Reviews of Amana Colonies (Travel Agency)

Brian Moore

There is nothing to do in this small series of towns. The place is rundown. While it is a historic place, the lack of maintenance has reached levels that aren't kitchy. There are a few restaurants, gift shops, and wineries. All are underwhelming. Most of the workers are not friendly and lack a sense of humor.

Ray Helfrich

Ate at Ox Yoke Inn. Coconut pie was very good.

Brian G

Limited menu tonight, but meal was very good.

Jeremy Stiltz

Great food, shops and brewery. Hope they never lose the traditional feel.

Joyce McEwen

Mostly retail mecca, but museum video and building tours were interesting.

Jeffery Davis

I really enjoy the Amana colonies. The town is beautiful, the history and architecture are cool, and I really appreciate attempts to care for and maintain historic areas. It can get busy and a little tourist trappy, but I'll be back and I'll keep recommending it.

Ronald Preissler

Very impressed with this stop.

Season Mitzel

Tourist trap. Over priced. Not many family activities to do but there is a lot of shopping if you want to spend all your money.

Andrew Govier

A very fun experience. Very fun for both adults and children.

Tim Von Drak

The Amana Colonies is the best tourist destination in iowa if u like old time things

Krystal King

Not really for younger people.... But the architecture is nice

Barbara Erdelac

Wedding in a barn - fun time. Brunch at Ox Bow - delicious!

Kelsie Spurgeon

Everything was beautifully set up for the holiday season. The staff for the colonies was fast and friendly, more than willing to help and make suggestions. Had a great time exploring the historical area around the shops.

Kirsten Long

Our "must stops" at the colonies are: the smokehouse meat shop, the popcorn store, the chocolate house, and the handmade soaps across the street from the chocolate. We also love dining family style at the restaurants.

Nancy Iannone

A great place to take the family. Lots of fun shops and good food.

David Hopkins

Great stores. I love going to the woolers and the furniture store, of course you should also stop and buy chocolate.

Nicholas Gluba

Great small town (7 small towns) for events like maifest and Oktoberfest.

Philip Schilke

Worth the stop to immerse yourself into another unique culture. Excellent Farm food!

Al Shaver

Enjoyed completely.

Mike Krallman

Grate place to relax with good shopping and food.

Luke Carson

Plenty of small local shops and good food and wine samples to try.

Laura Batey

Interesting to see the various locations spread out over a few miles. Nice welcome center and gift shop. Staff here were friendly and willing to answer questions and educate about the area. Probably would be more interesting during a festival.

Sherry Minot

Second time coming here. A beautiful way to spend a day. We enjoy the shops, the wine! , the sweet treats and coffee. I highly recommend going here if visiting the area.

Dan Lang

Awesome experience, always!

Laniraew15@gmail.com zebadiah1

Bake sale with Safe Haven--excellent goodies!

Bill Schultz

Really nice and historical. Interesting how it started.

Mary Wakefield

Wonderful Buildings. Go to the museum first to lest all about there culture.

cds elick

Love the Amana Colonies. All the history and delicious food. Everyone is really nice and helpful. Great place for an afternoon trip out of the city.

Victoria Colle

A variety of shops, great food. The chocolate shop had the best cremes.

Sharon French

We had a Wonderful time visiting Amana Colonies! Wonderful little shops. Things made local & antiques

Pit Bob

There's probably no place that epitamizes the character, sense of community and workmanship with the purpose of displaying artistry and a desire to present their work to God than do the people of Amana.

Tim Billups

Fun experience. Antiquing is the main focus. Good food shops but a little pricey.

Hayley Gerhard

Lovely little village. Very busy when the weathers nice. Bring a picnic or just eat at one of the restaurants.

Laura Atkins

A very nice German town

Charmayne Bates

Great mini vacation

Cathy Jo Dolgner

I would recommend taking your family here. Be sure to take the van tour and tip Kirby well. He is a deep well of knowledge about the area. Tour the museum to get a a brief history about the area. Beautiful countryside veiws.

Theresa Smith

Loved it!! Shops are VERY EXPENSIVE!!!! I bought 6 turtles and 4 chocolate covered cherries and it was over $30!!!! I almost fell out!!! Delicious, but I'll not buy from the Chocolate Haus again----

Melissa Aymond

Relaxing and fun place to visit. Unique experience. So many different things to do and see. Lots of history. Wonderful restaurants.

Kristina Clayton

I always have a great time visiting the Colonies!!

Neena Chaudhry-Willis

Brought kids to show them. They felt it was commercialized. We did some shopping. Enjoyed a wonderful meal at Ox Yoke Inn and got fudge and coffee. Everyone enjoyed and had a good time.

Chenxin Han

really nice place

Elizabeth Schlichte

It's great to visit. Touristy but Ackermann winery and the Meat Shop are wonderful

Doc King

SWMBO has family connections here so we stopped for several hours. Nice place to visit and everything I looked at in the shops was reasonably priced.

Sue-Ellen Haas

This was a fun and interesting place to visit. An old German colony at first, now it is a quaint place to visit and to learn about German culture. Lots and lots of German-specific shops, restaurants and cultural-historical places to visit. There is also a free map available of The Amanas showing what is located where so you can better plan your visit.

Catrina

Cool shops, wineries, and history in this area. Glad I visited once, but not something I want to really see again.

Scott Jones

On the way home from a family vacation we stopped for lunch with intention of browsing around. With preschooler and dog we were expecting to grab take out lunch and eat in a city park, which we often do on such trips. But, surprising for a small town in the heartland, there was no charming city park with picnic tables, playground, etc. And it took fifty minutes to get take away lunch, which used up all our patience and energy. Definitely not a family friend stop.

Elizabeth Pardi

Only spent a day here a wish we had spent more. Many shops to explore and historical displays. People were very welcoming. Think of it as Williamsburg without the attitude.

Jan Franks

The history and traditions are amazing! I first came here with my parents. A great place for any age and taste!

Linda Brown

Awesome! I love it and will return soon.

Brian Blankenburg

We came here to enjoy our 10th anniversary. It was what we needed.

Kathy drader

Great place to visit.

Robert Miller

Nice place to eat at and walk around you can spend hours there and You would not feel as if you had wasted your time

Austin Wells

Wonderful and quiet idyllic town perfect for relaxing low key shopping for highly overpriced delicious and rich foods and beautiful local art

Blanca L-J

Always good shopping & eating experience.

Geoff Rostan

Always enjoy a visit to Amana. Interesting shops and antiques plus delicious food makes this a great destination.

Anna Plathe

Lots of fun, and great food. I thought the place was a little expensive, but if you go to the right shops you can get a decent price.

Jeffrey Svarverud

Wurst, beer, beautiful cars and a wonderful beautiful woman almost heaven. The Amana colonies were awesome today. The Wurst festival was packed and a wonderful event. The Porches were beautiful but heads still turned as we were in the Jaguar. Cold beer and Wurst with mustard and sauerkraut, hard to beat for a summer day.

Robin Zierden

Was interesting place to visit,lots of history and old homes and businesses.

Shar Wakefield

Great place for families to meet up at and have a wonderful meal.

Fred Kurzweil

I have always enjoyed visiting here. Especially the ox yoke restaurant. I took my daughter here a couple of years ago and she loved it too. We will always come back anytime we're traveling through Iowa.

Linnette Murphy

We love to come to the Amana Colonies. Awesome food at Oxbow Inn and fun shopping.

Ron Ridgway

We were very disappointed. It was nothing like we expected. I expected to walk down the main street and see artisans working at their crafts. No such thing. The museum had nothing but books out on display. We went to the bakery to find that it was closed because a tour group had stopped and bought everything. In the woodmaking factory, everything is very expensive. A wooden spoon was $40. Really?

Dave Chambers

Step back in time. Delightful commu city. Worth the trip.

Lenn Heighes

Lots of fun to wander through the shops. The Christmas room is amazing

Matthew Rairden

I've grown up around here but still enjoy coming for the seasonal events every year or just to walk around the stores on the weekend. Maifest, Wurstfest & Oktoberfest are the best.

Rebekah Sather

Fun place to visit for relaxed shopping.

Amber Tew

We enjoy walking around and looking at the beautiful buildings and shops! The food around town never disappoints!!

Kim20ization

Always love coming her for the festivals. We always come for our Christmas ornaments here. Lots of good food and people.

Destiny Jensen

We came just before the wineries closed and the employees were very helpful and didnt mind us coming in so late! We came from Minnesota and I really must say that I enjoy how the staff interacted with my daughter! Definitely on my list of places to go the next time I come to Iowa!

dyane daoud

I Love the Colonies!! Fun and Family!

Thomas Dorch

Great Food, friendly people, many wonderful trinkets for everyone !!

dawn harriott

I love the colonies!!! There's always something new to discover there. I think the restaurants are a little overpriced but overall they are great in atmosphere and service. If you like wine Ackerman's has wine slushies that are great! I love spending the day there just walking around and looking on the shops.

Karen Van Dusseldorp

Had lunch and shopping. What a wonderful afternoon with family

Blake Martin

Great family style food restaurants. The shops have unique finds that are quality made.

Daniel Mercy

Lots of awesome little stores. The meat market and brewery are AMAZING! Everything is within walking distance and prices of goods aren't bad at all.

Steve

Really cool place to see, a ton of shops (just ask my wife), a lot of sights, a lot of history, some interesting, some sad. But really good food and I would surely visit again !

Sarah Stav

Loved the history and handmade gifts

J. Morrison

A great place to spend the day in the shops and museums. Several great places to grab a bite to eat as well as fantastic fudge, popcorn and baked goods. Pick up some local wine also.

AKA KHavens

Old style buildings. Fudge, candy, popcorn shops of all sorts, antiques, leather, Xmas decorations wall to wall. Great food. Make time to walk around. Maybe 2 days to see everything.

Teddy Smithson

AMAZING PEOPLE, GREAT SHOPS !!! CERTAINLY worth the time...

James Czajkoski

Nice place to spend a few hours browsing and for lunch or dinner

Kathy Mason

Interesting shops with history. Friendly staff in all shops we visited. Will return in the future.

Ray J

Always love to wander, but mostly get some fabulous wine at Ackermans.

Karl Kilian

Great little communities with much German tradition. Plenty of shops to browse.

kathleen robinson

The Amana Colonies Popcorn and Sweet Shop has reopened with a new owner. It is now a family run business. They're making changes and updating the place every week it seems. This weekend they had fun popcorn flavors for Halloween such as Witches Brew. Stephen, the owner, developed a yummy Pumpkin Pie flavor that is light and fresh... not overloaded with spices...

papafreshly

Maifest was a lot of fun! Plenty of places to shop at, good wine to sample, music, food and beer!

Travel Album

Interesting National Historic Landmarks and America's longest lived communal societies.

SW MOJO

Just a fun place to visit. Clean. Friendly. Great wine!!

Gail Schwartzkopf

Will be going back to visit again. The shops were quaint. Loved the food at Ox Yoke Inn.

Michael Kowalson

What once was a beautiful and eclectic colony of shops and products has become on overly commercialized charicature of history. What once was nostalgic is near farcical. The Midwest leather store is full of products from overseas and in most shops there is little to nothing locally made on the colonies any more. There are certainly a few hidden gems amongst the madness such as the quilting and weaving stores but otherwise, even the pie in the restaurants now used whipped topping instead of real ingredients. If you are looking for a more authentic experience, you may wish to try the Kelona colonies further south.

Melissa Kerr

We love to visit the Amanas. Always a fun time for the whole family.

L Washburn

So many interesting things to see. Great German traditional food. You've got to see The Barn Museum and eat at Ronnesburg Restaurant.

Sheryl J Brooks

Nice except all buildings separate and cold going each place outside

WJ Poduska

Great place to visit. Good food and great shops.

Ginny Murray

I'd need a day to fully enjoy everything here.

Dee Anne Ubben

May fest was such fun...music, May pole dances, great food, and so many nice visitors.

D Pedro

Very quaint place. It's wirth the detour off I-80 to stop in and check it out. We were there around 6:30 pm and the shops were closed. It would have been even better had we been there earlier.

Drivebywire222

Beautiful area! People are very friendly, with the trip from the QC's. Lots of foodie choices, beautiful landscapes and little shops. Will return every year, especially for the wine!

Christine Baker

I was disappointed that there were no real Amish made items for sale. Just stuff that is made in China, that I could get off Amazon. Cute town though.

Davis Dawson

4-stars because Amana people are cool, but I wouldn't necessarily drive across the country to see it.

Roger Cameron

Great place to visit and great shops even for a disabled vet

Steven Feltes

It's always a nice place to visit,dine and shop.

Irene Messer

A comfortable walk through a small European village with old time shops and great treats. The Ronneburg German restaurant was a must see as were the Christmas store, the general store, the ice cream shop,and the butcher shop.

John Winter

Fun day trip, great food options. Lots to do and see

Paul Donelson

I think we've purchased almost a half of all the types of furniture the Amana Furniture Store makes. We just bought a nice Cooper desk from them and they helped me load it into our Escape.

cheryl haezebroeck

A favorite spot to visit with plenty of good options for food, and shopping, and really nice people too.

Kristin Raudabaugh

Always a fun trip! Loved all the little shops, some antique vendors where over priced but sometimes they're that way. Tasty treats, only found restrooms in 2 buildings.

Ruth Tatone

Always enjoyable shops, bakeries, restaurants, and lovely German ancestry folks to visit with.

Kendra Smith

Still fun to go to but compared to 30 years ago, so few businesses.

Justin Arner

It's a unique place with many things to try

Cara S

Beautiful little town. We will definitely be going back. I love the little shops and the owners were all so nice!

Tamala Mitchell

Fun place good food.

Angela Harris

Employee at visitor center was very uninterested in providing info on the village. Simply said we have restaurants stores and trails. Very disappointing bought a Christmas ornament and left.

X-MAN Extreme

They are wonderful people and have many wonderful things to see or buy

tammy clark

Good foods,noce drive, pleasant people. Lots of handmade things to purchase

Lynn Hagen

Great food, Quality Products, Educational Information on German Heritage, and Natural Beauty

Tod Neidt

Lived here. Loved it. Visit here. Loved it. Plus refrigerators.

Kathy Anderson

Didn't see many hand crafted items. Was disappointed that the stores mostly had items I could buy at home in Kansas. But the area was pretty and we'll kept.

Rebecca Montague

The van tour we took was very informative. Worth the price. It helped me understand the colonies and how unique they are. They have a rich history.

Brad Clark

I enjoy the no pressure shopping and the family style food at the Ox Yoke.

Rory Deal

Nice quaint place. Every store is an antique store. Nice wineries and brew

Dee Dean

This is an amazing area to explore. Lots of great stores and restaurants. Love Ox Yoke. Great food, prices and awesome wait staff. Thank you!!

seamuszharper

Several small shops with local handmade goods. A little pricey but a nice place to visit and take in some history. Some good deals can be found depending on what your looking for.

Mathias Miles

Loved the Noble stone store the winery and cheese shops. Great little shop and walk experience.

Bill Doering

Very Kool place to stop for a day trip or a getaway, we took the bus tour, $20 each, stopped 4 times and driven to 5 of the 6 colonies. It was very educational.

Jodi Hoke

Great place to buy gifts and explore.

Carol Skillen

This Pizzeria is the best. We tried 4 types of pizza...all amazing. Best Red Sauce ever! Friendly and Fun which is also important to us. We were in town from Omaha NE and plan on going all the way back SOON just to try other items. While there I heard one customer say, "BEST PIZZA I ever tasted." WE AGREE!

Patricia Briggs

We had a great time, so much to see.

Frances Brown

Nice little German historic tourist area. Good food and nice speciality shops. Wonderful way to spend a leasure day.

William Sanford

Good to visit. Wonderful restaurants. Recommend.

Christina Coghill

Very quaint town. Lots of shops to spend your $ at

Debra Yanz

Always fun to come here.

Nathan Templeton

This trip was long.. Really long from TX.. The only thing here? Do your homework. We only saw a piece of it all.. You really need to do your homework to see it all.

Taren Hollister

Fun place with a great variety of places and things. Good food too.

Nicole Gepson

Lots of antique shops,wineries, gift shops. A beautiful area to walk around and browse.

Eric Braun

First time visit to the Colonies and I can easily say I will definitely be going back again.

bylle benton

Been waiting to go for quite a while and had high expectations. First found out there is hardly any parking for a large RV. So we had to walk a lot to try to see everything. Found most the items are not made by local people , but by Taiwan and China. Bought some wine what was overpriced and I have not sample the bottles I brought home. Bought some chocolate that was good but was way over priced. The bakery did not have any German bread, it was breads and pastries you can buy at any good pastry shop. We ate ate the OX **** my husband had the meatloaf witch was good, I had the sauerbraten I can make better sauerbraten, the potatoes dumpling were hard, my desert of chocolate cake, Betty Crocker box cakes are better. Have to give credit to the waitress, she was efficient and friendly. The people at the front desk were not. The worst part of the eating was they made you sit and wait for 30 minutes without adequate seating, while their were empty tables in the dining room. I guess you can say a bad experience, and we will not be back, save your money there is nothing authentic German here.

b dunn

Lots of fun shopping even for non-shoppers. Plenty of beer and bike riding for the rest of us.

Bill Toye

I love the Amannas The food is out of this world in a fun place to shop around

Carolina Roseboom

This is am Amazing German/Amish community. Lots of shops and amazing food and souvenirs. Highly recommended

Cynthia Golden

My favorite place to visit. Great food options, shopping and more! Too many great stores to mention and history of the unique colony.

Mass Boredom

Fun place to go spend an afternoon with my family.

Joseph Komadina

A short way from Cedar Rapids, and a world away in culture. A wonderful place to experience a real sense of American history.

Kandace Hummel

Stopped and had lunch and walked around. Quick trip from the hiway. Some beautiful artwork, great food, worth the trip. We are planning to go back and stay and spend more time!

Jeromy Hingst

Almost as good as when I was a kid, but the quality of the food at the old inn has dropped a bit with the new owners tweaks to German cuisine

Valerie Miller

Really fun place to visit, great meat and wine markets.

Damian Butler-Buccilli

A great tourist destination with enormous amounts of history and culture and places to shop and experience. Highly recommend.

Jessi Gearhart

Beautiful place to go with your family and friends

Gloria Gardner

Good food and great place to buy clothes

Jay Selzer

Live music, great food, awesome atmosphere

Debi Dressel

I totally enjoyed going through their quaint little shops. If you like looking for antiques this is the place to go. The Ox Yolk Inn was always a great place to eat, but, we did not have time to go there, maybe the next time we go we could eat there.

Lawrence Kellner

It really cool

John Sedan

Great little village to shop and eat. Can easily spend a day there walking and shopping.

Jane Olson

Very informative. Go to this place first to get information. Take the van tour if you can.

Sandy Streeter

Always a great vacation spot. All the stores are neat special shops.

Lynda Mathre

I love visiting. I always seem to see something new everytime!

Daniela Acevedo

The places are very cute and they sold good food.

Dennis Skiver

Love visiting this place unique shops