Got a Sweet Tooth? Put These Factory Tours on Your Travel List

Those with a serious sweet tooth—like me—aren’t above planning an entire vacation around a favorite dessert, especially if it means tasting it right where it’s made. In fact, I once organized a trip to Vermont around a stop at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory. My boyfriend at the time was equal parts amused and bewildered. “You know,” he said dryly, “they sell that ice cream at the grocery store.”

While that relationship didn’t last, my devotion to sweets certainly has. Over the years, it’s had me daydreaming about confectionery pilgrimages across the country to destinations where sugar and nostalgia collide in the best possible way. Even my husband, who—tragically—doesn’t care for sweets, understands why such places send his dessert-obsessed wife and their young daughter into sugar-fueled squeals—and happily, he indulges us.

Perhaps one of these five sweet factory tours might inspire your next road trip.

Ben & Jerry’s Factory | Waterbury, Vermont

Located about a 30-minute drive from Burlington, Vermont, this nirvana for ice cream lovers churns out 350,000 pints per day. The 30-minute guided tours at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory let you watch production in action while you learn about the history and humble beginnings of this globally beloved treat. To sweeten the experience, you’ll also get a sample at the end of the tour (with non-dairy and vegan options available).

But if a sample isn’t enough for you, as it wasn’t for me, then go big: Stop by the on-site Scoop Shop to indulge in the Vermonster, a colossal sundae made with 20 scoops of ice cream and topped with hot fudge, bananas, cookies, and brownies. Afterward, stroll through the on-site Flavor Graveyard, where retired Ben & Jerry’s flavors such as Wavy Gravy, Vermonty Python, and Rainforest Crunch (a.k.a. the “dearly de-pinted”) are memorialized with humorously kitschy headstones.

Hershey’s Chocolate World | Hershey, Pennsylvania

A day at Hershey’s Chocolate World might just be the sweetest field trip you’ll ever take. Located less than a two-hour drive fromPhiladelphia, the attraction kicks things off with the 30-minute Chocolate Tour, a slow-moving sit-down ride that takes visitors through a simulated chocolate factory experience. It showcases the steps of chocolate candy production, from the harvesting of the cocoa bean to the wrapped candy bar. Along the way, you’ll smell roasting cocoa and watch hundreds of Hershey’s Kisses pass by on factory-style conveyor belts. At the end, you’ll receive a complimentary chocolate sample.

But the tour is only the beginning. There are other chocolate-themed experiences to try. Hershey’s Unwrapped is an interactive theater show that teaches you to savor chocolate using all five senses—with a tasting kit in hand. Hop aboard Hershey’s Great Candy Expedition, an immersive train-themed theater adventure where the audience helps decide which candy lands—such as Kisses Valley, Jolly Rancher Junction, or Reese’s Ridge—they will “visit.” Or try Create Your Own Candy Bar: Choose ingredients, watch your creation glide down a mini factory line, and design a custom wrapper.

My vote for your finale: a Hershey’s chocolate milkshake, followed by stocking up on favorites at the on-site store—such as a classic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or an Almond Joy, Kit Kat, or Hershey bar—to take home. After all, if you’re going to spend a day surrounded by chocolate, you might as well commit.

Jelly Belly Factory | Fairfield, California

I still remember my first visit to the Jelly Belly factory just north of Chicago as a teenager—completely dazzled by the rainbow-colored spectacle of jelly beans in every imaginable hue. While that Midwest factory has since closed, jelly bean fans can still get their sugar rush at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, about an hour’s drive from San Francisco.

Start with a guided or self-guided walk along the factory lane—a quarter-mile walkway overlooking the production floor—where interactive, multisensory exhibits reveal how the tiny candies are made. You can also hop aboard the Jelly Belly Express train, which stops at the Jelly Belly Museum, where you’ll dive further into the company’s history and the more than 100 flavors produced there.

Before you leave, visit the Jelly Bean Art Gallery, where thousands of the colorful candies are arranged to recreate everything from classic paintings such as American Gothic and the Mona Lisa to portraits of Harry Potter characters and comic-book superheroes.

Spangler Candy World | Bryan, Ohio

The small town of Bryan, about an hour’s drive west of Toledo, feels like a step back in time—the kind of place where Main Street charm and old-fashioned sweets go hand in hand. Fittingly, it’s home to Spangler Candy Company, maker of nostalgic treats such as Dum-Dums, Necco Wafers, Sweethearts, Bit-O-Honey, and candy canes.

Spangler Candy World invites you to explore the history and production of its sweets in a colorful space filled with displays, interactive games, and even a Sweetheart Chapel perfect for an Instagram moment. A short movie takes you inside the factory to show how candy is made, including the moment when a 150-pound batch of candy mixture into nearly 14,000 Dum-Dums lollipops.

After your visit, stroll charming Bryan to spot two landmarks that pay tribute to the town’s candy-making heritage: the Dum-Dums Water Tower and a 90-foot-long Andy Warhol-inspired mural celebrating the iconic lollipop.

PEZ Visitor Center | Orange, Connecticut

PEZ was born in Austria in 1927—its name derived from the German word for peppermint, Pfefferminz. But the flip-top PEZ dispenser as we know it didn’t debut until 1949, launching what would become a pop-culture phenomenon and a serious collector obsession.

At the PEZ Visitor Center in Orange, about a 20-minute drive from New Haven, fans can explore a 4,000-square-foot space dedicated to all things PEZ. Viewing windows into the production area allow you to see where 12 million candy tablets are produced each day. The center also displays the world’s largest collection of PEZ memorabilia.

Among the highlights: a life-size custom PEZ-themed motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers, the world’s largest PEZ dispenser (a 14-foot-7-inch-tall PEZ Boy that dispenses an oversized "candy" at the push of a button), and the largest collection of PEZ memorabilia on public display, including vintage dispensers, advertising, toys, and rare collectibles. An interactive scavenger hunt gives visitors the chance to win a special PEZ dispenser and candy prize—because leaving empty-handed would be a little hard to swallow.

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I hope I’ve convinced you that a truly sweet journey needn’t be relegated to your grocery store’s ice cream or candy aisle—not when sugar-filled factory tours like these exist across the country. Consider it permission to plan your next road trip around dessert.