Is St. Augustine Safe? Crime Rates & Safety Report

There are a few safety tips to keep in mind when you are traveling to St. Augustine.

Below are the top 10 things to keep in mind and prepare for when and during your visit.

1. Check the weather. Especially if you are planning to visit the area during hurricane season, make sure there are no active storms or that St. Augustine is cleared from being in its path. Too many visitors in the past have traveled during hurricane season, finding themselves in the middle of a storm, which can be fatal if you are not properly prepared.
2. Notify your loved ones. If you are traveling alone or in a small group, you want to let your loved ones know where you will be staying and a backup number to reach you. If you have appointments and events scheduled, let them know in case they cannot find you and need to report your latest location to the local police.
3. Not all public Wi-Fi is safe. Just because it is free to hook up does not mean that you necessarily should. Save your data to use on your trip. If you are not hooked securely to your hotel’s Wi-Fi, be mindful before joining one that is free and available. It may cost you access to your bank and financial information.
4. Secure your valuables. If you are staying in a hotel, make sure you keep any valuable items you brought with you secured in there. You do not want to be out exploring your destination with all of your valuable items on you at once. If you are mugged, you could lose it all at once.
5. Avoid caution areas. If you are out exploring and come across caution tape in a particular area, avoid it. Your safety is not worth risking the picture for social media. Being risky and making bold moves could put you in danger of wildlife or in a condemned area where you could be hurt. You could even cause damage to the property, making it a financial risk when you have to cover the costs. With St. Augustine being one of the oldest cities in the country, there is a lot of fragile history to be aware of. Lots of buildings are older and require your attention to your surroundings.
6. Be aware of local attraction scams. Because there is a lot to do in and around St. Augustine, you may find some characters attempting to sell you a cheap and quick tour for an awesome price. If it sounds too good, it probably is. Anything that is not registered with a company or appears to be less than professional, you should be safe and walk away while you can.
7. Secure your money when traveling. What you do not want to do is store your money in your back pocket. Instead, when you are traveling, keep a spare amount of money in your sock or another place on your person. If your bag is snatched while traveling, you will still have some backup cash or a card for your necessities.
8. Notify all of your financial institutions. One of the scariest things you can have to happen on a trip is to have your accounts frozen and not have any money. Before you leave for St. Augustine, give your bank and any credit card company that you have a heads-up if you are taking their card. Let them know where you will be traveling, so they can expect expenses on that account.
9. Avoid dark ATMs. If you need quick cash in St. Augustine, you can always go into one of the banks during business hours. If it is after hours, head to a local supermarket where you can either use an indoor ATM they have or make a small purchase and withdraw cash. If you have to use an ATM that is outdoors, make sure there is a lot of lighting and check your surroundings before approaching for those standing by.
10. Do not get too drunk. If you are out having a good time in St. Augustine, you must stay sober enough to call yourself an Uber or Lyft, or sober up until you can travel back safely to your room. While this is a relatively safe area, being too drunk in a dark area can be dangerous anywhere.