St. Augustine Florida Travel Guide

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.

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.