A Taxi Driver’s Guide to St. Augustine
From the Abraxi Archives — 2026: I found the bones of this article sitting unpublished in my WordPress drafts, apparently written around 2016. A lot has changed since then—fares, attractions, restaurants and even the way people get around town. Rather than pretend I published it back then, I’ve dusted it off and turned it into a current guide to St. Augustine from someone who has spent a good portion of his life driving these streets.
Abraxi Taxi has been driving the streets of St. Augustine for a long time.
That means we’ve learned a few things.
We know which roads back up, when the Bridge of Lions will ruin a perfectly good plan, where visitors tend to get lost and why a five-minute trip through downtown can occasionally become an exploration of the human condition.
A good local taxi driver is part transportation, part tour guide and part unsolicited restaurant critic.
So if you’re visiting the Ancient City, here are a few places and experiences worth knowing about.
Start With the Oldest Part of Town
You can’t really understand St. Augustine without spending some time downtown.
Walk around the Plaza, explore Aviles Street and head toward the bayfront. The streets themselves tell much of the story.
Then visit Castillo de San Marcos.
Built primarily from coquina—a stone composed largely of compressed shells—the fort survived attacks partly because the material could absorb the impact of cannon fire rather than simply shattering.
And yes, you’ll probably take too many pictures.
Everybody does.
Pirates, Ghosts and Other Respectable Citizens
St. Augustine has never been shy about its colorful history.
Pirates are well represented at the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, while people who prefer their history accompanied by things that go bump in the night can choose from numerous ghost tours.
Some are serious about the history.
Some are serious about the ghosts.
Some become considerably more serious about the ghosts after visiting a pub.
Welcome to St. Augustine.
Get Away From Downtown
Don’t spend your entire vacation within walking distance of the Plaza.
Head toward St. Augustine Beach, Vilano Beach or farther south toward Crescent Beach.
The personality changes quickly once you leave downtown.
If you’re traveling with children—or you’re an adult who never lost an appreciation for large reptiles—the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park has been part of the local landscape for generations.
Farther south is Marineland, another piece of old Florida that has evolved considerably over the years.
And sometimes the best thing to do is nothing complicated at all.
Find the beach.
Take off your shoes.
Eat Something
St. Augustine has become a remarkably good restaurant town.
That’s one of the advantages of asking a local driver where to eat instead of simply trusting whichever establishment bought the largest advertisement.
The answer also depends on what you want.
Seafood? Waterfront? Fine dining? A burger? Somewhere you can walk in wearing shorts after spending the afternoon on the beach?
We’ve got all of it.
And the restaurants change, which is why I’m not turning this article into another “17 Best Restaurants You Absolutely Must Visit Before You Die” list.
Ask a local.
Preferably a hungry one.
Rain Is Not the End of Your Vacation
Florida weather can be fickle.
Sunshine in the morning can become a thunderstorm in the afternoon and sunshine again before dinner.
St. Augustine gives you plenty of places to hide from the rain.
There are museums, historic buildings, shops and indoor attractions throughout downtown. You can also visit the San Sebastian Winery, explore local spirits at the St. Augustine Distillery, or discover exactly how much chocolate you’re capable of eating while claiming it is educational.
Abraxi Taxiom: When the weather doesn’t cooperate, St. Augustine usually does.
Golf, Music and a Little More Florida
Golfers don’t need much introduction to TPC Sawgrass in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach and its famous island-green 17th hole.
Music lovers have the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, which has grown into one of the area’s great concert venues.
And that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about this town.
You can spend the morning standing inside a centuries-old Spanish fort, the afternoon on a beach and the evening listening to a concert.
Not bad for one ZIP code.
Leave the Driving to Somebody Else
St. Augustine is beautiful.
St. Augustine traffic is not always beautiful.
Parking downtown can be challenging during major events, Nights of Lights, holidays and busy weekends. Add a raised drawbridge, pedestrians, horse carriages, sightseeing vehicles and somebody trying to parallel park an SUV on a street designed centuries before SUVs existed, and things can get interesting.
Plan ahead.
If you’re drinking, don’t drive.
And if you don’t want to spend part of your vacation hunting for parking, that’s where taxis and other local transportation come in.
From the Driver’s Seat
The best part of driving a taxi in St. Augustine has never really been the cars.
It’s the people.
We’ve transported visitors beginning vacations, locals heading to work, brides and grooms, musicians, college students, families, people celebrating and occasionally somebody who has celebrated considerably more than originally intended.
Small businesses are part of what gives St. Augustine its personality.
So explore the fort. Eat the seafood. Walk the old streets. Find a beach. Listen to some music. Have a drink if you’re so inclined.
And support a few local businesses while you’re here.
We’ll appreciate it.
After all these years, Abraxi Taxi still gets you where you need to go.
Abraxi Taxiom: Not every treasure requires a map.
