What People Say About
The Exclusive Visit-In-Person Tours
Excellent tour! One of the best I have ever had. The best part of the tour was visiting with an Amish family in their home with the opportunity to ask questions. The tour was with a small group of people, which made the tour seem very personal.
Wonderfully insightful and educational! It was definitely the best part of our trip. Being able to visit the farms and home of the Amish was very special. We learned so much. Our respect and appreciation for this way of life was deepened by this experience.
My wife set this up and I was not that excited at first. But after visiting all three families and interacting with them, I rate it as one of our top five experiences on our three week vacation. (visitor from California)
A great way to experience the Amish life. This was my first visit to Pennsylvania, and my goal was to see and learn about the Amish people. I came across this VIP tour and thought that it would be the best way to meet an Amish family. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and fun. He has a passion for what he does, and it shows. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to learn about the Amish, not just do the tourist shopping.
Had a wonderful time!!! Would suggest it for everyone to do it!!! Being able to visit the different farms and then to sit down in one of the homes and talk with them was amazing!!! Our family was a young family with a little boy who was absolutley adorable....Will do it again when we plan our next trip up that way!!
We thoroughly enjoyed the VIP tour last month. Our tour guide was great - he was very knowledgeable and pointed out all kinds of things along the way to our three stops. First stop was the farm at milking time. The young men there were very accomodating and we really enjoyed them and asked a lot of questions about their innovation there. The next stop was a gourd farm and the young ladies there were very informative. It was very interesting how the gourds are grown and dried and then hollowed and painted. There were some beautiful crafts made from them. Last stop was to visit with an Amish family. We truly enjoyed their hospitality. They were so very friendly and I think they asked us as many questions about ourselves as we did about them. We learned a lot about traditions, beliefs and culture, etc. It was definitely worth the money and I would definitely do it again if ever in the area again... I would recommend this tour to anyone. You come away from this tour with an appreciation of the Amish people and their way of life.
The VIP tour was a terrific oveview of life in Lancaster County. We visited a dairy farm at evening milking and were intrigued by the modern milking methods taken care of by the children of the family while the Dad spoke with us about the farm routine. We then went to a gourd farm, which was fascinating. The young girls who hand-paint each design are so talented! The process of growing, drying, cleaning, and decorating was new to us. Finally, we visited an Amish family at home for conversation. This was the highlight for me. The children played and helped and engaged with visitors in a way that reminded us that families are families everywhere. They shared their educational practices, what crops they raised, how they helped neighbors on their farms or with other needs, and how their home had walls with folding doors. When opened, the rooms accommodate their church services, which rotate among members. Yes, it was just an overview, but an excellent one... A great experience!
Informative, interesting, inspiring, so enjoyable. The opportunity to meet the Amish people in their homes, with their families, was such a great thing. We were amazed at their openness.
I think this tour is great because it really shows the Amish as people, and not just an attraction. When visitors spoke with the Eshes and Fishers, they spoke about their jobs, their families, their homes; they had everyday conversations with them. These tours allow visitors to humanize the Amish.
As we return to our tour van, we come away with a greater appreciation of the Amish way of life. It was an insightful, revealing look at Amish lifestyles that one could never get from merely traveling the area.
We had a great possibility to speak directly with Amish people, share experiences, and discover a new way of life, so different! No doubts, it's an experience that must be done!
Art made from vegetables is on display at Smucker's Gourd Farm outside Kinzers, in Salisbury Township.
(Jeff Ruppenthal, Sunday News Photographer)
