Highlights Of St. Augustine – Overnight

You’ll board your bus for St. Augustine. When you arrive, you’ll meet your tour manager.

You’ll take a guided tour of Mission Nombre de Dios which traces its origins to the founding of the City of St. Augustine in 1565. On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed and proclaimed this site for Spain and the Church. It was here that Menéndez knelt to kiss a wooden cross presented to him by Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, chaplain of his expedition. It was on these grounds that Fr. López would celebrate the first parish Mass and begin the work at America’s first mission. It was at this sacred spot that the Spanish settlers would begin the devotion to Our Lady of La Leche that continues into the present with a shrine in her honor.

You’ll take a narrated trolley tour through St. Augustine, America’s oldest city with a fun mix of trivia and humorous stories. You’ll enjoy a packed lunch either before or after your tour.

After lunch, you’ll take a guided tour of St. Augustine’s Old Jail where you’ll get a compelling look at the cell blocks, gallows and sheriff’s quarters. You’ll be entertained with tales of justice and punishment during your tour.

You’ll take a self-guided tour of the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. The park is a 15 acre, waterfront Historical Site where St. Augustine, Florida began in 1565. This is the location where Spanish Explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles, in 1565, established the first and oldest continuous European Settlement in the United States of America.

After dinner, you’ll take a guided ghost tour with A Ghostly Experience. Saunter with the Spirits from dusk to darkness. A guide in period dress will light your way with their lantern through the ancient strange and unusual tales of centuries past, legendary stories, folk lore and ghostly experiences.

You’ll drive to the hotel and check in.

After breakfast, you’ll check out of your rooms and board your bus for the day.

You’ll visit the Colonial Quarter where you will take an immersive journey through the centuries of St. Augustine’s rich past focusing on the four eras of St. Augustine’s history: the 16th-century First City, the 17th-century Spanish Fortified Town, the 18th-century British 14th Colony and the 18th-century Spanish Garrison Town.

After lunch, you’ll take a guided tour of Castillo de San Marcos Fort located on the shore of Matanzas Bay. The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.

You’ll enjoy The Pirate Museum’s unique collection of authentic artifacts along with interactive technology that takes students on an historic adventure through the Golden Age of Piracy and the lives of the era’s most infamous pirates.

You’ll explore relics of America’s Gilded Age that are elegantly exhibited on the Lightner Museum’s three floors. Costumes, furnishings, mechanical musical instruments and other artifacts give you a glimpse into 19th century daily life. The Lightner collection includes beautiful examples of cut glass, Victorian art glass and the stained glass work of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

You’ll board your bus and begin the return trip home.