Farm Charm Getaways: What Is It and Where Can You Experience This New Trend?

There’s a new trend emerging in the travel scene, attracting younger travelers seeking a more outdoor-focused and immersive type of vacation. A recent Expedia survey found 84 percent of polled travelers expressed interest in staying on or near a farm, while Vrbo found guests searching for farm-related experiences skyrocketed by 300 percent year over year.

The trend, called farm charm, involves hands-on horticulture experiences at properties around the world, which travelers incorporate into their stays. So, where can you find exceptional farm charm stays and experiences?

© Hotel AWA

Take Part in a Spring Harvest in Patagonia, Chile

At Hotel AWA in northern Patagonia, spring means its organic gardens yield their first harvests, and you can experience first-hand what a harvest entails. After, you’ll have the chance to cook what you harvest in a hands-on cooking class using ingredients gathered, paired with Chilean wines, of course.

© Palazzo di Varignana

Try This Horticulture Experience in Bologna, Italy

Palazzo di Varignana just launched a brand-new Day at the Farm experience, available to all guests, where you begin the day with a spring planting workshop on a rural farm, learning horticultural skills, collecting fresh eggs and milking goats. You’ll then go on a guided trek through the property’s vineyards. And for guests wishing to go even further, villa guests can book the Taste of the Land experience, which adds an EVOO masterclass and private, in-villa pasta-making class.

© Walk Japan

Rehabilitate Rice Fields in Japan

Walk Japan offers unique tours that not only take travelers through rural Japan but also include the chance for travelers to join in its Community Project, which helps local communities as the Japanese population grows older and local farmers can no longer tend to their land in the same way. Walk Japan took over a rice farm after the original farmers could no longer continue on their own, and Walk Japan now works to recover and rehabilitate rice fields to bring them back into production.

© Aarunya

Harvest Cinnamon in Sri Lanka

On the hills outside Kandy, Aarunya Nature Resort lets guests engage directly with Ceylon cinnamon. Unlike the powdered supermarket staple, true Ceylon cinnamon is delicately hand-peeled from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum verum tree, an artisanal skill passed down through generations. Under the guidance of a local expert, you’ll learn to strip, scrape and roll the fragrant bark into quills.

Following Coffee’s Journey from Bean to Cup in Tanzania

A stay at Arusha Coffee Lodge (yes, it’s even in the name) entails the chance to join an immersive coffee tour, where you’ll walk through the full bean-to-cup journey, beginning the anatomy of the plant, learn the differences between Arabica and Robusta, the various stages of growth, and how drying and roasting methods change the final flavor. Additionally, during harvest season, you can also pick ripe red cherries!

© Spier Wine Farm

Experience a Self-Harvest Day in Stellenbosch, South Africa

Spier Hotel and Wine Farm is rooted in regenerative agriculture, and the property invites guests to see its growing practices without pesticides or artificial fertilizers on morning tours in the Spier Food Garden. You’ll also get to pick seasonal fruit, herbs and vegetables.