Cost of a Weekend in Shipshewana: What to Expect

By Angie & Jeff

August 25, 2026

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Our time in Shipshewana, IN was hosted by Visit Shipshewana. The words in this article and the opinions we share are 100% ours.

One of the things we love about Shipshewana is that you can experience the charm of Amish country without needing a huge travel budget. Whether you’re visiting for a simple weekend getaway or adding extra experiences, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the area while keeping costs reasonable.

Our Budget-Friendly Shipshewana Weekend: What We Would Expect to Spend

Lodging: Your Biggest Weekend Expense

We split our time in Shipshewana between the Blue Gate Garden Inn right in town and the Fairfield Inn about 20 miles away in Goshen, Indiana. We cover details about these stays as well as other options for lodging in our Where to Stay in Shipshewana article.

How much you spend on your weekend can swing wildly based on your lodging choice. If you can afford $120-160/night, then you can likely plan to stay in town at the Blue Gate Garden Inn. If you need to save a bit from these rates, there are more budget chain options in Goshen.

We managed to stay for our first two nights at the Fairfield Inn for $0.38 after using a travel credit card benefit we had saved. This isn’t always realistic for others to have the same credits saved, but hotels in Goshen can start lower at around $80/night and the presence of chains does open up using hotel rewards and points systems to defray costs more widely.

Also, as is always the case, the time of year or area events can increase these hotel rates significantly so check on rates before settling on dates. We often let the dates of our trips be determined by budget details like hotel rates on those dates.

Food: Plenty of Ways to Eat Well Without Overspending

Food is another place in your travels that you can greatly impact your overall spending budget. Whether you choose more picnics or more sit down meals can swing this part of your budget significantly.

We’re starting with the assumption that your hotel has a breakfast that you’re going to fuel up on as we always do. If that isn’t the case, we suggest picking up some locally made Amish goodies at night to enjoy for your breakfast each morning.

Shipshewana is a great place to grab some locally made goodies and enjoy a picnic to defray costs, if that’s of interest to you. We recommend checking out E & S Bulk Foods and Yoder’s Meat and Cheese to gather your supplies.

We noticed several day old items in the E & S bakery area that were all marked 50% off. We tried the day-old whoopie pies and we wouldn’t have ever known they weren’t fresh. We wish we could drive back right now to get some!

Shipshewana also offers several food options that operate with counter service leading to decreased costs in the tipping category for those meals. We have visited Ben’s Pretzels, JoJo’s Pretzels, and East of Chicago Pizza to name a few with this set-up.

We do recommend at least one sit down meal during your time in Shipshewana, two if your budget will allow. Those are to enjoy the delectable from scratch cooking of Shawna Rae at The Black Sheep and to try classic home-cooked Amish foods, including the famous Amish peanut butter at the Blue Gate Restaurant.

We have written a full guide Where to Eat in Shipshewana that we recommend you check out for all the can’t be missed food around the area.

Activities: Affordable Experiences Around Shipshewana

So much of experiencing Shipshewana doesn’t have to cost much. We enjoyed the scenery while driving the backroads between the Amish cottage industry businesses and picking up treats like Amish Kuntry Fried Pies and fresh milk to enjoy.

We also enjoyed strolling downtown and taking in the lovely flowers, murals, and stopping in area businesses. The carousel on the top floor of the Davis Mercantile was a must experience activity for us, but it only cost a couple of dollars a person.

If your budget allows, we do recommend you build in the funds to enjoy an Amish Buggy Ride from the stop right in downtown Shipshewana. This was among our favorite activities of the whole visit.

If you’re interested in exploring beyond Shipshewana or visiting over a Sunday, we suggest you check out our posts The Best Day Trips from Shipshewana and Unexpected Things to Do Near Shipshewana on Sunday. In those posts, we highlight several of our favorite experiences that we suggest you build into your budget like a float with Trading Post Outfitters and an outing to feed bison with Cook’s Buffalo Ranch.

Transportation and Extras: Costs to Keep in Mind

Unless you prefer to simply stroll the places in walking distance in Shipshewana, you’re going to be driving a bit from location to location so you will want to factor in your gas budget to Shipshewana and around during your visit.

Also, as you peruse local businesses and visit Amish cottage industries, you’ll probably want some cash on hand to purchase goodies and maybe a hand-made souvenir or two. Some Amish businesses accepted credit cards, but many offered on your honor pay-on-your-own systems that required cash and exact change, so having ones on hand was key for us getting our amazing Amish Kuntry Fried Pies!

Example Budget: A Two-Night Shipshewana Weekend for Two

A sample budget for two people for a weekend in Shipshewana might look something like this, pending your lodging choice:

We built this on the assumption that you’re staying for a Friday and Saturday night in Shipshewana, eating breakfast at your hotel, eating out at a sit down meal once and picnicking or grabbing counter service for the other meals, and splurging on some of the signature activities we cover in our Ultimate Things to Do in Shipshewana Guide like an Amish Buggy Tour and Bison Feeding, for example.

If you have the budget and want to splurge a bit more, you could obviously choose to spend more in all the categories.

And, on the flipside, if you want to keep costs lower, you could look at local camping options or drive from a nearby town to save on lodging and plan more picnics and free or low-cost activities to bring these costs down.

It’s a place that’s really easy to modify to your tastes and your budget!

Final Thoughts: You Don’t Need a Huge Budget to Enjoy Shipshewana

One of the reasons Shipshewana has become one of our favorite Midwest getaways is that it’s easy to tailor the experience to both your interests and your budget. Whether you spend your time exploring scenic backroads, sampling homemade Amish treats, browsing local shops, or splurging on a few memorable experiences, you can create a wonderful weekend without breaking the bank.

If you’re still planning your itinerary, be sure to check out our Ultimate Things to Do in Shipshewana Guide, where we’ve rounded up our favorite attractions, restaurants, and experiences to help you make the most of your visit.