Join us for our memorable R&J Tours Farm Tour, filled with fun experiences, learning opportunities, and great sights!
Day 1 – Home to Lansing, IL
Today we head east towards Indiana with lunch and comfort stops along the way. It’s a long travel day; however, after we gather together for a wonderful welcome meal and introductions, we’ll make a stop for the night in Lansing, IL
Included Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Hotel: Comfort Suites
Day 2 – Lansing to Shipshewana, IN
Following breakfast at our hotel, we’ll continue our journey towards Shipshewana, but first a stop is planned at the exciting Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. The Studebaker Museum is the premier place for the education, preservation, and interpretation of design and innovation for the overall impact on the world of the automobile and related industries. The 55,000 square foot facility includes three separate levels of climate-controlled exhibit space for the ultimate care of the collection. Be ready to be amazed by the information our docent has for us! Following lunch together, we’ll continue our drive to the Amish country of Shipshewana. Tonight we’re in for a special treat with a visit to an Amish farm for a traditional haystack meal and Amish buggy rides – Enjoy!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hotel: Blue Gate Garden Inn (3 Nights)
Day 3 – Shipshewana area
Today we begin with a leisurely time of exploring and shopping at the Shipshewana Flea Market, one of the largest in the Midwest, boasting upwards of 700 booths on 40 acres! Perhaps visit Yoder’s Meat & Cheese Market, featuring a wide selection of products to choose from, located right in front of the famous flea market. Mid-morning we’ll take the short drive to tour Silver Star Leather, where we can see their “leather museum” of skins hanging from the walls. We might see alligator, ostrich, python, stingray or frog skins! They hand-make belts, handbags, wallets, briefcases and more right there at the store and we’ll have time to watch some belt-making! After perusing the leather works, we’ll take the short drive to Middlebury for a wonderful buffet lunch at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, an R&J favorite. Did you know the area around Middlebury is well-known for their quilt gardens? Yes, numerous gardens in the area are planted in homage to quilts. We’ll have time to make a stop by at least one of them for you to view and take a couple of photos! We might even take in a noodle making demonstration in Middlebury. Then it’s back to the Blue Gate for a wonderful theatre production of “Best of Me: A New Musical Comedy.” After one too many burnt batches of bread, two too many crooked quilts and a few more gardening glitches than a person can handle, Rachel Miller decides to step out of her comfort zone on the farm and see how ‘the other half’ lives. After all, she’s seen the Telemundo soap opera actresses on the TV at Walmart. How hard can this acting thing be?!?!? But after trading in the “Amish apple dumpling” for the “Big Apple,” Rachel finds out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. In fact, there may not be any grass at all! We’ll laugh a lot and may even cry a little as we follow the Amish girl, a fading Broadway star, and a handsome stranger in their quest to find the best of themselves. Afterwards a delicious meal is served at the Blue Gate. Rest up tonight for another busy day tomorrow!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 – Shipshewana area
This morning, following another great breakfast, we’ll begin a fun-filled day of touring the Amish area of Shipshewana with a local guide. We’ll start out early with a bakery stop and a creamery stop. After a visit to a wooden basket-making shop, we’ll go to a working Amish dairy farm where we’ll be treated to a tour of the dairy facility and hear directly from the Amish farmer about what makes his farm run. We should be there during milking time. Interested in another kind of farm? We’ll head to a bison ranch where we’ll not only get educated on the life of a buffalo and enjoy a wagon ride to the fields where the buffalo roam, but we’ll also partake in a chuckwagon lunch prepared just for us! From there, we’re in for an educational visit to a buggy-making shop where we’ll see firsthand what it takes to put a quality buggy together. Next we’ll hear from an Amish horse breeder. Then the day wouldn’t be complete without another fabulous meal together while we listen to the Amish 8-18 story from our hosts, followed by a fun local game! What a wonderful day in the Amish country of Shipshewana.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 – Shipshewana to Home
Following another good night’s sleep and our last breakfast on our tour, we’ll head back toward Minnesota and home, sharing memories with our new traveling friends of all the new experiences we’ve had over the past five days!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
*Please Note: Due to the large number of Farm Travelers living in rural areas, we are not able to offer home pick-up on this tour. Pick-up locations will be decided at a later date.*
Motorcoach Per Person Pricing Information
Motorcoach Travel Protection Per Person
Deposit Due
Passport Needed
Tour Pace
Price Includes
13 Meals, Hotels & Activities as stated in brochure, Luxury Motorcoach
07/12/2021 07/16/2021
Tour Map
Tour Highlights
Stay 3 Nights at Blue Gate Garden Inn in Shipshewana
Studebaker National Museum
Quilt Gardens
Silver Star Leather Tour & Belt-Making Demonstration
“Best of Me: A New Musical Comedy” Theatre Production
Guided Shipshewana Amish Area
Touring including Amish Dairy Farm, Buggy-Making Shop, Bison Ranch with Chuckwagon Lunch, Wooden Basket- Making Demo, Amish Horse Breeder Talk, and Amish 8-18 Story & Meal
Amish Buggy Ride
13 Meals
