Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about tours of Illinois Amish country:
Can I take pictures of the Illinois Amish country while I am on a tour?
How far in advance should I plan my trip to the Illinois Amish country?
I'm Planning a tour for a larger group! Can you help me?
I have a group of 2 or 50 people
coming with me. Can we eat
at an Amish home?
How do I pay for a tour package or meal at an Amish home?
What do we eat when we go to an Amish home?
Exactly what is a "Step-on Guide?"
Can I take pictures of the Illinois Amish
country while I am on a tour?
We do encourage people to take pictures of the beautiful Amish
country while you are touring around. However, we do ask people
not to take pictures of are the actual Amish people. The Amish
religion believes that no graven images should be made a person and
therefore they prefer to not be photographed or videotaped. We
ask that everyone that takes a tour or has a meal through us respect
this belief.
How far in advance should I plan my trip to the
Illinois Amish country?
It is never too soon to begin planning. For small family groups, we usually appreciate a minimum of 1 week in advance to make
preparations for you and your friends or family. Of course,
you will be limited in some selections that may be already booked
up. We can offer
more options if we have more notice of when you plan to make your
trip. We will need at least 1-2 weeks to ensure that we can
arrange meals in an Amish home, and for the Amish home or farm tour.
Let us know though, even if you have less lead time. Often, if we
already have a group booked for a meal we can set another table for
another family. Self Guiding Audio Tours are available at any time, and
Step-On-Guides usually can be arranged in a couple of days.
I'm Planning a tour for a larger group! Can
you help me?
Certainly, this is what we do. We have sample itineraries
available, and can work with you to plan all aspects of you stay in
Amish Country including accommodations, meals and all ticketing and
scheduling. One stop shopping for all of East Central Illinois. We
are able to arrange transportation for you to Amish Country and back
to home if you wish. And with larger groups you can't plan too
early. We have some tour packages scheduled up to 18 months in
advance.
I have a group of 2 or 50 people coming with me. Can we eat
at an Amish home?
We have numerous Amish families who we work with, who open up their
homes and kitchens for visitors of the Amish country. If you
come with less than a group of 4 people we cannot guarantee we can
arrange a meal. Sometimes, we can merge two or more small
groups together to have a meal at the same Amish home. The
Amish ladies who cook for us prefer groups of 10 or more people but
have made exceptions occasionally for groups as little as four
people. Also, we ask that visitors refer to the previous
question and give us a minimum of 1 week to arrange a meal at a
Amish home. If we are given less than a week's notice we
cannot guarantee that a meal can be arranged.
How do I pay for a tour package or meal at an Amish home?
There are numerous ways to pay for an Amish tour package. We
accept check, money orders, or credit cards over the phone.
When you contact us, we will discuss different options for a tour
for the Illinois Amish country and the Central Illinois area.
After we put together a package that is good for you, we will send you
a copy of the itinerary for you to look over. We ask that you
sign a copy of the itinerary and send it to us with payment.
If you prefer to use credit card you can then give us a call and we
will use the card to charge the balance due. You are also more
than welcome to visit us at our offices located in The Woodloft
Custom Furniture, in downtown Arthur, where we would be more
than happy to sit down with you to discuss different tour options.
What do we eat when we go to an Amish home?
The Amish are known for having wonderful homemade meals each day.
The standard menu at the Amish homes we use consists of fried
chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad (lettuce or fruit),
noodles or dressing, seasonal vegetable, and homemade bread with jam
or peanut butter. Also, a meal at an Amish home wouldn't be
complete without a great homemade pie.
Exactly what is a
"Step-on Guide?"
A step on guide is a local person with experience and
insight into the local Arthur Amish community. He or she will
ride with you in your vehicle
and explain the culture and area history. They will
direct you to places to visit, shop and experience the country life
and interact with the area people. Since he/she will be
riding in your vehicle, it is important to let us know how
many vehicles and how many guides you will need. Each guide has a
separate cost. We have had many tours arrange for a step on guided
tour and then show up in 2-3 vehicles, and there is no way that one
guide can ride in two cars at one time. 1 guide-one tour-per
vehicle.
How do I get more information on visiting the
Illinois Amish Country or assistance in planning a visit?
As long as you are already on-line, we offer an on-line
inquiry questionnaire form that you may use to give us some
general information about your upcoming visit or more specific
information about the nature of the group you are planning for and
we can then provide you with some more to-the-point information on
our services and area attractions that might be of interest.
The
background information you provide will not obligate you in any way
and only allows us to better provide you with an enjoyable
experience when you visit.
Or, if time is short, give us a call at 1-888-321-9663