Ghosts & Gravestones Tour St. Augustine

While this is a trolley tour, you get more of a history lessons then ghost. The two of trolley experiences were fun. Charles was fantastic in the Old Jail. I would do the tour again.

THIS TOUR WAS JUST OKAY. I don’t know if I’d do it again. I think I was more amused by just looking outside the window than listening to our story teller– it seemed we went far from the historic district. Our bus tour GUIDE WAS BORING. She was JUST RECITING FROM MEMORY. Any kid around a camp fire could tell scary stories better.
We started out on the tour bus and were taken up and down the streets while the story teller told us scary stories about the town. Then at the PARK OUTSIDE THE LIGHTHOUSE we were ALLOWED TO WALK AROUND and see if we could spot spirits. Back on the bus we went and over to the jail where the new story teller dressed as a prisoner talked to us. Finally back on the bus and on home. At least THE PRISONER STORY TELLER WAS CAPTIVATING and played his part very well.

MORE STORY-​TELLING THAN A TOUR = Yes you get on a bus that brings you to the location of haunts around the town. You disembark to get a closer look at two particular locations. But before and after those two locations the bus just races right by the locations from its stories (going with flow of traffic). You don’t have time to stare at any site to search and be a little afraid.
ANNOYING TOUR GUIDE BUT PRISONER WAS GREAT ACTOR = She knew her stuff, but her age worked against her (a definite college girl reflecting the stoic «like… like… like» used by her generation). The stories did NOT come to life through her telling (which is almost essential to a supposed ‘haunted’ tour). But the story teller who took over at the Old Jail by pretending to be a former prisoner and told the haunts in first person narrative played his part (insane, crazed, schizo emotions) very well.
RECOMMENDATIONS = skip this tour. Even for the relatively low price it wasn’t worth it. Perhaps if they found a way to actually make this a TOUR and not a story-​telling bus ride, it’d be better. Plus a skills training for the hosts.

My husband and I recently visited St. Augustine, and last minute one night we decided to take the Ghosts and Gravestone’s tour. We literally called them on the phone 10 minutes before the last tour and ran to the pickup stop. That was kind of fun, anyway, we are very glad that we decided to do the tour. The driver and the tour guide were very nice, and you could tell that they were really believed in ghosts and they were really into the history. The tour of the jail was pretty freaky. I didn’t want to go into the jail cells, but my husband went in and tried taking pictures to catch any «orbs» on camera. He actually caught 2 orbs with a tail, one was outside of the jail. The jail prisoner guy was awesome! I wish I remember his name. He was such a great actor, creepy, and funny. We really enjoyed the tour and thought it was a good experience. It’s something different that you aren’t going to be able to do anywhere else but St. Augustine.

I called to get information about the tour and explained that due to a temporary injury I had to use a SMALL foldable electric scooter that when folded was like a kids’ stroller. Was told that I could not bring it on the tour and that I shouldn’t bother anyways because the jail has stairs and I could not go up them. Way to discriminate against disabled people! Booked another tour no problemo.

My girl and I decided for Halloween, to check out the ghost tour in St. Augustine. We expecting a good scare. Not only was tour guide informative and knowledgable bout the city, he also was comedic. We captured some crazy orbs and inside the old jail, it felt like the most haunted. Even though it would have been cool to go in the fort. Even the actor, who portrayed one of the prisoners who was hanged by the gallows, did a hell of a job. I highly recommend this one for any paranormal enthusiast as the entire city has a spooky feel to it with rich history. We definitely plan on checking this one out again. Boo-​yah!

When buying tickets for other attractions I was told that this was the «best» Ghost Tour. Do NOT be fooled. This reminded me of a school play. The host and bus driver were dressed in period clothing and inmate garb we basically drive around while they told ghost stories. They then brought us to a park to take pictures hoping that you get a picture of an orb. Truly ridiculous. We then went to the jail which was the highlight of this waste of time but not worth the $ 25 per person we paid.

This is the absolute worst tour I have ever been on anywhere. Where do I begin? The hostess on the tour engaged in non-​stop babble the entire time. She was melodramatic, shrill and totally absorbed in her own, amazingly boring content free monologue. Melodramatic doesn’t began to describe the unceasingly blather to which the tour group was subjected.
The tour went to only two locations, one of which was a grove of trees that wasted over half of the tour time. The destination, which was near the lighthouse, was totally absurd. Our tour group knew we had been had by this time and we were already poised to throw the bellicose bimbo off the tram by the time we arrived. The second destination was the old jail, where a deranged gentleman put on a fair show. The jail wasn’t bad but the tour overall was a complete ripoff and I would not recommend it to anyone. It did not last 90 minutes as advertised and it was a total waste of time and a bigger waste of money. After doing some research, I think the Sheriffs Walking Tour is probably a better choice.

Don’t waste you’re time or money. We heard stories while drive around on a bus, walked around a park, never went to the lighthouse, and visited the old jail. Charlie, in the old jail was the only good part of the entire experience (if I could give Charlie five stars I would). St. Augustine has much better tours than this.

«There were only eight…»
My mother and I decided to take this ghost tour since we did the one by Ripley’s on our last visit. Let me first say that I pride myself in science and do not believe in ghosts. I am a big fan of anything in horror and jump at chances to do anything related, not because I believe in it but because of the entertainment value. My mother loves ghost shows so doing ghost tours in the oldest city seemed like a good deal.
We purchased our tickets online because you get it at a discounted rate of 25 dollars. You have a webticket. Make sure you do not click activate or it will not be valid unless you are doing the tour within a half hour. You check in at the welcome center. It says to get there at least 2o minutes early. Maybe it’s because it isn’t the season or we picked the latest time but we were only half full (including an infant). We sat on uncomfortable benches and got eaten by mosquitoes while waiting. If you can park on the right side to see the trolley pull up, I would suggest waiting in your car until it comes.
You load on the trolley where you have a driver and a narrator. The first part is driving partly through the town talking about Hotspot but you don’t stop. The benches were at least padded so it wasn’t an uncomfortable ride and you could hear the woman well. She had jokes but it was easy to tell she was more of an actress than a historical narrator. The one of two stops is in the playground across from the lighthouse. It was dark which added the spooky factor but her stories were bit lackluster. She promoted flash on cameras which will pick up on anything and claimed that they were ghostly orbs. Be careful because there were a lot of low branches and since I didn’t have a flashlight, I got a branch to the eye. Probably the scariest part of the whole night.
Then you are onto the bus again for a gross but not ghost story which I liked cause, horror. A brief stop to talk about the Castillo before heading to the old jail. You go inside where the woman talks for a bit. Then the first of several jump scares happen and the girl is replaced by a prisoner actor.
I will spare you all the details of the jail to not spoil it. This is not a ghost tour that people would think of. You weren’t going to look for ghosts. You are there to be entertained by these actors. For someone who worked in premier haunts, it was a bit disappointing, especially when they kept trying to scare or use me as a volunteer or be warned when going into the dark haunted areas by myself. The stories were maybe 20 percent historically accurate. I gave it 2 stars due to the entertainment value. I had fun watching the other patrons buy into the tourist gimmick and believe they were seeing ghosts and screaming at the startle scares. It wasn’t bad in a way I would ask for a refund. It just wasn’t a ghost tour.
If you are looking to be entertained and possibly scared, take this tour. If you are looking for historical stories and playing with gadgets, pick the Ripley’s tour. Just my thoughts…

I don’t get the reviews that complain about this tour. Maybe they haven’t been on any before or they were expecting something more along the lines of a historical session. This was some good fun riding through some spots in town in the dark on the bus with a lady telling ghost stories. All the guides were having a good time and seemed to enjoy their job. I especially liked the «guide» from the jail, Corey. He was great and seemed half Beetlejuice and half Jack Torrance. He got more than a few laughs from me during his part of the tour. Overall, I had a fun time, and if you are looking for something serious then visit the monuments during the day and listen to the Rangers talk.

Skip this tour! Our group picked this tour due to the accessibility of our pregnant friend and not because of the reviews so we knew that it may not be great. It was comfortable riding on the trolley to each spot and we visited some creepy locations. However, we quickly drove by the cemeteries which were the most intriguing. The visit to the lighthouse was pretty lame and our guide was lacking some theatrical experience. However, the jail actor was great and told his stories well.
Note: they claim this tour is PG13 but due to the graphic nature of the wars and crimes, I would not bring my 13 year old.
I’d keep looking for another tour. Also, they ask that you take a survey so it seems like they are trying to make some changes. Check more recent reviews for up to date info.

Terrible. Super cheesy and probably ruined what great history St. Augustine is known for. Don’t waste your money!

Good story-​telling and enthusiasm from the tour guide (can’t remember her name). I guess was looking for a little more surprises along the tour.

I had low expectations for this tour to begin with. The tour itself was cheesy and not fun at all. My 10 year old daughter liked it so take that for what it is worth. Before we bought tickets we specifically asked if there were any jump scares on the tour and were told «absolutely not». When the jump scares started at the jail my son had to leave, was not impressed. Not worth the high price of admission.

Ok ghost tour. I would give it 2 stars as it was not exactly what I thought it would be after reading their brochure. The rest of my group liked it so I bumped it up one. A little too intense for the kids but teenagers would probably be ok to go. Not much time to investigate mostly listening to stories by the tour guide. The jail was a little disappointing as no investigating just more stories from an «inmate». I would not do again although if you like listening to ghost stories then this group does do a good job. I was hoping for something where you got to investigate more like on ghost hunters.

So disappointing. It’s basically a trolly ride through the city with a stop at the park across from the lighthouse and at the old jail. They did let us go inside the jail, but once inside you are corralled quickly through while being told ghost stories by an actor dressed up as a prisoner. They jump out at you and use hokey scare tactics and don’t give you any time to explore by yourself. No fun :(

No Ghosts worth your time on this tour!
First I have no clue how this tour supposedly is St. Augustine’s top Ghost Tour 3 years in a row by Trip Advisor. The tour lasts about 1h and 20mins. of which 1 hour is spent riding around town in a trolley. You get on the trolley bus at the Old Jail and the Narrator guy talks extensively about supposed ghost stories for 30 minutes around the traffic crowded streets of the downtown area on your way to the Lighthouse Park. After arriving you’re allowed off the bus at the Lighthouse Park to «TRY» and photograph floating orbs and then 10 mins later its back on the bus for yet another long and drawn out 30 minute narrated ride back to the Old Jail. They let you off again and are greeted by flickering lights and a random supposed jail cell-​mate and told another long story about the maximum security jail and other stories, which if you happened to visit the Jail during the day you will hear most of the same story during your ghost tour as far as the actual living conditions and the gallows out back. The Narrator then shows up frantically asking where the group has been and tells you to quickly return to the bus, but wait… its a new driver! presumable to rotate out ghost tour buses. there is one last story that is told and that concludes your tour.
**Overall I wasn’t impressed with this tour at all, but if you enjoy sitting in bumper-​bumper St. Augustine traffic on a bus go for it. I will say though that the jail cell guy at the Old Jail told an awesome story and filled in a few additional details not told on the day tours.
Happy Ghost Hunting!

I wouldn’t recommend this tour. We basically were told ghost stories while riding on a bus past a cemetery… stopping at a park… walking closer to the lighthouse (but not very close) then back on bus to Old Jail — which was pretty cool but it was pretty dark and hard to see into the cells. There they had a «prisoner» tell more ghost stories. I would have rather gotten a closer view of the lighthouse — and more true info about the jail and see more.

My girlfriend and I got the last two spots of the night. I am glad we did I had so much fun! The tour guy, Chris, was great, he even reminded me of John Oliver.
Is it corny? Yes. Is it informative? Yes. Is it scary? Yes, it could be. I would do this again. Like I said it was so much fun and you will learn about some stories that you usually don’t hear about on your regular tours. Also on this tour they take you to the light house and you get to go in the jail. Many ghost tours don’t go into buildings.
Make sure you book early so you don’t miss out on the best tour in St. Augustine.