St. Augustine Carriage ToursSt. Augustine Nights of Lights 2026: Dates, Displays and Rides
The St. Augustine Nights of Lights turns the historic downtown into a field of more than three million white lights from late November to mid January. This page covers the festival dates for 2026-27, Light-Up Night, where the best displays stand, and every way to see them, from a free walk to a trolley, cart, carriage or boat. Only the bookable holiday rides listed here carry bookable prices. Everything else is quoted with its source so you can judge it. For the practical side of driving in, the parking guide has its own page. The bookable rides are compared on St. Augustine carriage tours compared.
Castillo de San Marcos lit at night. Photo: Chris Carter/CChimera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer Nights of Lights in brief
The St. Augustine Nights of Lights runs Saturday November 21, 2026 through Monday January 18, 2027, with more than three million white lights over Historic Downtown. Viewing on foot is free and no ticket is required. Light-Up! Night is November 21 with the switch-on at 6:30 PM at the Plaza de la Constitución. Rides booked on this site start at $42 per person on an electric cart.
Key takeaways
- See the lights from an open-air trolley on the Nights of Lights Trolley, a 40-minute caroling ride priced per private row of up to 4.
- Prefer a small group, the Nights of Lights Electric Cart takes 45 minutes at $42 per person.
- Compare every format, price and start point in the table under ways to see the lights.
- Plan the crowds around the city's own advice: visit Monday through Thursday for shorter waits and easier parking.
Nights of Lights 2026-27 Dates and Light-Up Night
The season runs for nearly two months, and Light-Up! Night opens it.
Season Dates
Nights of Lights 2026-27 runs from Saturday November 21, 2026 through Monday January 18, 2027, per the festival press release. The city's Light-Up Night page lists the end as Sunday, January 18, 2027, but January 18, 2027 falls on a Monday, so treat Monday as the correct last day.
Light-Up! Night Schedule
Light-Up! Night is Saturday November 21, 2026. Showtime USA performs at 4:00 PM and the All Star Orchestra plays at 5:30 PM at the Plaza gazebo.
The lights switch on at 6:30 PM at the Plaza de la Constitución. Arrive well before 6:30 if you want a spot near the tree.
How Many Years It Has Run
Visit St. Augustine calls the 2026-27 season the 33rd annual Nights of Lights and says the festival began in 1993, inspired by the Spanish custom of a single white candle in a window at Christmas. The same publisher elsewhere says the city has celebrated for 32 years, and a Times-Union article cited by Wikipedia puts the first year at 1994. Give both readings their weight.
The 1993 start and the 33rd edition come from the same source, so that pairing is the most consistent.
National Geographic Recognition
National Geographic named Nights of Lights one of the world's top 10 holiday light displays in 2011 and again in 2012. Angels in the Architecture, inc. has designed and installed the displays since 1996, with funding shared between public and private partners.
The Lighting Rules
For 2026-27 the city commission approved lighting guidelines that limit colors to warm white or clear and ban flashing, moving and LED displays.
Sources: Wikipedia, St. Augustine, Florida, City of St. Augustine
Ways to See the Lights
You can see the festival free on foot, or from a trolley, cart, carriage or boat. The table sets the bookable rides next to the options published by Visit St. Augustine.
Every Format Compared
The first two rows are the holiday rides this site lists with bookable card prices. The carriage and train rows quote the 2025-26 figures that Visit St. Augustine published, which the operators have not yet confirmed for 2026-27, and the boat row quotes the listed boat fare. Walking costs nothing and needs no ticket.
| Way | Price | Time | Starts at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On foot | Free, no ticket | Your own pace | Anywhere downtown | Festival press release |
| Nights of Lights Trolley | $81 per private row (up to 4) | 40 minutes (30-45 minute ride) | 10 W Castillo Dr | This site's listing |
| Nights of Lights Electric Cart | $42 per person | 45 minutes | 2 Artillery Ln | This site's listing |
| Old City Carriages private ride | $200 for up to 4 adults, $250 for up to 7 | 45 minutes | Bayfront between the Bridge of Lions and the Castillo | Visit St. Augustine, 2025-26 |
| Country Carriages ride | $175 for up to 4 people | 30 minutes | Bayfront | Visit St. Augustine, 2025-26 |
| Ripley's Red Train | $24.99 per seat | 30 minutes | 19 San Marco Ave | Visit St. Augustine |
| Scenic Cruise boat | $34.61 per adult | 1 hour | Matanzas Bay | Visit St. Augustine |
What Each Format Feels Like
The Nights of Lights Trolley is an open-air trolley with caroling, cider and cookies, priced per private row so your party of up to 4 does not share a bench. Departures run every 15 minutes from 6:00 p.m. along the published schedule. The Nights of Lights Electric Cart is a 45-minute small-group ride with Christmas songs, where the driver answers questions but does not narrate. Its price is per person.
A carriage is the slowest and most intimate option. Visit St. Augustine's pages for the 2025-26 season showed Old City Carriages at $200 or $250 depending on carriage size and Country Carriages at $175 for a half hour. Old City Carriages ran daily from the bayfront and Country Carriages ran Thursday through Monday. The city voted in February not to renew the Country Carriages franchise, so confirm it is still operating before you plan around it. The smaller carriage held one to four adults plus two children, the larger six to seven adults plus two children. Both operators' listings say they have no 2026-27 information yet, so confirm before you plan around those figures. Boats show the lights from the water, and the regatta evening fills the bay with decorated vessels. Helicopter flights from Northeast Florida Regional Airport run 5 to 10 minutes at $99 per person per Visit St. Augustine.
Ultimate First-Timer's Guide to Nights of Lights in St. Augustine
A first-timer's walk through the lights, the crowds and the ways to see them. Third-party video by ChadGallivanter. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Where the Best Displays Are
More than three million lights cover rooftops, live oaks and the bayfront, but a few spots carry the heaviest displays.
The Plaza de La Constitución
Visit St. Augustine names the Plaza de la Constitución as top viewing, with its gazebo and the large Christmas tree. The plaza dates to 1573 under Spanish Royal Ordinances and became a National Historic Landmark in 1970. Its Constitution Monument obelisk was built in 1813 and is believed to be the only surviving monument of its kind.
On Light-Up! Night the crowd gathers here for the 6:30 PM switch-on.
Flagler College and the Lightner Museum
Visit St. Augustine calls the displays at Flagler College and the Lightner Museum the most elaborate. Flagler College occupies the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, built in 1888 by Henry Flagler and designed by Carrere and Hastings, now a National Historic Landmark. The Lightner Museum building was completed in 1887 as the Hotel Alcazar, by the same architects.
King Street is the listed viewpoint for both buildings.
The Bridge of Lions and the Bayfront
The Bridge of Lions sidewalks are a listed best spot, with the lit palms of the bayfront close by. The bridge is 1,545 feet long and 34 feet wide, carrying State Road A1A over the Matanzas River. It is named for two Carrara marble Medici lion copies named Firm and Faithful, and two granite lions, Pax and Peli, were added in 2015.
The Bridge of Lions at sunset. Photo: Capvideo, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Crowds, Parking and the Shuttle
The festival draws its heaviest crowds on weekends and dates near Christmas. The city publishes a rhythm that lets you sidestep most of it.
The Busiest Nights
Visit St. Augustine says weekends are busiest and that mid-week visits avoid long waits for trolleys and trains. St. Francis Inn's blog adds that dates near Christmas are the peak for carriage reservations. The city's own advice is to visit Monday through Thursday for shorter waits, less traffic and easier parking.
The Park & Ride Shuttle
The city offers a free Park & Ride shuttle during Nights of Lights, and the 2026-27 lots and schedules were not yet published. Last season's plan gives the shape of it. In 2025-26 the free shuttle ran 1:00 to 11:00 p.m. on 33 days, Friday through Sunday from November 15, 2025 through January 11, 2026, from three lots: Broudy's Lot at 198 West King St, the North San Marco Lot at 301 San Marco Ave and the County Health Department at 200 San Sebastian View.
Riders were dropped at the north drive-thru lane of the Visitor Information Center at 10 S. Castillo Drive. On the Christmas Parade day the shuttle started at 8:00 a.m.
Garage Prices on Shuttle Days
In 2025-26 the downtown garage charged $40 for entries at or after 1:00 p.m. on shuttle days and $20 otherwise. The Historic Downtown Parking Facility at 1 Cordova Street holds 1,200 spaces and is open 24 hours a day. The city also lists private lots that run $20 to $40 depending on lot, day and time, and warns that parking in private lots not welcoming holiday visitors risks towing.
For meters, resident zones, garages and every other option, the St. Augustine parking page covers it in detail.
Resident Zones and the Fine
Resident-only parking zones near downtown apply from November 21, 2026 through January 18, 2027, and a vehicle without a resident Nights of Lights tag draws a $100 fine. Do not assume a quiet residential street is free parking, because enforcement is active through the whole season.
Restrooms
Downtown has only six public restrooms, and on the busiest nights the city adds 70 porta-potties in eight locations. The listed facilities are the Municipal Marina at 111 Avenida Menendez, open 24/7 except cleaning, the Visitor Information Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Cafe del Hidalgo from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The free Nights of Lights app maps restroom locations, shuttle info and live cameras of the Castillo and the Bridge of Lions, and it was downloaded nearly 80,000 times after launching.
What to Wear and the Weather
Evenings are the cool part of the day, and almost every ride format is open-air, so a jacket matters.
Season Temperatures
The 1991-2020 normals from the St. Augustine Light station put November at a mean daily high of 23.8°C (74.9°F) and a low of 14.2°C (57.5°F). December runs 20.5°C (68.9°F) for the high and 10.7°C (51.3°F) for the low. January is the coolest month at 19.7°C (67.5°F) and 8.8°C (47.8°F).
Rainfall is modest in all three, at 2.32, 2.99 and 2.74 inches.
Open-Air Rides and the Jacket Rule
Carriages, trolleys, carts and trains are all open-air, and St. Francis Inn's blog warns that winter evening temperatures can drop into the 40s or 50s F, which is 4 to 15°C. Visit St. Augustine recommends sunset for photos and notes nights can drop to about 65 degrees F, or 18.3°C. Bring a real jacket, not just a light layer, especially for the second half of the season when the January lows bite after dark.
Tips for the Nights of Lights
Five things that make the evening easier, and four that ruin it, all drawn from the city and Visit St. Augustine.
Do
- Do visit Monday through Thursday, because the city says that brings shorter waits, less traffic and easier parking.
- Do use the free Park & Ride shuttle once lots are announced, because last season it ran 1:00 to 11:00 p.m. on 33 days from three lots and dropped riders next to the Visitor Information Center.
- Do download the free Nights of Lights app, because it maps restrooms, shuttles and live cameras and has been downloaded nearly 80,000 times since it launched.
- Do book rides early for dates near Christmas, because St. Francis Inn's blog says weekends and dates near Christmas are the busiest for carriage reservations.
- Do bring a warm jacket, because winter evenings can drop into the 40s or 50s F and every ride format is open-air.
Don't
- Don't park in resident-only zones without a resident tag, because the fine is $100 during the festival dates.
- Don't count on the off-peak $5 garage rate, because Visit St. Augustine says it does not apply during Nights of Lights, and shuttle-day entries after 1:00 p.m. cost $40 last season.
- Don't carry an open container on the sidewalks, because open containers are allowed on tour boats but not on the sidewalk.
- Don't count on a short wait for a trolley or train on a weekend, because Visit St. Augustine says weekends bring the longest waits for trolleys and trains.
Where to Stay for Nights of Lights
Each link opens the live room list for that area on the booking site, with today's prices. Weekends are the busiest nights of the season, per Visit St. Augustine.
Historic downtown
- Suits
- Staying inside the old town
The walk-up carriages wait on the bayfront across from Meehan's Irish Pub, and the downtown garage at 1 Cordova Street charges $20 per entry by day, per the city.
See stays in Historic downtownSt. Augustine Beach
- Suits
- A beach stay on Anastasia Island
The Bridge of Lions carries State Road A1A from the old town over the Matanzas River to Anastasia Island.
See stays in St. Augustine BeachNights of Lights Questions
How long do the Christmas lights stay up in St. Augustine?
Nights of Lights 2026-27 runs from November 21, 2026 to January 18, 2027, close to two months, with the lights on every night of that span. The full date breakdown and the Light-Up! Night schedule are in the dates section.
Is the St. Augustine Nights of Lights free to see?
Yes. Viewing the lights on foot is free and no ticket is required. Rides are the only thing that costs money, and you can compare them all in the ways to see table.
What is the cheapest holiday ride through the lights?
Among the bookable rides here, the Nights of Lights Electric Cart at $42 per person is the lower per-person price, while the Nights of Lights Trolley is $81 per private row of up to 4. Both are open-air and compared side by side on the Nights of Lights rides overview.
Can you see the lights by carriage?
Yes, private carriage rides ran through the lights last season at $175 to $250 depending on operator and carriage size, per Visit St. Augustine, and 2026-27 pricing is not yet confirmed. The background on the operators is on the St. Augustine carriage tours homepage.
When are the crowds worst at the Nights of Lights?
Weekends are busiest and dates near Christmas are the peak, while the city suggests Monday through Thursday for shorter waits and easier parking. The crowds section has the detail.
Where should I park for the Nights of Lights?
Last season the free shuttle ran from three lots including Broudy's Lot at 198 West King St, while the downtown garage charged $40 after 1:00 p.m. on shuttle days. Meter rules, garages and lots are laid out on the St. Augustine parking page.