Drive up and young animals
The livestock goes out to pasture, calves and lambs stand in the barn.
Farming & sustainability
Why guests want to experience real farming
The barn next door, the tractor in the morning, the question of whether you may help with the haymaking: for many, that is exactly the holiday – not the extra on top.
01 · The wish
Not a backdrop, but a working farm
Whoever books a hut on a farm rarely just wants to sleep quietly. The real appeal is that something happens here that wasn't invented for guests: animals that have to be fed. Weather that decides the day's schedule. People who can explain why the meadow is being mowed right now.
That cannot be replicated. A holiday park can do pool and wellness, but not a barn at six in the morning. That is exactly why the farm works as a holiday place – not although work is done there, but because work is done there.
02 · Through the year
When you experience what
A farm doesn't have a season, it has a rhythm. Depending on when you come, you see something completely different.
Hay harvest and Alm
When the weather is right, mowing happens – often from early to late. Up top, alpine dairying is done.
Drive down and stores
The livestock comes down to the valley; stores are laid in, preserves made, meat smoked.
What is ripe in which month and what you may gather yourself is in the seasonal calendar and under forest gold.
03 · With children
The best place to learn there is
At the farm, children understand in three days what schoolbooks need a semester for: that milk comes from an animal that has to be fed every day for it. That an egg doesn't come from the carton. That weather costs something.
No programme is needed for that. Being allowed to join in is enough – feeding, mending fences, collecting eggs. Just ask your host what's on right now.
04 · Honestly speaking
What you shouldn't expect
A farm is not a petting zoo. It smells, it is loud early, and in harvest week nobody has time for long conversations. That is exactly part of it – if you expect it, you'll have the nicer holiday.
And: not every farm offers everything. Some have barn visits, others just eggs to order. With each accommodation we write down what is really available instead of promising a blanket “farm experience”.
05 · Matching accommodations
Here you really are at the farm
On the farm
Barn, livestock and work are part of everyday life outside your door.
Child-friendly
Where helping out and watching are expressly welcome.
With farm products
What is made at the farm, you can take with you right away.
Once more, briefly
Frequently asked questions
May I watch the milking or feeding?
Usually yes, if you ask and stick to the times. The barn is a workplace – with an arrangement it almost always works, without one never.
Is this also something without children?
Very much so. Many couples book on a farm because it is quieter there than in any holiday resort – and because breakfast tastes better.
Doesn't the farm disturb the relaxation?
It starts early and is sometimes loud. But the bustle doesn't come from neighbours in a holiday house, it comes from work that has a purpose. If you really want to sleep, take a hut in a secluded location.
Can I help out?
Ask about it. Most are happy for help with haymaking, fence mending or egg collecting. Nobody can promise it in advance – it depends on the weather and the week.
Read on
The annual cycle of a mountain farm
Four very different years in one – depending on when you come.
Direct marketing
Why around 30,000 farms sell directly and what still counts as a primary product.
Family holidays
Huts where children experience something.
You run a farm and have a building standing empty?
That is exactly what these guests are looking for. We honestly write down what you offer – even if it is “only” eggs.