Farm Holidays

Farm holidays on the Baltic Sea are playing an increasingly important role in family vacations. Over the past few decades, what began as a stopgap for farms in the coastal and inland regions of the Baltic that were under economic pressure has developed into an entirely new holiday category. Farm holidays bring together a new openness among farms—one of the world’s oldest industries—and city dwellers’ longing for unspoiled nature.

Farm holidays offer guests plenty of freedom of choice, since, first and foremost, the accommodation is a holiday apartment like any other. But anyone interested in the daily routine on a livestock farm, who would like to milk cows and drink fresh-from-the-barn milk or ride spirited horses, will have few other opportunities to do so. In some places, you can even earn a “farmer’s diploma.”

A farm holiday is pure romance. It has nothing to do with (unintentionally) spartan living conditions, and it is becoming ever more popular. The spaciousness of the farms and activities “out on the farm” guarantee a stress-free, relaxing stay, particularly for families with young children and older kids alike. Of course, you could also spend a night in a “hay hotel” or park your own motorhome at a farm.

While the long-established farms in Schleswig-Holstein have often developed joint package deals, there are currently only a few providers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where large-scale agriculture predominates. So-called “agrotourism” along the Polish Baltic coast has been expanding steadily, particularly since Poland joined the EU in 2004.

Photo: J.-P. Seitz/pixelio.de (above), S. Hofschlager/pixelio.de (below)