DESCRIPTION
Did you know that many farms in the region offer the unique experience of 'sleeping in straw'? It is a fun farm experience for the whole family! Typically you bring your sleeping bag and, depending on the farm, they provide blankets, additional meals, recreational activities, interaction with farm animals and so forth. Sleeping in the straw is great fun and we highly recommend it. Here is a website to help you find a farm to visit and some pictures from our experience at Ferme Pour Tous near Fribourg.
Agrotourismus is a wonderful site useful in searching by region for a farm that offers sleeping in the hay. You can filter results by features such as if the farm has a playground, offers farm experiences, or has animals.
OUR EXPERIENCE
While on a short road trip through Switzerland we used the Agrotourismus website and found a surprisingly lovely farm just outside Fribourg named Ferme Pour Tous (Farm for all). My friend and I brought our 5 year old boys to sleep overnight in the hay despite to cold and drizzly weather. The farm was so much fun and the highlight of our road trip. We camped out that night in our sleeping bags nestled in hay a giant hay barn. The barn was mostly used to store and dry out huge bales of hay which the boys enjoyed climbing on and jumping into. The side of the barn had a row of partitioned wooden sleeping spaces that hold 3-4 people each and are filled with fresh hay. We were provided blankets to go over and under our sleeping bags but nothing else so it was definitely like camping. There was a single large light for illuminating in the barn but the boys enjoyed running around with glow sticks and flashlights. There was a very clean bathroom in a building next door and an upstairs dorm style B&B room which were were told we could use if the boys had trouble sleeping in the hay. In the end all four were lulled to sleep with the sound of rain on the room and enjoyed a wonderful and surprisingly comfy sleep on the hay.
In the morning the farmer let the boys fetch eggs from the hen house and we had a simple breakfast of homemade jam on fresh bread with boiled eggs, cereal, and juice. I was happy that they also had an espresso machine for my much needed morning coffee. After breakfast the farmer let the kids help feed and brush all the animals. They had bunnies, chickens, pigs, beautiful horses, cows, goats, a turtle, donkey, a dog and a small pony which the boys were allowed to ride. If it was not raining he could have also rigged up a chariot to the horse to pull the boys around or they could have gone on a hay bale ride. After more hay jumping we went out to pick fresh cherries from the trees before heading home. We were lucky and were the only guests that day and so the kids had the whole farm to themselves. It was definitely a fun and unique experience and I would highly recommend it.
In the morning the farmer let the boys fetch eggs from the hen house and we had a simple breakfast of homemade jam on fresh bread with boiled eggs, cereal, and juice. I was happy that they also had an espresso machine for my much needed morning coffee. After breakfast the farmer let the kids help feed and brush all the animals. They had bunnies, chickens, pigs, beautiful horses, cows, goats, a turtle, donkey, a dog and a small pony which the boys were allowed to ride. If it was not raining he could have also rigged up a chariot to the horse to pull the boys around or they could have gone on a hay bale ride. After more hay jumping we went out to pick fresh cherries from the trees before heading home. We were lucky and were the only guests that day and so the kids had the whole farm to themselves. It was definitely a fun and unique experience and I would highly recommend it.