Have you been thinking of visiting St. Augustine, FL?

It’s an enchanting place. Filled with history, good eats and tons of tours.

Here are a few tids and bits I’ve been meaning to share. I hope it’s helpful.

1. Purchase a 1 or 2 day tour with the Old Town Trolley Tours company and you’ll get a free shuttle into the city from your hotel.

The shuttle is an air conditioned bus! This is awesome considering how hot it can be even in early spring. This was a great way to get into the city without having to drive and look and pay for parking. They picked us up right at the hotel entrance and dropped us off right in the heart of the city where we proceeded to jump on the trolley pictured below. After we road the trolley around town we caught the shuttle back to our hotel to rest and freshen up.

Taking the trolley is a great way to see the city. They tell you about the history and give you great recommendations for additional activities to get into. Plus its a hop-on-hop-off trolley so you can ride the whole loop or get on and off at the attractions you are most interested in. Only thing is make sure you start the day early as the last ride back to the hotel is around 4:30pm

2. Metered parking in the city is free after 9-5 office hours!

Who wants to pay for parking? I know I don’t!

After having taken the trolley shuttle back to the hotel we decided to drive back into the city. It can be tricky to find parking, fortunately we got pretty lucky and found parking at the Castillo parking lot both nights. This lot is in a pretty central location with reasonable walking distance from all the restaurants and other night life venues.

3. Hit up Rita’s Italian Ice!

I promise you’ll want to thank me for it! It’s not your everyday ice cream place. The selection is a bit different but it’s definitely delicious especially on a hot day!!! It’s outside of the city on Anastasia Island but it’s not a far drive.

Here’s the address: 380 A1A Beach Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080

4. Hit up brunch at Hoptinger!

The girls and I love brunch and for good reason – bottomless drinks! Plus who doesn’t like a lil’ bit of champagne with their meal?! On our first night there we drove by this hip looking spot which intrigued us. Of course we had to look it up and found out that they served brunch. So on our last day in town we stopped for brunch before hitting the road.

Best. Decision. Ever!

It was so delish! The ambiance was perfect: inviting, casual and relaxed. The live music was charming with a great sing-along selection that had us humming, swaying and joining in as a chorus the whole time we were there. My favorite part was the food and drinks of course. My breakfast sandwich croissant had French fries in it! Say what?!?! Everything, and I mean everything is better with fries. There was another dish which was basically loaded breakfast fries with scrambled eyes and bacon! YES, please!!! Regardless of what you order to eat if you are a beer drinker like me, you will need to try the Beermosa!! I had never heard of this before and now that I’ve experienced it, it’s the only way I want my beer. JK… but only a lil’ bit. Beermosa = Blue Moon with Orange Juice!!! If you try it you have to let me know! You’ll love it I promise!

Here are a couple of pics.

Here’s the address: 200 Anastasia Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080

Have you been to St. Augustine? Any additional tips for travels going there to visit? Any favorite brunch spots in St. Augustine? Leave them in the comments below. I would love to connect over travel talk!

Want to read more on my St. Augustine adventures? Check out this post and this post. Also keep an eye out for some upcoming London/Ireland posts. 🙂