Agro tourism isn’t for everybody, but if you love country living, it may be an ideal vacation for you. Agro tourism is available world-wide—everywhere there are farms. It’s a wonderful way to learn about rural lifestyles and to support local farmers.
There are several kinds of agro tourism vacations. You can stay on a farm just to enjoy country life. You can take a working vacation, and try your hand at farm chores. You can also take an educational vacation, where you learn specific agricultural techniques.
Enjoying the Country Life
Agro tourism is wonderful for family vacations. Children love seeing the animals and learning where food comes from. You usually stay in a farm house or a bunk house, and often take meals with the farm family. You generally have plenty of time for relaxing or sight seeing. Some farm vacations include special activities, such as horseback riding, hayrides and bonfires.
It’s polite to help out with chores. You may not know how to milk a cow, but you can probably make your own bed or load the dishwasher.
Working Vacation
Many people enjoy agro tourism working vacations. It feels good to work physically with plants and animals. It gives you a chance to see if you would enjoy farm life permanently—it’s harder work than most people think it is.
When you schedule a working farm vacation, it’s important to communicate clearly with your host. Make sure you understand exactly what is expected of you. Let your host know if you need instruction for any of the chores you are assigned.
Learning Vacation
Another great reason to take an agro tourism vacation is to learn something. You may be interested in organic gardening, or raising draft horses. An agro vacation can be arranged with an expert in the area you want to know more about.
You learn about people on farm vacation, too. You can take a farm vacation to Central America and learn how climate changes are affecting the lives of rural people there. You can take a farm vacation to Rawanda and learn how people are continuing to recover from the war. You can take a farm vacation to Iowa and learn about the challenges of American farmers.
Agro tourism tends to be less expensive than commercial tourism, but it requires more of you. You stay with hosts who are usually working farmers. You learn about their lifestyle, and about who they are, and why they love farming. You’re usually expected to participate and help out, at least a little. You aren’t an observer on a farm vacation, you’re a “do-er.”