amish heartland tours

I have been to Amish country many times, and frankly was a little tired of it, but a friend from South Texas was visiting, and we did a tour (not the dinner tour). We could not have asked for a better guide and a more pleasant time... learned a lot too! The one candle shop stop was a little commercial, but the rest was genuine and the information we heard was respectful, interesting, and heartfelt.

I took my wife to Amish country for our 32nd anniversary. Looking for things to do while there, I found Amish Heartland Tours on the internet and reached out to them via email. LaVonne quickly answered all of my questions and helped me set up two personalized tours which included seeing the Amish community with LaVonne's extensive personal knowledge of the Amish and their lifestyle as well as two stops to actual Amish families. LaVonne also set up two private wine tastings, both of which were very nice; but, the second one was absolutely a joy. You must visit the Baltic Mill Winery (Baltic, Ohio) and speak with Dan and Judy the owners. Their Rowville Red is the best wine I have ever tasted. Judy took us on a personal tour of the mill which dates back to the 1800's and it was a wonderful experience. LaVonne helped make our trip a huge success.

My daughter Sandy and I where fortunate enough to be gifted w/ a private tour from LaVonne and dinner at Roy and Anna's house. If you are a small group I urge you to ask for Roy and Anna. The dinner was wonderful but far surpassed by how warm and welcoming these lovely people were. Roy gave us a fascinating tour of the farm and wood shop; Anna fixed dinner and chatted about their extensive family. I am in love!! LaVonne's knowledge of the culture and area are vast and extensive. We would highly recommend this tour!! FYI/ Be smarter than I and bring a water bottle, it is a long day and I was about to die of thirst!!!

We had dinner with an Amish Family in their home - all arranged through Amish Heartland Tours (AHT). I cannot say enough about this experience. AHT handled all the communications and got us all the information we needed. They could not have been more pleasant or more helpful. Our group (six of us) all enjoyed our time with our wonderful Amish hosts. We learned so much and walked away with a better understanding of the Amish culture; making new friends in the process. Not to mention that the food was absolutely delicious! This was truly the highlight of our trip. We are looking forward to contacting AHT in the future as they offer such a variety of tours in central Ohio's beautiful Amish Country. Thank you LaVonne (and company)!

We had used Amish Hearland Tours for an Amish family dinner last August. When we returned to Holmes county this November, we used to arrange another dinner for us. This dinner was perfect in every way. The host Naomi fixed a great dinner, allowed to tour their home. A very pleasant experience.

Lavonne is very friendly and is such a great tour guide. She took us through the backroads of the Amish and explained to us how things were done and why. We had many questions regarding how the Amish live, the cultures, the different homes and different Amish beliefs. It was very informative and I definitely learned much about how the Amish function. My sister and I enjoyed the tour very much and couldnt have ask for a better tour guide. I am torn between some of the beliefs; but to each their own, and the Amish believe what they want and we believe what we were brought up to believe. How dull it would be if everyone were the same. We are all Gods Children. Thank you Lavonne for such a lovely day. Jenny Powell, Morgantown, WV and Jean Propst, Morgantown, WV

We have been traveling to Holmes Co for years and have never done this before. We had dinner in an Amish family home. Our host Naomi Yoder, was absolutely wonderful. And her dinner was the best Amish food we've ever eaten. The tour company host, LaVonne, was very nice and helpful. We will definitely make this dinner experience something we do every time we visit.

We have visited the Amish Country 4 times. This past October, we decided to do the "All About Amish Tour". It was our favorite experience in the Amish Country by far. I am spokesperson for 4 families. LaVonne was an excellent tour guide. We will definitely do this again.

Took the tour where you eat in an amish house. The tour itself was 6 hours. Would not recommend with small children. Our son was 10 and got a little bored on the bus doing the driving part. We started @ Yoder's amish farm. We toured the barn and then the house and the school. We also did a buggy ride. That was fun. The amish driver squished in the front seat with you to steer the horses. You go around the circle twice. There is a little store that sells souvenir items, cook books, art work, quilted items. I bought a cookbook it looked delicious. There are restrooms. There is a little bakery that the ladies sell by the honor system. We got a sugar cookie. Cakey but good. The driving part was interesting. They took us was out in the country to look at their homes and we stopped at two businesses to shop and tour. One was a basket one was a leather goods shop. We did run into a funeral. There were several amish men out in the field with all their buggies. The besgt part came last. That was the dinner in an amish home. OH MY. We ate in the basement. they had a huge table set up to hold all 25 of us. The dinner consisted of baked chicken in a gravy, roast beef that was so tender you barely had to chew it, noodles, mashed potatoes with browned butter on top, salad with homemade french and sweet and sour dressing, green beans and homemade bread. Dessert was pumpkin custard pie, chocolate pie and strawberry cream cheese pie. All were delicious. The finale were the two younger girls singing Jesus loves me and the older woman joined in to do another church song. She gave one lucky person in our group a loaf of her bread. it happened to be us. We would do this again in a heartbeat.

This tour of the heartland of Amish families was booked by The Kenley Konnection of Columbus,OH. Troy, our step-on tour guide, opened all of our eyes to the Amish and Mennonite lifestyle. This was a really in-depth naration that I had NEVER experienced on past AMISH COUNTRY tours! Fast Facts: Breitenbach Winery has a variety of wines for purchase, including Dandelion wine Heini's Cheese Chalet has approx. 50 different cheeses, made on premises, for sampling and purchasing, along with a bakery and ice cream, too! Walnut Creek Bulk Food Store is the place I purchased homemade noodles and multiple-shaped pasta, dried chicken and beef base for making broths. Stop in Hershberger's Bakery for fried pies (apple, cherry, peach, strawberry)! Shopping is overwhelmingly exciting; however, if you are looking for AUTHENTIC AMISH GOODS & CRAFTS...look carefully at the ceramic and glass knick-knacks....turn them over. You may be surprised that items are imported from CHINA! BEST OF ALL is family-style dining in an Amish home kitchen. Long tables set with salad or cole slaw, a variety of homemade pumpkin, apple, and peanut butter cream pies, along with lemonade-flavored ice tea. The multiple bowls of buttered mashed potatoes, beef gravy, green beans, roast beef, fried chicken and hot bread keeps on coming until I can't take another bite or sip. Ya gotta go! If you want a self tour, drive north on I-71 to SR 39 and drive east to follow all of the signs to Amish Establishments. or just drive northest on SR 62 off of I-270N.P.S. The McDonald's in Berlin(or Sugarcreek) is the only one that delivers to Amish homes because they don't do drive-thru windows! Fascinating! andother leather goods are located at The Flea Market

They offer several different tours, many that include a meal at an Amish home. I took the tour that included the Yoders Amish home. On this part of the tour you are on your own to tour the home and other items once you get to the Yoders Amish home. There are two house that a guide takes you through, one from 1866 and a newer one. No one currently lives in either, but the second home they use to make items you can purchase at the end of the home tour. The fry pies are great and freshly made in many flavors, but there are other baked goods and home canned soup available to purchase. Included also is a short buggy ride around the grounds and an Amish school house built for the tours but not used. There is also a barn with animals along with a large number of cats and kittens on the grounds. The main entrance has a gift shop available also. The schedule allows you two hours to do these tours, but it probably could allow for just 90 minutes.The tour bus then picks you up at the home at 3 pm and then you get to tour the back rounds of Amish country. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the area and pointed out a number of interesting items related to the Amish lifestyle. We also stopped at three different artisans and were able to purchase items or just view the items. I believe these places can differ with each tour. This lasts for about 2 hours. They then return back to the Yoders Amish home and drop those off that did not have plans to continue with the Amish meal. You then continue on to one of the Amish families homes where they welcome you into their home and serve you a delicious meal along with even better deserts. You have a chance to ask questions of the family after the meal. The family we visited also had some of the items they made for dinner available for purchase along with a few crafts that they have made. After you leave the family home you receive a small Amish cookbook with some good recipes including items you had for your meal. The tour guide then returns you to your car, answering any questions she can before dropping you off.Amish Heartland Tours offers other variations of this tour and other tours on some weekdays. I would recommend taking any of their tours since I enjoyed this one so much.

For all of you trip-takers who have a deep appreciation for the Amish, please do yourselves a favor and book a trip with the Amish Heartland Tour. The value was incredible! From the moment we stepped on the tour bus, we were made to feel right at home. Before we even began the tour we were each given a very nice token gift bag which included a beautiful handmade Amish pot-holder, helpful maps, and tourist guides, Amish postcards, and coupons to use while shopping. Once seated in complete comfort and style we sat back to enjoy the ride. The windows on the bus are huge, allowing the full view of this scenic countryside. The Amish Farms as well as the English homes were breathtaking. We learned tips about what we were seeing and just when we thought the trip could not get any better, we pulled into the driveway of the most delightful Amish couple. Katie and John came out to greet us and we were escorted into their beautiful home. The kitchen was unbelievable as they had tables lined up farmstyle to serve at least 25 guests. We had a traditional haystack dinner, which we had only read about and now were experiencing in real life! Just seeing bowls and platters of fresh garden veggies passed around made your mouth water! A crushed cracker base started the haystack as you added a variety of goodies, including a lovely seasoned ground beef. Huge bowls with a ladle to scoop out melted cheese topped off the entire plate. HOLY-COW! It was soooo.....good! Our hosts were very gracious answering all of our questions about Amish life, as they made sure our drinks were fresh and our plates were full. As if we hadn't had enough, we all made room for the hot apple crumb strudel. After lunch the bus took us to places that we could shop, and we hated for the day to end! What a blessed and wonderful experience. A great trip for all ages. Sincerely, Kevin & Christine Power

I have been organizing group trips for my church for about 10 years. We've visited a variety of cities and had some great experiences. Today was Holmes County with 50 people. The back roads tour with LaVonne was phenomenal. She is so knowledgeable about the area, the Amish community and people, this trip was educational and enjoyable. We were able to see demonstrations of baskets and "fancy" candles being made. The highlight though, was the dinner at the family home. We all thought we died and went to heaven. Homemade bread, the creamiest mashed potatoes I've ever eaten, melt in your mouth breaded chicken and roast beef, scrumptious noodles, and to top if off, homemade pie. Coconut cream - to DIE for, dutch apple, and pumpkin. OMG, we left very full and happy people. What a nice family. I highly recommend the serves of Amish Heartland Tours. You will be so happy that you went this route for your group. Fabulous!

We had LaVonne from Amish Heartland Tours, she took us on the back roads of Berlin, Charm and other places in the Amish country and gave us lots of information about the culture and history - very informative, my husband can not stop talking about it! I will go on more tours with them because of the experience - very unique and informative and the house we stopped at wasWONDERFUL - thinking about it make me hungry! I like the fact that it was not tourist attractions, we bought baskets, candles, jellies - wonderful!Recommend it to everyone!

We used Amish Heartland Tours to arrange dinner in an Amish home. It was a unique experience. Eight of us and a tour guide met at an Amish home and were treated to a dinner of chicken, beef, potatoes, gravy, homemade bread with peanut butter spread, green beans, and pie for dessert. The children sang for us and we were able to ask some questions about Amish life. The cost was only around $25 each. Heartland offers some other tours that look like a great introduction to Ohio's Amish country if you are from out of the area.