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-   -   Tallahassee, St Augustine & Savannah - February/March 2020 (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/tallahassee-st-augustine-and-savannah-february-march-2020-a-1669936/)

vacationbug Jul 27th, 2019 02:43 AM

Tallahassee, St Augustine & Savannah - February/March 2020
 
I will be 60 in January 2020 and my husband and I are trying to plan a special trip as part of the celebrations (I'm not so keen on getting older, but it sure beats the alternative!). We will be travelling from the UK. We have visited the US a number of times in the past (including Orlando when our son was small), but the last time was 5+ years ago. On previous trips we have covered a lot of ground in 14 - 20 days, e.g Missoula to Denver.

This time we are thinking of 14 - 20 days starting in Tallahassee, then on to St Augustine (or somewhere on that coast), then to Savannah, GA, and finally back to Tallahassee to fly home. The idea is to have a relatively leisurely trip; hiring a car and radiating out to visit other places from each of the 3 stops. The exception could be that on the coastal stop we might look to be even more chilled. We are hoping that the weather might be in the upper 60s/low 70s at a time when the UK is still in miserable winter!

I should say that we are pretty fit and active, enjoy sightseeing and visiting your National and State parks, but are not hikers or campers -- we will rent houses/apartment, or stay in hotels/motels.

When I have been planning previous trips I received some really helpful input from Forum users - often the sort of thoughts that I would not find in travel books, or online. So any input is welcome - weather, places we might visit, places to avoid, local tips etc.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, and we look forward to our visit.

Jane

Macross Jul 27th, 2019 03:44 AM

Why are you flying into Tallahassee? I live in Fl and there is nothing I would stop and see till I got to St Augustine, Amelia Island is beautiful north of Jacksonville.

TDudette Jul 27th, 2019 07:39 AM

Hi vacationbug, my trip reports are getting dated but I believe many places of interest have remained interesting. Have a great trip and please share your experiences!

For St. Augustine and Savannah: https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...ryland-878217/

sf7307 Jul 27th, 2019 01:09 PM

If you’re going as far as Savannah, I’d personally continue on to Charleston. I’d also consider a stop on Jekyll Island - we loved the historic section and took a lovely bike ride around the island.

SusanMargaret Jul 28th, 2019 11:00 AM

Check the historic temperatures for January in the places you are looking at. We were in Savannah in March and it was quite cool. The year before we were in St. Augustine for January and it was just plain cold. Unless you've booked your flights, I'd look further south. Sarasota is a favourite for me as is Naples.

Dukey1 Jul 28th, 2019 11:28 AM

As others have said, it can get cold in North Florida in January. I'm not sure I fully understand the reasoning for the beginning and ending in Tallahassee.

gmoney Jul 28th, 2019 07:04 PM

Avoid Tallahassee like the plague. St
Augustine and Savannah are both amazing places can't imagine why anyone would want to visit Tally.

StantonHyde Jul 28th, 2019 08:57 PM

If you click on my user name you will see trip reports for St. Augustine and Savannah. Loved them both!

Macross Jul 29th, 2019 04:51 PM

Gmoney, we agree on something. I hate that ride to Tallahassee.

SenatorSteve Aug 2nd, 2019 02:54 PM

Vacationbug: I spend a lot of time in Tallahassee. I like it better than the other people have posted. However, it's really not in the same class as a St. Augustine or Savannah.

I just got back from 16 days in the UK. I go there to get away from the heat. Why are you coming here when it's cold? It's frequently cold in Tallahassee in January. Not all the time, it can get up to the 60's or 70's, but the 30's and 40's are also common. The twenties or teens are not unheard of. If you decide to go there, I can give you advice. BTW, I'm 60 as well.

Savannah and St. Augustine are on the Coast, and therefore will be a little warmer, if there's not a cold wind off the ocean. If you're looking for warmer climes, I'd suggest from Orlando South. There's a lot to do in the center of the State. From Tampa on the West to Cape Kennedy on the East. There's a bunch to do there. If you like antiquing, consider Renningers near Orlando in pretty Mt. Dora, which is itself an antique mecca. You could spend time heading South on both Coasts. In SW Florida, Naples, Ft. Meyers, Sannibel Island, etc. In SE Florida, there are so many things to do in Palm Beach, Broward (Ft. Lauderdale) and Miami Dade that you could fill your schedule just there. Broward is the center of those three counties, and a convenient base. Don't forget the famous Florida Keys. There's always Key West, but if you're looking for a nicer, quieter place, look at Hawk's Cay resort.

I'm really not an expert on anything North of Florida, although I can tell you from Tallahassee that it's only about a 4 1/2 hour drive to Atlanta, 2 hours to Panama City, and 5 1/2 hour drive to New Orleans.

Good luck!

vacationbug Aug 4th, 2019 03:13 AM

Thank you all for your tips. I know now that St Augustine and Savannah are well recommended, and I think that I will limit the time we spend in Tallahassee to 2/3 days to look around and visit the Gulf coast. We may use the extra time to go as far as Charleston SC.

Btw - our trip is from 19th February to 8th March 2020. The dates relate to my birthday and to catch your lower season accommodation rates. Being from the UK we are hoping that your weather will be better than ours, and we have visited the southern part of Florida some years ago.

Any tips SenatorSteve has on Tallahassee will be gratefully received.

AustinTraveler Aug 4th, 2019 08:28 AM

Tallahassee is not the place to stay to visit the Gulf Coast. I would check out Apalachicola instead. Not much to do there, especially in the dead of winter. Is flying into Tallahassee economical for you? Why not skip it altogether and fly direct into one of the other cities.

gmoney Aug 5th, 2019 06:43 AM

Vacationbug, don't want to rain on your parade but I am just curious. What is it in Tallahassee that you want to see or expect to see. Other than FSU, FAMU and the Capital there is not much there.

SenatorSteve Aug 5th, 2019 03:08 PM

Just a few suggestions to start off.

Location: If you want to be near the capitol, there are two very close locations. The Governor's inn is a small boutique hotel near the Capitol that gets good reviews. https://govinntallahassee.com/ . The Doubletree is one block away and also get's good reviews. https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/ho...PDT/index.html . There are other hotels in downtown further away. The Hotel Duval is a nice hotel, a little too far to walk, with an excellent Steak Restaurant (Shula's). If you want to travel to other locations, you may want a place near the interstates, and there are many places with Hilton or Marriott brands near the interstates.

If you visit the Capitol, make sure that you take the elevator to the 22nd floor for a great view of the area. There's an indoor observation deck at the top of the Capitol (22nd floor). You can also see the Hose and Senate Chambers, and the Old Capitol Museum. The Supreme Court is across the Street, and the State Archives and Museum is one block away. Florida State University is also within walking distance of the Capitol, although maybe 5-6 blocks. there's a lot to see on this historic campus.

You should probably get some fresh seafood on the Gulf at either Crawfordville or Panacea, Look through reviews and pick your favorite. There's a well known local Tallahassee seafood place called the Wharf.

A favorite restaurant of mine has been A La Provence, an excellent French restaurant.
https://alaprovence.com/

Consider a drive on Old Plantation Road, where you can see... Old plantation homes. Thomasville Georgia isn't far, and might be worth a trip. Same with Pebble Hill Plantation.

There's some decent antique shopping in Tallahassee and Thomasville.

Let me know if you have specific questions.

Good luck.

vacationbug Aug 12th, 2019 05:52 AM

Thanks for the suggestions SenatorSteve - we always like to visit the Capitol of any state that we pass through, it gives a sense of the place and its history. Thank you particularly for the tip on going to the 22nd floor as I probably would not have found that myself. I will also incorporate the other things you mentioned into our plans. In addition, we are planning to visit Wakulla Springs State Park and Alfred B Maclay State Park.


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