Hi all!
I hope some of you love small European towns.
If yes then you are reading a correct article!
Welcome to the northeast of
Florida.
Today I will share my experience – what I learned about St. Augustine while traveling along the East Coast of the United States.
And also I will tell you a little bit
about strict alcohol policy with a bunch of prohibitions and restrictions In Florida state
because this is the question that I found my readers want to know the most😂 …
I will also tell you what to do in St Augustine if you have a free day or even just a couple of hours to stop and see its sights and feel the unique atmosphere.
Let’s get started!
About St.
Augustine
It is the first US city that was founded by Europeans and has been constantly inhabited from the moment of construction to the present day.
It is located in the USA in the state of Florida, almost on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, under the protection of an
impressive star fortress.
This city arose in the 16th century, and the Spaniards were the first settlers here.
St. Augustine is also called quite a European city in America , which will be of interest to all travelers interested in history and architecture.
St. Augustine is a city on the Atlantic coast in the southeastern United States in the state of Florida, founded in 1565 by the Spaniards and personally by Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles , the first governor of Florida.
And the first name of the city was San Agustin, that is, St. Augustine, since the Spaniards, after a long voyage, saw the land on the day of St. Augustine.
I think that’s enough about the history, (more details can be found on Wikipedia). 😆
And now I will tell you what you can do there.
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Attractions of St.
Augustine
By the way, there is a tourist information center in downtown St. Augustine where you can come and get a map of the city and a lot of practical information, including a lot of information about staying there and some useful tips.
The visitor center is located at the intersection of San Marco Ave and W Castillo Drive, near Fort Castillo de San Marcos at 10 S Castillo Dr, St Augustine.
St. Augustine has a huge number of attractions and it is convenient that they are grouped together in different areas.
Most of the interesting places of St. Augustine are collected near the main attraction of the city:
Fort Castillo de San Marcos
in the Spanish quarter.
The second group is the area of King Street, where there are museums and wineries.
And a few more interesting attractions are located on the neighboring islands.
For example, the lighthouse of San Agustin on Anastasia Island.
You can see the sights of St. Augustine both on foot and by car (it’s convenient to drive to distant locations).
Most tourists in the United States prefer to explore the sights on their own, rather than follow a guide in the crowd.
However, there are some interesting ways to see the sights of St. Augustine with a guide:
On the red tram (Red Train Tours), which has been operating since 1953.
The guided tour lasts 1. 5 hours and makes 22 stops. On the plus side, they pick up and deliver back to the hotel.
There are also tours to scary haunted places. Tours start at 8:30 am and trams run until 5:00 pm.
Cost for three days: $24. 99 and $9. 99 for children.
The trolls (
Old Town
Trolley Tours) have the coolest guides.
The trip lasts 1 hour 10 minutes, during which 20 stops are scheduled among the sights and points of interest in St. Augustine (you can get off at any stop and then get back on the next trolley). Cost – from 25 dollars.
On a boat (Scenic Cruise) with a family that has been taking guests for generations.
Therefore, they are great connoisseurs of the history of their city.
Their tour lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes around Matanzas Bay.
Departs from the city harbor, south of the Lions Bridge . The undoubted plus of this excursion is that you can see dolphins along the way.
Now, we are moving to the most interesting part of the article: alcohol in St.
Augustine 👻…
Can You Drink Alcohol in St.
Augustine In Public?
No, it is not allowed to
drink alcohol in public.
Florida has a very strict alcohol policy with a bunch of prohibitions and restrictions.
Although, each state has its own regulation in this area, and, accordingly, its own rules and laws.
I had a chance to get acquainted only with the orders in the states of Florida, New York and Massachusetts, but they also seemed to me, in some way, strange and unusual.
Can You Drink Alcohol in St. Augustine?
Alcohol on the Florida Beach
Many Tourists drink alcohol on Beaches.
The police said they knew all the tourists’ tricks for a long time.
For example, it will no longer be possible to bring vodka to the beach in bottles of sunscreen.
Therefore, tourists are advised to either follow the rules, or at least be smart and hide alcohol better.
Last summer on Florida beaches , the police detained many tourists who were sure that they were very cunning and that their drinking vodka on the beach would go unnoticed.
It turned out that on the Internet, enterprising merchants had already set up the sale of empty and clean bottles of sunscreen for such purposes.
The police announcement sparked a flurry of comments on social media.
Tourists planning to go to Florida and locals vying with each other offer their ideas on how to hide alcohol on the beach.
Many agreed that alcohol should simply be poured into soft drink bottles.
Can You Drink Alcohol in St. Augustine?
Can You Walk With Alcohol in St.
Augustine?
No, It is strictly forbidden.
It is not allowed to drink alcohol on the street, and in the open area.
If, for example, you are caught with a bottle of beer or simply drunk on one of the streets, in a park, public transport in St Augustine, you will be fined up to 100 USD and jail time up to 90 days.
An even more severe fine can be imposed if you are caught serving a minor with alcohol.
Alcoholic drinks are mainly sold only in shops licensed to sell alcohol, after 23:00 the sale of alcohol is prohibited.
There is a single rule for everyone: you can buy an alcoholic drink in a store, shopping center, bar or restaurant only if you are already 21 years old.
You will definitely be asked to provide proof of identity, even if you are older.
What Time Can You Buy Beer in St.
Augustine FL?
All day long until 23:00 when the sale of alcohol is prohibited.
Why I Could Not Buy Beer in St.
Augustine ?
A funny incident happened to me at the supermarket checkout in St. Augustine once.
A week after my arrival to this town, I tried to buy a couple of bottles of Belgian beer as a present for my new American acquaintance.
Having presented my driving license from my homeland at the checkout (at that time I did not yet have an American driving license), I was refused.
The cashier boy twisted my license in his hands for a long time, and then he asked me a question: in which state did I get them? ! ? 😅
It turned out that every cashier had a memo with photos of licenses from all 50 states, and my license did not look like any of the pictures he had!
All my arguments were that the rights were obtained in another country and are international and that with these driving licenses, without any problems, I rented a car and still drove it (which was the absolute truth) – he was not convinced.
The seller very kindly asked me to show him some other identity documents.
I didn’t buy beer that day, because I didn’t have a passport with me.
But I wrote a complaint to the management of this shop about this misunderstanding and the answer to it simply shocked me.
The next day, the administrator contacted me. They told me “thank you for your appeal and sorry that you had to experience inconvenience” but our cashier acted according to the instructions and that he did everything correct.
That he should not sell alcohol on dubious driving licenses which he did not find in his memo with photos of licenses from all 50 states.
And they wrote that they sent a request to the one who compiled their instructions, so that European-style driver’s licenses would be included in the pictures by which they check the rights.
Still it is hard for me to understand that the Americans put the observance of the rules and instructions much higher than making a profit 😮…
