When looking for a family vacation destination that includes old world charm, good food and rural sightings, consider the Amish Country! Keep reading this vacation guide to hear where we stayed, where we ate and what we did on our short 3 day trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.
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This is actually a post a few months in the making as we actually went to the Amish Country, specifically Bird-in-Hand, during the fall break last November. But in an effort to document our travel destination locations as our vacation guides, I’m circling back to share this one.
This vacation style is one that’s mostly a daytime destination. As many of the surrounded activities include Amish culture, there is not much a “night life” since they, for the most part, still don’t participate in modern conveniences, like electricity. Consider this vacation destination for a few days to learn about a different culture while enjoying delicious meals in a slower pace.
Where we stayed on our Amish Country vacation
Bird-in-Hand Family Inn – This wasn’t the first time I have stayed at this hotel, as it’s exactly where we often stayed when I came here as a kid. It’s comfy for a few nights but I’ll politely say that it is still EXACTLY how I remember it. We stayed in a standard double bed room which has an adjoining room option which my parents were able to secure.
The hotel itself is made of lots of smaller buildings, so if you’re interested in getting the building attached to the indoor pool, make sure to request the Pool Building Room. Keep reading to see more perks of this family style lodging.
Outside the grounds do include a petting zoo (including this smiley llama), a large playground, and a pond area to walk around (as seen in the photos above).
What we did in Amish Country
Amish Farm Tour – One perk of staying on properly at Bird-In-Hand Family Inn was the FREE 2 hour tour that’s included with your stay. It wasn’t running all days of our stay, but we were able to get on the 11am tour on Friday of our last day. If you’re able to, I’d suggest trying to snag a tour earlier in your trip so you get more familiar with what you’ll see the remaining days.
We boarded a small tour bus, which was led by a local mennonite woman who was very knowledgeable about the Amish community. The tour included a few stops to real working Amish farms, including the one pictured above with a horse and buggy station, woodworking barn (where we purchased a few hexagonal shaped shelves for our home), a Pennsylvania Dutch style pretzel stand, and several other with shops to buy Amish made goods. We also drove by many others where they pointed out more about the life of the Amish.
Stasburg Railroad – We purchased tickets for an 11am general admissions ride which took you down one rail, the engine comes around and pulls you back to the station. You’ll see the sites of several Amish farms and farmland along the way.
There are also a few little shops and food stations at the train station which you can do before or after your ride.
Kitchen Kettle Village – This touristy destination is full of 40+ small shops and restaurants, including a Jams & Relish shop, another pretzel shop and lots of others featuring locally made or inspired designs. Visit the Old Candle Barn and if you’re lucky, you’ll see the candle makers at work in the basement dipping their candles the old fashioned way.
Where we ate in Amish Country
Smokehouse BBQ and Brews – We all enjoyed a delicious dinner of pulled pork and brisket plus local beers at this local eatery for dinner one night. Tip #1 – they have coupons for this place in the local papers/magazines you can find at any of the touristy paper racks. Tip #2 pay attention to their hours as we tried going there one day they were closed!
Spring House Tavern – Since we were traveling with my brewery owning parents, we had to hit up a local brewery! Luckily this one not only served delicious beer but also great burgers! We enjoyed their tavern burgers, which were smash burger style!
Stoltzfus Meats and Deli – Before shopping at Kitchen Kettle Village we indulged in sandwiches for lunch at this very busy and popular deli in walking distance across the street.
More vacation guides from previous family destinations:
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