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Media Kit: Fact Sheet
ST. AUGUSTINE, PONTE VEDRA AND THE BEACHES
2004 FACT SHEET
Introduction
St. Johns County includes St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and the area's 42 miles of ocean beaches.
Situated in northeast Florida on the Atlantic Ocean, St. Johns County has long been a popular place for tourists attracted by its historical sites, churches, monuments and attractions.
The area's popularity has increased as visitors have discovered the lengthy shoreline and unspoiled beaches of Anastasia Island, Vilano Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and the beachfront offered by area state parks. Adding to the attractiveness of the area are its outstanding golf and tennis facilities and deep-sea and inland fishing, some of the finest in the United States.
St. Augustine is the oldest, continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States. It was founded in 1565-42 years before the English colonized Jamestown and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The city features an astounding array of historic sites and buildings. Bringing the ambiance of the Old City to life are more than 40 annual festivals and events, many of them featuring re-enactments and historically accurate costuming that reflect the history of St. Augustine.
St. Augustine Beach offers lodging and restaurants directly on the Atlantic Ocean. The charming beachside area permits driving on the beaches in some areas and is home to one of northeast Florida's most popular public fishing piers.
Ponte Vedra Beachis increasingly becoming known worldwide as Florida's upscale playground. Ponte Vedra Beach offers outstanding resorts and spas, seven world-famous golf courses, world-class tennis facilities, including more than 100 tennis courts, and 20 miles of shell-sprinkled shoreline and towering dunes.
Combined, the beaches of St. Johns County stretch 42 miles from Ponte Vedra, in the north, to Marineland of Florida, at the county's southern boundary.
Location
- St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach are located in St. Johns County on Florida's northeast coast. St. Augustine is a one-hour drive north from Daytona Beach, a one-hour, 40-minute drive north of orlando and a 35-minute drive south of Jacksonville, Florida.
- Ponte Vedra Beach is located on the Atlantic coast in the northern part of St. Johns County. Ponte Vedra Beach borders Jacksonville and is approximately a 75-minute drive north of Daytona Beach.
Museums
Capturing the history and heritage of St. Augustine are a variety of local museums, each presenting a different story and a different phase of St. Augustine's history.
A listing of some of the most frequently visited museums includes:
- Florida Heritage Museum
- Government House Museum
- Historic Village of St. Augustine
- Lightner Museum
- Museum of Weapons and Early American History
- Oldest House
- Oldest Store Museum
- Restored Spanish Quarter Village
- St. Augustine Historical Society Gallery
- St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum
Historic Churches And Cemeteries
As one of Spain's earliest occupied cities in the New World, religion played an important role for the Crown, who was interested in converting the Native-American population. The colonists' faith was often tested in the harsh and demanding environment in which they had chosen to live. Today, churches dating back to the1500s stand alongside other historic churches.
A partial listing of some of the most well-known churches and cemeteries found in St. Augustine includes:
- Ancient City Baptist Church
- Cathedral Basilica - Cathedral of St. Augustine
- Grace United Methodist Church
- Huguenot Cemetery
- Memorial Presbyterian Church
- Mission of Nombre de Dios
- St. Mary's Missionary Baptist Church
- St. Paul's A.M.E. Church
- St. Photios National Greek orthodox Shrine
- Tolomato Cemetery
- Trinity Episcopal Church
Attractions
There are more than 85 attractions in the St. Augustine area. A partial listing of the most frequently visited attractions includes:
- Authentic old Drug Store
- Authentic old Jail
- Lightner Antique Mall
- Oldest Wooden School House
- St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum
- Potter's Wax Museum
- Ripley's Believe It or Not
- San Sebastian Winery
- St. Augustine Alligator Farm
- Whetstone Chocolate Factory
- Old St. Augustine Village
- Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
Sightseeing Tours
Narrated sightseeing tours of downtown St. Augustine are conducted from charming open-air trolleys or antique trains and horse-drawn carriages. on Matanzas Bay, which borders the city, scenic sightseeing tours are provided aboard cruise boats.
Walking tours of the old City, hosted by knowledgeable tour guides in period costume, take visitors through the narrow streets and relate the history and color of St. Augustine. The walking tours range from historical tours to colorful "Ghost Tours." Informational maps for self-guided walking tours are also available.
Festivals And Events
St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra host more than 40 festivals and special events throughout the year.
Each spring and fall, St. Augustine hosts an annual art and crafts festival. A myriad of multicultural and local heritage events take place in the summer months. Ecotourism and educational events, including themed celebrations honoring historic dates, are presented throughout the year. Events such as the Menendez Birthday Celebration, Hastings Cabbage & Potato Festival and six professional fishing tournaments are always popular.
Highlighting the year's events is the annual Nights of Lights, a holiday celebration featuring millions of tiny white lights that outline the bay front and buildings of historic downtown St. Augustine, transforming the old City into a festive nighttime holiday wonderland. Nights of Lights is traditionally staged from Thanksgiving through the end of January.
Accommodations
St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and the beaches offer a combined total of more than 7,000 accommodation units. There's something for everyone's taste and price range, from internationally known resorts and luxurious beachside rooms to unique bed & breakfast inns, affordable motel rooms and oceanside condominiums. The area also offers a wide range of camping facilities and RV parks.
St. Augustine has more than 50 hotels, motels, resorts and inns with a total room inventory of more than 2,100 guest rooms.
St. Augustine Beach has 15 hotels and motels, as well as condominiums and interval ownership accommodations.
Ponte Vedra includes two premier resorts with more than 800 guest rooms, luxury suites and villas.
Resort Hotels
Ponte Vedra's resorts are known worldwide for their superb lodging and recreation facilities.
The Marriott at Sawgrass and the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club have both received prestigious Four Diamond Award recognition. Each offers acclaimed golf and tennis facilities, renowned dining and on-site recreational facilities as fine as any resort facility in the world.
A tribute to golf, located near St. Augustine, is the World Golf Village. The 300-room World Golf Village Resort Hotel is the lodging centerpiece at the resort. Vacationers and conference attendees can also stay at Vistana Resort vacation ownership villas or The Residences corporate villas.
In 1999, a $17 million renovation restored the Casa Monica Hotel to its 1888 splendor. Located in historic downtown St. Augustine, the 137-room Casa Monica Hotel is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Each of the hotel's guest rooms was designed with its own unique features providing guests with an unparalleled lodging experience.
Bed & Breakfast Inns
St. Augustine is home to 28 romantic Victorian and Spanish-style inns, some centuries old, offering more than guest rooms.
Travelers are advised to call ahead for weekend reservations or to consider visiting during weekdays, when bed & breakfast inn availability is more plentiful.
Condominiums
Oceanside condominiums, spacious villas, historic district lodges and privately owned units are available for rental. Condo rental is usually offered for a minimum of three days or longer.
Campgrounds
17 RV Parks with more than 1,700 sites are available.
State Parks
The area's three state parks all offer overnight RV and camping facilities.
- Anastasia State Recreation Area, Anastasia Island on A1A.
- Faver-Dykes State Park, 15 miles south of St. Augustine on US 1.
- Guana River State Park, South Ponte Vedra Beach on A1A.
Meeting And Conference Facilities
In Ponte Vedra, the Marriott at Sawgrass and the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, offer a combined total of 64,400 square feet of meeting and conference space. The meeting and conference facilities at both resorts can aptly accommodate mid-size to small meetings and gatherings.
Forty-thousand square feet of meeting space is available at the St. Johns County Convention Center, which adjoins the World Golf Village Resort Hotel, eight miles northwest of St. Augustine.
Recreation
St. Johns County's exceptional natural resources offer a wide variety of outdoor recreation experiences. Fishing, golf, tennis, bicycling, hiking and even bird watching are all enjoyed by visitors to St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach.
Fishing
Exceptional deep-sea and freshwater fishing can be enjoyed year-round in the St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra Beach area. Six competitive fishing tournaments are held annually at local Intracoastal marinas.
Surf, jetty and pier fishing are also popular in the area. St. Johns County Pier, Lighthouse Pier and Vilano Beach Pier offer ample onshore fishing opportunities.
The area is well-equipped to host visiting anglers with six full-service marinas and seven boat ramps. Individual full day and half-day charter boat and group fishing tours (including fishing tackle) are available at each of the marinas.
Golf
There are a number of championship golf courses in St. Johns County, including some of the most renowned courses in the United States.
Ponte Vedra is one of the nation's premier locations for golf with courses, ranging from the PGA TOUR's globally recognized The Players Championship (TPC) StadiumŪ Course at Sawgrass, to less-recognized, but equally challenging, resort, private and semi-private courses. The Ocean Course at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club (1928) features the original Island hole after which the TPC Stadium Course's world-famous #17 is modeled.
St. Augustine Shores Golf Club and St. Johns County Golf Course also offer championship golf courses.
The two newest championship courses in the St. Augustine area are located at World Golf Village and are already acclaimed as top new world-class courses. They are the "Slammer and Squire", a par-72 championship course, and the "King and Bear", which was co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Tennis
Ponte Vedra is home of the ATP Tour International Headquarters Resort with a total of 42 courts and 19 championship-surfaced courts, including European red clay, lush grass and cushioned hard courts.
In St. Augustine, nine public tennis courts are available for play at four different municipal sites.
Water Sports
Sailing, windsurfing, personal watercraft (powered watercraft), surfing, boating and body surfing. Intracoastal and inland waterways are great spots for swimming and canoeing.
Sports Events
Ponte Vedra is home to a major PGA tournament and world-class tennis competitions while St. Augustine hosts six professional fishing tournaments annually. Big time stock car racing, including nationally broadcast events, is held year-round at the St. Augustine Speedway. Pari-mutuel wagering is available north of St. Augustine.
- The PGA TOUR's The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, is staged each year in late March.
- ATP, the Association of Tennis Professionals, in Ponte Vedra Beach, is a world-known training facility for many professional tennis players.
- Four professional fishing tournaments, some offering prizes up to $50,000 in value, are conducted each year in St. Johns County:
- Blue Water Tournament, early May
- Ponce's Billfish Tournament, early June
Kingbuster Classic Tournament, mid-June
- A.C.G.F.A. Kingfish Challenge, early August
- Florida Speed Park, a NASCAR-affiliated speedway offers stock car racing in six categories, including two nationally televised races each year.
Nearby Pro And Amateur Sports
- Jacksonville Jaguars, National Football League.
- Gator Bowl, New Year's holiday bowl game matching two of college football's outstanding teams in Jacksonville.
- Daytona International Speedway, home of NASCAR's Daytona 500, Pepsi 400 and the Professional SportsCar Racing Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Many visitors to Jacksonville and Daytona Beach find it convenient to stay in hotels or lodging in St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach or Ponte Vedra Beach while attending professional sports events nearby.
Shopping
More than 20 antique dealers, 25 art galleries, classic boutiques, museum stores, shopping malls and two of the Southeast's largest outlet centers offer a myriad of places to shop for souvenirs, gifts, collectibles and one-of-a-kind items.
Dining
The area offers more than 150 restaurants and a diverse mixture of enjoyable dining experiences that range from fine dining to casual meals.
St. Augustine offers a wide variety of colorful dining spots that reflect the romance and ambiance of the area. From fine dining along the Atlantic shore to unique, casual cafes, the Old City's restaurants feature a wide selection of dining opportunities. Fresh-caught seafood is especially plentiful in St. Augustine restaurants. Specialized thematic menus, such as urban cuisine and creative, American-homestyle cooking can be found here, as well as popular international restaurants featuring Cuban, Spanish and Irish fare.
Ponte Vedra's resorts offer fine-dining restaurants operated by highly skilled restaurateurs. The resorts of Ponte Vedra cater to the most discriminating of tastes and offer dining experiences ranging from gourmet to beachsideoyster roasts
Tours And Groups
Professional receptive tour companies are available to assist tour bus operators and visiting groups.
Tour and group information, including a Group Tour Manual, can be obtained through the Sales Department, St. Johns County Visitors & Convention Bureau, toll-free 1-800-OLD-CITY (653-2489).
Directional Information
St. Augustine
St. Augustine is situated 35 miles south of Jacksonville, 50 miles north of Daytona Beach and 104 miles northeast of Orlando.
Car:From Jacksonville, take I-95 south to exit #318 (State Road 16) and proceed east seven miles. St. Augustine can also be reached from I-95 via exits #311 (State Road 207), #305 (State Road 206) and #298 (U.S. 1 North).
Auto travelers can also take scenic A1A south from Jacksonville, driving 35 miles south from Jacksonville Beach to St. Augustine.
Traveling north from Daytona Beach on I-95, four exits can be used to reach St. Augustine. The easiest exit to travel into St. Augustine is I-95, exit #318, proceeding east on State Road 16 for seven miles into downtown historic St. Augustine.
Signs along I-95 and off the interstate provide clear directions and exit numbers for specific entry points into St. Augustine.
Air: St. Augustine is centrally located between two major commercial airports, Jacksonville International Airport and Daytona Beach International Airport.
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is approximately one hour's drive from St. Augustine. Airlines serving JAX include AirTran Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Comair, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Gulfsteam International, Midway Airlines, Southwest Airlines, US Airways, US Airways Express, United Airlines and United Express.
Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) is 55 minutes driving distance south of St. Augustine. Airlines serving Daytona Beach International Airport include Continental and Delta Air Lines.
St. Augustine/St. Johns County Municipal Airport is the closest private, non-commercial airport accommodating general aviation and corporate air travel. With a runway of 7,200 feet, the airport can facilitate any size aircraft up to a Boeing 757.
Train: AMTRAK serves Jacksonville, north of St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach. AMTRAK also serves Palatka, 28 miles west of St. Augustine.
Bus: Greyhound Bus Lines, St. Augustine (904-829-6401).
Ponte Vedra
Ponte Vedra is south and east of metropolitan Jacksonville and 12 miles north of St. Augustine.
Car: From Jacksonville or St. Augustine, take I-95, exit #101 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard/Route 202) and drive east 12 miles to A1A. Take A1A south three miles to Ponte Vedra.
From St. Augustine: In addition to I-95, Ponte Vedra can also be reached via U.S. 1 or scenic A1A.
U.S. 1:Take U.S. 1 north to State Road 210 and proceed east and north on State Road 210 or east to A1A and then travel north five miles.
A1A: Take scenic A1A north from St. Augustine 20 miles through Vilano Beach directly into Ponte Vedra and Ponte Vedra Beach.
Air:
Jacksonville International Airport, approximately 35 minutes driving time from Ponte Vedra by car, is the most convenient commercial airport serving Ponte Vedra.
Visitor Information
Travelers can call, toll-free, for information about St. Augustine at 1-800-OLD-CITY (653-2489).
Web Site www.Getaway4Florida.com
E-Mail Address admin@Getaway4Florida.com
Mailing Address
St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB
88 Riberia Street, Suite #400
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Media Contact
Jay Humphreys, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB904.829.1711 ext. 306, jhumphreys@getaway4florida.com
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