Our spotlight on St. Augustine, Florida continues this week with golf and restaurant reviews by our members. Take a look at last week’s Vacation Exchange Network Blog for posts about sights to see and things to do in St. Augustine and vacation homes available for swap in St. Augustine.

Golf and Restaurant Reviews by The Vacation Exchange Network Members

Our members’ St. Augustine golf course picks:

St. Johns Golf & Country Club is located between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, Florida and offers extraordinary golf. The 18-hole Clyde Johnston-designed course has the right challenges for novice and avid golfers alike. A great place to hone your skills, St. Johns is known for its consistent quality of service and conditions, being nationally ranked for customer satisfaction and loyalty by the National Golf Foundation, and host to the PGA TOUR Qualifying School in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Cimarrone Golf in Jacksonville should not be missed. Cimarrone’s manicured course conditions and challenging design provides a fun, player-friendly experience for golfers of all abilities.

King & Bear Golf Course in World Golf Village is named for its co-designers, World Golf Hall of Fame members Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Wide fairways, top-notch conditioning. Not to be missed!

These restaurants have gotten rave reviews by our members:

O.C. White’s Restaurant: If sightseeing downtown, O.C. Whites is a good choice for lunch or dinner. Offering fresh local seafood, it is located in a historic building. Music in the patio area in the evening creates a fun atmosphere to spend part of an evening.

Pusser’s Bar and Grill in Ponte Vedra Beach (a short drive north of St. Augustine) is a great spot. Try the fish and chips. You won’t be sorry.

Ocean 60 (in Atlantic Beach) is a trendy spot with great food. You’d think you were in SOHO in New York City. Be sure and make a reservation because it’s a very popular spot. Located in a very cute little area that’s perfect for taking a walk after dinner.

Benito’s: There were so many good restaurants in the area, but for wonderful Italian food, don’t miss Benito’s. Located in Vilano Beach (a section of St. Augustine), the food at this very unassuming spot is terrific. On top of wonderful food, the prices are very reasonable. Over a two week period, we ate here four times.

Columbia Restaurant: This Spanish restaurant on St. George Street serves wonderful food with atmosphere. Indoor patio is stunning. Don’t miss the Scallops Casimiro.

Aunt Kate’s is a casual spot with great food and reasonable prices. The fried shrimp is terrific.

Salt Water Cowboy’s is not fancy but has a pleasant atmosphere; good food with a southern flair and good value. For those with a daring streak, try the fried alligator. Of course, be sure and try the fried chicken.

The Vacation Exchange Network is always looking for restaurant, golf, attraction, and destination reviews. Please share yours in the comments section below, or if you are a member, please email us with your reviews.

The Vacation Exchange Network

Unmatched in the home exchange industry, The Vacation Exchange Network is the vacation home owner’s first stop in vacation planning. Swap a stay in your vacation home for a stay anywhere in the United States or around the world, without the necessity of having to find someone who wants to use your home. Please visit The Vacation Exchange Network’s main site for more information about how home swaps work or to become a member and start planning your next home exchange vacation!

Vacation Home Swap Opportunities in St. Augustine with The Vacation Exchange Network

In yesterday’s blog post about St. Augustine, we highlighted the variety of sights to see and activities the oldest city in the United States offers to its visitors.

What better way to visit St. Augustine than with a home exchange?  The Vacation Exchange Network has many beautiful homes available for swap in St. Augustine and the surrounding area.  Here are just a few:

This modern oceanfront St. Augustine, Florida vacation home is steps away from beach and may be the perfect property for your next home exchange.  Stunning wrap-around deck has private hot tub.  The kitchen is modern with granite counters and upgraded Viking appliances.  Vacationers can collect sharks teeth, surf, fish, charter a deep sea fishing boat, rent jet skis, para-sail, scuba dive, and rent ocean kayaks.   The restaurants and culture of St. Augustine are less then 5 minutes away.

This ocean-side 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath condo in St. Augustine is 50 yards from the beach.  Available are 2 pools and tennis courts, property is located across the street from the intracoastal waterway.  Come to sail, tour, windsurf, surf, play golf, or just relax.

This ocean view condo has private beach access.  The 2 bedroom, 2 bath home is newly remodeled and sleeps 7.  The complex is gated, has 2 pools, tennis, a hot tub, and shuffle board.   The property is just minutes away from Historic Old St. Augustine, Sawgrass, (home of Tournament Players Club), and the World Golf Village.

Home Exchange with The Vacation Exchange Network

Remember that with The Vacation Exchange Network, you always have the choice of mutual (direct) home swaps or non-mutual (indirect) home swaps.  Browse our vacation home listings, or contact one of our Exchange Coordinators to find your next vacation!

Come back to our blog tomorrow for members’ reviews of St. Augustine golf and restaurants!

This St. Augustine Florida Vacation Home Available for Home Swap with The Vacation Exchange Network

St. Augustine, Florida Has Something to Offer Everyone

Founded in 1565 by Spanish settlers, St. Augustine is the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the United States.  It was born as a military outpost and, at various times, was home to Spanish colonists, Catholic missionaries, escaped slaves, and Minorcan settlers.  The city was a winter resort for wealthy Americans in the late 1800s and played a role in the civil rights struggle with a campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

St. Augustine’s long and rich history is reflected in its unique architecture and city plan.  Visitors can learn more by visiting the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum where several structures have been restored and re-enactors  bring visitors back to the 1740s.  Simply strolling the city’s narrow, old world streets and being amongst the Spanish-style homes and various other notable sights will also bring history to life.

For visitors looking beyond the city’s history, this unique vacation destination will not disappoint.  For golfers, St. Augustine boasts the World Golf Hall of Fame and championship golf courses to match.  For those looking for a distinctive adventure, you won’t believe The St. Augustine Alligator Farm and its zoological park.  For vacationers longing to relax and perhaps find some seashells, the beaches of St. Augustine and the surrounding towns are among the best in Florida.   And the St. Augustine Lighthouse surely won’t disappoint.

Thursday evenings are a night out for adults and kids alike, as tourists and locals gather at the St. Augustine Plaza for outdoor Concerts in the Plaza.  Concerts are every Thursday from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

For even more information on all St. Augustine has to offer, take a look at a great blog tailor-made for St. Augustine visitors at The St. Augustine Travel Guide.

What better way to visit St. Augustine than with a home exchange?

The Vacation Exchange Network has many beautiful homes available for swap in St. Augustine and the surrounding area.    Visit The Vacation Exchange Network’s blog tomorrow, or visit The Vacation Exchange Network’s main site to explore all of our home exchange opportunities across the United States and around the world.

To learn more about how home swaps work or to join The Vacation Exchange Network, please visit us at www.thevacationexchange.com.

We’d love to hear about your favorite spots in St. Augustine.  Please comment below.

We at The Vacation Exchange Network have always believed that our uniqueness speaks for itself.  But thanks to one of our members, it no longer has to….

When Berne and Sam Webb were on a home exchange vacation in the Bahamas, a conversation with a few couples from Miami, Florida quickly turned into a lively presentation about the benefits of The Vacation Exchange Network, complete with a hands-on demonstration!

The Webbs have been Vacation Exchange Network members for a few years.  Last year, they traveled to Sanibel Island, Florida on a non-mutual house swap.  Berne tells me the Sanibel home was beautiful.  Located a few blocks from the beach, it also had a pool in the backyard.  Perfect for an afternoon swim or as a backdrop to evening cocktails.

North Bimini Island in the Bahamas was the Webbs’ vacation destination this year.  This home exchange was mutual and non-simultaneous; the owners of the home in Bimini plan to travel to the Webbs’ home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts at a different time — when the weather in Cape Cod is at its best.

So, how did we convince Berne to serve as our remote marketer?

No convincing was necessary.  Sitting in a North Bimini Island cafe, Berne and Sam struck up a conversation with a few couples sitting at a nearby table.  “What brings you to the Bahamas?” they asked each other.  Berne’s response that she was on a home exchange sparked wide eyes from the other couples, so Berne went on to provide them with a lively description of home swapping with The Vacation Exchange Network.  With her fellow cafe goers’ interest piqued, Berne opened up her laptop, fortunately remembering  her PIN, and took her captive audience on a tour of the Vacation Exchange website.  The other couples were laughing and clapping along with Berne’s enthusiasm.  Apparently, she didn’t even need the white board and film projector we offered to send her!

One of the Miami couples was particularly interested in traveling to Italy, so Berne showed them The Vacation Exchange Network’s homes in Terracina, Rome, and Teramo.

Berne tells me that she raved about the travel opportunities afforded by vacation home exchanges.  Since the Webbs’ children are grown, their travels no longer need to be tied to school vacations.  Like our other members, the Webbs enjoy the freedom and flexibility afforded by the non-mutual and non-simultaneous home exchanges that are the hallmark of The Vacation Exchange Network.  The Webbs can travel when and where they’d like to travel, without the necessity of finding someone else who wants to use their home at the same time.

While hiring a public relations firm to do publicity about The Vacation Exchange Network might get us a few lines in some travel magazines and allow us to garner invitations to a few fancy cocktail parties, having members like the Webbs is much more rewarding.  Our thanks to the Webbs,  and to all of our other members, who speak so graciously about our service.

Please visit The Vacation Exchange Network’s site to join our home swap network, to learn more about how home exchanges work, or to refer a friend to The Vacation Exchange Network.

Have you had an opportunity to tell someone about The Vacation Exchange Network or about your home exchange vacation?  We’d love to hear about it.  Use the comment box below or contact us via email.  We look forward to hearing from you!