We were camping in the area and decided on a little day trip to check out the castle. We did the double tour of the castle and the garage with all of the antique cars. Be prepared to wait to buy tickets because there was only one register right at the entrance of the boat. I found the tour entertaining but it is long because they tell you about every piece in the collection. His pieces are very interesting and eclectic. I wish they had smaller versions for sale because I saw several I loved. Seeing the families living quarters in the castle was a nice perk. The garage is a pretty good walk away from the castle so be prepared if you're doing both. The cars are amazing though. You can tell he loved them. The restaurant in the boat looked very good. We walked through to get to the gift shop but didn't eat there. It was busy though and the food looked good. Next time we're in the area we'll make sure to stop by for lunch. read more

See all

Solomon Castle is one of the Top 10 amazing place to visit in Florida. The previous one I have visited is the Coral Castle Museum in Homestead FL. Solomon Castle has it uniqueness that attracts people to go and visit. In the 1972 there is guy with a lot of skill build this castle from aluminum plate. These plate are the old printing plate that use for the news paper. He build his castle base on this scrap metal. The castle uniqueness do have second floor. If you decide to spend a night in the castle, the room is $120 a night. Mr Howard Solomon is still living there. The beauty is not just the castle, but the art that Mr. Solomon has created. His art include many form of Picasso in scrap metal. You can see some of the art is made from the piston or beer can. He also very handy on the wood form art. The compound come with the diner as a ship. It is pleasant to sit outside and eat and enjoy the live music. You can find Mr. Solomon is sitting there when you like to take a picture with him. read more

See all

This is a unique experience that is fun! The grounds are really interesting. E choose to eat there and thought the food was reasonably priced and good. read more

Solomon was a very interesting investive and artistic fellow. We really enjoyed touring the castle and the grounds and there are three cool eating spaces for the restaurant. Well worth the visit. read more

Something different to do on a weekend day; see some "art work" then grab lunch before leaving the area.

Howard Solomon was a intelligent, unique man with an abundance of talent! He was so creative - his sculptures and wood art are so quirky and impressive! His humor was evident throughout! Our group of four all agreed it was well worth the trip to see the castle, the grounds, his artworks, and his incredible collection of antique vehicles. The staff was great. Lunch was tasty, too! Only criticism - restrooms need attention. read more

This is a once in a life time experience. I highly recommend stopping here for the afternoon. Mr Solomon was an artist. He would use whatever he could get his hands on to create art. He built a castle by himself complete with stain glass windows and sided it with sheet metal. Never have I seen anything close to this. It is filled with his art using wood, metal and some paper mache. I can't even describe it accurately. He uses household items put together to make very interesting items. Not only that, he has a classic car collection from the 1920s and earlier, in mint condition. We ate at the resturant and the food was good. Not pricey at all. It was a very pleasant afternoon. I would have loved to have met him. I bet he was something. read more

I am shocked at how highly rated this place is. It's difficult to find as the signs at the road are all faded. And they don't take credit which wouldn't be a problem if the ATM they have onsite was actually working! Marketing 101 is you take a CC people will spend a lot more money. The tour was bizarre art with corny jokes, the whole place was bizarre and I couldn't wait to get out of there. Tour guide told us Solomon said his inspiration was drugs and alcohol, which makes sense. Overpriced tourist trap... read more

Sorry to say the last of my many visits. I'm a long time fan dating back doing Mr Solomon was still alive. Every year since he died the prices have increased and there comes a point of diminishing returns. Today I took another couple with us to show them this unique attraction. When we got there we learned that the price had been increased to $33 per person. At that point we decided it's just not worth it for a 30 minute tour. I've done it four times previously and I know it's not worth it. I should have guessed when I pulled into the parking lot which is usually jammed Sunday afternoon with great weather. The place was deserted. We opted for lunch which was very good but overall not worth the trip read more

We had a great time going through this one-of-a-kind place! If you do not have a good sense of humor or an open mind you might want to stay home. The tour was scripted by Mr. Solomon himself and is full of cheesy puns (we were told he would repeat 100 puns for punishment :)). For 12.50 per person (cash only) you tour 8 rooms (including his personal residence) as well as the restaurant, Boat in a Moat. It took about 40 minutes to tour and you learn all about the pieces of art he created from recycled parts. You end the tour in the lighthouse, a glass enclosed building adjacent to the boat where you can eat lunch. The staff were friendly and we learned that Mr. Solomon passed away in August of 2016, right at the Castle as he wanted. His wife still lives there but is building another home on the property and his daughter runs the restaurant and lives on the property, as well. Once we finished the tour we enjoyed a drink on the outdoor patio. It was a beautiful day and there was a gentleman playing the guitar and singing. We had a piece of the walnut pie which was absolutely delicious! The patio is adjacent to a well stocked gift shop. Definitely worth the trip. It really is in the middle of nowhere and you will not have cell service. However, both the castle and the restaurant have WiFi and the staff will provide you with the password. They are closed for the month of August and September due to flooding and mosquitoes. Our tour guide shared that the castle had flooded out nine times since being there. While we were there we saw both a cat (the guide estimated it was 19 years old) and a dog, that roams the property. There are several bathrooms on the property as well as a trail that you can walk. Finally, make sure you get gas. ..someone was asking for the nearest gas station as she was on empty and was told it was about 13 miles away. read more

See all

We truly loved the experience at the castle with our 6 and 9 year old boys. We took the tour and had lunch at the boat , service and food and entire experience was great ! read more

Solomon's Castle - Castle - Tours Near Me - Ona, Florida

Found it to be very interesting. A car museum is included in the price of your ticket which is $22.00 per person. Be prepared to bring a lot of cash for your lunch and admission to the castle. Credit cards are not accepted. Plan to make my next visit next Tuesday. Also closed on Monday read more

Cool place to walk the grounds! My boyfriend and I kept following the arrows and went on a little walk that looped around to the parking lot. Several neat little buildings speckled around. We brought $40 cash and decided to eat first. We wanted to try eating in the cool boat! The waitresses were friendly and the inside was cool. I had the chicken pot pie and spinach casserole. The casserole was pretty good, the chicken pot pie was just okay. It almost tasted like it had been reheated, and I was looking forward to it. My boyfriend got a ham sandwich thinking it would be grilled, but it looked like it had come pre packaged and was kind of a letdown. So a little over priced for the food, I believe it came to about $27 and I had water and he had tea. After lunch, we went to the atm to pull out cash to do the tour and the atm reversed the transaction because it ran out of cash. Also heads up though, the max you can take out is $20 and there's a $2.50 fee each time. So it was a little disappointing that there was one atm and we drove an hour there to be there for an hour. They should have another atm as back up if they're going to be cash only. The people working are all pleasant. Also make sure you know how to leave, because my gps wouldn't pull up directions to home! You're in the middle of nowhere. Despite the mishaps, it was still cool to see though. Parking is free and you can tour the grounds for free. read more

See all

This is pretty cool but the house tour we were kicked out of because my two year old wouldn't sit through an art work tour. I tried to walk her to the next room but the tour guide asked me what I was doing and when I explained he said I couldn't join the next tour or walk ahead. We had to get our money back for the tour but I would have liked to eat at the boat in the moat restaurant. Pretty neat for photos and the restaurant is super neat. read more

See all

What a ripoff.The area around castle is very nice. But you can only see by yourself the outside not inside. To see inside you have to pay gallery #1 (castle) $18, gallery #2 (stinking shack with old car wrecks) $10 or $24 for both guided tours. It is not worth the money. In my opinion, $10 for visiting both galleries would be OK. I do not recommend this place. read more

See all

This is one of a kind unique place in Florida. As there were never king and queen in this country, then what is the castle about? Well, it's Mr. Solomon's house and he built it himself to look like a castle and his art work are displayed there. Art and craft enthusiastic would totally love this place. There were a lot of interesting metal sculpture, woodwork, sainted glass inside and around the castle. The tour was relax, casual and fun. The whole place was family run and they did a good job serving food, keeping the ground clean and organized and showing the tour. They made visitors felt welcomed and they treated us like their friends and family. The spring time weather was nice to walk outside. I enjoyed the blooming garden , and this unconventional style metal castle! read more

See all

This was so much fun. Took the main tour,45 min. Good humor and the odds and ends of many types of medium. Steel to paper mache', glass to wood. This man was amazing. Its off the beaten trail, Arcadia ia near with its quaintness. Visit florida, not just the beaches! read more

I had heard of this castle but didn't know it was about an artist. Howard Solomon was known for making art out of recycled material. I absolutely loved his work. So many different materials and styles. He even built the castle in a swamp so I heard it was closed during summer months due to flooding. There is also a restaurant called the Boat on the Moat with indoor and outdoor dining. Nothing fancy but pretty good. read more

Super fun place! Worth the drive. You can tell Solomon had a sense of humor in the script that he left for the guides to give in his absence. (passed away 2 yrs ago) very interesting artwork and storyline as well as this place has a restaurant that we didn't try, looked good and locals confirm this! Plan to spend sometime taking in the whole place it is all the small details that make it so interesting! We only did the castle tour, you can pay for a viewing of another area but we were running out of time. read more

See all

We loved visiting Solomon's Castle. The history is also very interesting, but even without any of that, you should show up and go on the tour. The art is so creative. Everything - including the castle itself - is recycled, upcycled, or just not made from what you'd expect. There were imitations of other popular art, but there was no confusing its totally new style. While keeping kids in check on a museum-type tour can be a challenge, my four-year-old and eight-year-old generally found interesting things to see in each room as well, which kept them from getting too out of hand. And once we'd finished the cheesy but wonderful tour, they definitely enjoyed the trails and open spaces to explore outside. Although it may feel like you're lost driving through the countryside to reach Solomon's Castle - keep going! It's a unique tour you don't want to miss! read more

Worth checking out! I came here back in January and it was a neat place to see. It's amazing how someone took the time to build the castle and everything in it! Not to mention there is a huge wooden boat as part of the restaurant! If I remember correctly, there's also a lighthouse. The tour is good for one time and the restaurant's food was okay. However, the key lime pie was so good!!! It's made from the fresh limes on property nearby! There are also some walking trails near the parking lot that go on for a while. I recommend going to see it once in your life! P.S. You may not get good reception; I only had one bar of signal. Also, this place is cash only!!! read more

Solomon's Castle - Really neat fact about their trees spelling out "Peace!" - Tours Near Me - Ona, Florida

Worth the trip. The "cash only" fee is worth a one time visit. If they are busy, and it is hot, they make you queue up in the sun anyway. Not too pleasant. The art work is fantastic, and so imaginative. The canned script would be be "punnier" if delivered a little slower and with better diction. (I suppose if you'd said this speech 500 times it's hard to remember that the AUDIENCE only hears it once.) The cafe was nice and the food and service good. A little slower tour would be appreciated. Oh, and go see the old Fords! read more

We had the most amazing day yesterday. Solomon's Castle is a must see and do. The history of Mr. Solomon is mind blowing and we are still trying to take it all in. The tours are great, and now we want to go back to enjoy the grounds and the cafe. Thank you Alane and Dean for letting us be a part of this history and your dad's legacy. Kathleen Wright and Jaime Guerra read more

Good afternoon, Solomon's Castle was referred to us by some close friends. We Drove approx. 70 minutes to see the attraction. Upon arrival we were greeted with Portable Toilets that were poorly maintained and needed some attention. When we looked on there website for pricing etc. nowhere did it say "CASH ONLY". You only find that out when you attempt to purchase your tickets and then the ticket clerk politely tells you to go on a scavenger hunt to try to find the ATM machine, which instead of being in a convenient place is through the boat in the moat, and then meander until you find it in the back of the gift shop. After I brought this up to the ticket clerk, he politely said don't talk to me about it talk the folks in the Restaurant. We did enjoy the Restaurant and when I bought it to the clerk checking us out, she said bring it up to Ms. Solomon, to which I replied how do I find her, well she is in the Restaurant somewhere. I am in the service industry and always want to give the business the benefit of the doubt, but when 2 employees are telling me I need to do yet one more thing to get my suggestion heard, it doesn't set well with me. As for the attraction, Mr Solomon was indeed a very unique artist with many different talents. I was an enjoyable experience in spite of the issues no employees wanting to help with my grievance etc. Would I go again, probably not! Would I suggest others to go, maybe. read more

This is an offbeat interesting ride out in the sticks. Not to be disappointed though. You've never seen anything like it. There is a decent cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. Sometimes a bit of love music on the patio too. Had a nice lunch. If you are looking for something different to do, take ac ride out a take a gander at this place read more

We have visited twice now . It's a rural and enjoyable ride from Tampa. The grounds are beautiful and the castle is so interesting. The food.was yummy. The apple crisp with cinnamon ice cream was amazing. read more

I went to see this yesterday. It is in the middle of nowhere but was well worth the drive. I loved seeing this place and all the special artwork. I had lunch that was delicious and the service was good. Be aware that they do not accept any cards only checks or cash. I would have given this 5 stars but they really need to add more signs. My gps didn't work and I got lost a couple times, once going and once leaving. read more

The Boat on a Moat restaurant was delicious! Really wonderful homemade cooking. I got the lasagna and it was hot, gooey and oh so good. As my side, I got the spinach casserole and it was the perfect mix of spinach and cheese. My meal was amazingly good. My mom got just the spinach casserole as it's own meal, but was filling for her. She loved it. And my boyfriend got the "world famous hot dog" and loved the full-beef dog. He also got the milkshake and it was quite chocolatey. All in all, the restaurant was amazing. The castle was one of a kind type of place, but I was blown away by the food. In all honesty, I wasn't expecting much, but I was blown away. read more

This place is an absolutely must to see one! I had some doubts after reading some comments but decided to go and see with my own eyes. Was amazed by his vision and talent. read more

Weird fun place to stop. Take cash! They don't accept credit. Lots to look at but they don't allow you to take pictures inside. So no memories for the kids of inside the castle. The extra cost of the vehicle museum seems to much. Should all be included in the price since there is only 2 rooms to look at. One of those places that once you have been you don't really need to go again read more

Can't expect too much! This place is in the middle of nowwhere but I did enjoy the trip. When you get there the price is $12.50 adults and you get a tour on Solomon castle. The castle was built by Mr Solomon who past away one month ago. He was an artist and a builder who spend a most of his time and energy creating a lot of metal statues made by recycled materials and wall art made with wood. Nothing historical and just simple art. The tour inside the castle is about 10 or 15 mins. You'll see about 2 small rooms, the living room and kitchen. Quite pricey! At the restaurant the service great but food overall!! And that's it!! read more

Solomon's Castle is an odd little thing. It's really hard to describe, and I'm sure everybody who's been will agree. First of all, it's so far out in the boonies that you expect to hear dueling banjos coming from behind any tree. The castle is this guy's house. He's kind of a junk artist. He makes all kinds of odd things from seemingly useless materials. Some useful tools, some just artsy. Much of it is interesting. I don't think you are allowed to meander through on your own (probably because some things could potentially be dangerous with sharp edges and such), so you must tour with a docent. The docents are a lot of really corny puns that they say when describing everything. It would be funny if they said it with enthusiasm, but the one we had seemed to just have the lines memorized and only said them kind of dead pan. I've heard you can sometimes get Solomon himself to docent a tour and that he's really funny. They have a cafe on the grounds too, built on a ship (or what appears as a ship). It was pretty miserable. Save your money and only get a drink there. All in all it was fun and I'm glad I went, but its not the kind of thing you do every year. Once is enough.....maaaaybe a place to take out-of-towners. read more

I have a slight obsession with castles. I have always wanted to stay in one or at least tour one. While we don't have any real castles nearby, Solomon's Castle was an interesting temporary substitute. I did my research before we went to Solomon's Castle, so we knew exactly what we were getting into. We had a great time! The jokes are cheesy, the art is creative, neat, weird, unique. The castle is covered with old newspaper printing plates to give it that silver shine. Mr. Howard Solomon was hanging around and we were able to talk to him. He is VERY talented. I personally would not call his creations junk. They are definitely art and quite impressive. He has also lead an interesting life and it was neat to learn about him. You even get to see the personal side of his house during the tour (he lives in his castle). The tour was really amusing and interesting. They allowed us to take as many pictures as we wanted and even offered for us to go back in and take more if we wanted. The staff was really laid back and friendly. Here are the most important things you need to know: 1) CASH only! $10 per person currently, but double check before going 2) They close during certain months due to flooding and huge mosquitoes - check their website to see if they are open before going 3) It is not really that far of a drive off of 75 (I think it is like 29 miles down one road, then 9 down another), but it feels like it because it is C-O-U-N-T-R-Y. There is not really anything near Solomon's Castle but farms. Get gas, food, pee, etc. when you very first get off of 75 or on previous exits. 4) You probably will not have cell signal or be able to check in. Print your map or save a screenshot ahead of time. By the time I had signal back, I was too far away to check in. So, I never did. 5) There is a restaurant on the premises -the "Boat in the Moat". I did research and concluded that it was not for us. The food seemed mediocre and was a little pricey. 6) Keep an open mind and expect it to be cheesy, but fun Overall, we had a great time. We will probably visit again in the future with out of town family that we think would enjoy this. I definitely recommend it! read more

See all

We accidentally stumbled upon this while driving south from Lakeland. The worn out signs directing us and the pics online had us worried we might be dismembered and eaten alive by a man in a hockey mask with a chainsaw, so we were pleasantly surprised to see a bunch of folks parked and very much alive when we got there. The place is quirky in that awesome Old Florida way that is slowly fading away. We didn't do the tour because it's cash only and we were carrying credit only, but walking around was amusing and many people seemed to be enjoying the restaurant (part of which is in a charmingly naïf pirate ship replica) and the grounds. One star off because we were listening in while the tour was starting, which was right at the gift shop, and a cranky woman snapped at us "do you need anything?" If we're ever in this neck of the woods again, we'll make sure to have $10 on hand to tour the inside of this tin can castle. You should too! read more

Wasn't expecting much was pleasantly surpised. We had great tour guides for castle and art gallery.art was unusua you must see it for yourself. read more

I was prepared for schmaltzy but this was really interesting. The guide was hysterical and loud enough to be easily heard. The exhibits were presented well and Solomon was truly an exceptional artist in all venues. It feels like you're driving through fields to get there but it is paved. Your cell phone won't work until you're back on 70 so pick a return route read more

For some reason, Monty Python and the Holy Grail pops to mind when I think of this place. That, and the image of some crazy, brilliant man who just decided to chuck it all and move to the middle of nowhere to build his version of a castle, and a pirate ship, and whatever else fills his mind and just has to be built. Nonetheless, if you find yourself in the middle of Florida with some time to kill or a hunger in your belly - you have to stop. It's truly a once in a lifetime experience. read more

We really enjoyed ourselves here, the tour guide was fun and chuck full of information,. So much to see , you can't believe he (Solomon) built and made everything you put your eyes on! Lunch was also a delight, you had a choice to eat indoors, outdoors or dinning in a glass enclosed room with nature all around you! What a place I do encourage everyone to do this place at least once. The food was delicious the chili, BBQ pork , Ruben and lasagna. Yummy!! read more

We enjoyed our visit to the castle. The tour they gave was a insight to Mr. Solomans rare talent of taking junk etc. to some very beautiful art pieces.. The grounds , the castle, the restaurant ( boat in a moat) is a beautiful legacy to all of his hard work he left for all of us to enjoy. If you are near Wauchula Fla. go and see this place. You want be disappointed! read more

It's been 20 years since we last visited Solomon's Castle. Stopped in for a quiet lunch with friends. The food was ok. read more