Day Trip to Historic St. Augustine from Orlando with Hotel Pickup
Description
Enjoy a day in America's oldest town, St Augustine. On this day trip from Orlando, head northeast to the picturesque town, where you can wander the cobbled streets and enjoy a meal in one of the many promenade cafes. St Augustine is a unique city filled with colonial Spanish neighborhoods, magnificent buildings and a wonderful, old-time charm. As the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the USA it has lots of history. From the Castillo de San Marco, to the Fountain of Youth there is something for everyone. Upgrade to add a scenic cruise, trolley tour or the Medieval Torture Museum to your visit. If you select the option including the Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley than you can have a guided tour throughout the historic old town, and jump on an off as you wish. The scenic boat tour option is a 1-hour boat ride with views from the waterways of the Bay of Matanzas! At the Medieval Torture Museum you see first hand the. grueling history of mad men and tyrants!
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Historic District in St. Augustine is the heart of the city. This is where guests will find a majority of the city's restaurants, shopping, hotels, and attractions. The Historic District is the oldest part of the city with many buildings dating back to the 1700s. Even the streets are laid out as they would have been centuries ago, and are more walkable than a lot of cities visitors are used to seeing in America. Along with being a beautiful area for finding things to do like shopping, visiting museums, and dining, the Historic District is also home to the beautiful bayfront with lovely panoramic views of the Matanzasa Bay. The top rated attractions in the area are centered around the Historic District and reflect the importance of history in shaping St. Augustine into what it is today. For example, the Colonial Quarter is a living history museum with costumed reenactors and interactive experienes. The Castillo and the Fountain of Youth both have weapons demonstrations so guests can expect to hear the sound of canon and musket fire around the Historic District. Another defining feature of the Historic District is the architecture. The design on building facades represents the height of Spanish Colonial and Spanish Renaissance Revival architecture. The area of town showcases everything from early European design, Florida bungalow style houses, and Gilded Age extravegance. Being the nation's oldest city, the Historic District of St. Augustine represents all that history has built here since 1565.
The Oldest Wooden School House is located at the entrance to St. George Street. During your free time be sure to stroll past it and down this cobble stoned street where there is great souvenir shopping and some great restaurents .
Upgrade your tour and enjoy a one-hour-and-15-minute cruise aboard the Victory III through Matanzas Bay. Narrated by your captain, this boat tour provides an incomparable way to view St Augustine’s historical landmarks and natural sites of interest.
Should you purchase the option to choose to take a 90-minute hop-on hop-off trolley tour for an easy way to get around the city and see the sights you want to see. You can get on and off as much as you’d like, or simply sit back and ride the entire loop. The local conductors make the tour even more entertaining by providing history and humor.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Gray Line Orlando provides hotel and resort pickups for this tour. Pickups are available from select hotels and resorts only—we are unable to collect from private residences, vacation homes, condos, or Airbnb/villa properties. Gray Line Orlando will contact you by 3:00 PM (EST) the day before your tour to confirm your exact pickup time and location. If you have not received your pickup details by that time, please contact us. On the day of travel, please wait outside the main lobby entrance of your selected hotel or resort. Your driver-guide will arrive in a Gray Line Orlando vehicle and uniform. If you do not see the vehicle within 5 minutes of your scheduled pickup time, please contact our office immediately for assistance.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(252)
It was a lovely experience. Our pick up was on-time our guide assistant/driver Kevin was very knowledgeable. The van was comfortable even during an excess heat warning. We loved exploring on our own based on Kevin’s excellent recommendations. The time just went by so fast.
The van ride to St Austine was comfortable; the driver was a very entertaining, informative and talkative driver. The trolley driver we had was funny and informative.
I don’t know if it was a bad idea to book just before the day before, but we waited for over an hour at the meeting point as scheduled on the day of the tour, but they didn’t pick us up. I couldn't join the tour. After that, there was no contact from either the tour company or the operator, and it was over only by informing them that we would refund the money! Wouldn't it be nice to have your precious day back, or at least apologize? Wouldn't it be better to quit such a sloppy tour?
We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback, and we’re truly sorry for the experience you had. Vacation time is precious, and having to spend a valuable part of your day waiting at a pickup point was far from the experience you should have had. As this was a last-minute reservation, it appears there was a breakdown in the final booking communication which resulted in your pickup being missed. While the refund was promptly processed, we completely agree that this situation deserved clearer communication and a sincere apology at the time. Thank you for bringing this to our attention so we can review it internally.
We have a wonderful day, St Augustine is as lovely city with a great history, our guide Bonni was very helpful and knowledgeable about just about anything. She made our trip even better and had a lovely personality.
St Augustine is a good trip, we went on this trip on the 17th april drivers name was Mike, what im not happy with is the cocky attitude of the driver he didn't give much info it was like he couldn't be bothered when we got to saint Augustine he made all those that hadn't payed for the trolley get a ticket said it was the only way to see it so when me and my partner said we didn't want one has we had done it the last time we came he was not happy, at the end of the trip as we were getting back on the bus he thrust a clipboard in our faces demanding we give him 5 stars and a tip he wasn't bothered about any comments people put about him he just wanted the 5 stars it was his bad attitude that wasn't happy with and thrusting the clipboard in everybody's face everybody was shocked when he did it, on the way home he nearly crashed on the express lane all the traffic in front had stopped but he was speeding towards it and not slowing down someone shouted can someone wake him up before we crash he then had to pull over to the side to avoid hitting the cars in front several people also kept pipping their horns at him, he also ran out of fuel even though he had all day to get some.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. While we’re pleased to hear you enjoyed visiting St. Augustine itself, we are very sorry to read about your concerns regarding the transportation experience. What you have described does not reflect the level of service and professionalism we aim to provide, particularly in relation to guest interactions and the concerns you raised about the return journey. Guest comfort and safety are extremely important to us, and feedback of this nature is taken very seriously. Your comments will be reviewed as part of our ongoing commitment to providing a safe and positive guest experience.
Fantastic experience. Just not enough time to see everything! Trolley ride very worthwhile. Tour drive Mike… great job. Double check leaving times. Our AM pick up time not as advertised. Heads up. I messaged company and they were quick to advise time and clarify location.
Thank you for the great feedback! We’re glad you had such a fantastic day and that Mike took good care of you along the way. We appreciate the heads up on timing as well—when we have contact details, we always confirm pickup times in advance to avoid any confusion, so we’re happy our team could quickly clarify things for you. Hope to see you again for another adventure soon!
Our guide Adam picked us up from our hotel right on time, his sense of humour and outgoing personality instantly made us feel welcome! We did the hop on, hop off trolley tour and visited Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Saint Augustine is a charming city with an interesting history. Also had ample time to enjoy lunch and some shopping. Adam went above and beyond to ensure we had an unforgettable day. Flawless service from start to finish!
Bus was on time, driver was friendly and informative. It was an excellent way to spend the day!
St Augustine is a lovely place to visit. Kevin our tour guide and driver was very knowledgeable and friendly. Would definitely recommend this day trip.
Kevin was my driver and he was very knowledgeable about st Augustine and the state of Florida in general. Highly recommend
