help!! hosting teenage niece! whadda we do?!? (St. Augustine: rentals, house)

[bobandsteve]

hey folks!

our 17-year-old niece and her best friend are coming for a week's stay in august, and we want to make sure their visit with their uncles is memorable! so tours of the lightner museum and high tea at the newly refurbished flagler college solarium are out.....

it's been DECADES since the two of us were teenagers, so we're looking for lots of great advice. of course, there will be hours at the beach--both in the water and on bikes. beyond that, we've vaguely come up with things like the zip-line course at the Alligator Farm or maybe a kayak-tour of the ICW (has anyone ever done these? any recommendations?). and we remember seeing folks tooling around A1A in colorful three-wheeled motorized contraptions (anyone know what company these might belong to?).....

from there, we're kinda stuck....we know there are a MILLION things to do in beautiful St. Augustine, and we're hoping that you wonderful bloggers will help steer us in the right direction....

thanks!!

bob and steve

[KayT15]

Segway tour! We did one on Amelia Island with my son and his friend when they were teenagers. Way cool!

I don't know the rules about posting links here, but if you Google "St. Augustine Segway tour," you'll find a link about it on Tripadvisor with great reviews.

If you follow the link on that site to other activities, you'll get more ideas. The Eco and 2ghouls tours get great reviews.

[WileyCoyote]

Here's the Segway Tour link
St. Augustine Segway Tours - Saint Augustine - Reviews of St. Augustine Segway Tours - TripAdvisor

[OptimusPrime69]

Beach time is in order, of course. Teens love laying out and tanning....with their iphones tethered to the front of their face

Also, I recommned letting them do their own thing as well for some time. I dont feel as if u should have to entertain them every waking second of the day. Maybe drop them off in downtown St. Augustine for the day and let her just roam around and explore with her bestie.... u know, just hang out and loiter and do teenager things.

at 17-- they're probably thinking like "omg, tanning, hot boys, iPhones, and facebook pics!" . . .

So, a day by the pool
a day at the beach
a day in Saint Augustine

The zip-line things sounds rad. I'm totally wishing I had uncles like you guys. I would love that, so that should be fun.
Kayaking is a yes....definitelty.
I'm just gonna throw this out there too-- maybe jet-skiing? Renting 2 of them? Bob and Steve on one-- niece and bestie on the other? Might be a blast! I know thats expensive tho, but depending on finances, obvi.

Any cool outlet malls near by? Maybe do a day at the beach, that a few hours in the outlet mall during evening.

[WileyCoyote]

St Augustine has 2 GINORMOUS outlet mall on opposite sides of I-95 at SR-16.
I do like the rent-a-jet ski idea ... http://www.bayrayrentals.com/jet-ski

[mspink]

Ditto the Segway tour! We did one in March and had a great time. We did ours with St. Augustine Bike Rentals, and I already want to go again.

[ssclulow]

Beach, Surf Lessons, Alligator Farm zipline for sure...but also make sure they at least see the Rookery at the Alligator Farm and some of the Alligator exhibits as well...the Alligator Farm is enjoyed by all ages, Anastasia State Park has many watersports lessons and rentals (small sailboats, stand-up paddleboating, kayaking) , evening sail on the Pirate Ship downtown, check out some of the small boats w/ driver that you can rent by the hour at the city marina, they can of course do downtown tours, outlet malls, concert at the ampitheatre, ....I would definitely caution against suggesting rental of motorized bikes or those mini cars. This things are really not safe in the hands of teenagers on streets full of driving tourists who are not paying close attention to their environment. Also, of course, strongly caution them against venturing into the ocean above their waist if they are not familiar with ocean currents. If they are mainstream teens, they will probably have their eyes on their cellphones constantly so hopefully their cell provider will have a good signal at your house and anywhere else they find themselves.

[jbean1234]

Teenage girls in August? Yes to the beach, Segway tours, zipline and maybe even a trolley tour of St. Augustine if they want to be tourists. I also recommend a day at Town Center - what teenage girl doesn't like shopping at trendy stores? A surf or paddle board lesson may be fun for them too. If they need a break from the heat and you are willing to travel a bit there is always Latitude 30 for some bowling and arcade games too. Have fun!

[annaegel]

I took 2 teens (age 16) to a ghost tour. They liked that. The trolley tour, they thought was a bit boring. Maybe a tour of the old jail, which is where you meet for the ghost tour anyway.

Agree to the beach. We did not do the segway tour, but that sounds like fun.

There are shops and restaurants in town, near Castillo De San Marcos.

[bobandsteve]

thanks for all the great ideas, folks! we're going to look into kayak and paddle-board lessons for the girls--and us too! has anyone had any particularly good experiences with any local businesses who do this? there must be some kind of company that does a little instruction and then maybe a guided tour of a cool inlet or area....thanks!!