Philadelphia and Amish Country Tour from New York: 1 Day

In a single day you go from the Liberty Bell to a horse drawn buggy, and the second one surprises people more than the first. This Philadelphia and Amish Country tour leaves New York at 6:15 AM by private coach, with a live guide for the whole day, pairing the city where the American Constitution was written with the Pennsylvania countryside where a community still lives without grid electricity. It is among the most requested of our tours departing from New York.

Below you will find what you need before booking: how much it costs and what it covers, what you see in Philadelphia and in Amish country, what that community's way of life actually means, and the practical details on timing, gratuities and cancellation.

How Much the Philadelphia and Amish Country Tour Costs

The tour is currently on promotion at $149 per person, down from $177. The fare covers the round trip transfer by private coach, a guaranteed seat, a live guide for the whole day and the Amish buggy ride. Children over 2 pay the full fare, while under 2s travel free.

Outside the price are lunch, taken freely during the Amish market stop, hotel pickup, since departure is a group meeting point at Port Authority, and the guide's gratuity, customary in the United States at around $10 per person.

Book the Smart Way

Philadelphia is reachable by train, but Lancaster County is not: without a car the Amish countryside is effectively out of reach as a day trip from New York, and the buggy ride has to be arranged on the ground. That is why this combination works as a tour and far less well as a do it yourself trip. You also get support before and after purchase, a physical office a short walk from Times Square at 324 W 47th St, and a phone line staffed early on departure morning.

What You See in Philadelphia

You leave New York at dawn, cross New Jersey and reach the city of brotherly love by mid morning. The scenic drive takes in the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the tree lined boulevard connecting City Hall to the art museum, and Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited street in the United States, its eighteenth century row houses still private homes today.

In the historic centre you visit the Liberty Bell, famous crack and all, and Independence Square, the few blocks where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and the American Constitution written in 1787. Leaving the city you pass the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, made famous by Rocky Balboa's run, with the bronze statue at the bottom and the footprints set into the pavement at the top.

Lancaster County and the Amish Community

In the afternoon you reach Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the oldest Amish settlement in the United States, founded in the 1720s. After the lunch stop at the Amish market, among baked goods, preserves and handmade crafts, you board an authentic horse drawn buggy for a ride through the countryside and visit a small farm.

It helps to arrive with the right idea, because the cliché tells the wrong half of the story. The Lancaster Amish do not reject technology wholesale: in 1919 community leaders decided not to connect to the public power grid, because that wire was seen as a physical and symbolic tie to the outside world, not because electricity was considered evil. Homes therefore run on propane, batteries and generators, the telephone stays outside the house in a shared booth, and travel is by buggy rather than car. Families speak Pennsylvania Dutch, a German dialect, while English is learned at school.

Our tip

Do not photograph Amish faces. It is not a tour rule but a community one: portraits are seen as a form of vanity. Landscapes, buggies and farms can be photographed freely, people cannot. Asking first is always the right call.

What the Tour Includes

• Guided day tour of Philadelphia and the Amish area
• Private transfer by coach bus, round trip from New York
• Guaranteed seat on board for every participant
• Authentic Amish buggy ride through the Lancaster countryside
• Live guide on board for the whole day

Hotel pickup and drop off, the guide's gratuity and meals are not included. A note on language: the commentary on this tour is delivered in Italian, and the guide may alternate languages when the group includes travellers from different countries. If you need English commentary throughout, contact us before booking.

How the Day Is Paced

New York and Philadelphia are around 95 miles apart, a little under two hours of driving, and from there it is another ninety minutes or so to Lancaster County. It is a less demanding itinerary than other day excursions, but it is still a dawn departure with an evening return.

On the ground most of the walking happens in Philadelphia's historic centre, on short and level stretches, while in Amish country you move by buggy and coach. Comfortable shoes are still worth it, as is modest clothing for the community visit. The rest of the day trips we run from the city sit among our United States excursions.

What to Know Before Booking

• Arrive 15 minutes before 6:15 AM at Port Authority Bus Terminal, 330 W 42nd St, between 8th and 9th Avenue
• If the coach has left the tour is forfeited, with no refund or date change
• Book nothing for the evening: the return is scheduled for around 7:30 PM but depends on traffic
• Cancellation is free up to 72 hours before with a full refund, after which a 100% penalty applies
• The tour runs in rain or snow: participants are contacted only in cases of force majeure
• Coach seats are not assigned: the guide allocates them by availability and seating together cannot be promised
• Smoking is not allowed on board, electronic devices included
• The tour may be multilingual when the group includes travellers from different countries

If you want to add another east coast city on a different day of the same trip, many visitors pair this with the Boston day tour from New York.

Important

After booking you will receive an automatic confirmation by email that serves as your ticket for the tour: check your spam folder too. For assistance in the early hours of departure morning, call +1 212 642 0915. The programme may change during public holidays or special events, and activities in the Amish community follow local custom and calendar, including Sunday closures for many businesses. The tour is operated by the supplier Amadeo Travel Solutions, responsible for the operational organisation and for compliance with safety regulations, while Il Mio Viaggio a New York acts as booking intermediary and supports you before and after purchase.