Visit to Amish Community
 

We are planning to visit the Amish community this summer. We will be departing Atlanta. Which is a better area to visit. Lancaster, PA or the one in Ohio?

a. I guess you're hoping to find someone who's visited both, in order to make a valid comparison.
b. What do you mean by "better"?

It depends on what you are wanting to do or see in a "Amish Community". There are Amish living (among those not Amish) in both. You can see them driving around and going about their business.

They aren't really a tourist attraction. 896 in Pa is a very pretty ride with many Amish related business but you can't go visit their farms. You will find many working at the farmer's markets.
I am from Delaware and we had many Amish but they were moving and leaving the religion very quickly. We had Amish neighbors that took care of me when I was young. I loved them and they were friends with my parents till the day they died. Great people and community but the area was just so congested for them and their lifestyle. Many moved even to Canada.

>>They aren't really a tourist attraction<<

They may not want to be a tourist attraction, but they most certainly are a tourist attraction.

>>They aren't really a tourist attraction<<

They may not want to be a tourist attraction, but they most certainly are a tourist attraction.

You are planning to visit Amish Country. I find it largely unlikely to be visiting the Amish Community unless you are Harrison Ford in Witness. I have no interest in treating human beings like they are a zoo exhibit.

Before we get to far into the treating-the-Amish-as-zoo-animals discussion, let's note that the Amish have no problem with making profits on the sales of their wares to tourists.

I have not been to Ohio, but I have been to the Pennnsylvania Amish Country, aka Pennsylvania Dutch Country. (The official tourism website of the Commondwealth of Pennsylvania uses both terms, so I am comfortable using "Amish Country"). I think you would find a lot of both Amish-related and non-Amish-related attractions in this area to enjoy. I suggest you look at the aforementioned website for some ideas:

http://www.visitpa.com/regions/dutch-country-roads

My cousin married an Amish man. His whole family left the church. They have a facebook page for former Amish. Very interesting. I think Bird in hand has a good farmer's market. They use to have a steam train you could ride. You will pass a few buggy's on the road. We use to have an Amish quilt shop that made the best rugs. We also bought plants from one family. They were making a living. The farms are beautiful and love to watch them plow the land with horses.

I have been to both areas but must admit I have been to the Amish Area of Ohio more times and really prefer that area. There are several towns around Wooster that are considered Amish towns (Millersburg, Berlin, Sugar Creek, Kidron, etc) but they are definitely not all Amish and you will see the most Amish farms and buggies on the side roads between the towns. There are several restaurants that are run by Amish or Mennonites also. It is a beautiful area.

I have not been to Ohio but visited Lancaster and can report that the Continental Inn is a great place to stay with a family style breakfast (for 2) is a great value. Sight & Sound is also interesting.

I live in Pa and have visited the Amish Farms several times. They do have tours of the schools, explaining the culture ways of living and they do offer a tour of a farm. I think it is a great place to visit, and they do make a lot of money off the tourism business. let no one be mistaken about that---I have never been to Ohio so I cannot make a comparison on the subject. They have some great food and you are also close enough to do Dorney Park, or other destinations in the area.

Been through the PA & OH ones a few times but never really did anything Amish-specific activities. I've always felt like the PA one was more "famous". We did visit the community in northeast Indiana once though. After a few years of stopping at this little diner in town, where the wait staff and most of the patrons were Amish, we decided to do the more touristy farm visit. It was fun, 15-minute buggy ride out to the farm, milk a cow, that kind of thing. Our kids (about 3 & 6 at the time) enjoyed it too, though I think they mostly liked just playing on the swings in the front yard with the two little (Amish) girls (with the homeowner's permission of course).