Old Jail Museum: Explore St. Augustine's Historic Prison

Step back in time and experience the Old Jail Museum in St. Augustine. Discover the history of America’s oldest prison and get a glimpse into the lives of its prisoners. Book a guided tour today!

Duration: 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Old Jail Museum - For nearly 60 years – until 1953 – the Old Jail served as the St. Johns County facility for petty thieves and hardened criminals. There were even eight recorded executions, two of which were accused murderers. Sim Jackson, who was hanged in 1908 after murdering his wife with a straight razor, is among the group.
    Today, visitors…
What's Included
  • Admission to Old Jail
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attraction
  • Food and drinks
  • St. Augustine Old Jail closed on Christmas Day.
Additional Information

Situated on San Marco Avenue, in the Uptown District of St. Augustine, the Old Jail Museum provides an educational and fascinating insight into the living conditions of prisoners in the Nation’s Oldest City. Experience an intriguing guided tour conducted by the ‘jailers,’ revealing a captivating view of the cells where convicted men and women were…

Location
Old Jail Museum
San Marco Avenue
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(711 Ratings)
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Sam_z
Dec 11, 2025
Very interesting. Our... - Very interesting. Our tour guy was very enthusiastic and did a great job! I was afraid it might be a bit cheesy — it was not.
Review provided by Viator
Islandsquirrel
Dec 1, 2025
A lot of fun and thought provoking - Lizzy was our tour guide and she was outstanding! I loved the way she interacted with the guest. She was very knowledgeable and really helped the guests to understand what being sentenced to that jail would have been like. It's amazing to think that it stayed operational until the 1950s.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cosmopolitan614936
Nov 22, 2025
Informative, Interesting, historical knowledge. - Boss Benny from the Bronx was the best! Great fun , interactive tour which immerses you in the experience of that time. Lots of historical information pertaining to the jail and the region.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ronhunter
Nov 4, 2025
A MUST see!! Hopefully Boss Benny will be processing you. - Our tour guide Boss Benny was amazing. He belongs on Broadway. Not only did he tell us the history, he sang us a song about the suffering of the prisoners. Best tour in St. Augustine!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
327christine0004
Oct 11, 2025
Fun Tour - We were visiting from NH. This is a very fun tour. Tour guides are really into their job. The history and photos of the jail are something to see. Good learning experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marcia
Oct 8, 2025
Awesome time - Our tour guide was Lizzie. Don't ask her if she is Lizzy Borden, lol. Being incarcerated was obviously no picnic back in the day. Definitely an eye opening tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Caitlin_t
Nov 30, 2025
So so - One thing I will say is that the presentation of course depends on the presenter, the one running the show, giving you the information, and keeping you entertained and engaged. Our guide was a bully to guests on the tour. There’s playing a character role and there’s reading the room. Calling people four eyes, bald-e-locks, and other names was very childish. We returned to the jail during the ghost tour and had a different guide and he was very engaging. So it just depends on which tour guide you are paired with. The history I learned was interesting.
Review provided by Viator
Raelovestiddles
Nov 24, 2025
Probably depends on the tour guide. Our was… not great. - It’s a short tour, and has some cool stuff to see, and stories to read about. I was excited to do this tour with our kids, after reading reviews. I will say that it may be better with a different guide. Our fella was stiff, awkward and couldn’t seem to find the balance between sharing historical facts and being funny. At one point, I was searching for the exit and wishing for escape… I wish we could have just explored on our own the whole time, honestly. Anyway, maybe try to find out which guides are good before you go? (And for the managers, definitely do more training and help your guides with crowd wrangling and their patter). Our guy was having the “off-est” of off days. Anyway, NOT worth the money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
289stacyd
Oct 13, 2025
Great tour interrupted with tour guides political beliefs. - The tour itself was really good. Unfortunately our tour guide let his political beliefs be known throughout the tour. Having a family divided, this made the tour very uncomfortable for us. We all just wanted a weekend away without having to deal with this.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Turbo48
Dec 6, 2025
Won’t go back - Most unprofessional tourism experience of my life. The tour guide was not family appropriate, then actually had an altercation with 3 guest who didn’t speak English trying to kick them off the tour, assuming they didn’t have tickets, even though their spouses were still on the tour with their tickets. It was embarrassing for all participants. They offered a refund to the entire group after the guide walked away from the whole group mid-tour! It was so uncomfortable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $18
up to 9 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).