St. Augustine Weekend Itinerary

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A weekend in St. Augustine works best as two halves: the walkable old town on day one, Anastasia Island on day two. Castillo de San Marcos opens the morning, a Flagler College tour fills the afternoon, and the lighthouse and a beach cover the second day. Saturday and Sunday line up with every cannon demonstration and ferry schedule below.

We have done St. Augustine as a short trip with nieces and nephews along, and this is the plan I would hand to anyone starting from scratch. The old town is small, but it wears you out on foot faster than the map suggests. I would put the paid sights in the morning and keep the late afternoon loose. The beach on day two is the reset.

Things to Do in St. Augustine

Eight stops make a full two days without a sprint. Admission prices come from each attraction’s own page, checked October 2, 2026, and they change, so confirm before you go.

Day	Stop	Cost	When
1	Castillo de San Marcos	$15 adults, 15 and under free	Opens 9 a.m.
1	St. George Street and Colonial Quarter	Street free, Quarter $14.99 adults	Quarter 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
1	Lightner Museum	$20 adults	9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last entry 3:30
1	Flagler College tour	$21 per person	10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
2	St. Augustine Lighthouse	Check the ticket page	9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter
2	Anastasia State Park	$8 per vehicle	8 a.m. to sunset
2	Fort Matanzas, optional	Free, ferry included	Ferry Thursday to Monday
Either	Fountain of Youth Park	$22.95 adults	9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Castillo de San Marcos

Start here at 9 a.m., when the first admission goes in. The fort is the one thing in town I would not skip, and the early hour beats both the crowds and the heat on the open gun deck. The walls are coquina, a stone made of compacted shells, and you can pick out the shell pieces if you look closely at the surface.

Adults pay $15 and the ticket stays valid for seven consecutive days, per the park’s fee page at nps.gov. Anyone 15 and under gets in free with an adult. The park takes cards only, no cash.

The last admission is 5 p.m., and everyone has to be out by 5:15. The fort closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Count on one to two hours inside.

Cannon demonstrations are the reason to pick a weekend. The park’s home page lists them several times a day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and weather can cancel one, so check the day’s times at the entrance. Stand on the gun deck for the explanation and watch from below if the deck is packed.

St. George Street

St. George Street is the old town’s main walking street, and it is free to wander. Shops, restaurants and small museums line it. Mid-morning is when it starts to fill, so walk it after the fort and not before.

Right beside the fort, at 14 S. Castillo Drive, the Colonial Quarter is a living-history site with blacksmith demonstrations, historic house tours and a climbable replica watchtower. Adults pay $14.99 and children 5 to 15 pay $8.99, with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, at 11 Magnolia Avenue, is the other history stop. Adults pay $22.95, it is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the last tickets sell an hour before closing.

Pick one, not both. I would take the Colonial Quarter with kids because it sits next to the fort. The Fountain of Youth suits adults who like archaeology and have time for 15 acres. After dark, ghost tours leave from the old town, and they vary a lot by route and length, so choose by what the tour covers and not by the scariest name.

Lightner Museum

Do this one before lunch. The Lightner Museum, at 75 King Street, fills the former Hotel Alcazar, a Gilded Age resort hotel commissioned by Henry Flagler. It is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last admission at 3:30, and it closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Adults 18 to 64 pay $20, youth 11 to 17 pay $13, and children 11 and under are free.

Flagler College is on the same street, in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, now the main building of an active campus. Tours meet in the main lobby rotunda at 74 King Street. Tours cost $21 per person, last 45 to 60 minutes, and are meant to depart at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Schedules can change and some days have no tour, so buy tickets ahead through the college’s tour page. I would take the 2 p.m. slot. That leaves the Lightner for late morning and lunch in between.

St. Augustine Lighthouse

Day two starts on Anastasia Island with the lighthouse. The tower is 165 feet tall, and the climb is 219 steps up a spiral staircase to the observation deck. The view from the top takes in the old town, the river and the ocean.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from October through February and 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from March through September. The tower can close for weather, and the site closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Children under 44 inches cannot go up, taller children must climb on their own, and carrying a child in the tower is not allowed.

Parking at the lighthouse is free, and the climb comes with general admission. Check the current ticket price on the lighthouse’s own site before you go. On a weekend I would arrive at opening, because the stairs are slow when a line forms.

Anastasia State Park

Spend the afternoon on the sand. Anastasia State Park has four miles of beach, and Florida State Parks lists entry at $8 per vehicle, open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year. Come with water, shade and a plan for lunch, because the beach is a walk from the car.

The water is colder than it looks from November through March, so treat the beach as a walk and a picnic in winter. In summer it is a proper swim. Our beach vacation packing list covers what to put in the bag.

Fort Matanzas

Swap the beach for Fort Matanzas if you want one more fort. It sits south of town on the Matanzas River, and the National Park Service says there is no fee to enter the park or ride the ferry. The ferry crosses to the small fort and runs Thursday through Monday only, at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.

The catch is the boarding pass. Passes are free, handed out first come, first served at the visitor center, and every family member needs one, whatever their age. The visitor center is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas, and storms or lightning can cancel a crossing without notice. Come early, grab the pass, and have the beach as your fallback.

St. Augustine Parking

Park once and walk. The Historic Downtown Parking Facility at 1 Cordova Street holds 1,200 vehicles and sits across from the Visitor Information Center. Visit St. Augustine lists $20 per vehicle per day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and $5 from 5 to 9 p.m., except during festivals and Nights of Lights.

Street and lot spaces use pay stations at $2.50 an hour, with a three-hour limit on the street and four in the city lots. Enforcement runs until 9 p.m. daily. Castillo de San Marcos has its own paid lot. A free downtown circulator bus, the STAR Circulator, runs daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Day two is easier. Anastasia Island sits across the Bridge of Lions from downtown, and the lighthouse has its own free parking. If you are staying near the old town, drive only for the island.

St. Augustine Nights of Lights

Nights of Lights is the reason to book a December weekend early. The official 2026-27 listing gives the season as nightly from Saturday, November 21, 2026 through Monday, January 18, 2027, with more than three million lights across the historic district. Viewing is free.

Parking changes during the season. The city runs a free park-and-ride shuttle from 1 to 11 p.m. on 33 designated days, with free parking at three lots on select days. The STAR Beach Shuttle links Anastasia Island with downtown. In this season I would skip the garage, use the shuttle, and walk the old town after dark.

Best Time to Visit St. Augustine

Winter and spring are the comfortable months for a two-day walking plan. Summer is hot and humid, and late summer and early fall carry the most storm risk on this coast, so watch the forecast before you commit. A Friday arrival catches the extra day of cannon firings.

From Jacksonville the drive is about 45 minutes, and from Orlando it is about an hour and three quarters. Pair the trip with our two-day Orlando itinerary or fold it into a longer Florida springs road trip. Book lodging early for the Nights of Lights season and holiday weekends.

St. Augustine questions

Is St. Augustine walkable?

Yes, the historic core is. Castillo de San Marcos, St. George Street, the Lightner Museum and Flagler College sit within a short stroll of each other. You need a car or the beach shuttle for Anastasia Island and Fort Matanzas.

Is Castillo de San Marcos free?

No. Adults pay $15 and the ticket is valid for seven consecutive days, while children 15 and under are free with an adult. Park passes such as America the Beautiful cover entry.

Is it hard to find parking in St. Augustine?

It can be on a weekend. The 1,200-space garage at 1 Cordova Street is the easy default at $20 a day, and the city’s street and lot spaces cost $2.50 an hour with time limits.

How long does it take to drive from Jacksonville to St. Augustine?

About 45 minutes. From Orlando it is about an hour and three quarters.

Is the Fort Matanzas ferry free?

Yes, but you still need a free boarding pass from the visitor center. Passes go first come, first served, and there is no ferry on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.

Published October 11, 2026.