Amish Experience Trolley Tour: Bridges to Understanding
Description
Visit the only place in the world that the Amish and Mennonite communities come to vacation en masse and learn about their culture with your tour guide. On this tour, the goal is to create a “bridge of understanding” about these wonderfully unique and close-knit communities. You will learn about the history of their religious beliefs, values, traditions and practices of daily life. Visit Pinecraft, where 500+ Amish and Mennonite families live year-round and where 5,000+ return each season from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana to vacation. Enjoy stops at Alma Sue’s Quilt Shop, The Carlisle Inn and Der Dutchman for shopping and a delicious pie shooter! Gain a new appreciation of the rich culture on this Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence-rated tour. *During April there may be variations of the tour because typically many of our Amish tourists have returned home, therefore we may visit a local Amish furniture maker to learn about carpentry and its importance to their culture.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Enjoy a stop at Der Dutchman Amish Kitchen Restaurant for Amish gifts and shopping and of course, a sample of their delicious pie!
Visit Alma Sue's Quilt Shop and learn more about the history and meaning behind Amish quilting traditions.
From the lobby of our Der Dutchman Restaurant, a sweeping double staircase brings you to this popular shopping experience.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Guests must be 10+; no children under 10 allowed except on our family tours designed for children. Every guest must have a paid ticket in order to board.
- This is a tour where you get off the vehicle, so you must be able to walk a short distance.
Reviews(224)
Our tour guide, Lois, and driver, Dan, provided us with an interesting & enjoyable experience.
Great to hear!
Our compliments to Discover Sarasota tours. This is a very friendly group of people who are personable and welcoming. The entire team makes you feel completely at home and appreciated. A great organization that under-commits and over-delivers. You won't be disappointed! This was our second tour of the Amish Experience. We enjoyed the first trip so much that we wanted to share this with several friends. They all loved it! Our tour guide (Kendra) is a delightful person with a wealth of knowledge about the Amish stemming from her early childhood and familial ties to this unique community. Kendra weaves her knowledge into an interesting story that will keep you spellbound from time you depart until the time you arrive back at the Discover Sarasota Tours office. You will learn so much in a unique setting as you traverse an actual Amish community in Sarasota. Kendra demystifies the Amish by fully describing their traditions, their dress code, and what it all means. I highly recommend this tour! You'll love Kendra and the team at Sarasota Tours.
What a terrific review of our tour and wonderful staff. Please come back and try one of our many other equally excellent tours!
This was my 3rd Amish Tour with Kendra and I would go again tomorrow! First, Kendra is the magic - articulate, clear, personable, warm and funny! Second, I had an earnest desire to understand the culture and now I have tremendous insights. When I see the families biking to the beach, I have appreciation and respect for the community they are part of.
Wow! You are a Superfan! So glad you’ve loved this tour. Please come on our circus tour or other tours to learn about those communities as well. The guides are all magic and there is much to learn. Thank you!
What an amazing experience. I loved every part of the morning. I learned so much and felt like the time flew by. Our guide was so knowledgeable and shared great stories that brought everything to life. The gift shop was adorable. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area or local to area. Worth the time and every penny.
Wonderful to hear. Kendra is a terrific guide.
Everything I was hoping for and more! Things that are important to me: the tour was punctual -started on time and ended on time. The trolley was clean and comfortable. We had a very good driver. Beyond that, our guide was more than knowledgeable, she was connected to the history and had multiple personal stories to share. This added an emotional element that moved the needle for us. This was much more than encyclopedic facts and figures. We ended the tour with a respect and understanding of the community and the people who come to Pinecraft. We especially liked that the tour included the quilt shop and the bakery!
Thank you for valuing how we run our tours and for acknowledging the background, personality and personable approach our guides have. Please come back to learn more on our 17 other tours!
A great experience that delivered on the premise - a bridge to understanding the Amish culture. Kendra, the tour leader had first-hand knolwedlge of the culture and entertained us with stories of her experiences. I learned a lot and would highly recommend this for anyone interested in this facinating culture.
Thank you for this wonderful review.
Christina was a fabulous tour guide and speaker! She is very knowledgeable and sensitive to the Amish and Mennonite communities. We learned so much. Thank you for the opportunity to learn.
The trolley tour of the Amish Experience with Kendra was excellent! Her first hand knowledge of the Amish and Mennonite population in Sarasota was interesting and fun. The stops on the tour were great - loved the food and watching the quilting demonstration at Alma Sue's! It made me want to learn more and visit again soon!
We absolutely loved this tour the time went by so quickly. Kendra was a wonderful tour guide, she makes this tour experience what it is. Which is exceptional. Our group enjoyed learning more about the Amish community.
Kendra Cross did an excellent job as our guide. She was engaging, knowledgeable, and kept everything running on schedule. We really enjoyed the tour!
