Ripley's Believe It or Not!

The Nights of Lights in St. Augustine is a beautiful spectacle, but the Red Train Tour by Ripley's proved to be a disappointing way to experience it. While marketed as a premier way to see the lights, the actual experience felt like an "ok-ish" tour that lacked depth and value. The Experience: Lack of Depth Having walked around the downtown area before boarding, we quickly realized that the tour adds very little to the experience. We expected the train to provide in-depth information or access to unique vantage points, but it simply circled the same spots we had already seen. Much of the tour consisted of viewing the same buildings from the front, back, and sides without any special insight. Traffic and Logistics The tour is advertised as a 30-minute experience, but half of that time was spent sitting idle in traffic. Because the streets of St. Augustine are so crowded during the Nights of Lights, the train moves at a snail's pace, making the "tour" feel more like a slow-moving commute than an excursion. Value for Money At $80 per row, we felt there was zero value add. For a group that is physically able to walk, this is essentially a waste of money. The distance covered is not large, and the best way to truly appreciate the intricate light displays is to explore on foot at your own pace. Conclusion This tour is only worth considering if you have mobility issues or a strong aversion to walking. For everyone else, skip the train and the $80 price tag. You will see more, move faster, and have a better time by simply walking the historic district.

It’s a small museum filled with amazing things and lots of fun, making it a very entertaining place to visit. The exhibits are interesting, curious, and perfect for all ages, so you never get bored while walking through it. It also serves as a starting point for various tours of St. Augustine, which is very convenient if you want to explore the city. It has good parking, a gift shop with unique souvenirs, and clean restrooms. Overall, it’s a great stop to learn something new, have fun, and enjoy a different experience while visiting St. Augustine.

Really nice place to visit. We enjoyed our red trains tour. Some nice interesting exhibitions such as the water faucet and the wood house, which unfortunately was locked by the time we returned from the tour. I forgot the name of our tour guide but he was very friendly, made a lot of appropriate jokes during our tour, and was also very knowledgeable about the area and was able to make the experience fun while sharing very interesting pieces of information.

Our family had such a wonderful time on the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Red Train Tour! Our driver, Cheyenne, was absolutely amazing. She was so friendly, welcoming, and incredibly knowledgeable about the area—we all learned so much during the ride. My three kids had a blast and were engaged the entire time, which says a lot! Cheyenne went above and beyond by even taking family photos for us, which we’ll treasure as memories of this trip. Thank you for making our experience fun, educational, and truly special. Highly recommend this tour, especially with Cheyenne as your driver!

Such a nostalgic experience for me because I haven’t been to one of these since I was a kid in California. It was a fun experience walking through and thank God there was a museum with AC! They have several similar things that I could remember from the other location like replicas, but there were also a lot of new things. There were several floors and it was a bit busier when I went so I was stuck behind a few families. My favorite part was the section about the circus sideshow acts! This one was a lot bigger and had more to see than the other one so I enjoyed taking my time through here. Some spots to stop at and take photos with along with some folks who stopped to share some fun facts with you. I think it’s good for families, friends or by yourself!

I have never been in the St Augustine one, and I'm so glad i did. We got the trolly historic tour and the museum tickets together. Ladonna was so helpful and sweet and helped me with my ticket inquiries. The whole museum staff was friendly, happy and accommodating with my grandma's wheel chair. At no point we had to wait for staff or made feel that we were taking them from doing something else. The historic trolley was delightful. Handsome Alex is a great tour guide, and his excitement was contagious. My kids actually learned facts from this tour thanks to him. He was super funny and made all passengers laugh throughout the tour. We saw him several times after our tour and he was so nice to our kids! Sadly we booked the night of lights with the competition (before we came to Ripleys) but we saw Ripley's trolley out there and they were having a much better time than we did! I wanted to jump over theirs! They were singing, laughing, having a great time. I recommend you book your night light tour also with Ripleys and get a bundle discount. If you are visiting during the holidays, i strongly suggest you go 100% with all Ripleys activities. Thanks Handsome Alex! Thanks Ladonna and museum staff!

Enjoyed all the oddities and info that came along with each item. So much to look at. They have some activities you can try throughout the tour. We saw and listened to various stories about different cultures from around the world. There is also a gift shop located upon exiting the tour. We also enjoyed the red train tour. It was about an hour but Ed; our tour guide, made the tour informative, funny, enjoyable and educational. Will certainly be back!

It was a nice way to pass time. A lot of cool unique things to read about and interact with. Enjoyable for all ages.

This review is for the Ripley's Believe it or Not Red Train Tour. We were able to purchase our tickets about 30 minute prior to our departure online. The tickets are reasonably priced for what you get. For almost an hour, you tour the local area and learn about its history. Cheyenne was our tour guide and she was great. Her voice and delivery are exactly what you would expect from a top-tier tour guide. Unfortunately, and through no fault of her own, the city streets are incredibly noisy so there were large portions of the tour that we were not able to hear in the back. They do have speakers and when the noise of the city is at a reasonable level, you can hear the tour guide perfectly fine. We have done lots of trolley tours and I have to say that this was definitely the bumpiest of any tour we have been on. There are a lot of cobblestone streets and uneven pavement. The tour is dog friendly and we love to bring our pup with us. I don't think this one was her favorite though because she kept climbing in our laps, which she typically does not do, most likely because of the very bumpy ride. But again, Ripley's is not responsible for paving the roads. It's just an observation. The train is open air, so even though it is incredibly warm and humid, the intermittent breeze and shade make it comfortable enough. Something we didn't realize until after we purchased our tickets and received our email confirmation however, is that you have to pay for parking as well, which we were not anticipating. Once we arrived in the area, we realized that virtually everywhere charges for parking, however, most attractions offer free parking if you are paying for tours or utilizing their services and it would be nice if Ripley's followed suit. It is $5 per hour and when you have to be at your hour-long tour a few minutes early, you'll end up paying at least $10 for parking in addition to your tickets. Still, if you are not sure what to do when you are arrive in town, I highly recommend this tour because there are so many options it can get overwhelming. This tour actually took us to multiple locations we were already considering visiting and helped us decide on our plans for the rest of our trip. It was quite helpful.

Such a nostalgic experience for me because I haven't been to one of these since I was a kid in California. It was a fun experience walking through and thank God there was a museum with AC! They have several similar things that I could remember from the other location but there was a lot of new things. There were several floors and it was a bit busier when I went so I was stuck behind a few families. My favorite part was the section about the circus sideshow acts! This one was a lot bigger and had more to see than the other one so I enjoyed taking my time through here. Some spots to stop at and take photos with along with some folks who stopped to share some fun facts with you. I think it's good for families, friends or by yourself!

We just did Ripley's night of life tour. It's right in the heart of St. Augustine but they have their own parking lot. Easy to get on and off trolleys and a fun vibe. They took our pictures and made seeing the night of lights, relaxing, and fun instead of stressful. My dad can't walk very much and it was a lifesaver because there's no way he can make it through downtown on a Saturday.

Our family had such a wonderful time on the Ripley's Believe It or Not Red Train Tour! Our driver, Cheyenne, was absolutely amazing. She was so friendly, welcoming, and incredibly knowledgeable about the area--we all learned so much during the ride. My three kids had a blast and were engaged the entire time, which says a lot! Cheyenne went above and beyond by even taking family photos for us, which we'll treasure as memories of this trip. Thank you for making our experience fun, educational, and truly special. Highly recommend this tour, especially with Cheyenne as your driver!

What an amazing place to visit while you're in St. Augustine! The history behind this place will blow your mind! I definitely recommend visiting and also checking out their Train Tours amd ghost tours!

We did both the museum and the train tour today. Irish was our driver on the train tour. He was so entertaining and informative! We all had a great time! Thanks for being pet friendly too! ~Jen H. Deerfield Beach, FL

Went on the ghost tour with hubby as a fun little date night! we had so so much fun! the tour guides are amazing!

For this place being so rich in Catholic history I hate to see demon statues out in the open as you drive into the parking lot. Also the whole walk through was just depressing, demonic, and very skipable to me personally. They do have a much better rate for their tour bus though so credit where it is due! They also had four small wooden Saint statues inside so more credit where it is due! Lol

Having never been before, we decided to pay a visit to this museum. Tip: There is a statue of David outside in the side yard, surrounded by bushes, so don't forget to pay him a visit - the statue is huge and very impressive, even if he, himself is not, er... very impressive. :-) You pay up front, then walk up stairs to start the exhibit. They have lots of displays of oddities, combined by theme; i.e. critters, outer space, pirates, amazing people, etc. I did love that they had a lot of interactive exhibits, including a cool one that had masks superimposed over our faces. I feel that rather than "believe it or not", it should be renamed, "hey, this is interesting", because very few things reached the "I can't believe it" level. But, it was a fun way to spend a little over an hour, and they had some funny items for sale in their gift shop.

Lu at Ripleys is Amazing!! She sincerely cares about people. I wrote a previous Stellar post about The Red Train, Benji and Tiny Tim. I wanted to take a moment to Give Huge Praise to her. She greeted my friend who is handicapped and took her to the restroom before we loaded the train. That allowed me time to get her needed stuff out of the car to ride train in time for boarding. Lu is a professional Stellar employee!! Much Thank you's and appreciation to Lu @Ripleys as well as Benji and Tiny Tim. It was a very memorable experience that I hope everyone will enjoy in the future.

I'm glad I rose my bike because parking is $5.00, which does not include the $25 museum entrance fee. The cashier mentioned about purchasing other excursions. $25 is over-priced. The museum takes about two hours iff you read almost everything like I do.

Iv been to plenty of Riley's museums and I have to say this is the worst. I get it's the oldest one but it still was very boring and seemed more like a history museum or haunted house compared to the other ones. The only interactive exhibits you can use, you have to pay for...every single one. It sucks, especially since you have to pay 25 a person + parking. A family would have to pay 150+ just to walk around and see posters and demonic stuff. If you go I don't recommend bringing your young kids. Or even kids at all,

When we arrived to buy our tickets, the woman at the counter was very short with us and showed very poor customer service. Before we could even ask any questions, she said, "You know we close in an hour, right?" -- not in a helpful or friendly way, but very dismissively. While we were checking out, a woman from a school field trip politely asked where she could walk through, since she had gotten separated from her group. The employee responded rudely with "What?!" -- as if the question was a huge inconvenience -- demanded the woman's name and school. After she walked through, the lady rolled her eyes and huffed loudly. I know that the parent didn't see it but we did. Being mean isn't cute :) It was obvious she was part of the school group, and she was just trying to catch up with her child, who had already gone ahead. After touring the exhibits, we went to look around the gift shop, and the staff there kept loudly yelling that they were closing soon. (We still had 10 minutes left.) One of the employees even approached another group tapped on their shoulder and said, "Hey, y'all know we close in 10 minutes," in a very impatient, annoyed tone. I've worked in customer service for 8 years, and I have never worked anywhere where it was acceptable to rush people out or make it so obvious that you hate your job. The only kind, patient employee we encountered was the man leading the tour for the students -- he seemed wonderful. Kindness and patience go a long way, especially when you are working with a lot of kids and families. If the staff doesn't want to work with the public, especially children, then they should probably find a different job. It really hurt the experience for us. Also if they are so upset at us for coming in an hour before closing, maybe stop selling tickets at a certain time so customers don't feel like an inconvenience after paying to be there.

I remember whenever I was a kid we had a field trip to this place. This place was exciting. It was cool to see all the neat stuff they had inside. There was plenty of cool things inside and things to keep you entertained for a while. This was one of the best field trips ever!

Definitely recommend the train tour with Irish. He was hilarious and informative. Irish made the tour fun.

This attraction had a lot of exciting exhibits and wonderful interactive experiences, including a station where you could make your own weird pet! While it made for a fun afternoon, the prices for the tickets are rather steep for what you get. You also have to pay for parking ($5/hr). It takes about 2 hours to get through the museum, but most of it is just walking through rooms and looking at stuff. Overall, if you love weird stuff, I would say you should check it out!

Disapppinted, as a Ripleys fan the museum was lackluster. Plenty of replicas, casts, pictures, and photographs. The price is a bit exorbitant for what is being offered. Some of the Florida welcome centers have more to offer, including baby alligators. Having guests exit through the gift shop..very Disney like. Would I recommend, probably not. Other attractions in area offer a better experience for the price.

This is an Old School sort of place, and was sparsely attended the day we were there. The building the museum is in is a lovely relic. I loved the atrium stained glass, and all the fireplaces. The greeter / ticket saleswoman was very nice. There was alot of shivers stuff like shrunken heads, six legged cats, etc. I don't say this in a negative way, merely descriptive, as to what sorts of things attracted Mr. Ripley's interest. One thing that attracted his interest was being in the presence of Asian women, bravo to him, it was interesting that they highlighted this in one of the exhibits, it is not really a biography building , like the Louis Comfort Tiffany museum is, but they made a point of showing his delight at chilling on a boat full of women, and mentioned that he did so at every opportunity.

25 dollar entry fee per person but you still have to pay for parking? And half of the "interactive experiences" on the inside of the museum you also have to pay for.

We took a train tour around st.Augustine,and the our tour guide (his name was handsome Alex lol) he was super funny and cool!,five starts!

Went randomly with family & really enjoyed ourselves! No wait time, the museum barely had any visitors so we felt like we had the place to ourselves. Will definitely be visiting again the next time we have family in town.

Definitely recommend coming here if you're into oddities. I've been to a few other Ripley museums and was excited that these had different exhibits than the ones I've seen previously. Very neat. The craftsmanship throughout the old hotel is incredible too. We also booked their red train tour. Highly recommend that as well. Also booking together saved us some money. We spent about 2 hours looking around here. The train ride is about 1.5 hours. Really nice and friendly staff throughout.

Honestly, I didn't want to go here. I was ready to head back to the Airbnb. However, my husband insisted on going because the kids have never been to a Ripley's Believe It or Not. I'm glad he insisted because the kids really enjoyed themselves. Some of the rooms smelled a little funny and the interactive exhibits made me nervous with the uptick in Covid-19 cases. However, there were signs encouraging people to wear masks and social distance, which a few did (including my family). There is so much to look at. It's almost overwhelming. I wanted to read more of the exhibits, but kept moving so I could maintain a bit of space from others. This is something kids will probably enjoy, especially first timers.

We had the best time on our guided tour with Irish!! he made everything so fun and entertaining. Never was a dull moment! If i could give him anymore stars i would.

The only reason for the 4/5 stars is the cost for what you get. A family of 4 over 12 years old was a bit more than $100 and I thought that was steep for about an hour and a half of a museum (and we took our times unlike a lot of other people). All in all, it was a neat museum! We've never been to a Ripley's before and we're not disappointed. A very hands on museum and a lot of colors and interesting facts around the room. Keeps you looking around and also keeps the interest of teenagers!

we did the red train tour with Alex the tour guide. we have a great time, he did a wonderful job making the tour fun and entertaining. My young kids also enjoyed it.

I am glad I went on the friend teacher pass. I found this place to be outdated and boring. It takes maybe an hour to go through the whole exhibit.

My husband, daughter, and I had a great time last weekend! My daughter is only four and tried to rush through the museum, so we made sure to point things out to help keep her interested. There is so much to read and discover, so if you have younger kids with you it may be harder to enjoy everything the museum has to offer.

It's always a great time at Ripley's. Came late in the day so had to rush at the end so I'll definitely be Back. What we did see and got to enjoy was pretty cool. I have been to many Ripley's in different states so you Mostly see similar stuff. I still enjoy it, plus it was my mom & sister's first time. They enjoyed it thoroughly!

Our driver benji was the best!!!! He made our trolley trip the best. He was fun and interactive

Definitely worth seeing if you are in St Augustine. Three floors of bizarre and weird things The kids especially liked the light tunnel at the end before you exit the museum A little expensive but I would recommend a visit because it is pretty unique

I never have to go to this place again. It's interesting, bizarre... The price to get in was part of our trolley ticket around St Augustine. Maybe if you have children with you it may be more interesting. It's was 60 minutes that I can't get back. The best part for me was seeing the David outside all lit up in his glory. But I didn't have to pay to see that. I do recommend paying for the trolley bus through St Augustine. So this bonus was okay... we could've played mini golf... we chose poorly... I'm sure this place has a following if a person would be interested in the grotesque, abnormal, goosebump chilling... not my thing!!!

It's cute and quirky plus the train ride was relaxing. Just wish we had time for actual stops to get off. I remember this differently as a kid

If you're in the area, I recommend checking it out at least once. We were curious because of the history of the building. It's a castle owned by a rich person back in the day and supposedly it is haunted. It's a really big place for sure. Outside, you can access the log house. Parking lot was big and the trolleys ride through there every 20 minutes. Tickets to enter the museum was $14.99 per adult. We got to see lots of oddities. Some may be real, some may be hoaxes. For me, I think this is a one and done visit; it's good to experience it at least once. There was nothing too thrilling or exciting. I did get the weird haunted vibes for sure though! If you have kids, this is definitely a fun place to take them. Check online for coupons before purchasing the tickets. Also, I think you could combine tickets with the trolley rides which could also save you some money.

We came to this Ripley's in November 2019. My sisters are over 55 so they got a deal buy one get one half price. So if you're a senior please check this to get a discount I paid $16 with a dollar coupon. My sisters had never been to a Ripley's so I took them and they enjoyed it. I have been to several and this one looks the same as the Orlando one However I think the Orlando one is better. It took us about one and a half hours to go through it taking our time and reading some of the items on the wall. They gave us a deal to take the ghost tour but we declined because of the weather. All in all we had a good time but some of the displays were a little boring and outdated. But if you've never been to a Ripley's I would say go and experience it here.

I'm sure it's always busy in St. Augustine. We needed to park so I bought the Red Train Tour. I wished I would have bought the Green Trolley Tour ( next door) because it allows you to get on and off trains. The Red Train is only a tour, no on and off.

We went on a trolly tour and it was great! We loved learning about the history of St. Augustine and our tour guide was amazing! His name and Irish i believe. 10/10 DEFINITELY RECOMMEND CHECKING IT OUT

I came here all the time as a kid and it was always my favorite thing. I came back recently as an adult, and I was incredibly disappointed. Part of what made it so fun was how interactive everything was, but now a lot of things have been disabled so they don't move or make loud noises and there's no spooky lighting. Maybe the Karens complained about their kids getting scared. There were a lot of coin machines that we wanted to use but we didn't have coins, they should have offered before we went in. Overall it's kind of falling apart and half of everything doesn't even work.

Our first stop while vacationing!! Service at the ticket booth was great story start off. We were able to purchase single as well as combo tickets for other town attractions at a cheaper price. Ripley's museum was fun. The place is filled with so many artifacts and weird believe it or not information. My kids loved the interaction, this was our third or fourth Ripley's adventure and I have to admit that it was still as fun as the first visit.

We took the train ride with Irish. Highly recommend, he made it very funny and a great 1 hour ride around,

This was such a fun museum! There was all sorts of things that make this museum so unique and so interesting. It's a lot of odds and ends and things that most people wouldn't even dream of and it's all right here. Every piece is a conversation piece where your imagination can run wild with trying to figure out how that piece made it into this museum. There's so much here that is so interesting and out of the norm it's definitely worth a visit. I learned so much things that I wouldn't have known otherwise if I hadn't gone here. There's also more museum pieces in the vending machine and bathroom areas if you want to check out more pieces.

The museum is nothing like I expected. Lots of pictures and posters. DO NOT park in the handicapped park!!!! We came out and was ready to leave. The red train tours parked and blocked the handicapped parking. Would not allow us to leave for 12 minutes!!! Hot outside so had to sit there and waste gas for the AC, waiting for the this guy to move his train. He was rude. Never aga

We were really let down. This was advertised as the 1st ever museum. Mr. Ridley actually put himself into this site. We didn't see it. We've been to other locations that were 100% better. There were more poster boards on the wall then actual exhibits, the exhibits weren't all that great. We do not recommend you spend money here. PROS: Front desk staff CONS: Price Exhibits Gift shop worker was so rude

My youngest daughter and I got away for an early weekend in St. Augustine with the family. Since we had extra time, we thought we would be tourists and, well do something touristy. I let her choose and Ripley's was her choice. I was amazed at the crowds, since normally we only come to St. Augustine in the winter months. But the line was relatively short and after a crowd in the first room, everything else flowed quickly. While she enjoyed the artistic item (painted potato chips, portraits using crayon heads, bottle caps) and the Marilyn Monroe gown, I enjoyed some of the details on the interesting things Ripley found on his travels. Was it cheesy, yes, completely. Was it fun, absolutely, we laughed and giggled at quite a bit. For those of you worried about the gruesome portrayal of items, it really was not over the top.

If your in St Augustine this is one of the museums is recommended to visit atleast once. It's 3 floors of bizarre freakish and cool things/people. Kids will enjoy it Also, you want to bring quarters with you. There are several machines that requires a fee in order to play with them. Wish they had mentioned it to me there were some cool machines that I would of loved to try out. Make sure to get your tickets online you will save couple of bucks

We went with the joint tickets that included the red train ride. I would definitely recommend doing the ride first and going to cool off inside the museum. It was a great time is a little boring and not as interactive as I would like but still fun for the whole family. Plenty of photo opportunities, I think that there is some construction going on so had some dehumidifiers and certain things that kind of took away from the experience but I understand and didn't let it ruin the fun!

We've been to a few Ripleys and this one was just "ok." The kids weren't as interested in stuff like the ones in TN or MB. It's a beautiful old building with gorgeous surrounding area. You can pay to park in the lot and walk around the historic streets and see the fort.

Handsome Alex was the best tour guide you could ever have for the red train tour. Amazing dad jokes. 10/10 experience, would recommend!!!

"Handsome Alex" train tour was amazing Give Alex a bonus for being so great! Alex tell your boyz us old guys are still handsome!