St. Augustine's Nights of Lights Returns with Award-Winning App

St. Augustine, Florida, Sept. 10, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The popular Nights of Lights festival is set to return to St. Augustine, Florida, from November 21, 2026, to January 18, 2027, illuminating the historic city with millions of bright white lights. This year, the festival will be accompanied by an award-winning app, which was launched in 2025 and has garnered nearly 90,000 downloads. The app, created in partnership with Visit St. Augustine and the City of St. Augustine, has been honored with a Bronze Flagler Award for Websites at VISIT FLORIDA’s 2026 Flagler Awards.

The app serves as a valuable tool for visitors and locals, offering real-time updates, an interactive map, live park-and-ride information, and visitor tips. For the 2026 season, the app will be enhanced with new features, including a search function to discover restaurants, attractions, events, live music, and more throughout St. Augustine. Additionally, the app will display parking availability visually and feature redesigned, more user-friendly maps.

Susan Phillips, President and CEO of the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, expressed her satisfaction with the app's success. "Visit St. Augustine and the City of St. Augustine have been incredible partners since day one of the project, shaping the creativity and user experience that made this app such a success," she said.

Nights of Lights, now in its 33rd year, is a significant part of the holiday season in St. Augustine. The festival will kick off with the Light-Up! Night on November 21, 2026, in the Plaza de la Constitución, featuring live music and the official lighting ceremony. The entire city will continue to glow with millions of lights every evening until January 18, 2027.

To plan a visit, visitors can download the free Nights of Lights app from the official website, FloridasHistoricCoast.com. The app provides comprehensive information to help visitors navigate the festival, including parking, shuttle information, events, and local attractions. The app also links directly to available tours, such as boat, helicopter, trolley, and lighthouse tours, offering unique ways to experience the festival.

For those looking to make the most of their visit, the Nights of Lights festival pairs well with an overnight stay. St. Augustine’s thriving culinary scene, with four MICHELIN-recommended restaurants, offers a variety of dining options. Visitors can also explore the golf and seaside communities of Ponte Vedra, the rural communities of Hastings, Elkton, and St. Johns, and enjoy 42 miles of Atlantic coastline.

Diverse events throughout the season, such as the Christmas Parade and the Holiday Regatta of Lights, provide additional reasons to plan an extended stay. The festival offers a festive atmosphere that can be enjoyed during Light-Up! Night or a quieter experience on weekdays, with shorter lines and easier parking.

St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau, the official tourism marketing and management organization for St. Johns County and Florida’s Historic Coast, encourages visitors to plan their Nights of Lights getaway by visiting FloridasHistoricCoast.com or calling 1-800-653-2489. The bureau also operates Visitor Information Centers in St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach, providing visitors with information, inspiration, and resources for experiencing St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and The Beaches.