St. Augustine has plenty of attractions that most first-time visitors already know about. You can walk St. George Street, see Castillo de San Marcos, spend time at the beach, and take a trolley through the historic district.
All of those can be worth doing. But if your family wants something a little different, St. Augustine gets more interesting once you look beyond the standard sightseeing list.
After helping families plan Florida vacations and dolphin experiences for about 30 years, one thing I recommend is mixing the famous attractions with one or two experiences your family probably can’t do back home. Those are often the things everyone talks about after the trip.
Here are some unusual things to do in St. Augustine that can add a different side to your vacation.
If you’re looking for something that feels completely different from a normal sightseeing day, a dolphin experience is hard to beat.
The St. Augustine Dolphin program offers several ways to interact with dolphins. The Dolphin Swim includes shallow- and deep-water activities and a dolphin ride, while the Dolphin Encounter stays in shallow water and does not require swimming. There is also a poolside Meet & Greet for guests who don’t want to enter the water.
For families researching swimming with dolphins St Augustine, I recommend comparing the programs before booking instead of simply choosing the most active option. Children’s height, swimming ability, comfort in deeper water, and the adults participating with them can all affect which experience makes the most sense.
You can also visit our St. Augustine Dolphin Programs section for more information that can help you compare your choices.
This is also an activity I would plan first and build the rest of the day around. Dolphin programs have scheduled participation times and limited space, so advance reservations are a much better strategy than trying to squeeze the experience into an already packed itinerary.
Best for: Families looking for a major vacation experience rather than another sightseeing stop.
Most St. Augustine visitors know about Castillo de San Marcos. Far fewer build a trip around its smaller relative to the south, Fort Matanzas National Monument.
The Spanish constructed the fortified watchtower in the 1740s to protect the southern approach to St. Augustine. Today, reaching the fort itself involves taking a short National Park Service ferry across the Matanzas River.
That little boat trip is what makes this a particularly good choice for families. Instead of walking into another museum or historic building, you’re combining history, coastal scenery, and a ferry ride.
Even better for families watching their vacation budget, the National Park Service currently charges no admission fee for the park or ferry. Free boarding passes are required for the ferry and are obtained at the Fort Matanzas Visitor Center on a first-come, first-served basis. Ferry trips can also be affected by weather and other conditions, so check the current National Park Service information before you go.
Check current Fort Matanzas ferry and visitor information with the National Park Service.
John’s tip: Don’t treat Fort Matanzas like a quick downtown attraction. It is south of central St. Augustine, so it works better when you group it with other activities along the coast rather than driving back and forth across town.
If your family enjoys history but wants to learn something beyond the stories most commonly associated with colonial St. Augustine, put Fort Mose Historic State Park on your list.
Fort Mose holds a unique place in American history because it became the earliest officially recognized community of free Africans within the territory that is now the United States.
Its story is an important part of both St. Augustine history and American history, but many visitors arrive in the city without knowing about it.
The park offers opportunities to learn about this history while also exploring the natural setting around the site. Because museum, fort-access, and tour schedules can vary, I recommend checking the current Florida State Parks information before planning your visit.
See current Fort Mose Historic State Park visitor information.
For older children and teenagers, this can add useful context to everything else they see around St. Augustine. The city’s history becomes much more interesting when you realize there wasn’t just one story unfolding here.
Best for: Families with school-age children and teens who enjoy history, culture, and places with a deeper story behind them.
Another place that deserves more attention is the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center.
Located in the historic Lincolnville neighborhood, the museum explores centuries of Black history and culture in St. Augustine. Its exhibits help visitors understand parts of the city’s story that can easily be missed during a quick trip through the main tourist district.
This is the type of stop that can change how you see the rest of the city.
Historic St. Augustine is often presented through Spanish architecture, forts, Flagler-era buildings, and tourism landmarks. Lincolnville adds another important layer to that story.
Check the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center for current exhibits and visitor information.
I especially like activities like this for families who want their vacation to include something educational without turning the day into a classroom assignment. Give the kids a beach afternoon afterward and you’ve got a pretty good balance.
Best for: Families who want to understand more of St. Augustine than the main tourist district shows at first glance.
Calling the Lightner Museum unusual may sound odd because it sits right in the middle of one of St. Augustine’s most recognizable historic areas.
The collections are where things get interesting.
The museum occupies the former Hotel Alcazar and contains an eclectic collection that includes Gilded Age furniture, vintage typewriters, American art glass, mechanical musical instruments, and other objects collected over the years.
That makes it different from a museum where every room follows one narrow subject.
Kids who aren’t excited about looking at paintings for an hour may find more to talk about when the next room contains something they weren’t expecting.
The Lightner also presents changing exhibitions, so it is worth checking the museum’s current schedule before your visit rather than assuming the exhibits are exactly the same as they were on a previous trip.
See current Lightner Museum exhibitions and visitor information.
Best for: Families who like quirky collections, unusual objects, architecture, and indoor activities.
Most families think of Anastasia State Park as a beach destination. That’s only part of it.
Salt Run gives paddlers another way to experience the natural side of the St. Augustine area. Instead of historic buildings and busy streets, you can spend time around coastal habitat and open water.
For active families, that contrast can be exactly what a vacation needs after a busy sightseeing day.
Just remember that paddling conditions are different from sitting on a beach. Weather, wind, tides, children’s experience, and everyone’s comfort on the water should factor into your plans. Check current park conditions and available paddling services before heading out.
Check current Anastasia State Park information through Florida State Parks.
Best for: Active families, nature lovers, and anyone who wants a break from crowds and downtown sightseeing.
Plenty of visitors climb the St. Augustine Lighthouse for the view. A more unusual way to experience the site is to pay attention to what happens beyond the tower.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum explores maritime history through exhibits and educational experiences that include shipwreck archaeology and artifacts connected to the area’s maritime past.
That can turn the lighthouse from a photo stop into something closer to a working history and maritime-learning experience.
Families with kids interested in shipwrecks, archaeology, science, or the ocean may find this part more memorable than the tower climb itself.
And if some members of your group can’t or don’t want to climb the lighthouse, the exhibits and other activities provide another way to experience the site.
Check current St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum visitor information.
Best for: Curious kids, shipwreck fans, history lovers, and families interested in maritime history.
The mistake I see families make is trying to fit six or seven attractions into one day because everything looks close on a map.
St. Augustine is more enjoyable when you choose fewer things and give yourself time to enjoy them.
For example, you could make a dolphin experience your main morning activity, have lunch, then spend the afternoon exploring Fort Matanzas or Anastasia State Park. Another day could focus on downtown and nearby cultural attractions such as the Lightner Museum and Lincolnville Museum.
I would not try to combine everything on this list.
Choose one bigger experience and perhaps one or two smaller stops. Leave room for lunch, traffic, tired kids, beach time, and the unexpected things you find along the way.
That usually makes a better family vacation than racing from attraction to attraction just so you can say you saw them all.
It depends on what your family considers unusual.
If you want a major bucket-list-style activity, the Dolphin Swim or Dolphin Encounter stands out. If your kids love nature, kayaking may be the better choice. History-focused families may enjoy Fort Mose, Lincolnville, or taking the ferry to Fort Matanzas. If your group prefers museums, the Lightner’s eclectic collection or the maritime exhibits at the lighthouse give you something beyond a standard sightseeing stop.
The good news is that you don’t have to skip St. Augustine’s famous attractions to make your trip different.
See the fort. Walk St. George Street. Go to the beach.
Then add one experience your family wasn’t expecting.
Those are often the days that turn a normal Florida trip into a vacation everyone remembers.
Families can consider a dolphin experience, the Fort Matanzas ferry, Fort Mose, the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, kayaking around Anastasia State Park, the eclectic collections at the Lightner Museum, or the maritime exhibits at the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The right choice depends on your children’s ages, interests, and comfort with outdoor activities.
A dolphin experience is one of the more distinctive options because families can choose between an in-water Dolphin Swim, a shallow-water Dolphin Encounter, or a poolside Meet & Greet depending on current participation requirements and the needs of the group.
Yes. Fort Matanzas, Fort Mose Historic State Park, Anastasia State Park, and the St. Augustine Dolphin program all give families reasons to explore beyond the main downtown tourist area.
I usually recommend choosing one main activity and one or two smaller stops rather than trying to see everything at once. Scheduled activities, meals, parking, traffic, and tired kids can take more time than families expect.
If swimming with dolphins or meeting a dolphin sounds like the unusual St. Augustine experience your family is looking for, take a few minutes to compare the different programs before you reserve.
Learn more about the St. Augustine Dolphin Swim and Dolphin Encounter and see which experience may be the best fit for your family.
I also recommend reserving in advance whenever possible, especially for summer, spring break, holidays, and busy weekends. Program requirements, prices, and availability can change, so check the current information before booking.
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