort. Dining options for Florida golf resort guests include everything from rustic fish camps for local seafood to sophisticated bistros with tempting international cuisine.

Golfers at our Florida golf resort will never leave the 30,000 square-foot PGA TOUR STOP empty-handed, and all Florida golf resort vacationers enjoy the fabulous bargains of the area’s outlet malls. Quaint shops in downtown St. Augustine, America’s oldest city, provide Florida golf resort guests with a vast array of unique shopping options. From modern museums and major sporting events to historic sites and festivals, this Florida golf resort offers great attractions and amenities sure to complement your visit to World Golf Village.