Germany Ecovillage Tour
7 DAYS | Max group size: 14
Right after the European Ecovillage Gathering (July 13–18, 2026), join Ecovillage Tours for an immersive week exploring Germany’s living laboratories of cooperation and sustainability. This curated tour is designed to be a meaningful continuation of your Gathering experience.
You’ll visit 5-7 diverse ecovillages, communes and intentional communities, including some of the largest and most established in Europe. From re-inhabited ancient castles to thriving permaculture gardens, political activism and shared economy, natural building innovations, conscious relating, arts and small community-run enterprises, experience the real-world application of ideas explored during the Gathering.
The tour departs directly from the Gathering site at Nature Community and concludes in Munich, at the airport and/or a train station. Tickets to the GEN Europe Ecovillage Gathering are sold separately. Learn more and get your tickets here.
Extend your Gathering experience with an ecovillage journey across Germany
Germany Ecovillage Tour
Next tour dates:
July 18 – 24, 2026
Early bird sale now through March 1, 2026. Place your deposit now to save!
Begin your journey at the European Ecovillage Gathering
A 5-day knowledge-exchange and celebration of community living hosted by GEN Europe
This gathering brings together ecovillagers, visionaries, and changemakers from across Europe to share tools, ideas, and practices for regeneration—social, ecological, cultural, and economic. It’s the perfect entry point into the world of intentional communities and an inspiring prelude to your Germany Ecovillage Tour, where you’ll see these principles come to life.
Tour Highlights
What you can expect to experience during your time in Germany.
An easy add-on to your trip
This tour begins right after the GEN Europe Ecovillage Gathering. Travel with a small group and experienced guides. Deepen what you learned at the Gathering by seeing real communities in action.
Visit Germany’s most established ecovillages
Explore 7 long-standing ecovillages and intentional communities, including some of the largest in Europe. See a wide range of models, from castle-based villages to social laboratories, political communes, shared-economy and ecological communities.
Learn directly from community members
Spend time with residents and hear how community life actually works. Learn about decision-making, shared finances, housing, and pathways into membership… while enjoying the landscapes and culture of rural Germany.
Featured Communities
Explore the communities you’ll visit on the trip.
Schloss Tonndorf
Location: Schloss Tonndorf is part of the village Tonndorf near Weimar and Erfurt in Thüringen
Land: 15 hectares
Accepting new members: Yes
Website: www.schloss-tonndorf.de/
Schloss Tonndorf is a lovingly renovated historic castle, protected as a cultural monument, featuring a 40-meter-high tower, surrounding buildings, gardens, orchards, meadows, and a small forest. Located next to the village of Tonndorf, it is a true gem within the cultural landscape—nestled at the edge of the forest and offering stunning views over the valley. Since 2005, around 65 adults and children have been living here as an intergenerational community, steadily renovating the site and bringing it back to vibrant life.
The community’s vision is to cultivate a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable way of living. They are creating a space for both living and working toward greater self-sufficiency, with initiatives that include a café, seminar center, catering services, dairy production, beekeeping, fruit tree cultivation, naturopathy, and a forest kindergarten. Particularly inspiring is their active engagement in the wider region through the Talkvolk (“valley folk”) association, a village school, film screenings, sustainable mobility projects, and the stewardship of ecologically cultivated landscapes.
ZEGG
ZEGG was founded as a research and seminar center dedicated to cultivating a nonviolent and sustainable culture on Earth. Its roots lie in more than 13 years of intensive community life in the Bauhütte, which served as a preparatory phase for this vision. Through a social experiment led by Dieter Duhm, foundational elements of a new culture were explored and developed. In 1991, the community purchased the ZEGG site and relocated there to further this work.
From the beginning, ZEGG has functioned as a cultural laboratory, developing and practicing specific social tools—most notably the Forum—to support transparency, authenticity, and collective learning. Community living itself serves as the laboratory, where the foundations of an aware, cooperative, and sustainable culture are continuously explored and embodied.
At ZEGG, transformational community is understood as a path rather than a fixed goal. The integration of community life with an educational center lies at the heart of ZEGG as a social and ecological model project. Its educational offerings focus on social skills and communication, art and ecology, love and relationships, and the practice of community building..
Sieben Linden
Location: Beetzendorf in the Altmark – District Salzwedel, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Land: 115 h land, including 71 h forest, 9h building ground, 35 h leased farm land and 6h garden
Accepting New Members: Yes
Website: www.siebenlinden.org/en/
The Ecovillage Sieben Linden, located in the municipality of Beetzendorf in the Altmark region, was founded in 1997 with the aim of developing collaborative, holistic, and sustainable lifestyles that combine a small ecological footprint with a high quality of life. A recent study by the University of Turin confirms that the community is well on its way toward achieving these goals. Today, just over one hundred adults and around forty children and adolescents live in the village, residing in 11 straw-bale houses and approximately 40 trailers.
At the heart of the cooperatively organized village is an ecologically restored half-timbered farmhouse that houses shared community and seminar spaces. The surrounding gardens provide fruits and vegetables for self-sufficiency, while composting toilets, a sewage treatment plant, and solar panels support local energy production and closed material cycles. The village’s lean and adaptable structures create space for residents to actively shape social, ecological, economic, and cultural life together.
Kommune Niederkaufungen
Location: Niederkaufungen, near Kassel in Germany
Land: 12.200m2 (in the village) and 53ha agricultural land including 28ha meadows, 20ha agricultural fields for production (2ha vegetables und 1 ha potatoes), 5ha fruits
Accepting new members: Yes - process to join community
Website: www.kommune-niederkaufungen.de
The Kommune Niederkaufungen is a left-political, ecological living and working community founded in 1986, currently home to more than 60 adults and around 20 children. Its main site is located in the idyllic village center of Niederkaufungen. The community practices a shared economy and is active in multiple fields, including agriculture, kindergarten and daycare, a seminar house, catering, construction, and education. Many resources—such as machines, tools, vehicles, and spaces—are shared, supported by joint administration and a car-sharing system.
Residents live in shared flats of varying sizes and levels of intensity, and work together in the community’s enterprises, making daily life rich in encounters and cooperation. A well-developed social structure supports community building, collective organization, and participatory decision-making. At the same time, the commune prioritizes environmentally friendly and resource-efficient living through systems such as a combined heat and power plant for electricity and heating, wood-fired heating, solar thermal energy for hot water, rainwater harvesting, and comprehensive material recycling.
Schloss Tempelhof
Location: Tempelhof is one of 23 villages in the municipality of Kreßberg, in Baden-Württemberg
Land: 34 hectares of land
Accepting new members: Yes - pathways into the community
Website: www.schloss-tempelhof.de/
Schloss Tempelhof, founded in 2010, is an ecovillage and “future workshop” set within a beautiful, gently rolling rural landscape near Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg. The community is home to around 130 residents, along with others from the surrounding region who work in or engage with its enterprises. Daily life is shaped by intergenerational social and cultural exchange, collective decision-making, and a strong culture of cooperation.
The community is known for its wide range of businesses and projects, including a community-supported agriculture initiative, a farm store, a free school, the Schloss Café, a community kitchen and seminar house, workshops with a large production hall, car-sharing, a library, an earthship, other experimental buildings, and the castle itself. Through these initiatives, Schloss Tempelhof serves as a living laboratory, exploring how to cultivate human cooperation and a healthy relationship with nature in ways that support sustainable living and a future worth living for generations to come.
Schloss Blumenthal
Location: Blumenthal near Aichach between Munich and Augsburg
Land: 30 ha land that includes 8ha with the 18 buildings, courtyard and castpe park
Accepting new members: Yes - information for interested people
Website: www.schloss-blumenthal.de
Schloss Blumenthal is a protected historic landmark with a 700-year history, formerly a monastery and later a property of the Fugger family, located near Aichach in the idyllic Wittelsbacher Land. In 2006, eight families purchased the site, and today it is home to an innovative living and working community of 43 adults and 18 children. Together, they operate a hotel, seminar center, restaurant and beer garden, a community-supported agriculture initiative, goat husbandry, a cheesery, and a farm store.
Blumenthal aspires to be a conscious and ecological community, courageously exploring alternative ways of living grounded in freedom and mutual responsibility. Its vision rests on five pillars—social life, arts and culture, an economy oriented toward the common good, ecology, and health and consciousness. By honoring and continuing the rich history of the site, the community and its enterprises actively contribute to the sustainable development of the surrounding region.
Kommune Lebensbogen
Location: Nature park “Habichtswald” in Zierenberg, Northwest of Kassel
Land: 4 ha land with small forest and 3 bigger buildings of total 6.500 m2
Accepting new members: Yes - information for interested people
Website: www.lebensbogen.org
Founded in 2015, Lebensbogen is a community dedicated to inner and socio-political transformation and the creation of a more sustainable world. Sixteen adults and three children live together on site, located within a nature park beside a protected natural reserve, surrounded by volcanic rock formations and expansive views on a former Celtic power place.
The community is organized through consensus decision-making, a shared economy, and a strong culture of dialogue and heart-centered connection. Their collective projects include a seminar center, café, and non-profit association offering educational events, alongside shared responsibility for land stewardship, buildings, and administration.
Sustainability is central to life at Lebensbogen, with on-site solar energy, a clothing swap shop, and a clear action plan toward climate neutrality by 2030. An upcoming focus is the ecological, energy-efficient renovation of the community’s 1960s buildings.
Trip Details
Explore detailed trip information to prepare for your adventure.
Included
All ground transportation from tour start and end point
All lodging in shared rooms (Private surcharge for single room upgrade)
All meals, except when you choose to eat separately or purchase extra drinks
All entrance and tour fees
Not Included
Transportation to/from country
Insurance of any kind
Alcoholic beverages (except during wine tours)
Optional gratuities to guides
Laundry fees and items of a personal nature
Pricing
Click “Book Now” to see current pricing and available discounts. Payment plans available. Pricing subject to change, but your rate is guaranteed with your deposit. All prices listed in USD.
$1,499 + $500 deposit Early bird through Mar 1, 2026 (save 10%)
$1,699 + $500 deposit Normal price
Travel Planning
Tour departs directly from the Gathering site at Nature Community and concludes at the airport in Munich. Tickets to the GEN Europe Ecovillage Gathering are sold separately. Learn more and get your tickets here.
Our tour will begin at 9:30am local time on Saturday, July 18 at Nature Community, site of the GEN Europe Ecovillage Gathering. Meeting near the parking lot. Please be ready to go with bags packed on time.
Our tour will will end at noon local time on Friday, July 24 at the Munich MUC International Airport or at the Train Station. Please plan your departing flight/train for later that afternoon or request a drop off at another nearby location in Munich.
Weather
The Germany Ecovillage Tour takes place in July, one of the most pleasant times of year to travel through Central and Southern Germany.
Expect warm, comfortable summer weather, with daytime temperatures typically ranging from 20°C to 26°C (68°F to 79°F). Occasional warmer days can reach the high 20s (low 80s°F), especially in inland areas, while forests and rural regions often feel cooler and fresh.
Evenings are generally mild, around 12°C to 16°C (54°F to 61°F), perfect for shared dinners, evening walks, and time outdoors. July also brings long daylight hours, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the landscapes, villages, and community life.
Packing
A full packing list will be provided after booking the tour. Laundry service will be available at some of our locations. We ask that you only bring a day pack and one carry-on sized luggage due to limited space in our vehicle.
We recommend packing breathable clothing, a sun hat, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes to stay cool and enjoy the tour's immersive experiences. Best to pack a sweater for the evenings and your swim suit for swimming opportunities!
Meet Your Guide
Embark on your journey with confidence – get to know your experienced guide.
Laura Kaestele
Laura works as a network weaver, facilitator, designer and project coordinator in network and community development, ecological regeneration, permaculture, and holistic ecological living with 15 years of practical experience contributing to an eco-social just transition. Together with colleagues and 58+ member organisations at ECOLISE she works to cultivate a thriving impact network for community-led initiatives working towards regeneration, localisation, solidarity and resilience in Europe.
Living nomadic for over 10 years, she has visited 100+ ecovillage, intentional communities and regenerative projects around the world, mainly in Europe and Asia plus Central & South America and the Fertile Crescent. Her community journey started as a teenager when she lived several years in a small sustainable community called “Höllbachhof” in the Bavarian Forest, Southeast region of Germany and has shaped a deep commitment for earth and people care.
With a passion for nature, clear sense of evolutionary possibilities, and joy in creative collaboration Laura has supported networks, non-profits, communities, and eco-projects to synergize, build capacities and take transformative action. She is actively engaged in the Global Ecovillage Network, Permaculture, Ecosystem Restoration Communities, and the Evolutionary Collective.
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Laura was a coordinator for NextGEN Europe (youth ecovillage network), served as trustee for GEN International and currently is a member of GEN’s network steward circle. Through NextGEN and a shared passion for ecovillage exploration Cynthia (Ecovillage Tours Founder) and Laura became friends 10 years ago and she is excited to support the team as a tour guide.
Laura holds an Master’s degree in Regenerative Development and a Bachelor in Integrative Ecosocial Design from Gaia University, alongside certificates in permaculture and ecovillage design as well as design thinking, participatory leadership, facilitation, coaching, and sustainability education training.
Reviews
Read authentic reviews to make informed decisions about your journey.
One of the greatest experiences I have ever had. A completely unique journey to some wondrous ecovillage projects, full of inspirational humans. To share the tours with others with similar visions was enriching and a real privilige. I left feeling fulfilled and educated.
— Adam Bates
Best summer camp ever! A must see!! People, food and lodging were more than I could have hoped for in a travel experience like this!! Definitely will be back.
—Megan Zimmerman
It is an experience worth paying for. You get to know places and people who are on the real hands on effort for bringing change and make local ecosystems more resilient.
— Edward Bryce
Ecovillage Tours has put something really special together. The amount of research and care they have put into this trip is impressive in and of itself and have helped facilitate meaningful connections both within the tour group and with the communities hosting us. This eye opening experience has the potential to change your life by exploring more unique paradigms.
— Nathan Oxenfeld
Is this tour right for me?
On the fence? Discover if this tour is meant for you.
Choosing to embark on an ecovillage tour is an investment in your journey into intentional community living. Thanks to years of relationship building with community founders, we’re able to give you an experience that’s simply not available to the regular traveler.
Still unsure?
Explore if this tour is right for you…
This tour ideal for those who want to:
Join intentional communities: Engage directly in projects that focus on environmental and social regeneration, creating vibrant, sustainable spaces for communal living.
Explore sustainable living: Dive into the world of ecovillages as a lifestyle choice, integrating principles of ecological balance and community harmony into your daily life.
Network with regeneration leaders: Forge deep connections with key figures in the regenerative movement, gaining inspiration and momentum to advance your life's purpose.
Get a true eco-vacation: Embark on adventure travels that support ecovillages, choosing experiences that contribute positively to the planet and align with your values.
Learn from successful projects: Observe and study the approaches of others, applying their strategies and innovations to develop your own land or community initiative effectively.
Why choose this tour?
Knowledgeable guides: Led by experts in ecovillages and intentional communities.
Authentic experience: We partner with local communities for a genuine and unfiltered experience.
All-inclusive: From eco-friendly lodging to local cuisine, we've got you covered.
Small group size: We limit the number of participants to ensure a personalized and intimate experience.
Hassle free travel: We cover all the logistics, so you can get the most out of the experience.
What’s the alternative?
You could try visiting intentional communities on your own, except that…
Many communities are not open to the public and, if they are, the founders will not give you their undivided attention as a just normal passer-through.
Figuring out the logistics of getting yourself around the country is a headache and you’ll have no immediate support if something goes awry.
Traveling alone isn’t as nourishing or nearly as fun journeying with a small group in an intentionally held container for connection.
It’ll take years of relationship building and financial investment to even come close to the experience that Ecovillage Tours is able to offer… because we’ve done all that work for you already!
Still have questions?
We are happy to help!
Ready to go?
The communities are excited to welcome you. Let your adventure begin.