Once FarmCamps, Always FarmCamps

There are just some places you love so much, once a year simply isn’t enough. For the Verhulst family, FarmCamps is exactly that kind of place. What started as a fun holiday with children on the farm has become a fixed part of their yearly routine. Sometimes, they even stay up to six times a year! In this blog, they share why FarmCamps feels like a second home, what makes it so special – and why they keep coming back.

What first attracted you to FarmCamps, and why do you keep coming back?

Our kids love cows. We even have an adopted calf! Staying on a farm just sounded like so much fun. We searched online and found FarmCamps. The combination of luxury and camping really appealed to us.

Every holiday is one to frame. Whether we return to a familiar farm or discover a new one, we’re always welcomed by the farmers with such warmth and hospitality that it feels like coming home.

You stayed six times last year — what makes it so special that you keep booking?

Every booking brings excitement. What animals will we meet this time? And where’s the mud kitchen?

It’s a holiday where both parents and kids feel joyful.

No stress, no schedules, no nagging – just fresh air, space, animals and freedom. Nothing is required, everything is allowed – and mud is considered an accessory! The kids play from the first rooster crow to the last evening moo. Tablets stay at home – here, the go-karts, mud kitchens and animals are far more exciting.

Which FarmCamps location is your favourite and why?

Choosing a favourite feels like picking between calves – impossible!

We’ve visited De Buitenhoeve multiple times; for us, it’s one of the most complete FarmCamps.

The kids love Op Flakkee, and we have a soft spot for De Bonte Fries. That one is a dream: wide meadows, peace, quiet... a place where even the wind whispers. It’s farm life the way it should be – pure and free.

What do your kids love most about FarmCamps?

We’ve got two little farmers and one farm girl:

Our oldest (8) loves the go-karts and runs his mud kitchen like a top chef.

Our 4-year-old would happily move into the animal meadow permanently.

And our 2-year-old daughter tests daily if trampolines ever get tired.

It’s not just about jumping – the trampoline becomes the ultimate meeting place for all the kids. It feels like that classic campfire moment.

As a parent, do you also feel like you're on holiday during a FarmCamps stay?

FarmCamps is the only real holiday for us.

The kids play freely, and we get to breathe. We enjoy the calm, a book in the hammock, and simply being together. Farm happiness is: petting sheep, feeding cows, cuddling rabbits, and then showering off the mud – the memories stick.

Do you notice a difference in your kids during or after a FarmCamps holiday?

They grow here. They try new things, open up. Every holiday is too short.

There are always tears when we leave (sometimes even ours), and the countdown to the next one starts on the ride home.

Luckily, we have videos full of farm adventures to relive over and over again.

Do you have a fun or special memory you'd like to share?

A puppy with horns (almost).

One of my most special memories? A young bull at De Bonte Fries. He was in a separate stall and I didn’t even realise at first that he was a bull. He was so tame, so affectionate – like someone had put a puppy in a cow costume.

Every time I walked into the barn, he would moo as if saying: “Come cuddle me!” And there I was again, hand on his soft head, while he enjoyed it like a dog getting a belly rub.

It felt special. Strange too – a bull so gentle that you forget how big and strong he really is.

When we left, there were tears (quite a few actually). Because saying goodbye to an animal like that isn’t easy. And yes... he’s probably on a plate somewhere now. That’s real farm life too.

But that big, cuddly bull? He’ll stay in my heart forever.

Sometimes, it’s not the people, but the animals who make your holiday unforgettable.

Any tips for other parents visiting FarmCamps for the first time?

Leave the fancy clothes at home.

Put on your boots, grab that overall, and dive right into farm life with your kids. Cook up a mud stew, park your phone in the hayloft, and treat yourself to the luxury of simplicity.

Here, camping means glamping – with everything you need, except the necktie. Enjoy the peace and quality time with your kids.

How is a FarmCamps holiday different from other family holidays you’ve done?

It’s a mix of back to basics and luxury – all close to home. The biggest differences:

• Freedom is key. No tight schedule, just quality time. Farm holidays let you forget time itself.
• No long car rides or being stuck inside. The adventure begins the moment the tent opens.
• Fewer stimuli, more real connections.
• These aren’t “standard” holidays – they’re real experiences we keep talking about.
• At FarmCamps, you learn by doing (and getting messy!). You see where milk really comes from, feel the thrill of a newborn animal, and realise manure’s not so bad... unless you get sprayed in the milking pit – which we can now check off our list too!

What’s on the agenda this year, and what are you most looking forward to?

This year we’ve already done three FarmCamps trips: De Bonte Fries, De Smulhoeve, and Alpaca Vorstenbosch – and we’re not done galloping yet.

Soon we’re heading to BoeBaDoe, Hoeve Luyterheyde, and De Kooij Hoeve. Two new farms for us – exciting! We visited De Kooij Hoeve during its opening weekend in 2024, and we’re curious to see what’s changed.

We can already smell the adventure!

And who knows – maybe we’ll end the season with one last trip, just like last year.