Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Three Years to Go Until London 2012 - Time to Start Planning an Olympics Home Swap!

It hardly seems possible that a whole year has gone by since the start of the Beijing Olympics but today marks the beginning of the three year count-down until the Games come to London. This is going to be an even busier than normal period in the city and no doubt hotel rooms will be at a premium (and at a cost) as the date draws near.

Most Londoners will want to be part of the celebrations but, as with any major event, others will be looking for a chance to escape the city. As Home Base Holidays is based in London, there will be plenty of opportunities to arrange home exchanges (and hospitality exchanges), to enjoy the Games in comfort while getting to know the 'real' London, living in a home in a local neighbourhood. New transport links mean all major Olympic sites will be quickly accessible from homes both in the East End itself and out into the outer suburbs and beyond.

Check out nearly 300 current home exchange offers in London (country: England, county: London), with many more in the surrounding counties.

The photo is from a very recent home exchange offer in Central London, HE22970 - 'Beautiful Victorian Mews house (converted from a former bakery) with 2 double and 1 single bedroom, 3 bathrooms, 1 study, large kitchen and lounge area with high spec fittings, TV, home cinema projection and an internal private courtyard. The immediate area, Bloomsbury, contains the best bars, restaurants, museums and galleries London has to offer, and its only a short walk to Covent Garden theatreland and Oxford Street. Alternatively there is a good bus service, nearby tube stations and taxis are easily hailed.'

Join Home Base Holidays now and start planning your trip to London 2012!

Guest Post: Egypt – An adventure not to be missed

Having had successful house swaps before I set my sights this year on Egypt. I have always longed to see the famous pyramids, enjoy an activity holiday as well as experience life of the desert oasis towns so a home swap seemed the ideal choice. However, I soon realised that some of the traditional houses were just that little bit too remote, off the beaten track and it would be a push to get a swap with my London flat! I could still get a real taste for this country by trying one of the Egypt tours from the Pyramids in Cairo to Dahab, and this is exactly what I did.

Travelling solo is a good way to meet some like-minded people and I was glad that we were 12 in total, all relatively young and quite fit. I love walking holidays and have been on singles holidays before, so this was the perfect group to travel with. Cairo is an amazing and enjoyable assault on the senses in so many ways; home to 15 million people, it is vibrant, friendly and alive with mad drivers weaving haphazardly through the streets! We were able to enjoy the endless bazaars and winding alleys on our first evening and take a trip to the beautifully lit Khan El- Khalili Market, where we spent an hour sipping the fragrant sweet mint tea whilst watching the locals bartering.

The trip to Giza the next day was amazing. Nobody can be prepared for the awe inspiring sight of these 4000 year old pyramids. It was better to take in the view from the distance as once I arrived I found it hard to concentrate on the wonders with all the tourists pushing and bustling outside, and it was a pleasure to step inside the cool stone interior. Likewise the Egyptian Museum housed so many fascinating artefacts that it was difficult to take it all in so an English speaking guide was useful to home in on the main collection of Tutankhamen’s gilded treasures; which were a rare treat.

The next step of our holiday took us away from Cairo and to the Sinai desert, where the real sense of adventure began. One of the main attractions of this Egypt tour was the hike up Mount Sinai (2285m) which was exhilarating to say the least. I was comfortable getting up in the middle of the night (12.30 am!) to start the trek as I have been on previous trekking holidays; this climb was moderate but it did help getting some sleep the night before! Having layers of clothing was imperative as it became fairly chilly as we reached the summit, but the sunrise was spectacular and well worth it. We then took a quick trip to see the famous St Catherine’s Monastery before heading to the great desert resort of Dahab.

We stayed in Dahab for the next couple nights and ventured out to the Red Sea to enjoy the snorkelling. The off-shore corals are stunning, the warm shallow waters were great for relaxing and watching the fabulous multi-coloured fish. It was just as well to have these comforts as we had the camel trekking to contend with next, and although it was great fun, these animals are smelly and can be fairly grumpy at times; even an hour on a camel makes you walk slightly strangely at the end of the day! This part of the trip caused great amusement in our group. We all enjoyed hanging out later in town; it has a bohemian feel about it and is very chilled. We explored the many bars and ate delicious shish kebab, tomato salad and flat breads. When it was time to travel back to London, I was sad to part with the rest of the group; this was such an adventure, one I will never forget.

This guest post was authored by Frank from The Adventure Company, an activity holidays specialist that provides adventure travel to destinations all over the world.

Media Request: UK Home Exchange Members Who Have Swapped for an 'Exotic' Location

Cassandra, a journalist writing a feature story on home exchange for the Daily Telegraph, is looking for UK Home Base Holidays members who have had an exchange to 'somewhere beautiful/exotic with people whose home was very different from their own'. Cassandra wants to include a photo (a very large, high resolution jpeg file to reproduce well enough for print) of the British couple or family while on holiday in their exchange home, along with a photo of their own home to show the contrast in lifestyles.

As often happens with journalists, Cassandra has a tight deadline and will be writing the article on Monday (it will be published next week, probably Thursday or Friday). As it will be on the Telegraph website as well as in the paper, a link to the full article will be published on our blog and also links to any members' listings featured (giving some extra publicity for their exchange offers).

As many exchanges will fit the description of a contrast in locations and home styles, if you are interested in helping Cassandra please contact us by Monday, giving your full name and/or User ID and your message will be forwarded to her. I will acknowledge your message and you can then send photos directly to me.

Home Exchange Imminent? Keeping Informed about Swine Flu

Q: Do you have any thoughts on upcoming exchanges now that swine flu appears to be approaching epidemic proportions in the UK? I'm starting to wonder if we should warn our exchange partners although we do not live in a part of the country that is a "hotspot" at present. - hobiej

A: There's no easy answer. After recent very alarmist reports in some UK media, there does now seem to be more balanced news coverage on the growth in cases of swine flu that helps put its prevalence and severity into better perspective. As swine flu (H1N1) is pandemic, check the World Health Organisation for information and regular updates on your own country or the country you will be visiting. Also see detailed information on NHS Direct, specific travel advice by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and use Directgov to find information on swine flu in any local authority in the UK.

The concern of course for home exchangers is that one party might have to cancel an exchange at the last minute if a family member contracts swine flu, or that an agreed exchange will be cancelled by an exchange partner alarmed at a reported rise in cases in the country/area they plan to visit. General travel insurance will not cover cancellation for a simple change of mind unless there are government warnings to avoid travel to the country (in the UK, check the FCO website). Exchangers travelling from the USA or Canada may like to consider joining CHECtravel and buying Travel Guard’s Home Exchange Protection Plan available to members.

Finally, it's always a good idea to make and agree contingency plans during the course of arranging an exchange in case (although very rare) an exchange cannot go ahead as planned for whatever reason. Some time ago a Home Base Holidays member included some excellent suggestions in an article, Home Exchange: Planning for the Unexpected.

Visit Friends Overseas Without Lounge to Lounge Hopping - Exchange Homes

If you live in another country but like to go 'home' to visit friends and family, you know the problem of what to do about accommodation. Even with your closest friends, you (and they!) may feel you can never totally relax, i.e. you have to be on best guest behaviour, not slobbing out in front of the TV after a busy day out. But, if you book a hotel, will your friends be offended? The answer is 'probably not' as hosts have the added pressure of entertaining guests which can be tiring if the stay is for more than a few days, especially if they aren't on holiday themselves. Couch surfing is fun for the young singles but not for families with children or couples who are getting on a bit and used to comfortable beds. The perfect alternative is to arrange a home exchange close to the friends and family you want to spend time with. You still get free accommodation but with the added benefit of having your own 'home' to return to, to make some of your own meals and generally relax however you wish.

As Home Base Holidays is based in London, there is a very large choice of home exchange offers throughout the UK so most British ex-pats visiting home should have no problem finding homes within a short distance of the villages, towns or cities where they want to be based. As over the years many Brits have emigrated to Australia, it's not surprising that many such ex-pats use the service to arrange swaps when travelling back home. Here is a recent example:

'By the time of the swap (probably from May 2010 onwards) Judith and I will both be retired (currently 61 and 56) and we wish to spend between 2 and 12 months (flexible dependent upon swap) in the UK (where I was born) and be able to spend time in visiting family and friends without the usual 4 week lounge room to lounge room frenetic tour. Judith in particular would like to try and spend 4 seasons in the UK (I might skip out on winter!!)'.

Their home near Fremantle in Western Australia:

'Welcome to friendly, sunny and warm (hot in summer) Western Australia. We have a detached single story 4 bedroom 2 bathroom home with a secure car-port located in Rockingham, a major suburban area 28Km south of Fremantle, 40 Km south of the Perth CBD. Train and bus tranport close by; train to Perth is a 34 minute trip and the bus to Fremantle (if you don't want to drive) takes 40 minutes. We are 10 minutes by car from both ocean beach and the calm water beaches of Cockburn Sound; 25 minutes drive north of the holiday town of Mandurah, 3 hours from the Southwest Winery area and 1 hour from the Swan Valley wineries. Rockingham itself is a tourist and holiday destination for many West Australians, interstate and overseas visitors.' Read the full home exchange offer and see more photos, HE19952

The photo at the top is from Big Dog Beds.

Swap homes for a strong sense of being 'at home'

Many people don't quite 'get' the idea of home exchange or can't get beyond the fear of having 'strangers' in their homes. Even some new Home Base Holidays members express a little concern (it's reassuring for cautious newbies to communicate, and often exchange with, experienced home exchangers who can guide them through the process of planning and preparing for the swap). But many new members understand the concept very well from the off, such as recent members from Brisbane, Australia:

'We are Philippa and Wayne and we describe ourselves as "young" 60+ seniors who are retired from work and family responsibilities. We have been married for 40 years and are looking now to enjoy the history and culture that has made Britain great. We are hoping to meet up with local folk, make new friends, see the sights and do lots of day tripping, including hiking across the countryside.

We have not previously had any house swaps but we are responsible and will be taking care of your property as we expect you will of ours with both of us having the strong sense of enjoying life and being "at home". We are able to provide a "pay as you go" mobile phone during the swap as well as a GPS which would make for more enjoyable, worry-free motoring. Our vehicle is a 3 door, manual Hyuandi Getz.

Our planned time frame is May to August 2010 or time in between these dates as suits us all.'

Phillipa gives an inviting description of their home and local area attractions. A taster:

'We live in a "green" suburb with views that can be enjoyed from our verandah and we have a leafy garden with pleasant mood lighting by evening.

Our home is located 10Km from Brisbane's CBD and there are lots of options for public transport.' See the full home exchange offer and more photos, HE22923.