Ybor City Ghost Tour: Keys to the Most Haunted Buildings

The only tour with keys to Jose Marti Park, where Cuban revolutionary history and actual hauntings meet.

The Official Ybor City Ghost Tour is a guided evening walk through Ybor City's historic district with exclusive access to several haunted buildings, including Jose Marti Park and The Cuban Club (named by The Travel Channel the 4th most haunted building in America). You enter locked buildings with award-winning guides, carry ghost hunting equipment including EMF meters and motion sensors, and hear the stories of the murders, tragedies and characters that shaped the neighborhood. The tour runs 90 minutes and operates with a live English-speaking guide.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore haunted Ybor City buildings

• Enter sacred park with keys
• Walk historic district, hear haunted stories
• Enter “Club Dead” with ghost equipment

The Experience

The tour starts with access most ghost hunters never get: keys to Jose Marti Park, the sacred ground where Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti led his movement and where the ashes and bodies of Cubans are laid to rest. You enter the park with the guide, and the doors lock behind you. From there, the walk moves through Ybor City's historic district, where the guide walks you through the documented murders, mayhem, heartbreak and organized crime that left the neighborhood haunted. Several buildings along the route open to you—places tourists normally pass by.

The centerpiece is The Cuban Club, the building The Travel Channel ranked as the 4th most haunted in America and the only tour operator with keys to it. Ghost hunters have nicknamed it "Club Dead" and claim over 150 spirits inhabit it. You carry real ghost hunting equipment—EMF meters to detect electromagnetic fields, dousing rods, a speaker box, laser grid and motion sensors—and the guide shows you where previous encounters have occurred. The tour makes clear that actual ghost encounters do happen here; this is not a theatrical performance. The 90-minute walk covers the underbelly of Ybor's history and the present-day activity people report inside these buildings.

What’s included

• Access to Jose Marti Park and The Cuban Club with the guide holding the keys.
• ghost hunting equipment including EMF meters, dousing rods, speaker box, laser grid and motion sensors.
• a live English-speaking guide with award-winning expertise in Ybor City's history and hauntings.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by The Official Downtown Tampa Ghost Tour

Is this one for you?At 90 minutes, the tour leaves your day flexible—it fits into an evening without consuming the whole night, so you can explore Ybor City's restaurants and bars before or after. If you want to spend hours in a single location or prefer a daytime walking tour of the neighborhood's architecture and commerce, this is built around the haunted history and the equipment, not the broader district.

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Top questions

What ghost hunting equipment do I actually use on this tour?

You carry EMF meters, dousing rods, a speaker box, laser grid and motion sensors throughout the walk. The guide shows you how to use them and where activity has been documented, especially inside The Cuban Club.

Is this tour only for people who believe in ghosts?

No. The tour is built around Ybor City's real history—the documented murders, tragedies and organized crime that shaped the neighborhood—and the buildings themselves are historically significant. The ghost hunting equipment and stories are part of the experience, but the history stands on its own.

What makes The Cuban Club different from other haunted buildings on the tour?

The Cuban Club is the only building on this tour and one of very few ghost tours anywhere with actual keys to enter it. The Travel Channel ranked it the 4th most haunted building in America, and ghost hunters report over 150 spirits there. You spend time inside with the equipment and the guide's documentation of previous encounters.

How long is the tour and what's the pace like?

The tour runs 90 minutes and covers several blocks of Ybor City's historic district on foot, with stops inside multiple buildings. The pace is steady but not rushed, and the tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels.

Can I do this tour if I'm visiting Tampa for just one day?

Yes. At 90 minutes, the tour fits easily into a day trip. It starts in the evening (typical for ghost tours), so you can spend the morning and afternoon elsewhere in Tampa and join the tour in Ybor City before or after dinner.