Frugal Lancaster PA Getaway?

[Emme]

Hubby and I are taking a short trip to Lancaster to visit the Amish area Aug. 23-27. What money-saving tips on lodging(must be clean and safe), dining, and attractions can you suggest. Even in room snack/meal ideas are welcome. We really need to kep this getaway as cheap as possible as we are planning/saving for our annual Disney trip in March.

Thanks so much!!

 

[Scrappygrrl]

Make sure to get the Lancaster Tourism brochure. Lots of coupons
TripAdvisor is good resource for hotels. Lots of under 100 dollar lodging. I can reccomend the Fulton Steamboat Inn. I think it wa 99/night w/ AAA, but there are plenty of cheap clean motorlodges.

Diener's Country BBQ is a great cheap restaurant. It's right on Rt 30 next to the tourist shop with ethe big Windmill. We had coupon for PLancy and Fancy Farm restaurant - we ate family-style and thought it was great.

You can ride Strasburg RR for 12 dollars, I think and it is beautiful.
Have fun - it's a beautiful area.

 

[englishteacha]

Strasburg RR is fun. We liked driving and looking at farms and buying yummy goodies. Nothing better than homemade ice cream!!

 

[trinchick]

If you decide to take the Strasburg Railroad, bring a picnic. You can get off of the train at a picnic area with a small playground. There are tables where you can eat your lunch and the kids can play on swings, see-saws, etc. The next train going by will pick you back up and bring you to the station.

At the Kitchen Kettle Village, the kids can decorate a gingerbread cookie for $1. It's in the jelly shop. There's also a petting zoo there that is really good and a playground with picnic tables if you want to bring a lunch.

The Family Cupboard on Route 340 is good and reasonably priced. For the buffet the kids pay based on their age.

There is an amazing ice cream place on Mentzer Road (off Peters Rd) called Lapp Valley Farm. It's a working dairy farm and they sell ice cream. Delicious and very reasonable. A home-made waffle cone with ice cream is about $2. In the late afternoon (not sure what time), they have a milking demonstration which I believe is free.

Just re-read your post and sounds like you won't have any kids - so I guess most of this isn't applicable, but I'll go ahead and hit "post" anyway!

 

[Lisa_M]

The Sturgis Pretzel Factory in Lititz gives tours of the original bakery, it was the 1st commercial pretzel factory, and you get to learn how to and roll a pretzel. We haven't gone yet, but are always meaning to go. It's a cheap tour $3/person.
http://www.juliussturgis.com/

 

[Mama Lo]

We went to Lancaster PA and stayed at the Jonde Lane Farm see their website: http://www.pamall.net/jondelane/

This bed and breakfast is run by a very nice couple and it was clean and quite inexpensive. The breakfast was delicious and it was centrally located.

It's not deluxe but the kids had a great time on the swings out back. Also, since it's on a farm there are tons of animals to see and pet.

Have fun!!

 

[CTdiznymom]

The Sturgis Pretzel Factory in Lititz gives tours of the original bakery, it was the 1st commercial pretzel factory, and you get to learn how to and roll a pretzel. We haven't gone yet, but are always meaning to go. It's a cheap tour $3/person.
http://www.juliussturgis.com/

We did this last summer. It is a very very short tour. All of 10 minutes, and you don't really roll a pretzel you roll some playdough type dough. There is no actual baking done here. You see the old rolling boards, barrels and ovens. That's pretty much it. Gift shop is nice but $$$.

 

[nmmom95]

Try Shady Maple buffet...http://www.shady-maple.com/smorgasbord/daily-menu-pricing. Also, I've stayed at the Fulton Steamboat Inn suggested by PP. It's nice, very clean, and right next to the Rockvale Outlets.

 

[Redwitch]

Here's a link... http://www.padutchcountry.com/?utm_...=Lancaster+County+TravelGuide+-+February+2009

If you have any specific questions PM me. Enjoy your stay!

 

[gigi1313]

we ::heart:: the willow valley resort... it may seem pricey, but it's well worth it for what you get (packages that include meals!)... the rooms are nice and oversized, the pools are great, there's a small golf course, a petting zoo, carriage rides and more... plus the three restaurants are all above-average... i highly recommend it!

 

[bluesky225]

Here's a link... http://www.padutchcountry.com/?utm_...=Lancaster+County+TravelGuide+-+February+2009

If you have any specific questions PM me. Enjoy your stay!

We used this website last year to book a trip. I think it was one of the family fun deals, but I don't see the same one offered now. We had a 2 or 3 night hotel stay (can't remember), Amish bus tour (stopped at a couple Amish stores to shop, saw great views, and went to a winery), 2 adult tickets to Hershey Park, and a meal at Plain 'n Fancy Amish restaurant all included in our package. We LOVED our trip and would definitely do this again. I think we paid around $300 for everything. It was a great price.

 

[Emme]

Thanks so much for the info so far...

Please keep the ideas coming! Thanks!

 

[GraysMom]

We've stayed at the Sleep Inn in Ronks, PA (less than 3 mi from the outlets). It's located right on Route 30 which is the main highway in the area (lots of hotels, restaurants, Rockvale Square and Tanger Outlet Centers, etc). We've booked online through the Sleep Inn website and usually paid around $90/night, including taxes. The hotel is clean, has a small indoor pool, mini fridge in the room and a free continental breakfast (including make your own waffles). If you plan on spending a lot of time at the hotel, I'd opt for someplace w/more amenities, but we just stay there the night before Day Out with Thomas at the Strasburg RR.

The Strasburg General Store has yummy ice cream as well as penny candy for sale. It's at the only traffic light in Strasburg, on your right hand side as you travel down routes 741/896 towards Strasburg (you'll turn left at this light if you're going to the RR or the RR museum).

If you like unique sandwiches, check out Isaac's Deli (several locations in the area). They're pretty cheap too.

We love eating at Texas Roadhouse (right on route 30 near the outlets) but they aren't very budget friendly.

DH and I graduated from Millersville University and it's a beautiful campus to walk around. There is pond in the middle of campus with swans and ducks and a gazebo. We like to visit with DS4 and take stale bread/crackers to feed to the swans/ducks. I'd say MU is probably 30ish min from the outlets, depending on traffic.

There is also a cute farm market named Funk's in Millersville which carries homegrown fruits and veggies (we got fresh picked strawberries when we went in June ), snack items, and fresh baked Dutch goodies (whoopie pies, shoofly pie, sticky buns, etc). We usually stop here to pick up snacks for the room. If you're interested, let me know and I'll find the address for you. **If you consider going to MU, check on their website and see when classes start. It may be move-in weekend when you are visiting, in which case you won't want to be anywhere near Millersville at that time.