Rural Holidays in 2027: Ten Places in the World Where Time Almost Stands Still

A rural holiday is one where local life, farming and landscape are the experience, rather than a list of attractions.

The ten regions in this guide: Val d'Orcia in Tuscany, the Logar Valley in Slovenia, the Alentejo in Portugal, the Cotswolds in England, Viscri in Transylvania, Shirakawa-go in Japan, Mai Chau in Vietnam, Imlil in the Atlas Mountains, the Cape Winelands in South Africa and Monteverde in Costa Rica.

For most regions we chose one place to stay, and for every region we set out how to get there, when to go and who it suits.

In most of these regions a hire car makes life much easier. In the Cotswolds, Shirakawa-go and Mai Chau you can manage without one.

Plan four to seven nights and stay in one place, rather than changing hotels every day.

Not every hotel with a green view is a countryside hotel, and not every secluded cabin offers a local experience.

Rural tourism means staying somewhere where local life, farming, landscape and culture are a central part of the trip. Sometimes you sleep on a working farm, sometimes in a restored stone house, and sometimes in a small hotel in a mountain village.

The most important difference is not the standard of the accommodation but what surrounds it: instead of chasing a different attraction every day, the holiday itself becomes the attraction.

Tuscany is one of the places most associated with a rural holiday in Italy, but to really enjoy it, it pays to move a little away from the famous cities.

The Val d'Orcia offers a landscape of rounded hills, cypresses, olive groves and old farmhouses. The villages of Pienza, San Quirico d'Orcia and Montalcino let you combine walks, wineries, small shops and local Tuscan cooking.

Stay at least four nights here. Instead of driving to a different town every day, choose one farmhouse, set out from it on short trips and come back to the view every evening.

Hidden in Slovenia is one of the most beautiful Alpine valleys in Europe: Logarska Dolina.

It is a valley ringed by mountain peaks, forests, pastures and traditional farms. Anyone looking for a holiday in the Alps without spending all their time skiing will find other things to do here: walking trails, waterfalls, local food, a spa and long hours facing the mountains.

Rinka Falls, about 105 metres high and at the source of the Savinja river, is one of the valley's landmarks. You can combine a visit with stops at local farms and walks around Solčava.

Unlike mountain holidays where you move every day, here it is worth choosing one base and staying put.

Portugal's Alentejo offers something entirely different from the pace of Lisbon and Porto.

Here the landscape is made of wide fields, vineyards, cork oaks, olive trees and white villages. You can visit small wineries, eat in local restaurants, go cycling and end the day watching the stars.

Around Monsaraz and Lake Alqueva you can combine historic villages with open countryside. The Dark Sky Alqueva area is recognised as a Starlight Tourism Destination and is especially good for stargazing.

Our advice is not to over-plan. The Alentejo is ideal for a four- to six-night holiday at an easy pace.

The Cotswolds sometimes look like the set of a period film: honey-coloured stone houses, little bridges, flowering gardens and old pubs.

This is a place where simply walking between villages can be the main activity. You can stay in one village, visit local markets, stop for tea and set out on short walks.

Villages such as Lower Slaughter, Painswick and Blockley show a quieter side of the region, although they too can be busy in high season.

Transylvania is often associated with castles and mystery stories, but one of the most interesting things about it is village life.

In the village of Viscri, houses in the traditional Saxon style, farmyards, barns and old building methods have survived. The village's fortified church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania.

You can wander the streets, meet craftspeople, taste home cooking and enjoy hours when there is almost no need for a plan.

This is a rural holiday whose main value is not the number of attractions but the feeling of staying somewhere different.

Not every rural holiday in Japan involves famous temples or crowded hot springs.

Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture is known for its traditional wooden houses with steep thatched roofs in the gassho-zukuri style. The buildings were designed, among other things, to cope with the heavy snow that falls here, and the historic villages were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995.

In the historic village of Ogimachi you can see traditional houses, gardens and fields, and learn about the local way of life.

Many travellers come on a day trip, but staying in the village lets you see it in the quiet hours of morning and evening as well. Not every place to stay in Shirakawa-go is an old thatched house, so check the type of accommodation before you book.

About three hours' drive from Hanoi, in a landscape that changes gradually from the big city to mountains and fields, lies the Mai Chau valley. Until 2025 it belonged to Hòa Bình province; since the provinces were merged it has been part of Phú Thọ province.

The area is known for its rice fields, its villages and the traditions of its local communities, and most of its residents are White Thai.

You can stay in guest bungalows, cycle along country roads, visit nearby villages and try local dishes. Unlike a city trip, where you move from sight to sight, much of the experience here is simply being in the landscape.

For anyone looking for a rural holiday in Asia, this is an interesting area because it combines nature, culture and accommodation with relatively easy access from an international city.

A short drive from Marrakech is enough to discover an entirely different world.

Around Imlil in the High Atlas, the villages blend into a dramatic mountain landscape. You can walk between villages, look out at the peaks, eat local food and get to know the way of life in the Berber villages.

It is a special rural holiday for travellers who love mountains but do not necessarily want to set off on a long climb.

You can combine two or three nights in the mountains with a few nights in Marrakech, and enjoy two very different holidays on the same trip.

There are places where the room is only part of the farm experience. Babylonstoren, in the winelands near Franschhoek, is one of them.

The area combines vineyards, orchards, vegetable gardens, wineries and mountains. Instead of spending whole days driving, you can focus on one farm with gardens, restaurants, farm activities and open space.

A holiday in the Cape Winelands suits anyone who wants to discover the farming side of South Africa without giving up high-end accommodation.

A rural holiday does not have to be surrounded by wheat fields or vineyards. In Monteverde, the experience happens inside a tropical cloud forest.

Low clouds, dense vegetation and humidity create a setting where you can meet a great variety of birds and plants.

You can go on guided forest walks, nature tours and visits to local farms. It is a destination for travellers who prefer living nature to large resort areas.

If you are looking for vineyards, food and wine, you will find interesting options in Tuscany, Portugal and the South African winelands.

If you prefer mountains, focus on Slovenia or the Atlas. If you want to get to know traditional rural cultures, you will find very different experiences in Romania, Japan and Vietnam. And if you love forests and wildlife, look at Monteverde in Costa Rica.

The most important choice is not only the country, but the exact location of the place you stay. Two hotels in the same region can offer completely different experiences: one in the centre of an accessible village, the other in the middle of a remote farm.

A good rural holiday starts with a simple question: how do we want to feel when we wake up in the morning?