St Augustine Explored Maps Out Nights of Lights, From Parking to Holiday Cocktails

St Augustine Explored posted a long Nights of Lights guide that reads like advice from a neighbor. The writer says the family lives in St Augustine Beach and stays out of downtown on weekend nights.

When to go and how to get downtown

The guide says Nights of Lights runs from the third weekend of November to the second week of January. Setup starts in mid-October, when some hotels put up their first strings of lights.

The writer likes Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The guide says some nights bring 10 to 20 thousand extra people downtown.

Its biggest rule is in capital letters: "THIS IS NOT A DRIVING TOUR." Instead it points to three city lots with a free shuttle that runs from 1 pm to 11 pm.

Then it suggests a walking loop from the Castillo de San Marcos along the waterfront. A reply on the post puts the full loop at 1.5 miles.

Three Old City bars on the guide's drink list

The guide lists ten places to try holiday cocktails. Three of them are in the BellyUp! St. Augustine directory: Forgotten Tonic, Prohibition Kitchen and Barley Republic.

Forgotten Tonic comes first, with a note that it is good all year. Prohibition Kitchen is usually very busy, the guide says, but can be great midway down St George Street. For Barley Republic, the writer likes the patio for people watching.

What we could not confirm: the post is bylined "admin" with no named writer, and it was last updated on November 14, 2025. Dates, shuttle hours and lots can change each season, so check the city's current Nights of Lights details before you go.

Read the full guide at St Augustine Explored, then see the St Augustine Explored profile here for its other posts and its Instagram.