Make the most of your visit to St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights! Download the St. Augustine Nights of Lights App for maps, tips, and event details right at your fingertips. Avoid downtown congestion by using the Free Park & Ride Shuttle—it’s the easiest way to reach the festivities stress-free. Plan ahead, arrive early, and enjoy the holiday charm safely and smoothly!
Registration for the January 2026 SATW Freelance Council Meeting is Now Open!
Hosts St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau and Visit Jacksonville and the Beaches welcomes the SATW Freelance Council January 11-15, 2026.
The conference features full days in both St. Augustine and Jacksonville, along with a third day devoted to Exploring Florida’s Historic Coast with a selection of themed tours to choose from.
The host hotel is the Holiday Inn Express & Suites at Vilano Beach, located on one of the most beloved small beach towns in Florida and recognized by Conde Nast as one of the best beach detours in Florida. This recently constructed hotel was designed to mirror Florida beach hotels of the past, with spacious balconies and exemplary service. Reviews are outstanding in terms of convenience, friendliness, flexibility and breakfasts – and its great location between the sand and the ancient city.
Meeting registration will include accommodations, one full day exploring Jacksonville and a full day St. Augustine, and day trips with specific themes along Florida’s Historic Coast. All meals, tours, experiences and ground transportation are included. Limited airport transfers are included on Sunday, January 11 and Thursday, January 15 only.
All inclusive price is $400 per registrant.
There will be two shuttles from JAX Airport to St. Augustine on January 11, one at 10 a.m. and one at 2 p.m. There will be one Daytona Airport shuttle to St. Augustine on Sunday January 11 at 1 p.m.
There will be one 10 a.m. airport shuttle from St. Augustine to Jacksonville on Thursday, January 15, and one morning shuttle to Daytona Beach Airport (time TBD).
Please provide your flight schedule to Barbara Golden, BGolden@FloridasHistoricCoast.com by December 10.
Sponsored by the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, the conference will open with a reception in St. Augustine at the Colonial Oak Music Park, with drinks, locally inspired cuisine, plenty of characters from St. Augustine’s past and live musical entertainment.
Our first night will wrap up with a private evening Trolley Tour of "Nights of Lights," a St. Augustine holiday display that draws thousands each year and has been listed by National Geographic as One of the Top 10 Displays in the World. So, cameras ready or phones charged!
Throughout the week, attendees will enjoy two immersive, full days in St. Augustine and Jacksonville, along with a third day devoted to Exploring Florida’s Historic Coast with a selection of tours to choose from.
Our day in Jacksonville begins after a brief breakfast/business meeting and PD at the hotel. Journalists will then coach up to Jacksonville for a walking tour of the new Riverfront Plaza on the St. Johns River in the heart of downtown, followed by lunch on the Plaza. The afternoon offers small group tour options:
Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens: Preview the new manatee habitat and Skyscape entrance/special event area (walking tour, mostly outdoor, up to 15)
**Please rank your Jacksonville preferred tour selection (1-5) on the registration page.
After a relaxing river taxi cruise, and what we anticipate will be an Instagram worthy river sunset, journalists will be treated to a “Taste of Jacksonville” dinner evening event at Brick & Beam featuring multiple local restaurants and live music.
Our day in St. Augustine will include an Old Town Trolley Tour, Lightner Museum Gilded Age Tour, a stop at the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park where the first Europeans settled among the native Timucuan, a surprise guest at lunch, and a visit to St. Augustine Distillery for a tour and tasting.
Tucked into the later afternoon is break-time back at the hotel. The evening features a visit to a local farm community and a Farm-to-Table dining experience with live musical entertainment and a local 'Makers Market.
This day of coastal exploration begins with a breakfast boat your from the Vilano Beach Pier. Lunch is included on each tour. Journalists will have options for themed tours that include:
**Please rank your preferred day tour selection (1-5) on the registration page.
The closing dinner and reception will be held at Lynda’s at the Ocean Club at Ponte Vedra Beach South.
**Please rank your preferred pre-tour selection (1-4) on the registration page.
The Kissimmee Tour, is a tad different, with ½ day scheduled to visit the diverse options of vacation properties (cozy condos to sprawling mansions) available for multigenerational families, reunions, girl escapes, followed by a welcome dinner. In the spirit of immersion, lodging will be in a ten-bedroom upscale property, each journalist in a private room & bath. Over the next two days, you’ll experience airboat rides through the wetlands, lunches at historic restaurants, and visits to Celebration, Gatorland, the famous ette hotel Orlando, and more, culminating in a finale dinner and fun surpise experience. Journalists who select this tour should fly into Orlando and will be responsible for getting themselves to the host property. Ubers are readily available. You will receive the address after registration. Parking on-site is available for any journalists who drive. Transportation from Kissimmee to St. Augustine will be provided at the end of the Pre-Tour. For post-conference tours, ideally, try to book a return flight from either Jacksonville or Daytona airports.
Cost of this Tour: Free
Coastal Georgia Swamp to Sea will host journalists in a historic, boutique St. Marys property, with day trips to the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge (flat bottom boat or kayak options), and a group dinner in Kingsland. Then ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore, with choices for hiking, cycling, and a Lands and Legends van tour that includes a tour of Carnegie’s Plum Orchard Mansion and the First African Baptist Church. Cooler lunch (which is what visitors do). An optional evening golf-cart tour of St. Marys? You decide. To experience local cuisine, dinner in St. Marys is on your own (gift certificates provided.) On this slower-travel tour, you’ll see, feel, breathe and taste the essence of historic coastal Georgia.
Journalists will be met at the Jacksonville Airport on Jan. 8th and transported to St. Augustine on Jan.11th for the start of the Core Conference.
All-inclusive cost: $200
Daytona Beach and Beyond is hosted by the Daytona Beach Area CVB and Visit West Volusia, with 23 miles of shoreline and so much more. Lodging will be at The Shores Resort & Spa, in Daytona Beach Shores, with ocean views, beachfront dining and coastal hospitality. You will experience the stunning Riverfront Esplanade in the heart of the city, with gardens, water features, nooks and overlooks, and a transformed view for all the shops, cafes and galleries that overlook it. Also, Henry Flagler’s Victorian mansion (complete with a speakeasy bourbon bar), a 1930’s art deco eatery with floor shows, Florida’s tallest lighthouse in Ponce de Leon Inlet, Blue Spring State Park, a manatee refuge (in the middle of manatee season) where you can see hundreds of manatees from a boardwalk on cold days. Then Downtown DeLand, one of the most unique communities to visit for its art, culinary and culture… and the consignment and antique shop, Dunn’s Attic, that serves $1.00 mimosas to make shopping even more fun, as well as legendary breakfasts and lunches. Tack on racing history (where NASCAR started) and the Jackie Robinson Ball Park. It’s Daytona, which is so much more than spring-break madness.
Transportation from the Daytona Airport to The Shores Resort & Spa will be provided on Jan. 8th or journalists are free to Uber. Transportation will be provided from Daytona to St. Augustine for the Core Conference on Jan.11th. A shuttle will also be provided back to Daytona Beach airport on Jan. 15th.
All-inclusive cost: $200
A new option for journalists at this conference is a "DIY": Design your own local/regional post-tour. So many times, travel journalists visit and write about a 'vacation destination' without the opportunity to experience a few days of ‘vacation’. St. Augustine has more than 60 historic attractions and sites to explore.
On your own, you can explore the Nation’s oldest city, take in more tours, and experience the incredible food scene. The Holiday Inn Express Vilano Beach is just four years old, but in the architectural style of classic Florida beach hotels and in one of the most beloved small beach towns in Florida. They are offering discounted hotel rates for up to three nights prior or three nights after the conference. You’ll find 8-by-10 ft. balconies, and perks some of you may remember from the 1950’s: beach chairs, wagons, umbrellas, boogie boards, toys and pool towels. Everything to make a beach day ‘easy-peasy.’
Compliments of the St. Augustine Attractions Association, journalists choosing to the DYI will receive a VIP Pass for admission to St. Augustine attractions (good for two people), and a $50 gift card good for dining at one the St. Augustine Independent Restaurant Association member eateries.
If you would like to rent a car for a drive along the Scenic & Historic A1A Coastal Byway (maps will be provided) Hertz, Budget, Avis and Enterprise Car Rentals will pick you up and return you to the hotel.More “Perks” are coming and anyone participating in a “DIY” will receive an email a few weeks prior to the conference listing all the perks that will be made available.
Accommodations, all meals, tours, experiences and ground transportation are included in the conference fee of $400.
The Holiday Inn Express on Vilano Beach is offering an extended guest rate ($119++) to all SATW Freelance Council registrants for January 9-11 and January 15-18. Include the nights you wish to extend in your registration for the core Meeting (January 11-15). Follow protocols below.
If adding any nights, or intending to do a “DYI”, include those dates in your reservation request. Your room will then be reserved for Core (cost included in registration) and you will be billed for additional nights only. If you have any special needs, please tell the hotel directly.
Note: SATW Freelance respects the decisions of all Canadian Freelance members who choose to not travel to the United States. For any Canadian members who do wish to attend, Freelance Council will reimburse them individually with a $100 rebate check to at least partially offset the disparity in fluctuating currency exchange rates.
On behalf of SATW Freelance Council, we encourage all Canadian Associates and Journalists to share any destination ideas or possibilities for a conference in Canada in later 2026 with Susan Kraus, Freelance Sites Chair, susanjkraus58@gmail.com.
