2025 Recap – A Year of Slowing Down
A year that asked a simple question
What if travelling less, slower, and closer was not a limitation — but a gain?
Farmtravel began in 2025 as a place for rural stays and a slower way of travelling, built on more than 25 years of experience from Bauernhofurlaub.de. Not as a loud statement, not as a manifesto shouted into the travel noise, but as a quiet question. One that kept coming back, article after article, place after place.
Do we really need to go far to feel something? Do we really need speed to feel alive?
From movement to meaning
Looking back at the stories we shared in 2025, one pattern is impossible to miss: travel stopped being about movement, and started being about presence.
Slow travel wasn’t treated as a trend, but as a practice. Staying longer. Doing less. Letting places unfold instead of consuming them. Trains and ferries became part of the story again — not dead time, but anticipation. That quiet excitement before arrival. The kind you don’t get when everything is rushed.
Some readers wrote to us saying the best part of their trip was the journey itself. That’s not nostalgia. That’s a shift.
Short breaks, real impact
Another theme returned again and again: the power of short stays. Two nights. Three days. Enough to reset, not enough to escape.
Science backs it, yes — but more importantly, life does too. A farm just two train stops away. A guesthouse you always drove past without noticing. These “small” trips turned out to be surprisingly big. Less planning, less pressure, fewer expectations — and somehow, more space.
We talked about zero-kilometre holidays not as a slogan, but as a mindset. Because sometimes sustainability starts with looking around, not outward.
What 2025 taught us
People are not trying to escape the world anymore. They are trying to return to it. To presence. To texture.
Regions that taught us something
2025 was also about listening to places.
The Alps showed how tradition survives through rhythm — alpine farming, seasonal movement, work tied to altitude and weather.
Italy reminded us that an agriturismo is not a concept, but a legal and cultural commitment: farming first, hosting second.
The islands — Sardinia, Elba, Corsica — taught us that distance protects things. Language, habits, patience. Even the word continent became a lesson in tempo, not geography.
In the UK and France, we explored quiet resistance: cottages without Wi-Fi, farms where nothing is polished, kitchens where food takes time. Not curated silence — real silence. Sometimes awkward. Sometimes perfect.
Imperfection as a value
One of the clearest signals from our readers was this: perfection is no longer convincing.
- A rooster that crows too early.
- A muddy path after rain.
- Slow Wi-Fi — or none at all.
These were not complaints. They were often the highlight.
We wrote about digital detox not as a rule, but as a relief. About the strange contrast between tourists filming everything and locals simply… being there. Rural travel emerged as a small, quiet act of resistance. Against speed. Against performance. Against the need to document every moment.
From movement to meaning
Trains and ferries became part of the story again — not dead time, but anticipation. That quiet excitement before arrival.
Sustainability, without illusions
If there was one area where 2025 demanded honesty, it was sustainability.
We didn’t soften the facts: flights dominate a holiday’s carbon footprint. Avoiding even one flight a year matters. Labels can mislead. “Eco” can be cosmetic. A dry garden in summer might be a sign of care, not neglect.
The most sustainable places were often the least polished ones. Family-run farms that show you where the water comes from. How waste is handled. Why some things are limited.
Less comfort. More clarity.
What 2025 taught us
Looking back, the strongest insight is this: people are not trying to escape the world anymore.
They are trying to return to it. To presence. To texture. To places where life is still slightly inconvenient — and therefore real.
Farmtravel in 2025 wasn’t about offering answers. It was about holding space for better questions.
Looking ahead to 2026
2026 won’t be louder. It won’t be faster. It will go deeper.
More stories from the margins. More voices of hosts, not headlines. More attention to how travel changes us — not how it looks.
If 2025 was the year we slowed down, 2026 will be the year we stay with it.
And see what grows.
Frequently asked questions
Farmtravel focused on rural stays, slow travel, and more conscious ways of exploring Europe.
Instead of chasing destinations, 2025 was about staying longer, moving slower, and noticing what usually slips by — a quiet path, a shared meal, time without urgency.
Slow travel answered a growing need for presence, reduced stress, and deeper connection to places.
People were tired of rushing. Trains felt better than flights, ferries better than highways. Not because they were faster — but because they allowed anticipation, silence, even boredom. And that turned out to be healthy.
Yes. Studies and real-life experience show that short, frequent breaks improve well-being.
Two nights can be enough when expectations are low. No packed schedule, no pressure to “make the most of it”. Just a farm nearby, a long breakfast, and maybe a walk that ends earlier than planned.
Sustainability was addressed through honest travel choices, reduced flying, and support for local hosts.
Not polished eco-labels, but real limits: water usage, energy, waste. Sometimes that meant fewer comforts — and more clarity. A dry garden in summer, explained without excuses.
A continued focus on slower travel, rural Europe, and meaningful stays.
Less noise, more listening. Fewer highlights, more depth. 2026 isn’t about adding speed — it’s about staying with what already proved valuable, and seeing what grows from it.
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