Day 1 – Home to Amelia Island, FL
We fly non-stop from Minneapolis to Jacksonville and make our way to Amelia Island on the Atlantic coast. There will be beautiful scenery along the way. We will check into the Hampton Inn & Suites, overlooking the Fernandina Beach Marina on Amelia Island for the next two nights. We will enjoy a wonderful welcome dinner and get to know our fellow travelers.
Included Meals: Dinner
Hotel: Hampton Inn & Suites (2 Nights)
Day 2 – Amelia Island
After breakfast at the hotel, we will climb aboard the Amelia Island River Cruise for their popular tour that will give us extensive and rich history of Amelia and Cumberland Islands, with views of wildlife along the way. We’ll cruise by Fernandina’s shrimp boats, historic Old Towne and Fort Clinch to the wild horses of Cumberland Island. Our historians will share the colorful stories that define the character of this unique part of the world. Lunch is on own before we’re treated to a guided tour of the Museum of History, where we’ll step back in time to life on the water’s edge. From the Timucua Native American tribe to Spanish and French explorers, from the lawless spirit of pirates to the dignified air of Victorian-era residents, Amelia Island has been home to diverse cultures that have left an exciting heritage. We will then return to the hotel for a pizza party. The evening is on your own to explore Amelia Island. Perhaps you’ll choose to take a carriage ride tour, which is just a short walk away from our hotel.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 – Amelia Island to St. Augustine, FL
After breakfast, we bid goodbye to beautiful Amelia Island and travel south down the coast to historic St Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. We will be met by our local guide who will be dressed in period attire appropriate to the topic of the day: the Menorcans of St Augustine. Our guide will take us to the heart of the city, the Plaza de la Constitucion on Cathedral Place. We’ll learn about St. Augustine’s history from the 1500s-1900s as we view the outside of a beautiful replica of the Government House and the famous Flagler buildings at the Flagler College campus. Then it is time for lunch on your own on St. George Street! This street was first closed off to vehicular traffic in the 1960s when St. Augustine was celebrating their 400th birthday as a city. Today it boasts over 250 gift shops, ice cream parlors, fudge shops, and restaurants! We are in a town of foodies that is known for their wonderful mom and pop restaurants. After lunch, we will visit both St. Photius National Greek Orthodox Shrine and the Catholic Tolamato Cemetery where many of the Menorcans and their descendants were laid to rest. Our guided coach tour continues with photo stops at the impressive Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S., and the Mission Nombre de Dios, a Catholic mission founded in 1565. Next, we are off to explore Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, the original site of the Nation’s oldest city. With a rich, long history, this area was first explored by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 and settled by Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565. Later this afternoon we will cross the bridge to Vilano Beach and our hotel, which is nestled in a quiet, residential area but close to the historical district of St. Augustine, and is just a three minute walk to the beach! We will check in for the next three nights and then enjoy dinner together at The Raintree Restaurant, located in a century-old Victorian house.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Hampton Inn & Suites Vilano Beach (4 Nights)
Day 4 – St. Augustine
After we enjoy our breakfast, we will make our way to the Lightner Museum. Occupying the former Hotel Alcazar, a Gilded Age resort hotel commissioned by railroad magnate Henry Flagler, the Lightner Museum offers an immersive experience of art, architecture, history, and design. We will be treated to a tour of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine to learn about the history of the nation’s oldest Parish. Many of the statues and artwork visible in the Cathedral have close ties with the story of the indentured servants first brought to Florida in 1768 by Dr. Andrew Turnbull. Then, be sure to have your walking shoes on! A local guide is going to tell us all about the city’s history as we go on a food & wine pair walking tour! We’ll take in the city views, catch sight of unique architecture, and enjoy enough scrumptious food and wine to thoroughly satisfy us – in fact, good thing dinner is on our own as we won’t need much!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5 – St. Augustine
After breakfast we have a full morning of exploring planned. First is The Old Store, where we’ll watch in amazement as our friendly clerks, butcher and Snake Oil salesman demonstrate the very latest inventions for turn-of-the-century living. Step back in time and discover the latest and best time saving miracles from 1900! Items such as a goat-powered washing machine and a gas-powered iron! It’s truly like walking into a Sears Roebuck catalog from 1908. From steam-driven tractors, tonics, worm syrup, guns, bikes and so much more. Next is The Old Jail, where we’ll get to see the cells firsthand and learn of the many injustices that took place here, mainly from the crooked sheriff who oversaw the prison. Beware! Following is the Florida Heritage Museum where we’ll be taken on a sweeping historical journey of the people, places, and things that helped shape this age-old city into a wonderful place to live. The museum is divided into several galleries, each telling a different aspect of St. Augustine’s long and rich narrative. We’ll see how the tourism industry first started with the arrival of the Cracker pioneers and their covered Conestoga wagons carrying all of their earthly possessions. We’ll learn about the ‘Tin Can Tourists,’ known for favoring canned foods, and the vehicles they drove like a fully restored 1927 Ford Model T pickup camper. After lunch on own, we’re treated to a tour and samples at Whetstone Chocolates – yum! We’ll also visit San Sebastian Winery for a tasting of their award-winning wines. We will enjoy a scrumptious dinner tonight at a restaurant located right off the Tolomato River.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 – St. Augustine to Home
After breakfast, we are off to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. Having opened in 1893, it is one of Florida’s oldest continuously running attractions. We’ll see 24 species of crocodilians as well as a variety of other reptiles, mammals, and birds. Feel free to grab some lunch on your own at the farm. Next we will explore the St. Augustine Aquarium on a private, guided tour led by a marine biologist. What fun we’ll have with our interactive experience in the aquarium’s open-air habitats! We fly home today from Jacksonville with wonderful memories of our winter getaway to Amelia Island & St. Augustine!
Included Meals: Breakfast
Flyaway Per Person Pricing Information
Flyaway Travel Protection Per Person
Travel Bucks
Deposit Due
Passport Needed
Tour Pace
Price Includes
Roundtrip Airfare from MSP including baggage fees, taxes & surcharges; 10 Meals, Hotels & Activities as stated in brochure, Luxury Motorcoach
02/15/2026 02/20/2026
Tour Map
Tour Highlights
* Stay 2 Nights on Amelia Island
* Amelia Island River Cruise
* Museum of History Guided Tour
* Stay 3 Nights in St. Augustine
* St. Augustine Guided Tour
* Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
* Lightner Museum
* St. Augustine Food & Wine Pairing Walking Tour
* St. Augustine Tour including the Old Store, Old Jail, & Florida Heritage Museum
* Whetstone Chocolates Tour & Tasting
* San Sebastian Winery
* St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
* St. Augustine Aquarium Guided Tour
