Farm stays, reading trips, hidden gems in the U.S.
Farcia Harvey considers herself quite well-traveled. The 27-year-old actress chose Mardi Gras, Barcelona and Madrid, leaving New York City and New Orleans on her travel list. But one of her favorite trips was to Cincinnati, of all places, for her 2024 birthday.
“I always really think about my trip to Cincinnati,” Harvey told CNBC Make It, saying at the time that he wanted a place that wasn’t too far from his home in Nashville but didn’t want to stay there either. “This is one of the best memories I have for my birthday, and it’s something me and my friends talk about to this day.”
Some of its highlights include the Somerset outdoor bar, the Brown Bear Bakery, the Riverfront’s walking paths, and the city’s free trolley downtown; simpler, slower luxuries that larger cities cannot offer.
Social media posts Gets Cincinnati excited. Last summer, overlooked cities went viral with more than 1 million views on Instagram and TikTok, prompting thousands of comments to exclaim that other secondary cities were worth visiting.
Harvey’s love of hidden gem travel is part of a larger trend in which vacationers are seeking slower, more enriching pursuits Trips that move away from the busyness of destinations in big cities.
“A lot of people really believe that to travel well, you have to see Europe, Africa and other places,” says Harvey. That may be true for some, but not all, he says: “You can have a great time in the middle of nowhere.”
Although Farcia Harvey has traveled to major cities around the world, she says her birthday trip from Nashville to Cincinnati was the most memorable vacation she’s ever taken.
Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick
Slow travel meets farm
Farm stay holidays are particularly booming: According to one study, 84% of travelers said they were interested in staying on or near a farm last report From Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Interest in rural escapes for Gen Z travelers has exploded over the past two years, with guest reviews mentioning farms on Vrbo seeing a 300% year-over-year increase.
Even milestone celebrations get the slow travel treatment. Aricka Giglia, 28, gathered her 10 best girlfriends for a bachelorette party at a farm outside Dallas last spring.
The Los Angeles resident wanted her bachelorette party to feel more like a wellness retreat than a typical party weekend. However, finding the right venue was difficult.
Los Angeles native Aricka Giglia hosted her bachelorette party at a ranch outside Dallas last spring.
Courtesy of Aricka Giglia
Finally booked a three night stay. Lavender Hill Farmhouse, I was amazed by its features a chicken coop, fields full of cows and horses, a pond with paddle boats, an outdoor grill where they host hibachi dinners, and a large kitchen where they invite a private chef for another meal.
“I don’t think any of us deliberately travel to be at one with nature,” Giglia says. “Nature is tropical, but it is never a farm.”
“It’s a slow travel movement. People just want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life,” says Melanie Fish, travel expert for Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. “They are specifically looking for access to hikes and nature walks, but they want the chance to interact with farm animals specifically for farm stays.”
Giglia says the unconventional accommodations are also affordable, estimating that each of his guests pays around $250 for the weekend; that’s a steal compared to her husband’s bachelorette party in Los Cabos, Mexico, which cost about $800 per person.
Great progress in retreat readings
Group trips to obscure cities have become a big part of Mackenzie Newcomb’s job running the Bad Bitch Book Club in New York City.
Started in 2018, the club launched its annual summer camp outing in July 2021 for readers to meet in person. Approximately 28 people attended Northern Outdoors campgrounds in Forks, Maine.
It was such a success that the club now hosts monthly reading trips across the United States, costing $900 to $1,500 for basic room packages and weekend meals and activities. Last year the BBBC hosted a three-week summer camp; Newcomb, 32, says 400 people applied for 200 positions.
Bad Bitch Book Club’s annual summer retreat attracts hundreds of people to spend a weekend reading and socializing.
Courtesy of Mackenzie Newcomb
Demand is likely to grow: According to Expedia’s travel trends report, 91% of travelers say they are interested in taking a trip focused on reading, relaxation and quality time. Mentions of reading-related terms in Vrbo guest reviews are up 285% over last year, and searches for “book retreats” and “book club retreat ideas” are up on Pinterest.
“I’ll credit Booktok for the dramatic increase in what Vrbo calls ‘reading,'” says travel expert Fish. “Groups go to these tranquil places, beach houses, country retreats, or cozy, multi-bedroom getaways with porch swings that they just want to curl up with, and their purpose is to read.”
There should be a strong element of relaxation and a wonderful view.
Mackenzie Newcomb
CEO and founder of Bad Bitch Book Club
When choosing the right place to read, Newcomb says busier cities aren’t always the best move.
Newcomb’s least preferred retreats were Nashville and New Orleans, which are great cities in their own right, but not good for a reading trip, he says, “because it’s all about exploring, not at all about relaxing.” “There should be a strong element of relaxation and a great view. When house hunting, I tend to look for places where people will be just as happy being in that rental house reading a book all weekend as they are going out and exploring the area.”
Some of his favorite trips to this end took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; Door County, Wisconsin; Holland, Michigan; the Berkshires in Massachusetts; and Snow Mountain, Vermont.
Hocking Hills, OhioThis spot, about an hour south of Columbus, is “a strong contender for a future trip,” Newcomb says, adding that members have “very strongly vouched” for a book club vacation here for years. “And of course I say, ‘I don’t want to go to Ohio,’ but they insist that’s the place to go.”
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