St Augustine?
 

I found great airfare to Orlando from Midwest for a week in Feb so thought we would take advantage of it and drive to Savannah for a few days. I posted earlier to ask for suggestions to see on the way and St Augustine was mentioned. Now I'm wondering if we should visit St Aug area and save Savannah for a future trip. Savannah has been on my "list". For awhile but I don't have anything specific to see there. We love history, architecture, wandering around and really just want to relax. Anyone familiar with the area care to advise? Thanks!!

I love both cities. St. Augustine has beautiful architecture and some very interesting historical sites. In the interest if soending mire time enjoying the place and less time in the car, I would pick St. Augustine for this trip and do Savannah on another. That said, both cities are wonderful destinations.

That was supposed to read " in the interest of spending more time"

Have been to both several times and they are both wonderful but very different places.

Savannah is old south with wonderful old houses and beautiful squares perfect for wandering. Southern food and hospitality are the norm. Lots of history with a haunted twist.

St. Augustine is very spanish and very historical with lots of "oldest" type attractions. The fort Castillo De San Marcos is the centerpiece and is right in the middle of town. Seafood and spanish food are the highlights here. If you have never been to the Columbia spanish restaurant it is a must visit.

Very hard to say which I like better but you can't go wrong with either.

>> If you have never been to the Columbia spanish restaurant it is a must visit.<<

I second that recommendation. I third it, too. Not to be missed.

While both cities have their merits and are worth a visit, they are different. St. A is about the Spanish influence and, partly, the wealthy folks who made it a winter refuge. (Take the Flagler College tour for an example of that.) Savannah is Old South, and endeavors to keep it that way.

In either city, using the hop-on, hop-off "trolley" is a good way to see the place and the notable sights.

If you have a week, you can easily do both. A day in St. Augustine is more than enough. I can't imagine staying busy in SA unless you rent a beach condo and hang out on the beach for the rest of the week.

Go see both.

Having just come from St. Augustine, I would agree with Starrs. You can walk around the historic center in a couple of hours.

If you like seafood, I highly recommend O'Steens, which is just outside the historic center. No reservations, no credit cards.

If you drive to Savannah from there, I can recommend some food stops along the route, so let me know if you are interested.

Sorry, forgot a link for O'Steens. Prepare to wait a short time for a table unless you go at an off time, and even then, you may face a short wait. Extremely friendly and homey place; on the main road, A1A, between downtown and the beach.

http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/R...ens-restaurant

Do both if you have a week. We love St Georges Inn in St Augustine and anywhere on Bay St in Savannah is nice.

>I can't imagine staying busy in SA unless you rent a beach condo and hang out on the beach for the rest of the week. <

My family did just this the week before Christmas and loved it.

I loved both Savannah and SA, so it would be hard for me to recommend one over the other.

I like doing it too. :-)

It's just a less busier way to spend a week than his earlier thread.

http://www.anastasiacondos.com/

We used to stay here and loved it.

Well technically I have a week BUT one thing on my bucket list is to swim with manatees so I was thinking of squeezing that in on the first or last day and one evening is dedicated to visit my MIL who recently moved to Satsuma. So my week is dwindling. :)

The only manatee swim option I have located so far is at Crystal River, is that accurate?

Our summer vacation was spent at the beach, so we do not need beach time this trip.

We like to see as much as we can but I have a tendency to try to do too much...oh the choices!

Yes. Head to Crystal River for manatees.

If you haven't been to the sponge docks, go to Tarpon Springs and eat some Greek food.

Have you been here?
http://www.floridastateparks.org/cal...nd/default.cfm

starrs I see from your link that we can see manatees in Blue Springs Park which is closer to the other locations I hope to visit, but swimming is not allowed. Do you know of any other manatee locations?

IMHO, I believe that St. Augustine has more to offer in terms of history than Savannah, esp. being that St. Augustine is the oldest city in the U.S. Also they will be celebrating their 450th anniversary this year (2015). I would choose St. A over Savannah, however that's because I love Spanish culture/history. If you're more into Old South/Civil War history you may want to choose Savannah. Both are beautiful cities.

It takes about one hour to see St. Augustine.

Two streets and a fort not worth the price of admission, culinary slop. LOTS of old people.

Savannah takes about two days. More if you want to explore the surrounding area.

Architecture, Revolutionary War(they put up a very expensive monument for some Polish guy), Civil War, maritime history (the first steam assisted ship to cross the Atlantic, and the first nuclear powered merchant ship were both named after Savannah for a reason), college town, food, culture.

There are also more proletarian attractions like ghost tours and Tom Hanks cardboard cutouts.

Mark

oh my, your week gets more complicated. Cedar Key is a relaxing day after the manatees. You might even want to spend the night here. It is all walkable, good seafood and bars within walking distance of hotels or B&Bs. Eat Greek in Tarpon springs.
A couple of days in St Augustine.

That Polish guy was the founder of American cavalry and died at the siege of Savannah. In addition to a couple of other military guys, statues include John Wesley (founder of Methodism), Johnny Mercer (songwriter including Moon River), James Oglethorpe, founder of Savannah, and W.W. Gordon, founder of the Central of Georgia Railway. There's a giant boulder honoring Tomochichi, Creek Indian leader.

Savannah had 22 squares and they honor George Washington, Ben Franklin, presidents, governors, Savannah families, military men and battles. I doubt that's very different from other cities. Strolling the squares of Savannah is my favorite thing to do in the city.

I've missed the Tom Hanks cutout but I've been asked countless times where his park bench is (it was a prop).

I do agree that a day in St. Augustine is a gracious plenty, unless the rest of the week is spent on the beach.

If you are driving from Tarpon Springs to SA or even on to Savannah, I'll repeat my recommendation to stop in Cross Creek for this -
http://www.floridastateparks.org/mar...innanrawlings/

TS to Savannah is not a bad drive at all. In fact, I drove almost that far a couple of days ago. With a week, you have plenty of time to do a nice little loop.

It is illegal to harass manatees, don't know of any place where you can legally swim with manatees. My wife and daughter went to Blue Springs last Friday and there were lots of manatees but you cannot swim with them.