Farm Camping (also called “Agricamping”) is a sustainable RV parking area,

where to enjoy nature and the outdoors responsibly.

Find out in this article all the features of farm campings, how and where to find them, and especially why they are becoming the new

AGRICAMPING: AN INTERMEDIATE CHOICE BETWEEN A CAMPSITE AND WILD CAMPING

Tired of the camping restrictions of public parking?

Are organized campgrounds too “massive” for your taste and can’t fully reconnect with nature and the rural countryside?

If your answers are both “yes,” farm camping could probably be the best choice for you!

In fact, in this article, we discuss farm camping, which is a relatively recent RV/Van parking solution that combines the conveniences offered by an organized campground with the more or less wild nature that can only be found by getting lost and boondocking in the more rural areas.

In that order, in this article you will find a brief explanation of what farm camping is, the advantages of this type of camping compared to a traditional campsite and compared to wild camping, and finally, useful links and resources for finding the best farm camping all across Italy and Europe.

Let’s start with the article right away!

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1. What is an Farm Camping?

1. WHAT IS Farm Camping?

Agri-camping is a relatively recent RV (but also for caravans, trailers and tents) parking/camping option offered by agritourisms and farms make their land available to travelers for stopping and camping in nature, in exchange for the promise to buy food produced by the farm itself.

A farm camping (agricamping) is essentially a farm, normally set in a rural and authentic environment, which provides visitors with its own land, sanitaries, electricity and water from its own facility to create acamping experience linked to nature and its rhythms .

2. WHERE DID THE CULTURE OF FARM CAMPING ORIGINATE?

The culture of agricamping, which arose in Europe in the last twenty years, has been catching on a lot lately in Italy as well, driven both by the growing desire to reconnect with nature and the desire to camp in the open air outside of large organized campgrounds (remember that legally “free camping” everywhere else in Italy is prohibited).

3. WHAT DO FARM CAMPING GENERALLY OFFER?

Farm campgrounds/campings, in addition to offering the basic services for vehicle service that are always present even from the campsites themselves (they follow the same rules, so 60m2 pitches, water loading/unloading, waste collection, water column, etc.), offer more rural, less busy locations, surrounded by nature and agriculture .

Normally in a farm camp, you can expect to find beautiful scenery, animals, vegetable gardens, orchards, and vineyards, but sometimes you can also find barbeque areas, relaxation areas, kneipp paths, swimming pools and much more!

4. WHAT TO EXPECT?

Staying in a farm camping, what you can expect is amore intimate, personal and sustainable experience than a normal campsite, where you can learn about the surrounding nature, try local food and wine products and possibly even participate in farm life.

Ideal for families and nature lovers, agricampp are non-“mass” rest areas, normally set in picturesque natural settings away from the beaten track, making them excellent bases for trekking, hiking and other outdoor sports.

5. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO STAY FARM CAMPINGS?

The compensation for the service provided by farm campings, in most cases takes place through the purchase of home-grown food and wine products, one favorable exchange both for the traveller who ends up with healthy, typical, and km-0 products (as well as, of course, a place in nature to camp), and for the farm that has a way to sell and make their products known.

Of note, is that thepurchase of the products is, however, not mandatory (though of course always welcome!), and by subscribing to a annual membership for a small symbolic price (which we will discuss later in the article), you can have access to hundreds of free parking areas in Italy and Europe where to stay for a maximum of 24 hours.

In some cases, on the other hand, the agro-tourism/farm company charges daily compensation to camp freely on their private property (as in the case of campsites).

We continue now by looking at the advantages of farm camping over wild camping and camping sites, and then at methods for locating them both in Italy and in Europe.

2. The Advantages of Farm Campings Compared to Wild Camp

Below, find five reasons why it might be worth deciding to park your RV or van at an agricamping versus choosing free parking:

• Safe Place: By stopping on the private property of a farm or agritourism, you can be much more comfortable about the safety of the place than stopping in a public area.

• Possibility of Camping: when farm camping, being private land, you can enjoy nature outside your RV without the risk of penalties (pull out the awning, put down the parking feet, lower the step, pull out chairs, table, bbq etc. – of course, always respecting the peace and quiet and your host environment).

• Access to Services: agricampings and farm campings, following campground regulations, normally offer all the services you might need to maintain your little house on wheels (water topping up, draining, dump station, garbage collection, sanitation etc.) and to which you normally don’t have access by parking in free

• Local People Who Can Help You Appreciate Place: as much as we often enjoy traveling and discovering on our own, it is undeniable that new places can be experienced better and more thoroughly through the advice of those who live there. Agritourisms and farms, at least in our experience, are almost always families with a passion for their land and who find relish in enhancing it by helping travelers discover it to appreciate it with advice, explanations and suggestions.

• Opportunity to Buy Typical km-0 Products and support the local economy: As with free parking, the fixed cost of an agricamping is usually zero. That said, buying some local food and wine products is an always welcome way of saying thank you for hospitality. Don’t see it as a cost, but rather as a chance to replace what you would otherwise have bought from a supermarket anyway with a higher quality product.

3. The Advantages of Farm Camping Compared to Camping Sites

Instead, below you will find five reasons why you might consider stopping your vehicle at a farm camping instead of a classic campsite/campground:

• Lower Cost: At an agricamp you will have access to the same services as at a classic campsite (water loading/unloading, garbage collection, pillar, sanitation, etc.), but at a much lower cost.

• More Intimate and Personal Experience: campgrounds are generally designed for more massive tourism, while agricamps, often farm- and family-run, host only a few guests at a time. A small number of visitors, combined with the natural surroundings, give the opportunity for a more intimate and personal experience, far from the hustle and bustle and large numbers of the more emblazoned campgrounds.

• Opportunity to Discover Local Culture and Eno-Gastronomic Products: the heart of agricamping are the agritourisms and farms that promote it. In fact, in most cases, by stopping at an agricamping, you get to meet people who take pleasure and passion in telling you about their land, their farming routines and to let you try the products of their labor.

• Rural Nature and Agriculture: Compared to campgrounds, agritourisms and farms that promote agricamping are often located in more rural and less polluted areas, far from the main arteries of mass tourism. This “strategic” location gives visitors a way to discover more unknown, wild, scenic and unspoiled areas. At the same time, you could have experiences unthinkable in classic camps (e.g., learning to ride horses, crushing grapes with your feet, grinding olives and creating oil with your hands etc.).

• An Educational Experience for Little Ones: farm campings offer so many opportunities for children to observe nature, to learn its cycles and balances. Stopping at a farm, in addition to giving children a chance to play among animals and plants, is an excellent opportunity to educate them in a pleasant way in the concepts of ecology and environmental sustainability.

4. Where to Find the Farm Campings in Italy?

Most farm campings (called “agricampeggi” in Italian), unlike classic campsites, are not found on every possible and imaginable booking site.

Being more “niche” places in fact, which generally do not host the large number of visitors of regular campsites, they can be reserved only on a few specialized sites.

The most popular for finding agricampsites in Italy are as follows:

• AgricamperItalia.it: Is the No.1 platform for finding camper-friendly agricampsites in Italy. Farms, vineyards, olive groves, orange groves, cottages, and so many unique places, on agricamper you can really find all kinds of show places. How agricamper Italia works is simple: you buy a annual membership (at a cost of 35 Euro – a symbolic price), which gives access for 365 days to a unlimited number of free stops (lasting up to 24 hours each) in the more than 240 affiliated agricampsites distributed throughout the Italian peninsula.

• CamperOnline.it: One of the largest communities of Italian campers and vanlifers with a huge database of rest stops, information and contacts for facilities of all kinds. There is a section on this site devoted exclusively to agritourisms, farms and agricampsites open to RV parking (with prices).

5. Where to Find the Best Farm Campings in Europe and Beyond?

Similar to the Agricamper Italia platform, where upon registering for an annual membership one has access to an unlimited number of free stops in a large number of affiliated agricampsites, abroad we find circuits organized in a very similar way.

Below, I leave you links to the main foreign sites where you can find and reserve agricampsites for your RV stop, for your convenience in alphabetical order according to the country they deal with:

• Austria: Bauernleben – Schau aufs Land
• Belgium: CamperStops Belgium
• Canada: Terego
• Denmark: Pintrip
• France: France Passion
• Germany: Landvergnügen – WinzerAtlas
• Martinique: Martinique Camping-Car
• Norway: Nortrip
• New Zealand: Okay2stay
• Portugal: Portugal EasyCamp
• Spain: España Discovery
• Sweden: Swede Stops
• Switzerland: Swiss Terroir
• UK & Ireland: Brit Stops
• USA: Harvest Hosts

6. Guide to Farm Camping: Conclusion

In this article, we looked together at what farm campings are, their advantages over wild camping and classic campsites, and some useful sites for finding them and reserving your own campsite.

What about you, have you ever been to an farm campsite? Do you have any places you would absolutely love to recommend to other readers or any tips for experiencing agricamps at their best? Would you like to tell us briefly about your experience?

Let us know in the comments below! 🙂

As always, thanks for reading,

And see you in the next article! ;D