Once a year we take a beach trip with my parents. We rent a house or a condo, drive down with the car loaded up, and spend a week or so enjoying family time in the sun, sand, and surf. The older I get, the more I love the beach. There’s just something about that ocean breeze and the sand between my toes that makes me feel at home!
This year, we traveled to St. Augustine, Florida. We’ve rented the same quaint 3-bedroom condo for three years now and we love the location and the space. The condo has changed ownership since the first few times we stayed, but we were happy with the service and the updates to the decor. We rented our condo through Vacation Rental Time. (Click here to check out what they offer!)
Our Favorite Things to Do and Eat in St. Augustine
Of course, our favorite thing to do when we go down to St. Augustine is to play in the ocean and sand! The condo we rent is right on the beach and it’s easy to pop out a couple of times a day to play and then come back for a meal or for a rest.
The condo has a great pool and playground too!
We also love trying out restaurants – especially seafood places! Some of our favorites are:
The Columbia Restaurant – A must-do at least once! A historic Cuban restaurant serving traditional Spanish food. Try the sangria, the empanadas, and the scallops “Casimiro.”
O’Steen’s – Always a long wait – but worth it!
Salt Life Food Shack – A modern seafood place with an eclectic menu. Poke bowls, sushi, fish tacos, and more.
Sunset Grille – Great tasting seafood! Eat outside on the upper deck.
Salt Water Cowboys – A great date-night restaurant. Dine in the evening and watch the sunset!
The Oasis – A casual restaurant with live music. Try the oysters and the fish sandwich!
Seafood Kitchen – A no-frills “hole-in-the-wall” seafood place with really, really tasty affordable food. My favorite place to eat while we’re in St. Augustine!
Ice Plant Bar – Tour the St. Augustine Distillery and then stop in the Ice Plant Bar for a couple of amazing cocktails and a bite to eat.
Gas Full-Service Restaurant – Great hamburgers in a casual setting.
Casa Maria Mexican Cuisine – Tasty Mexican food! Visit on Taco Tuesday for 2 for 1 drinks!
The Conch House – Carribean food restaurant with neat tiki hut booths over the water.
When it rains at the beach, I love having some beach-themed crafts ready for the kids to create. Here are a few we made this year:
Click here for directions for the ocean sensory bottles.
Click here for directions for the aquarium jars.
Each year, we eat cake by the ocean. It’s a tradition! I make my coconut cake ahead of time and cool it in the fridge. It’s sweet and refreshing after a long day on the beach!
Another thing we love to cook at the beach is a big old seafood boil. Yum!
This year, I picked up this cool make-your-own-Hawaiian-shirt cookie kit from Trader Joes. It was a big hit!
We always get ice cream from Cone Heads. It’s the best!
Another thing we love to do during our stay is to stop into Fiesta Falls Mini-Golf and hit a few balls. Graham got a hole-in-one this year!
And a trip to the beach wouldn’t be complete without shopping at a few kitchy souvenir shops!
There are tons of other fun attractions to check out in St. Augustine! A few more of our favorites are:
St. Augustine Pirate Treasure Museum
We’ve also heard great things about:
Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth
What are your favorite things to do at the beach?
I love the pictures! Like you and your family, our family also loves seafood. I love calamari, especially! I always request them at restaurants if I know they have them and they are not exorbitant in pricing. I love beaches too, and one of my favorite things to do at a beach is collect seashells, unless it is a lake or a place where there are none.
We love collecting seashells too!
Love the tiki huts! That would be too much fun! Always love hearing food recommendations. Love all these cute beach pictures too!
-Jennifer
https://maunelegacy.com
The tiki huts were so fun!