Travel the Home Exchange Way

BLACK FRIDAY: 25% discount, start home swapping

Arrange home swap holiday accommodation for 2022

BLACK FRIDAY SALE: save 25% on your Home Base Holiday membership during our Black Friday sale. Start planning your home exchange holidays for 2022.  

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25% discount code: BLACKFRIDAY  (valid until the 4th December 2021)

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Sign up and start home swapping

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Start planning your home swaps for 2022

Search home exchange holiday offers

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Join today: home exchange holidays for 2022 Join Home Base Holidays - select either a two-week free trial or a full membership (use the BLACKFRIDAY code for a 25% discount). Click here to start swapping

Home swap staycation: Brecon Beacons to Lancaster

Ellen & Mel visited the Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve during the swap

We love hearing Home Base Holidays members' home swap travel experiences. Shown below is the lovely feedback from members, Ellen & Mel, on their October staycation swap, staying in Sue & Dave's home in Lancaster on the edge of the Lake District. 

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Home swap staycation: Brecon Beacons to Lancaster "Sue and Dave's house is ideally located in Lancaster, close to the city centre, railway station, canal and river walking and cycling paths. It was immaculately clean and cosy to come back to at the end of our days' out during a very warm and sunny October week. We had a wonderful time exploring the Kent estuary and its small, interesting communities of Grange over Sands and Arnside, and also the southern end of the Lake District. We visited Morecambe for the sea breeze and the amazing outdoor art on display. The more adventurous of our party travelled east into the Forest of Bowland to visit the Ingleton Waterfalls, a bit of a climb but a spectacular sight. The day we spent at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve was much enjoyed by all, with many sightings of coastal birds on this extensive reserve. We travelled the short journey by train, (the Reserve is located right next to Silverdale railway station), which gave us half-price admission to the Reserve. We intended to explore more of Lancaster itself, but the weather was so good, we were out walking and discovering areas a little further afield each day. We hope to return to find out more about Lancaster itself, a vibrant small city with lots going on, on another occasion. Sue and Dave were ideal hosts, always quick to respond when we communicated with them. They generously gave us carte blanche to harvest fruit and veg from their nearby allotment, use of bicycles and welcomed us to their house with flowers and gifts. They gave us good recommendations of possible places to visit, to eat and shop. Our house was left in immaculate condition and Sue had baked us an apple cake to enjoy on our return home. What a treat!" - Ellen & Mel (Brecon Beacons, Wales)

Highlights of the home swap staycation: Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve Coastal walks and Ingleton Waterfalls Excellent communication with Sue and Dave Use of allotment and bikes Flowers and home baked apple cake!

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Photos from the home swap

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View Sue & Dave's home in Lancaster:

Lancaster, England (HE39603) Comfy 3 bedroom terraced house close to Lancaster’s mainline train station and within a few minutes walk of our historic city centre. It’s a friendly neighbourhood, and there are lovely walks out into the countryside through our community playground, orchard and nature reserve, and along the canal and to the Lune estuary. View home exchange offer

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

Arrange a last minute winter home exchange holiday

Last minute getaway? Start planning a winter home exchange

We'd always recommend giving yourself plenty of time to arrange a home exchange holiday. However, there can be times where the travel bug hits and you start searching for a last minute break. At this time of year, you will find lots of Home Base Holidays members looking to plan a home swap holiday for this Christmas and into the new year.  

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Tips to arrange a last minute home swap holiday:

Last Minute Offers: check out the Last Minute Offers section on the Home Base Holidays website - here you can browse lots of tempting last minute home swap holiday offers. Make sure to also add your listing to the Last Minute Offers section so that other members will see that you're looking to arrange a last minute break (you can add this from your Home Base Holidays member's dashboard). Be pro-active: as always, when arranging a home exchange it's important to be pro-activate (the most successful swappers are often the most pro-active!). So, don’t just wait to be contacted, search home swap offers and start contacting members to discuss a swap.    Be flexible with destinations: one of the biggest joys of home swapping is exploring new destinations that may not have previously been on your travel radar. Also, if you can be flexible with your holiday destinations, you'll have a much better chance of arranging a last minute home swap. Non-simultaneous swaps: if you can, suggest the option of a non-simultaneous exchange (i.e. their home or holiday home may be available for the dates you want and, if you can offer your home later on for dates that are convenient for your exchange guests, that should increase your choices).  Upcoming events: as well as including a good description in your home swap listing, also include information on any upcoming events or activities that might be of interest (at this time of year you could include information on Christmas Markets, ice-rinks, etc). Helpful travel info: if you can, include any details such as cheap airlines, which airports they fly to/from and an idea of the cost of tickets/availability for the period needed – anything to save some time and give members you contact a better idea of how feasible it would be to take up your last minute offer.   Don’t cut corners: even if you're super keen to find a swap, make sure to never cut corners when arranging a last minute exchange. Don’t accept an offer until you’re sure the home/location are suitable and that you are fully comfortable with the plans. As with any home swap, it's important to contact your home insurance provider and get confirmation that your policy will cover the period that your guests will be staying in your home.    Contact us: if you ever need any help finding a last minute swap, do contact us and we will try to help publicise your offer.

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full home swap membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

WIN a Kindle Paperwhite! Home swap photo competition

Win a Kindle Paperwhite, ideal for your next home swap getaway

Send us your best travel 'like a local' photos taken during a home swap holiday to be in a with chance of winning a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader. Three runner up photos will be selected with the senders winning a one year Home Base Holidays home swap membership (worth £49).

Send us photos that best encapsulate your travel experience; it could be an off-the-tourist-trail discovery or perhaps simply you and your family enjoying your home swap hosts’ home / local area.

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How to enter: Send us your best holiday photos to [email protected] Tell us a bit about the photo / your home swap* holiday Closing date: 21st November 2021

 

*Not yet home swapped? You can still enter, simply send us your best travel 'like a local' holiday photos and tell us why home swap holidays appeal to you.  

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Previous winning photos:

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Search the latest home swap holiday offers

Home swap in Whitby: Jack and 'the stone museum'

Whitby home swap: Jack and 'the stone museum'

We love hearing members' home swap experiences and so were delighted to receive the lovely trip report (below) from Home Base Holidays members and very experienced home swappers, Nick and Belinda. Their story highlights the trust and the unique wonderful experiences enjoyed by choosing to home exchange!

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Whitby home swap: Jack and 'the stone museum' "Following a rather disappointing year in 2020 we have had some excellent home swap holidays in 2021. We have been to Derbyshire, Suffolk, Kent, and Devon. All very successful home exchanges ...and the year is not over yet! At the beginning of the holidays we had 5 year old Jack and his sister with their mum and dad swap to our home in Whitby. Jack's mum is actually the daughter of our neighbour, both she and her partner are hospital doctors and so have been extremely busy due to Covid. They loved their stay in Whitby and, at the end of the swap, dropped our key through the letter box along with a lovely “Thank You” card.    Weeks later we went away, swapping our house with a couple from Devon. On our return we were baffled to find a plastic bag of "stones" had been posted through our letter box. There was a note from Jack’s mum. Weeks after their home swap in our home, she had looked in his toy bag and found what he said were just some stones he had found on the ground.   We have tradition at the Whitby house of when you find an interesting stone or fossil on the beach you put it in "the stone museum" on the veranda. Kids love to look and play with them, especially the fossils. What we had not noticed was that the museum was very diminished in size after Jack’s visit.   Jack's mum realised what he had done and gave him a little telling off about "taking things that belong to other people". Part of the punishment was that he would have to return them to us... hence the bag through our letter box! We felt sorry for Jack and we would have happily let him keep them. However it was felt that was not an option as the lesson must be learned!   We wanted this story to have a happy ending and so, after a suitable amount of time had passed, we went round to Jack’s house with a little gift.   "Hello Jack. We have been talking to your Gran nextdoor to us and she said that you are interested in stones and fossils? When we last went on the beach we found these and we thought you might like to have them."    He was delighted! Especially when he realised how similar they were to ones he had taken from 'the stone museum'." - Nick & Belinda

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Photos from Nick & Belinda's home swap offer in Whitby

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Nick and Belinda are retired teachers who love exploring new places. They appreciate how precious peoples' homes and property are and will take good care of yours. They can offer their holiday home in Whitby and main home in Saltaire Yorkshire for exchange.

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Search the latest home swap holiday offers

Do you need a fancy home to start home swapping?

Over the summer it was so lovely to see so many new Home Base Holidays members arranging their first home swap holidays. For many first time swappers, it can feel a little daunting knowing what to do and what will your home swap guests expect. One question we often get asked by people considering home swapping for the first time is - will anyone want to swap to my 'normal' home? 

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Q: We're a family of three and have not been away since prior to the pandemic. We live in South London and would love a week or two out of the city; we're not fussy, a break by the seaside would be nice or perhaps somewhere in the countryside with nice nearby walks. We're really interested in home exchanging but are just not sure if our home is suitable. I've seen lots of fancy homes on the Home Base Holidays website but our home is just a small 2-bedroom flat, it's nice but nothing fancy! Do you think anyone would want to swap with us?

- Anna, London

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A: It's true, there are some very luxurious home swap offers available through Home Base Holidays. However, we have members with all types of home, from the tiniest studio apartments to grand villas with pools. The good news is that vast majority of homes on the website are just like yours - nice 'normal' homes. 

So, as long as your home is clean and tidy, and you describe it accurately, there is absolutely no reason you can't swap your small flat - in fact, it sounds perfect! London is always a popular destination and it sounds like your flat would be ideal for singles, couples or a small family. Home swapping is an ideal option for families as having the space, comforts and amenities of a real home is such a plus ...as are the cost savings! 

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Don't own your home? You don't even need to own your own home as long as you get your landlord's permission to home swap (you may need to explain the home exchange concept carefully so your landlord doesn't think you are letting any old strangers live in your home or sub-letting the property).

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A few HBH members looking for a home swap in London

Lake District	Scottish Borders	Shropshire	Brighton & Hove

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full home swap membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.