diff --git a/lib/capybara/session.rb b/lib/capybara/session.rb
index 927da2be..4b9ebe1a 100644
--- a/lib/capybara/session.rb
+++ b/lib/capybara/session.rb
@@ -170,10 +170,12 @@ module Capybara
     def visit(url)
       @touched = true
 
+      if url !~ /^http/ and Capybara.app_host
+        url = Capybara.app_host + url.to_s
+      end
+
       if @server
-        unless url =~ /^http/
-          url = (Capybara.app_host || "http://#{@server.host}:#{@server.port}") + url.to_s
-        end
+        url = "http://#{@server.host}:#{@server.port}" + url.to_s unless url =~ /^http/
 
         if Capybara.always_include_port
           uri = URI.parse(url)
diff --git a/lib/capybara/spec/session/visit_spec.rb b/lib/capybara/spec/session/visit_spec.rb
index 7eb34b8e..6992d06f 100644
--- a/lib/capybara/spec/session/visit_spec.rb
+++ b/lib/capybara/spec/session/visit_spec.rb
@@ -43,6 +43,21 @@ Capybara::SpecHelper.spec '#visit' do
     end
   end
 
+  context "without a server", :requires => [:server] do
+    it "should respect `app_host`" do
+      serverless_session = Capybara::Session.new(@session.mode, nil)
+      Capybara.app_host = "http://#{@session.server.host}:#{@session.server.port}"
+      serverless_session.visit("/foo")
+      serverless_session.should have_content("Another World")
+    end
+
+    it "should visit a fully qualified URL" do
+      serverless_session = Capybara::Session.new(@session.mode, nil)
+      serverless_session.visit("http://#{@session.server.host}:#{@session.server.port}/foo")
+      serverless_session.should have_content("Another World")
+    end
+  end
+
   it "should send no referer when visiting a page" do
     @session.visit '/get_referer'
     @session.should have_content 'No referer'
diff --git a/spec/dsl_spec.rb b/spec/dsl_spec.rb
index f871c67b..eaf0ac44 100644
--- a/spec/dsl_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/dsl_spec.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ Capybara::SpecHelper.run_specs TestClass.new, "DSL", :skip => [
   :js,
   :screenshot,
   :frames,
-  :windows
+  :windows,
+  :server
 ]
 
 describe Capybara::DSL do
diff --git a/spec/rack_test_spec.rb b/spec/rack_test_spec.rb
index a356b084..71dd4567 100644
--- a/spec/rack_test_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/rack_test_spec.rb
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ Capybara::SpecHelper.run_specs TestSessions::RackTest, "RackTest", :skip => [
   :js,
   :screenshot,
   :frames,
-  :windows
+  :windows,
+  :server
 ]
 
 describe Capybara::Session do