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Dillon, South Carolina: South Of The Border

A classic freeway tourist trap, pyrotechnics bonanza, and vacation theme world, just south of the North Carolina border.

Visitor Tips and News About South Of The Border

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

A pedro greets you near the restrooms.

South Of The Border

SOB was too funny to pass! Gotta love Pedro's Pleasure Dome that is actually a motel.

[Sharmin, 06/14/2017]

South of the Border.

Sombrero Observation Tower

The 200-foot-high Sombrero Observation Tower is the main landmark of South of the Border, an amazing collection of restaurants, amusements, shops, gas stations, and restrooms in a unique and wacky highway oasis. And it truly is just south of the North Carolina - South Carolina border.

[Richard Stockman, 02/20/2015]

Reptile pedro statue.

South of the Border

After passing this for years we decided to stop with our two kids (now in their twenties). It was fun buying some kitschy junk in the shops, but there was not much else to do. No one was riding the rides, golfing, or eating for that matter. Several of the buildings are closed. A little disappointing that it's in such bad shape.

[LK, 07/18/2014]

Reptile display.

South Of The Border

South Of The Border's reptile lagoon is cool!

[James Yingling, 11/11/2013]

Los reptiles aman sur de la frontera!

Haunted South of the Border Motel

I was 17, part of a group traveling in two cars from mid-Florida to Virginia, one of which was a "driveaway" to be delivered at our destination. It was my way of getting back to my family in Connecticut, as I had been essentially a runaway for a year.

We all stopped at the South of the Border Motel for just a few hours of food and rest. We had taken a room for each "pair" (We weren't really couples, it just happened that we were all going the same way). We weren't there more than 10 minutes before I started hearing the voices that now I finally read were heard by several others over the years. I asked my partner, "Can't you hear those voices?" Then, "We have to leave." We did.

But I've been telling this story ever since.

[Betsy Sloan, 11/03/2013]

South Of The Border

Address:
3346 US 301 N., Dillon, SC
Directions:
I-95 exit 1. Follow the billboards.
Hours:
Always open. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
843-774-2411
Admission:
Sombrero Tower: $2.
RA Rates:
The Best
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Cotton Press: Earth's Oldest?Cotton Press: Earth's Oldest?, Latta, SC - 16 mi.
Church with Angel WingsChurch with Angel Wings, Lumberton, NC - 19 mi.
Largest (Real) Tire in the WorldLargest (Real) Tire in the World, Bladenboro, NC - 30 mi.
In the region:
Odd Statue of the Swamp Fox, Johnsonville, SC - 46 mi.

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