Ben & Jerry’s Factory
4.5(13K)google
Factory TourInteractiveFamilyKidsLocal Favorite
Overview
Located in Waterbury, the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory is a whimsical and colorful culinary landmark that attracts ice cream lovers from all over the globe. Guided tours offer a fun look at the manufacturing room, detailing the brand's eccentric history and progressive community activism. The journey culminates at the Scoop Shop with exclusive flavors and a poignant visit to the famous outdoor Flavor Graveyard, honoring discontinued favorites.
Practical Info
Every day10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Suggested Duration1.5-2.5 hours
Best TimeThe world's premier year-round indoor ice cream repository and processing plant, outstanding for any season. Pre-booking the earliest 10:00 AM timed-entry factory production tour online on a non-holiday weekday is highly recommended; early slots grant you crowd-free standing room on the elevated glass glass catwalks to watch mixing vats.
Getting ThereSituated in Waterbury at 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Rd along the primary VT-100 N corridor. Driving is exceptionally efficient: ride Interstate 89 to exit 10, and travel straight north along Route 100 for 1 mile. The ice cream mecca's landmark cow-themed paint job and grand signage are impossible to miss, featuring an enormous free visitor plaza.
Travel Tips
- Factory tour tickets operate via rolling online presales with near-zero daily walk-up availability; secure slots 2 to 3 weeks out during peak summer and foliage.
- The outdoor Flavor Graveyard and Scoop Shop queue are free to access, but daytime parking overflows; RVs must strictly utilize the marked long stalls at the back.
- The production floor does not operate on weekends, holidays, or during maintenance cycles; tours booked on those days consist solely of video presentations.
Reviews
Positive
- The ice cream factory tour process is incredibly fun; you get to see the famous production lines and visit the 'Flavor Graveyard' on the hill, offering high entertainment value.
- The staff here are exceptionally warm and full of humor; the factory features a massive free lot, and accessible ramps fully cover the ticket office and tour routes.
- The entire complex's crowd control is highly organized; flow management for the tours and lines for buying scoops are professional, keeping the site spotless even when busy.
- The admission fee is very affordable and includes a free scoop sample; the exclusive factory-only ice cream flavors are fairly priced, making it a highly cost-effective family trip.
Heads up
- As a super viral big-name attraction in the East Coast, the over-commercialized atmosphere is heavy, and secondary spending prompts in the gift shop and main scoop shop are everywhere.
- During peak summer and weekend afternoons, visitor density is shockingly high; waiting in line to buy specific ice cream scoops easily tops half an hour, making the crowd exhausting.
- The basic indoor assembly line tour is very short with only about 15 minutes of narrative; moreover, weekend factory shutdowns force you to watch video clips on screens, causing a gap from expectations.
- Sited right next to a busy highway artery, cars moving in and out of the lot cause localized traffic jams during peak times, and it lacks comprehensive multilingual signs.