Fabulous farmstays!
by CatherineReichardt
In deciding on Slovenia as a destination for a family holiday, the 'clincher' was the wealth of farmstay options. Farmstay is big business in Slovenia (the last estimate I saw indicated that there were around 400 tourist farms) and is an absolute delight for those travelling with small children who want them to have the opportunity to allow their offspring to run free without worrying about them demolishing the designer decor of a hotel!
The sheer variety of tourist farms is both unexpected and extremely welcome. There are working farms, organic farms, wine farms, game farms, horse studs, farms specialising in gastronomy, farms with historical houses ... you name it, and there's probably a farm that meets your specification! The farms are fairly well distributed across the country, so although there is a preponderence in the more established tourist areas, there are usually options even in the less touristed areas.
Farm stays are usually structured on a half board basis (ie. bed, breakfast and evening meal). Depending on the size and sophistication of the farm you choose, meals may range from conventional hotel-style table service to more informal arrangements where guests dine around a single table (which usually makes for interesting conversation). In most establishments, the meal has three courses, usually with a limited choice of main course. The food usually comprises generous portions of hearty and tasty Slovenian fare (although is probably more upmarket in more select establishments such as farms which specialise in gastronomy, wine growing or venison raising). Breakfasts are similarly generous and usually self-service buffet style. We really liked the fact that this arrangement gave us the opportunity to try traditional Slovenian fare that we might not have identified (or selected) from a restaurant menu. It appears that tourist farms are generally licenced to serve alcohol and many do a brisk lunch trade, particularly over weekends and holiday periods.
Accommodation options range from converted farm buildings to purpose-built accommodation. As usual, you get what you pay for, with many (but not all) offering en suite rooms. We did struggle a bit to find farms that offered self-contained family units (ie. two or more bedrooms with a shared living room and bathroom) to give us some flexibility should the weather turn nasty, but there didn't seem to be too much of this available. Most bathrooms also seem to feature showers rather than baths.
The three tourist farms that we stayed on are reviewed elsewhere under my Slovenia travel pages.
My only minor niggle? The miniscule size of the bath towels, which are more suited to drying your hands than drying yourself after a shower! We mentioned this in passing to one of our hosts, and he conceded that this comment had been made more than once - however, although he was an extremely obliging sort, he didn't seem to have been motivated enough to do anything about it! We could only assume that towels of minimalist proportions are what the Slovenians favour in their own homes, and that larger alternatives are not favoured/not available/too expensive. If you think that this will bother you, then I suggest that you indulge yourself, and pack a beach towel of your own: chances are that if you visit in summer, you'll want to have a swim somewhere along the line, in which case it can just do double duty!
Sign in with Facebook
