St. Augustine Old Jail Museum Tour

It was a lovely experience for a child to visit as well as adults. The guide was very knowledgable … worth a visit for sure

The "Jail" tour was better than expected. It was like attending a live interactive theatrical experience. The tour guide (I think her name was Lydia) was extremely knowledgeable and played the part beautifully. I did leave a bit sad to think that people were treated so poorly even if they were guilty of societal infractions. Better to do this tour at the beginning of the day so you have time to recover.

It is important to recognize that with any tour, every individual is given a set of bullet points. They cannot deviate from it. Alongside is a collection of additional facts that they can share as they desire. In this fashion, everyone gets the same quality experience, but one that is unique to the individual. Having taken the old jail tour several times, each one has been enjoyable, even if the information isn't exact. The very first time we took the tour was with Patrick. Clearly passionate about what he does, and the information he shares. This time, we had prisoner trusty Peaches. The danger of having an exceptional experience is it sets the bar for everything to come. Peaches very quickly, established himself as someone equally as passionate and knowledgeable about the facility and material. The information provided is educational, sometimes there's an entertaining or humorous aspect, but other points weigh heavily on the gravity of the space and things that happened. One of the first things pointed out to us, is to imagine that there are no windows and no AC. Imagine what the space feels like in June, July, or August. Since the tour begins outside, it's easy to imagine how brutal the environment and temperature is inside. A fascinating building with great amounts of information, you are likely in good hands with anyone who leads the tour. Pro tip - ask questions, and take photos, especially with your tour guide, and whatever you do, make sure to grab a survey postcard. You can thank them with tips, and you CAN THANK them with feedback. If they deserve it, give it to them.

Our guide was Peaches and he was a lot of great. It’s a small building and short tour so the guide makes or breaks the experience. We were grateful that Peaches made it fun.

We had an amazing time touring the Old Jail in St. Augustine! Our guide, Louis (Lewis), the “trustee inmate,” absolutely made the experience. He was incredibly knowledgeable, super informative, and one of the funniest, most entertaining tour guides we’ve ever had. His storytelling, sense of humor, and interaction with the group brought the history to life. Without a doubt, this was one of the highlights of our trip to St. Augustine. We couldn’t stop laughing while still learning so much about the jail’s fascinating history. I highly recommend this tour to all of our family and friends. If you get the chance, make sure you see Louis—he’s definitely a character! 😂 We can’t say enough good things about the experience. Employees like Louis are a huge asset and deserve to be recognized and taken care of. Thank you for making our visit so memorable!