Night of Lights, St Augustine

I always wanted to go to St Augustine for Night of Lights. It is said to be decked out for the holidays with close to three million lights all around town, festive environment, music, shopping, food, fun, holiday rides and so much more.

During the holidays, the city of St. Augustine lights up, and becomes a festival of twinkling white lights as it hosts its annual Nights of Lights holiday display.

Well today, hubs surprised us. Out of the blue he proposed the idea, to go visit St. Augustine for a night out. We had plans to go there for New Years, but tonight?

We always spontaneously just pack, and go! Why not?!

We broke the news to our kids, and you could just hear screams, and excitement all through the house, with two girls completely ready in about 10 minutes. Headphones, camera, snacks, and huge smiles on their faces. Thirty minutes later, we were on I-95 driving towards, St. Augustine for an evening out, which is approximately 40 minutes from Jacksonville, Florida.

We were just going to hang out in the old town, as we would like to call it, check out the lights, walk across town, maybe grab a bite to eat, but ended up on the trolley, an hour later, FESTIVE trolley at that!

The Holiday Lights Tour Trolley

I have never been on the Holiday Lights Trolley, let alone in St. Augustine for the holidays, especially Night of Lights, so I didn’t know what to expect. Totally unexpected, but ready for whatever came our way.

What we did not expect

Long lines that circle all around the parking garage, and a wait, that is approximately 2 hours long! Definatly was not on our fun list to do, but somehow we agreed to go for it, and wait it out.

Disclaimer: If you are traveling and would like to visit the Holiday Lights Tour, make sure you are aware of the long lines, and the wait. There is an option to bypass the line, for 5$ a ticket, but tonight not even $5 bride could help. They were completely sold out, even through bypass.

So we decided to go for it. You don’t do this everyday, why not!

While we waited in the line, pictures, and fun is a must

Climbing on structures keeping themselves occupied, chasing each other, having fun.

Flying helicopters and entertaining themselves all through the wait.

The experince was well worth it, the long lines, and all.

Festive Music, holiday lights, a smooth ride through town, sightseeing, as well as entertainement from our tour guide was our reward! We were looking forward to that!

Here are some shots from the Holiday Lights Tour