Farmstay holidays travel guide

Farmstay holidays became on trend a few years ago when ‘glamping’ went global. However, farmstays – or agrotourism, as it is known in many parts of the world – were in many ways the pioneers of tourism.

Farmers were early founders of rural bed and breakfasts where you had eggs straight from the coop and milk still reassuringly warm. Kibbutz farms in Israel have been hosting international travellers for years. Organic farms have segued smoothly and sustainably into the slow travel scene. And of course, good old fashioned campsites have long been the domain of farmers. This farmstay holidays guide reveals a whole new world of farmstays, however. Ones that have caught up with the times, catering for everyone – the urban green welly brigade, growing numbers of eco minded families, or all travellers who recognise a need for us all to get back to nature. While contributing to the livelihoods of the people who sustain us every day with food. Our farmers.

Read more in our farmstay holidays travel guide.

Farmstay holidays are fundamentally about connecting travellers back to the land. Whether it is by teaching them about organic farming, sharing the products of their passion, or pointing people in the right direction to discover the environs that responsible farmers are passionate about sustaining. They will have detailed maps of nearby hiking routes or books about local biodiversity, from birdlife to bees, flowers to forests. And in so many cases, the farm kitchen door is always open to those who love to break the bread and share the banter.

Many of our farmstays are organic, especially in the UK where the Soil Association label is prolific in tourism. They often include a gastronomic or horticultural aspect. Bake bread in a wood fired oven in Tuscany, help out in the vegetable garden in Andalucia, have a dairy filled delight of a breakfast at a dairy farm in the Peak District, or learn biodynamic gardening skills a in the Algarve.

Farmstays are wonderful at providing not only maps of the local area for long walks or cycles, but also local insight into all the secret spots, such as the mountains of Andalucia’s Grazalema Natural Park where you will hardly meet another soul. Cycle the Tarka Trail on a converted railway line in Devon. Serious hikers will bask in the sublimities of the Algarve’s Serra de Monchique mountains, or explore the ancient trails of Ithaca, with an organic picnic basket to relish in the shade of an olive grove.

Although farmstay holidays are, in themselves, perfect places to switch the mind off from life pressures, some also offer specific mindfulness holidays. Pilates and yoga before your organic breakfast on the Greek island of Ithaca, followed by a swim in the Med is wellness at its most wonderful. Or meditation classes by the river up in the Algarve mountains or Spanish Pyrenees will definitely transport you to another world.