Best Tours of Historic St. Augustine

St. Augustine is the oldest city in the Country, founded well before the pilgrims arrived on Plymouth Rock. It was founded by the Spanish and established by the French, then threatened by the English. Finally in the 1700s the Spanish were driven out and the city put under colonial rule during the British Period. Statehood came to Florida in 1845 and subsequently the city was embroiled, with all the rest of the south, in the Civil War. Confederates captured the Fort in 1861, and its conflicting Confederate and Union sympathies internally divided the city. There was even a contingent of African-American Union soldiers there. From the Reconstruction period on into the twentieth Century St. Augustine took part in the expansion spreading though out the country in the Flagler Era and beyond. Churches and schools were built and many spectacular hotels sprung up in the area.

http://www.drbronsontours.com/
Dr. Bronson Tours does not have any tour links on their site, which claims to be the most extensive historical site of St. Augustine on the web. I suppose the only way to get a tour brochure would be necessary to email them. These are very scholarly people and their tours would appeal to those deeply fascinated by history.
tours@drbronsontours.com

http://www.historictours.com/staugustine/
There many types of tours available in St. Augustine. The one that's most often suggested is the trolley tour with all the major sites and a pick up at your hotel. that take riders past the oldest home in the country, dating back to the 1700s or before. Pass centuries old piazzas, steepled cathedrals, Spanish monuments, wattle houses, cobblestoned alleys, half-timbered public houses and so much more.

The other tours offered by this tour group are too numerous to detail. One of them will take visitors through the old jail which is one of a handful of surviving 19th Century jails in this country. The Trolly tours offers a package for a tour of the jail, an historical ride around the city and a lengthy stop at the Florida Heritage Museum for just $21 per adult.

For just $14, adults can take the cruise around the St. Augustine area to view the old lighthouse that's still standing, the beautiful Bridge of Lions. They go to some natural habitats where riders can see egrets, manatees and bottle-nosed dolphins along the inlets and grasses. This tour that's narrated by fourth-generation cruise guides, the Usina family, is a bit off the beaten path from the city tours and would be a relaxing way to spend an hour and 15 minutes in an afternoon. They depart at 11, 1, 2:45 and 4:30 this spring and in the late spring and summer have extra departure times of 6:15 and 8:30 pm.

A visit to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm would be a must see for me. For one thing, it lasts 2-6 hrs. and costs only $17.95. For this visitors are taken to see all sorts of mammoth alligators and even the exotic albino varieties. But it's not just about alligators here. Visitors are taken to a wading bird rookery where egrets, ibis, spoonbills and herons fly in to roost in the trees just before dusk. The spring begins their mating season and full plumage is bursting through the trees. There are also monkeys of several varieties and parrots, toucans and even Australian kookaburras, just to name a few more species. This tour would delight nature lovers who are particularly enamoured with the tropics.

These tours can be made online directly from their web site. They guarantee satisfaction for all tours and take all major credit cards. But they can be reached at their toll-free number: 800-213-2474 or by email at support@trustedtours.com.