Great American Road Trips – Florida’s A1A – Orlando to Ponte Vedra Beach

If you’re planning to visit Florida but want to experience something other than the State’s famous theme parks, try a Florida car hire holiday and drive along the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway. The A1A is about 72 miles long and stretches from Ponte Vedra Beach, to the north of St. Augustine, south along the Florida coastline. It ends just south of Flagler Beach. It will only take you about two hours to drive the length of the A1A in your hire car, but there is so much to see and do along the way that you may want to take a lot longer to explore it.

In the first in a series of posts about the Florida A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway, we look at how to get to the beginning of the route, Ponte Vedra Beach, and some of the things that you can see and do when you arrive there

The nearest major cities to the Florida A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway are St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Orlando. You can fly to Orlando International Airport or Orlando Sanford International Airport from the UK and pick up a hire car from the airport. You’ll find plenty of hotels to choose from in Orlando, but you could drive to Jacksonville or St. Augustine and base yourself there instead.

If you’re staying in Orlando, it will take you about two and a half hours to drive to the start  of the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway in your Florida hire car. Head out of Orlando on the I-4 E and then take the I-95 N towards Jacksonville. Follow the I-95 N for 76.7 miles and then take exit 337 in order to get onto the FL-9A N. Follow this road for 7.7 miles and then take the exit for 3rd Street S./FL-A1A. You can then turn right onto Ponte Vedra Boulevard to get to Ponte Vedra Beach before heading back onto the A1A.

Ponte Vedra Beach is a seaside community, known for its luxurious hotels and outstanding golf courses, which include the golf courses at Marsh Landing Country Club, the Sawgrass Country Club and the TPC Sawgrass at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa. There are also a number of excellent tennis clubs and courts in Ponte Vedra Beach, and the city plays host to ATP championship tennis tournaments.

You can also try a range of water sports at Ponte Vedra’s beach or book a horseriding session on the beach with Sawgrass Stables. The beach is a conquina shell beach and is also a popular place to go fossil-hunting.

You’ll find plenty of restaurants to choose from in Ponte Vedra Beach, including the Aqua Grill (950 Sawgrass Village, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082) and the Augustine Grille (Sawgrass Marriott, 1000 PGA Tour Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082). There are also many shops and art galleries for you to browse in.

Once you’ve explored Ponte Vedra Beach, head back onto the A1A to begin your journey along this beautifully scenic coastal road. In the next post in the series, we’ll be looking at some more of the things that you can see and do along the way.

Image: Gamweb

Tags: A1A Scenic and Historic Byway, Aqua Grill, Augustine Grille, car hire, car rental, driving holidays, florida, Jacksonville, Orlando, Ponte Vedra Beach, road trips, Sawgrass Marriott, St. Augustine, USA