Covers the towns that sell their ghosts: the Deep South, the old Florida coast, Salem and Gettysburg.
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St. Augustine has ghost tours the way beach towns have T-shirt shops. Walk down St. George Street at 7 p.m. and you'll pass lanterns, costumes and sandwich boards before you reach the plaza.
Most of them are fine. A few are better.
One thing up front, because it shapes every walk in town: you won't get inside the old cemeteries at night. Tolomato Cemetery on Cordova Street opens to the public on the third Saturday of the month, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and that's it. Every walk on this page that mentions Huguenot or Tolomato sees them from the gate. The Castillo closes at 5:15 p.m., so that's an outside stop too. The good news is the town itself, which gets very quiet once the day-trippers leave, and a 9 p.m. walk down a coquina street with no one else on it does most of the work for the guide.
We ranked ten: six ghost walks, two pub walks and two sunset boats. The scores are close.
At a glance
Best overall
The Original Haunted History Tour, 9 p.m. start, Night Score 6.9
Best on the water
Sunset Cruise of St. Augustine, with a 21+ boat and a family boat
Cheapest good one
Early Haunts' South St. Augustine walk, $20 (€17.90)
Best for a drink
The Original Haunted Pub Tour (21+), run since 2002
Skip
The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley, rated 4.2
Nights of Lights
November 21, 2026 to January 18, 2027
On this page
The 10 best night tours in St. Augustine, ranked
Every tour we scored in St. Augustine that cleared our bar (rated 4.4 or more from 50+ reviews), in Night Score order. Night Score = 30% rating, 10% review count, 20% price per hour, 40% how much the night is the point. How we score
Ghost Tour of St. Augustine: The Original Haunted History Tour
Ghost tours
6.9/10Night Score
From $27 (€24)
1 hour 30 minutes
Starts: 9:00 p.m.
Large group
4.9 (440 reviews)
The 9 p.m. start is why I like it. By then the Castillo, St. George Street and the cemeteries are fully dark and the town has mostly emptied. Spyglass Tours meets on the front steps of the Visitor Information Center; look for the purple lantern. It's $27 (€24) for 90 minutes, which scores well on value, and it holds a 4.9 from 440 reviews. Groups can reach 25. You get a ghost map. Confirmation can take up to 48 hours, so don't book it the afternoon of.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%7.2
Review countData · 10%6.3
Price per hourData · 20%8.5
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A 9 p.m. haunted history walk by Spyglass Tours from the front steps of the Visitor Information Center (look for the purple lantern).
Good to know: Up to 25 per group; includes a ghost map. Admission to Huguenot Cemetery, Tolomato Cemetery and the Castillo is not included, so those are seen from outside; confirmation can take up to 48 hours.
After dark: A 9 p.m. start puts the Castillo, St. George Street and the old cemeteries in full dark with the town mostly emptied out.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
The most-reviewed night tour in town by a mile: 2,488 reviews at 4.7. That volume is what puts it second, since its rating is lower than most of the list. A Ghostly Encounter starts and ends at 12 St. George Street and runs several departures a night. It's family-friendly, $30 (€27), up to 25 people. It goes rain or shine with a 20-minute hold for lightning. Small annoyance: the page lists ghost-hunting tools as included and also says they rent for $5 (€4.50).
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%5.2
Review countData · 10%8.9
Price per hourData · 20%8.0
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A family-friendly evening ghost walk through the old city run by A Ghostly Encounter, starting and ending at 12 St. George Street.
Good to know: Up to 25 per group; ghost-hunting tools are listed as included but the page also says they rent for $5. Runs rain or shine, with a 20-minute hold for lightning; dimly lit streets and two cemeteries on foot.
After dark: The coquina streets and two old cemeteries read as haunted only once the lamps are lit and the day crowds leave St. George Street.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Florida Water Tours runs two versions of this 90-minute Matanzas River ride: an adults-only boat (21+, beer and wine for sale) and a family boat with no alcohol. Pick the right one. You watch the sun drop behind the Bridge of Lions as the bayfront lights come on. Boats hold 16, the rating is 4.8 from 1,399 reviews, and $43 (€38) is what holds its value score down. No heels or flip-flops; you step over a gap to board. Late arrivals don't get refunds.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%6.7
Review countData · 10%8.1
Price per hourData · 20%6.6
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A narrated 90-minute sunset boat ride on the Matanzas River by Florida Water Tours, with an adults-only (21+) boat and a family-friendly, alcohol-free option.
Good to know: Up to 16 per boat; beer and wine sold on the adults-only boat. No heels or flip-flops, a short walk and a step over a gap to board; not wheelchair accessible, and no refund for late arrival.
After dark: Timed to watch the sun go down over the Matanzas River and the Bridge of Lions as the bayfront lights come on.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Red Boat Tours: Adults-Only and Family Friendly BYOB Sunset Cruise
Night cruises
6.5/10Night Score
From $42 (€37)
1 hour 30 minutes
Starts: Sunset departure
Shared boat
4.9 (380 reviews)
Not offered during Nights of Lights, mid-November to mid-January
The BYOB option, from the floating dock at the Vilano Beach Fishing Pier, north of the old town. You bring the drinks; they give you bottled water. The skyline turns to lights on the way back. It's $42 (€37), 4.9 from 380 reviews, and up to 56 aboard, which is a big boat. The listing says it's limited to adults and also calls it family friendly, so check the departure before you bring kids. Arrive 25 minutes early. It doesn't run during Nights of Lights, mid-November to mid-January.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%7.0
Review countData · 10%6.1
Price per hourData · 20%6.7
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A narrated BYOB sunset cruise by Red Boat Tours from the floating dock of the Vilano Beach Fishing Pier.
Good to know: Up to 56 aboard; bottled water included, bring your own alcohol. The page is contradictory on age ("limited to adults" but also "family friendly"), so check the departure you book.
After dark: A BYOB ride timed for sundown on the water off Vilano Beach, with the old town skyline turning to lights on the way back.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
A gentler walk. See America Tours' guide plays the town's night watchman, and the host says it isn't marketed as scary. It starts at 8 p.m. from 76 Spanish Street and ends at Government House on King Street. $30 (€27), capped at 20, ponchos handed out if it rains. The catch: the host says the route changed during Nights of Lights and now skips the Castillo and both cemeteries. Good for families who want stories more than shrieks. Not wheelchair accessible.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%6.5
Review countData · 10%5.6
Price per hourData · 20%8.0
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: An 8 p.m. ghost walk by See America Tours, led in character as the town's night watchman, from 76 Spanish Street to Government House on King Street.
Good to know: Capped at 20; ponchos are handed out if it rains. The host says the route changed during Nights of Lights and now skips the Castillo and the two cemeteries; the host also says it is not marketed as scary. Not wheelchair accessible.
After dark: A lantern-lit walk of the old town after 8 p.m., when the narrow Spanish streets are quiet enough for storytelling.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Walk the Oldest Streets of South St. Augustine Haunting Tour
Ghost tours
6.3/10Night Score
From $20 (€17.90)
1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes
Starts: Night
Small group
4.9 (200 reviews)
The cheapest one here at $20 (€17.90), and the shortest at an hour to an hour and ten minutes. Early Haunts takes up to 14 people from the Casa Monica Hotel through the south end of the old city toward Aviles Street, past the Spanish military hospital, with dowsing rods and ghost apps. Under a mile, on uneven streets. No alcohol. The page lists two different end points, so ask where it finishes. Review count (200) is what keeps it sixth.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%6.0
Review countData · 10%5.1
Price per hourData · 20%8.0
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A small-group night haunting walk by Early Haunts through the south end of the old city, from the Casa Monica Hotel to Aviles Street.
Good to know: Capped at 14; under a mile on uneven streets. Alcohol is not allowed and Ximenez-Fatio House admission is not included; the page lists two different end points, so check where it finishes.
After dark: The south end's 18th-century lanes, the old jail and the Spanish military hospital are walked in the dark with dowsing rods and ghost apps.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
GhoSt Augustine has run this one since 2002, from the Heritage Walk Mall on St. George Street to near Avenida Menendez. It's 21 and over, capped at 16, and $30 (€27) for two and a half hours, the best price per hour on the page. That's why it's here. Its 4.6 rating, tied for lowest of the ten, pulls it down. Drinks and food are on you; you get a souvenir shot glass. Some pubs pour only beer and wine, and reviewers mention a smoky cigar-bar stop.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%3.2
Review countData · 10%6.3
Price per hourData · 20%10.0
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A 21-and-over haunted pub walk run by GhoSt Augustine since 2002, starting at the Heritage Walk Mall on St. George Street and ending near Avenida Menendez.
Good to know: Capped at 16; drinks and food are at your own expense (you get a souvenir shot glass). Some pubs serve beer and wine only, and reviewers mention a smoky cigar-bar stop.
After dark: Ghost stories told in historic taverns once the bars fill up at night; the pubs are the haunted locations.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Booze and Boos Haunted St. Augustine Ghost Walking Tour
Pub crawls and bar tours
6.0/10Night Score
From $34 (€30)
2 hours 30 minutes
Starts: Evening
Small group, 21+
5.0 (59 reviews)
A perfect 5.0. From only 59 reviews, though, and that thin record is the whole reason it sits eighth. Nightly Spirits sends a costumed guide through the old town's bars and back streets, from Auggie's Draft Room on St. George Street, with stops that include the White Lion and the Scarlet Rogue. $34 (€30), 21 and up, ID checked with no exceptions, max 14. The inclusions mention alcohol but the overview says you buy your drinks. It often sells out about 20 days ahead.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%4.4
Review countData · 10%3.3
Price per hourData · 20%9.5
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A 21-and-over haunted walk with bar stops (including the White Lion and Scarlet Rogue) by Nightly Spirits, from Auggie's Draft Room on St. George Street.
Good to know: Capped at 14; ID checked, no exceptions. The inclusions list names alcohol but the overview says you buy drinks along the way, so budget for your own; often sells out about 20 days ahead.
After dark: A costumed guide works through the old town's bars and back streets at night, the hours when its tavern stories are set.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Walking Tour in North City Cemeteries of St. Augustine
Ghost tours
5.9/10Night Score
From $25 (€22)
1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours
Starts: Evening
Small group
4.8 (133 reviews)
The north-end partner to the Early Haunts walk above: Huguenot and Tolomato cemeteries and the oldest streets around them, starting and ending at Potter's Wax Museum. Neither cemetery admission is included, so you're at the gates. $25 (€22), up to 14, and dogs are welcome, which is unusual. Lawns have divots and the pace is steady. Bookings close at 6 p.m. on the day. Its 133 reviews hold it back against walks with several hundred.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%4.4
Review countData · 10%4.5
Price per hourData · 20%8.7
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: A small-group cemetery and haunted-history walk by Early Haunts through the north city, starting and ending at Potter's Wax Museum.
Good to know: Capped at 14 and dogs are welcome. Admission to Huguenot and Tolomato cemeteries is not included, so they are seen from the gates; lawns with divots and a steady pace required; alcohol not allowed.
After dark: Huguenot and Tolomato cemeteries and the north city's oldest streets are told at night, when the stories land harder than on a daytime stroll.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Afterlife Tours leans on the evidence: EVP recordings and photos, told at five stops from the Ponce de Leon statue to Scarlett O'Hara's on Hypolita Street. It starts at 8 p.m. and costs $33 (€29). All five stops, the Castillo and Huguenot Cemetery included, are outside. Groups go up to 30, the biggest on this page, and some reviewers couldn't hear the guide and found it more history than ghosts. A 4.6 rating and a weaker value score put it last.
How the score breaks down, and the fine print
Rated by travelersData · 30%3.3
Review countData · 10%6.8
Price per hourData · 20%7.6
After darkEditors · 40%6.0
What it is: An 8 p.m. paranormal sites-and-stories walk by Afterlife Tours from the Ponce de Leon statue to Scarlett O'Hara's on Hypolita Street.
Good to know: Up to 30 per group. All five stops, including the Castillo and Huguenot Cemetery, are passed from outside, not entered; some reviewers found it hard to hear and more history than ghosts.
After dark: Its stops, the Castillo, Huguenot Cemetery and old inns, are told as night scenes and the tour leans on after-dark EVP and photo evidence.
Rating, review count and from-price as shown on Viator on October 26, 2026. The price changes with the date.
Reserve links go to GetYourGuide or Viator. Booking through them can earn us a commission at no cost to you; it never changes a score or a rank. How we make money
What St. Augustine is like after dark
Small. The old city is a grid of narrow streets between the Castillo and the Bridge of Lions, and you can cross it on foot without trying.
St. George Street is where the ghost walks gather and where the bars are. A block or two off it, Spanish Street, Aviles Street, Hypolita, the lanes go quiet fast. The Castillo's interior shuts at 5:15 p.m., but the park grounds only close from midnight to 6 a.m., so you can walk the lawns along the water at night.
Nothing else old opens late. You're outside the whole evening.
How to pick: ghost walk, pub walk or boat
For one night in town, take a ghost walk. They're the cheap, short thing St. Augustine does best, and the top one starts at 9 p.m., late enough that the streets are yours.
For a smaller group, Early Haunts caps its walks at 14 and Night Watchman at 20. Spyglass, A Ghostly Encounter and Afterlife run bigger groups (25 to 30), and big groups mean you hear less.
Over 21? The two pub walks are a better night out than they are a ghost tour. Budget for drinks on both.
The sunset boats are a different evening. The light is the show, and you're back on the dock around the time it gets dark, so pair one with a late walk rather than picking one over the other. Florida Water Tours runs from the bayfront; Red Boat leaves from Vilano Beach, a drive north.
The free version: a self-guided night walk
Start at the Visitor Information Center, where the purple-lantern tour meets, and walk to the Tolomato Cemetery gate on Cordova Street. Then cut down to St. George Street and walk it south to the plaza. The Bridge of Lions is just past it. Come back along the bayfront to the Castillo grounds before midnight.
It costs nothing. You won't know what you're looking at, though. If you only have one evening, I'd pay the $20 (€17.90) for Early Haunts and do the free loop on night two.
Nights of Lights 2026/27
The city's Nights of Lights runs from November 21, 2026 to January 18, 2027. It opens with Light-Up! Night on Saturday, November 21: lineup from 4 p.m., lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. The city's FAQ says the lights are typically on from dusk until 2 a.m. all season.
It changes the ghost-walk calculus. The town is lit up and packed, which is great for the lights and less good for ghosts. The Night Watchman host says that walk's route changed during the season and skips the Castillo and the cemeteries. Red Boat's sunset cruise doesn't run at all.
Our researcher saw two light-season boats that would clear our bar once they open: the Old Town Party Boat Nights of Lights cruise (4.6 from 116 reviews, $47 (€42), BYOB) and a Nights of Lights sail with live music on GetYourGuide (4.8 from 97, $82 (€73)). Neither is ranked yet. The main Nights of Lights trolley is rated 3.7. Skip it.
Parking is the headache. The city runs a free Park & Ride shuttle from perimeter lots, generally Friday to Sunday from Light-Up! Night into early January plus daily over the holidays, and it charges $40 (€36) per vehicle after 1 p.m. at the downtown garage on shuttle days. Use the shuttle.
Parking and getting back late
Outside the light season it's easy. The city's Historic Downtown Parking Facility at 1 Cordova Street is open 24 hours, $20 (€17.90) per entry from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and $5 (€4.50) per entry from 5 to 9 p.m. Drive in after five for your tour and it's cheap. The city notes peak hours can change on holidays and event days.
Everything in the old city is walkable from there. Red Boat at Vilano Beach is the exception; you'll need a car or a ride for that one.
When to go: dark times, heat and storms
Winter is the comfortable season. Dark comes at 5:53 p.m. in December and nights stay mild, around 56°F (13°C), so even an early walk is a night walk and you don't need much of a coat.
Summer is hot and late. In June and July it isn't fully dark until about 9:27 p.m., nights barely drop below the mid-70s °F (24°C), and August sees rain on about 23 days. Book the 9 p.m. tour, bring water, and expect the lightning holds A Ghostly Encounter warns about.
October is a bit of both: dark by 7:19 p.m., lows around 70°F (21°C), and the busy Halloween stretch. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. Book ahead.
What to skip
The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley. It's rated 4.2 on Viator, under our bar. The St. Augustine Haunted Pub Crawl is 4.2 as well, and the two pub walks we ranked beat it.
The golf-cart ghost tour, Riding with the Ghosts, scored 4.8 on our scale and the paranormal investigation 5.6, so neither made the ten. Not bad tours. Just less night per dollar.
And ignore any pitch that implies you'll go inside a cemetery after dark. None of these do.
When it gets dark in St. Augustine
Times are for the 15th of each month in 2027, local time with daylight saving, computed with NOAA’s solar equations for St. Augustine. Dark is the end of civil twilight, when streetlights and floodlights take over; fully dark is the end of nautical twilight. Night lows are 2016–2025 averages from the Open-Meteo historical archive. Every city side by side
Month
Sunset
Dark
Fully dark
Night low
January
5:46 p.m.
6:12 p.m.
6:41 p.m.
52°F (11°C)
February
6:13 p.m.
6:37 p.m.
7:06 p.m.
56°F (13°C)
March
7:33 p.m.
7:57 p.m.
8:25 p.m.
59°F (15°C)
April
7:51 p.m.
8:16 p.m.
8:45 p.m.
64°F (18°C)
May
8:10 p.m.
8:36 p.m.
9:08 p.m.
69°F (21°C)
June
8:27 p.m.
8:54 p.m.
9:27 p.m.
74°F (24°C)
July
8:27 p.m.
8:54 p.m.
9:27 p.m.
76°F (25°C)
August
8:07 p.m.
8:32 p.m.
9:02 p.m.
77°F (25°C)
September
7:31 p.m.
7:55 p.m.
8:23 p.m.
75°F (24°C)
October
6:55 p.m.
7:19 p.m.
7:46 p.m.
70°F (21°C)
November
5:30 p.m.
5:55 p.m.
6:24 p.m.
62°F (17°C)
December
5:27 p.m.
5:53 p.m.
6:23 p.m.
56°F (13°C)
Also scored in St. Augustine
These cleared our bar too, but scored below the ten above. Same score, same data, no write-up.
Can you go inside St. Augustine's cemeteries on a ghost tour?
Not on any tour we ranked. Huguenot and Tolomato are seen from outside, and admission isn't included. Tolomato itself opens to the public on the third Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., free.
When are the Nights of Lights in St. Augustine in 2026?
November 21, 2026 to January 18, 2027. Light-Up! Night is Saturday, November 21, with the lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. The city says the lights are typically on from dusk until 2 a.m.
Are St. Augustine ghost tours good for kids?
Most are. A Ghostly Encounter, Night Watchman and both Early Haunts walks are family-friendly, and the Night Watchman host says it isn't meant to be scary. The two pub walks are 21 and up. Florida Water Tours has a family, alcohol-free sunset boat.
How much do St. Augustine ghost tours cost?
From $20 (€17.90) for Early Haunts' south-end walk to $34 (€30) for the Booze and Boos pub walk. Most sit around $27 to $30 (€24 to €27). The sunset cruises are $42 to $43 (€37 to €38).
Where do you park for a ghost tour in St. Augustine?
The city's Historic Downtown Parking Facility at 1 Cordova Street, open 24 hours. It charges $5 (€4.50) per entry from 5 to 9 p.m. During Nights of Lights the event rate goes up on shuttle days, so use the free Park & Ride.
Further reading
Official sources
City of St. Augustine: Light-Up! Night– Nights of Lights November 21, 2026 to January 18, 2027; Light-Up! Night times; Park & Ride shuttle, checked October 26, 2026
