Hey all!

I grew up as a kid never living in Florida, but in 1995 became a fan of the Jaguars just based off the logo. For some reason, I stuck with them and have been a die-hard ever since. I've only driven through Jacksonville once, but didn't stop to see the city. My wife has surprised me with a trip planned to Jacksonville on the weekend of October 23, not only just for us to visit Jacksonville for the first time, but to go to my first Jaguars home game as well against the Giants! I've been to a handful of our away games in other cities.

She has booked us with lodging (southwest side of downtown) so far but that's it. So basically, I would really appreciate any type of recommendations you guys can give on various aspects. We haven't purchased stadium tickets yet so things like where to sit, where to park, etc. And then in general, places you recommend visiting/things to do, best beaches, food recommendations, areas to avoid, things not to do, etc.

In other words, anything and everything! I'm really excited and would appreciate any helpful advice!

(Mods, please feel free to move this to a better forum if need be. It covered Jaguars and just visiting stuff so wasn't sure where to put it, thanks.)

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Where are you staying jax is huge so that'll kinda change things but the St John's town center is a cool spot top golf the indoor sky diving tons of shopping and restaurants, if it's in your budget Ruth Chris steakhouse is amazing on the river and the foods great but damn it'll set you back a couple hundred bucks. Jax beach is cool if your into the bar scene personally I prefer St Augustine beaches.

If you want to see cow pastures come on down to palatka lol

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If you are a golfer, then check out the Palm Valley course at Sawgrass.

I second the St Aug suggestion. Oldest city in the US with lots to do both day and nite.

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

First off, sounds like you’ve got a really cool wife. I hope you enjoy your stay and hope you especially enjoy the game. If I’m being honest, there really isn’t a whole lot in JAX to wow you or make a vaca out of. But, there are some cool things to do and see around depending on the driving you’re up for. I’m immune to it now, but historic St Augustine is pretty cool if never done before. Plenty of bars and places to eat. It’s kind of a must and prerequisite for anyone somewhat local. It’s touristy. They have boat tours as well that’s pretty fun the first time. Ghost tours at night. Nations oldest city. Got to check that off the list. As far as Jacksonville goes, I’ll let others chime in on that. I bring up ST A because it’s too darn close not to see it. You only need a day for it.

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Where are you staying jax is huge so that'll kinda change things but the St John's town center is a cool spot top golf the indoor sky diving tons of shopping and restaurants, if it's in your budget Ruth Chris steakhouse is amazing on the river and the foods great but damn it'll set you back a couple hundred bucks. Jax beach is cool if your into the bar scene personally I prefer St Augustine beaches.

If you want to see cow pastures come on down to palatka lol

I was also going to suggest the town center.  But I only know that area of JAX.  I figured others may have “better restaurants/shopping” since I don’t get out much.  That is a good suggestion, though

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I think Jax has lots of vacation stuff to do we just do a really bad job packaging it. Jet ski rentals, fishing charters, indoor sky diving, top golf, St Augustine George Street, St Augustine beach, Jax beach bar scene, Autobahn indoor race karts, golf lots of golf.

It just depends on what you want to do.

Oh one more if you want to get dirty hog waller here in palatka is a great day of fun!

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I don’t want to speak for wd, but I’m pretty sure he’d suggest the bucee’s and the weed shop. 

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I don’t want to speak for wd, but I’m pretty sure he’d suggest the bucee’s and the weed shop. 

And to stay at the gator lodge!

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

Am I that damn predictable? lolol

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I don’t want to speak for wd, but I’m pretty sure he’d suggest the bucee’s and the weed shop. 

And to stay at the gator lodge!

ugh. Cooties and scabies.

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

I'd say it depends on how much time you have, what you like to do, and how much driving you want to do.  When we have out of town visitors, we always take them to St. Augustine, and usually someplace like Little Talbot Island State Park.  Closer in are the beaches (Jax Beach, Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra).   

Here's an idea for a one-day road trip.  Take I-95 South to Butler Blvd., turn east on Butler Blvd and at the end of Butler turn south on A1A.  Park at Mickler's Landing to see Ponte Vedra Beach.  Keep going south on A1A and you'll get to St. Augustine.  In St. Augustine visit the fort and historic district.  I ate at Harry's in St. Augustine the other day and I thought it was very good.  

If you want just one day at a beach, my favorite is Little Talbot Island State Park.  Take your lunch with you.  It is totally undeveloped.  If you park in the main parking lot and walk north on the beach, it is wilderness.  No hotels, no houses, no nothing.  Just a deserted stretch of beach.  If you walk half a mile to the north, you will leave all the people behind, and it'll be like you're the last person on earth.  Obviously, I really like it.  

Others in this thread have had some good suggestions- TopGolf is fun.  If you like real golf there are a lot of golf courses.

Things are really spread out around here.  You need to look at a map.

One last thing to note: they don't take cash for anything at a Jaguar game.  And if you want to park and take the stadium shuttle, you have to download an app and pre-pay the $8 for the shuttle.  The app is called Token Transit.  You prepay and show the QR code on your phone to get on the shuttle.  There are various shuttle locations around town.  If you want more specific details, just ask.

I keep coming back and adding to this post, but here's another thing: as far as where to sit in the stadium, after many years of experience, I think if you don't want to pay big money for a club seat, the best bang for your buck is in the South-West corner of the stadium, but not in the upper deck.  Like section 201, 202, 203.  Reason being, the sun goes down BEHIND you. 

Damn, I keep coming back and writing more, but here's something else- if you're staying in the South-West side of town, and you want to play golf, try Eagle Landing.  It's cheap, it's usually in really good shape, and it's one of my favorites.  You would need to make a tee time a week in advance, though.

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Only recommendation is the leave the Vols and tacks gear at home

Jax has a good zoo, unless it's gone downhill in the past half-decade or so. And October weather will probably be perfect for a leisurely day of walking.

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And to stay at the gator lodge!

ugh.  Cooties and scabies.

Eat enough Buc-ee's and smoke enough of them tweeds, you won't care where ya end up.

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I don’t care where you go, just stay off my lawn.

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Hey all!

I grew up as a kid never living in Florida, but in 1995 became a fan of the Jaguars just based off the logo. For some reason, I stuck with them and have been a die-hard ever since. I've only driven through Jacksonville once, but didn't stop to see the city. My wife has surprised me with a trip planned to Jacksonville on the weekend of October 23, not only just for us to visit Jacksonville for the first time, but to go to my first Jaguars home game as well against the Giants! I've been to a handful of our away games in other cities.

She has booked us with lodging (southwest side of downtown) so far but that's it. So basically, I would really appreciate any type of recommendations you guys can give on various aspects. We haven't purchased stadium tickets yet so things like where to sit, where to park, etc. And then in general, places you recommend visiting/things to do, best beaches, food recommendations, areas to avoid, things not to do, etc.

In other words, anything and everything! I'm really excited and would appreciate any helpful advice!

(Mods, please feel free to move this to a better forum if need be. It covered Jaguars and just visiting stuff so wasn't sure where to put it, thanks.)

Good gameday parking here - reserve in advance 
https://www.tailgatersparking.com/

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What’s funny is my wife, daughter, SIL and niece went to Nashville this past 4th of July so they can see my stepson.  They went to a lot of cool museums and hit the obvious spots.  But I was left underwhelmed in their vacation.  Like damn, not much there to do.  Sadly, we’ve got you beat in not much to do.  But if you do hit up the museums, we have a couple.  The [BLEEP] comes to mind.  Not sure what’s on exhibit there.  Mods, feel free to delete this fact if it’s deemed inappropriate.  [edit]:  lol that museum’s name is bleeped automatically.  I guess I don’t have to worry about the warning.  

I will say that  Ive never been there before.  Idk if it’s about Peter North or Wooly Mammoths.

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Thanks guys, I appreciate all the suggestions. If you have any more recommendations going further, it would help! Especially on best spots for seats, parking for game day. Not sure if we want to tailgate or not at this point. We haven't bought any tickets yet for seats or parking. Also, I'm not sure how quickly tickets sell....how long do you think we should wait to buy them if the game is 10/23?

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Thanks guys, I appreciate all the suggestions. If you have any more recommendations going further, it would help! Especially on best spots for seats, parking for game day. Not sure if we want to tailgate or not at this point. We haven't bought any tickets yet for seats or parking. Also, I'm not sure how quickly tickets sell....how long do you think we should wait to buy them if the game is 10/23?

I think you could wait until 12:55 PM on 10/23.

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Thanks guys, I appreciate all the suggestions. If you have any more recommendations going further, it would help! Especially on best spots for seats, parking for game day. Not sure if we want to tailgate or not at this point. We haven't bought any tickets yet for seats or parking. Also, I'm not sure how quickly tickets sell....how long do you think we should wait to buy them if the game is 10/23?

You will have time to buy. Won't be a sellout but the better seats may go more quickly. Sit midway up in the 100 section in the regular bowl is my advice.

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I'm condescending. That means I talk down to you.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the suggestions. If you have any more recommendations going further, it would help! Especially on best spots for seats, parking for game day. Not sure if we want to tailgate or not at this point. We haven't bought any tickets yet for seats or parking. Also, I'm not sure how quickly tickets sell....how long do you think we should wait to buy them if the game is 10/23?

I think you could wait until 12:55 PM on 10/23.

They could be hard to find when we're 6-0.

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When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

Fernandina is a cool walkable area as well with bars, restaurants and shopping though it’s probably 45 minutes north of Jax depending on where you’re driving from.

River and Post is a restaurant in riverside that has a rooftop bar with a great view overlooking the river and downtown Jax and there are plenty of other bars and restaurants nearby within walking distance if you decide not to eat there. Should probably try to have a drink there though and take in the view if you’re the drinking type.

If you’re in to breweries, you should check out Wicked Barley on the Southside. There’s nothing else around it, so it’s kind of a destination and might be difficult to fit in your itinerary but the setup is nice and the beers are good. Also, Intuition Ale Works has a great location next to the stadium with a rooftop bar which is worth checking out. I’m just not really a fan of their beers. Aardwolf Brewery in San Marco is another good one. Near Aardwolf is V Pizza which is decent for a slice or whole pie and the attached bar called Sidecar which is a decent bourbon bar. Not far from there also in San Marco is Grape and Grain Exchange which has a speakeasy hidden in the back with a pretty cool vibe..

Speaking of speakeasy’s, Secret Tiki Temple is a unique one worth checking out though you’ll need reservations well in advance if visiting on a Friday or Saturday. I think it’s easier to get in there on other days though. Still need reservations regardless. It’s on the Southside with nothing else of note around so it will be a destination for you though Wicked Barley is about a 3 minute drive away on the same road.

As has already been said, you should consider spending a day in historic St Augustine. Plenty of shops, bars and restaurants to walk around and visit. River and Post has another bar restaurant down there called River and Fort which also has a rooftop bar overlooking the Matanzas River and the Fort. Gotta be honest, my wife and I ate there and felt it was overpriced and mediocre, but having a drink on the roof is probably worth your time. The Ice Plant is a cool restaurant/[BLEEP] tail bar and is attached to the St Augustine Distillery. Also, the roof top bar on the San Sebastián Winery is pretty cool as well.

Outside of drinking, there are many beautiful beaches in the area and the ocean and sand ain’t bad lookin’ either. There’s really a lot to do and see in the area, it’s just spread out with pockets here and there. After typing all this you’re probably going to tell me you and your wife don’t drink. Lol

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