Farm stays, reading trips, hidden gems in the U.S.

Farcia Harvey considers herself to be pretty well traveled. The 27-year-old has crossed off New York City, New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Barcelona and Madrid from her travel bucket list. But one of her favorite trips was her 2024 birthday trip to Cincinnati, of all places.

“I think about that trip to Cincinnati genuinely all of the time,” Harvey tells CNBC Make It, saying she wanted somewhere not too far from her home at the time in Nashville, but not a staycation either. “It’s one of the best memories I have for my birthday, and it’s something that to this day, me and my friends still talk about.”

Some of her highlights were hitting the Somerset outdoor bar, Brown Bear Bakery, the Riverfront’s walking paths and the city’s free streetcar downtown — simpler and slower luxuries that bigger cities may not offer.

Her social media posts hyping Cincinnati and under-the-radar cities last summer went viral with over 1 million views on Instagram and Tiktok, prompting thousands of comments shouting out other secondary cities worth a visit.

Harvey’s love of hidden gem travel is part of a bigger trend where vacationers are seeking slower, more enriching trips away from the busyness of big-city destinations.

“A lot of people truly believe in order to be well traveled, they have to see Europe, they have to see Africa, all of these other places,” Harvey says. That may be true for some, but not all, she says: “You can have a great time in the middle of nowhere.” 

Farm-stay vacations, in particular, are seeing a boom: 84% of travelers said they’re interested in staying on or near a farm, according to a recent report from Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Interest in rural escapes has boomed for Gen Z travelers over the past two years, with a 300% spike year-over-year in guest reviews mentioning farms on Vrbo.

Even life milestone celebrations are getting the slow travel treatment. Aricka Giglia, 28, gathered 10 of her best girlfriends for her bachelorette at a farm outside Dallas last spring.

The LA resident wanted her bachelorette to feel more like a wellness retreat than a typical party weekend. But finding the right venue was the challenge.

She ended up booking a three-night stay at Lavender Hill Farmhouse, drawn to its features of a chicken coop, fields with cows and horses, a pond with paddle boats, an outdoor grill where they hosted a hibachi dinner, and a big kitchen where they invited a private chef for another.

“I don’t think any of us have traveled intentionally to be with nature,” Giglia says. “If it’s nature, it’s tropical, but it’s never a farm.”

“It’s this slow travel movement. People just want a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life,” says Melanie Fish, travel expert for Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. “Specifically they’re looking for access to nature walks, hiking, but then, very specific to farm stays, they want a chance to interact with farm animals.”

The unconventional stay was also affordable, Giglia says, estimating her guests paid about $250 each for the weekend — a steal compared to her husband’s bachelor party in Los Cabos, Mexico, that ran about $800 per head.

Group trips at under-the-radar cities have become a big part of Mackenzie Newcomb’s business running the Bad Bitch Book Club from New York City.

The club, started in 2018, launched its annual summer camp trip for readers to meet in-person in July 2021. About 28 people showed up at the Northern Outdoors campgrounds in Forks, Maine.

It was such a hit that the club now hosts reading trips across the U.S. once a month that cost between $900 to $1,500 for basic room packages and a weekend of meals and activities. Last year, BBBC hosted three weeks of summer camp; 400 people applied for 200 spots, Newcomb, 32, says.

Demand is likely to grow: 91% of travelers saying they’re interested in taking a trip centered around reading, relaxation and quality time, according to Expedia’s travel trends report. Mentions of reading-related terms in Vrbo guest reviews has surged 285% year-over-year, and searches for “book retreats” and “book club retreat ideas” are up on Pinterest.

“I’m going to credit Booktok with the dramatic rise in what Vrbo is calling ‘readaways,'” says Fish, the travel expert. “Groups are headed to these serene destinations, coastal homes, country retreats, or just cozy, multi-bedroom getaways with a porch swing that they’re dying to curl up in, and their goal is to read.”

When choosing the right location for a reading retreat, splashier cities aren’t always the best move, Newcomb says.

Newcomb’s least favorite retreats were in Nashville and New Orleans, great cities in their own right, but not good for a reading trip “because it’s all about exploring and not at all about relaxing,” she says. “There has to be a strong relaxation element and a great view. When I’m looking for homes, I tend to look for places that people would be just as happy just being in that rental house the entire weekend reading as they would going out and exploring the area.”

To that end, some of her favorite lit trips have taken place in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; Door County, Wisconsin; Holland, Michigan; The Berkshires in Massachusetts; and Mount Snow, Vermont.

Hocking Hills, Ohio, about an hour south of Columbus, is “a strong contender for a future trip,” Newcomb says, adding that members have been “vouching very strongly” for a book club retreat there for years. “And of course I’m like, ‘I don’t want to go to Ohio,’ but they insist that it’s going to be the place to go.”

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