St. Augustine and the Palm Coast – A Great Destination for Spring or Summer Travel
As a Carolina Girl, I think our beaches are the best in the world! As a matter of fact, they are so good, it gets hard to find a rental that is affordable at times. When looking for a place to relax and unwind, we always sought out more remote beaches like Edisto or Hunting Island State Park, because we are not into crowds and carnival rides anymore. I think over the years, we have stayed at almost every beach on the coast of South Carolina and a few on the Coast of North Carolina. I learned by being flexible, I could save a few dollars sometimes and see new sights and try new seafood joints! However, the best will always be the Shrimp Shack in Beaufort!
A few years ago, I wanted to venture a little further south. I had always wanted to visit the Old Town of St. Augustine, so I booked a place about ten miles south on A1A. The place was perfect for the two of us, pet friendly and oceanfront. To me, you can’t get much better than six days of sunrise over the ocean to help you unwind. Beachers Lodge is not new, or trendy, it probably was built back in the seventies or eighties. Each unit at Beachers is owned and maintained independently. The website for this property rates the units by Gold, Silver, and Bronze, with Gold being the highest standard. My recommendation is to look carefully at the ratings and pictures. Although not perfect, we recently rented a Silver rated unit that saved us hundreds. Check out their website for more information. https://www.beacherslodge.com/. While beachers is a great place for a smaller family or couples, I did notice a few nice complexes just south of where we were staying that had larger units. The area around where Beachers Lodge is located has a beautiful, white, sandy beach. It really is one of the prettiest beaches I have been on in a long time. They have renourished and repaired damages from past storms. Further south, I noticed that the beaches become red or clay colored along the Florida Coast. Crescent beach allows for driving out on the beach to unload your vehicle and you can leave it parked up near the dunes all day while you enjoy the beach.
There are lots of reasons to take a trip to this area, but the main one of course is to tour St. Augustine. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously settled city in the United States. The Spanish settled here in 1565! Before you go, do your research and learn about the history!
To me, the best way to get acquainted with St. Augustine is to take the trolley tour located at the visitors center. https://www.citystaug.com/618/Visitor-Information-Center. We took the orange one, and it allows you to enter and exit the trolley as much as you wish to for the day and makes a large loop around the whole city pointing out areas of interest, including where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech in the 1960s. The driver was very knowledgeable about the history of the town, and we enjoyed just riding through and listening to the history of the area. The trolly will also take you to all of the main attractions. Some that you won’t want to miss are Flagler College, Fountain of Youth and Castillo de San Marcos, which is a national park. https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm. Over the years, we have come to this area for three different vacations. Each time, we see something new and exciting that we did not see before.
You will find no shortage of good eating places along A1A or in St. Augustine. While there we ate at a place overlooking the harbor and the old fort. It was called River and Fort, https://riverandfort.com/. One of our favorite places to grab a quality seafood meal without any hype is the Seafood Kitchen. It is located on A1A just behind our favorite coffee shop called Kookaburra Coffee. https://thekookaburracoffee.com/.
If you have never been to St. Augustine before, I recommend watching videos on the area to see which attractions you want to see. A video I liked is one by Bert Wolf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOIsZKOJo3o. Last time we went, I climbed to the top of the Lighthouse, which is a great way to view the entire area.
I still love the beaches in South Carolina. I was lucky enough to stay in some of the cabins on Hunting Island State Park, before they had to be removed due to the encroaching ocean. I was blessed to stay in an old original beach house not far from the pier in Surfside Beach. I enjoyed Hilton Head, before they built the Cross Island Parkway. There is nothing like revisiting your favorite beaches and seeing what has changed. Even though St. Augustine and Crescent Beach are not in my home state, I feel at home there when I visit. So for now, every few years, we hope to continue to visit and enjoy the history and natural beauty of the Florida Coast.