Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Toiletries for a home swap: packing miniatures or sharing?

Many regular travellers are very clever at packing light, with only a carry-on case for a week or more away, and often saving on the high charges for checking in bags now levied by many airlines. Such clever people also sail out of the airport, avoiding the tedious wait for suitcases to (hopefully) arrive on the carousel.

We know that some Home Base Holidays members offer to share some items (snow boots, wellies, warm coats, umbrellas, etc) to save their home exchange guests from having to bring heavy or bulky things that may not even be needed; and some extend this to a generous offer for guests to use any toiletries they want (obviously, if you do use your hosts' toiletries, replace any items that you've used more than a smidgen of before the end of your holiday).

However, if you want to travel light but prefer to use your favourite toiletry brands, look out for either travel-size versions or small plastic containers to fill from your full-size bottles. You should find these in supermarkets or chemists/drug stores but, if you are having trouble finding your favourites, do check out this UK service we recently found, Travel Toiletries 2 Go. Not only does the company sell a full range of toiletries in small sizes, there is also very useful information on hand luggage regulations and baggage allowances for some of the major airlines.

On St. Patrick's Day - home swap offers in Ireland

Local pub from the Shoreline Lodge offer in Co. Clare (see below)

This is the day when many people all over the world will claim to be a little bit Irish – and who can blame them! But, if you don’t live there, the next best thing is to live like a local on a home swap in Ireland for as long as you can.

Home swapping makes extended holidays more affordable and, if you are lucky enough to have generous vacation times, are retired, or can work 'from home' anywhere in the world, here are a few longer Irish home exchange offers to tempt you:

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Home swap offers in Ireland

Seahorse Cottage: Ballydehob, West Cork, Ireland (HE35672)

Seahorse Cottage: beautiful views of 'Roaring Water Bay' in West Cork (HE35672)

Sunset from the sunroom in Seahorse Cottage, in a wonderful part of Ireland, West Cork, looking out over the beautifully named Roaring Water Bay. See full details of this home exchange in Cork

 

Shoreline Lodge: garden suite in Co. Clare, Ireland (HE29883)

Shoreline Lodge: lovely, natural setting in Co. Clare (HE29883)

The view from the garden of Shoreline Lodge, a new garden suite in a lovely, natural setting. Located on the Wild Atlantic Way, you can walk down to the sea at the bottom of the garden, boat access, one mile from village of Ballyvaughan, part of The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, a limestone area of great botanical and archaeological interest. See full details of this home exchange in Co. Clare (picture of local pub above also from this listing).

 

Cosy cottage: Kinvara, Co. Galway (HE30893)

Cosy cottage: located between the sea and The Burren (HE30893)

Cosy cottage located between the sea and the unique limestone hills of The Burren. Two miles from the beautiful seaside village of Kinvara; great area for walking, cycling or any seaside activities; 20 miles to Galway in one direction and Ennis in the other. View full details of this home swap in Co. Galway.

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Home swap offers in Northern Ireland

Giant's Causeway: Portstewart, North Coast, Northern Ireland (HE35597)

Giant's Causeway: apartment on the edge of the seaside town of Portstewart (HE35597)

Giant's Causeway near a lovely ground floor holiday apartment on the edge of the seaside town of Portstewart on the stunning North Coast of Northern Ireland. View full details of this home exchange in Co. Londonderry.

 

Oyster Shell Cottage: Strangford Lough, Co. Down, Northern Ireland (HE35436)

Oyster Shell Cottage: on the shores of Strangford Lough (HE35436)

Oyster Shell Cottage (and tennis court), on the shores of Strangford Lough; located on the waterside of Strangford Lough. From the house one can see the Mountains of Mourne, Castle Ward and the village of Killyleagh on the other side of the Lough with its castle, the oldest inhabited in Ireland. View full details of this home swap in Co. Down.

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• View all home swap offers in the Republic of Ireland
• View all home swap offers in Northern Ireland

A variation on a home swap: non-simultaneous + B&B

Running a business from home? This won’t necessarily stop you from swapping your home, especially if your business is a bed and breakfast or guesthouse. Some B&B hosts offer home swaps at times of the year when their business is closed; others, like the couple operating this bed and breakfast business from their home in Redbrook, Gloucestershire, offer non-simultaneous home exchanges:

'Michael and I offer a non-simultaneous bed and breakfast home exchange from our historic house which we operate our guesthouse business. Inglewood is old and quirky with a wealth of interesting features. We have open fires in the bedrooms, a circular staircase, portcullis gates and a non-opening doorway halfway up the staircase.'

The main part of the house dates 1738 with the oldest part being much older possibly prior to 1650.

Inglewood House: available as a non-simultaneous home swap

Inglewood House in is an area deemed to be an Area of Outstanding natural Beauty. The river Wye is directly in front of the house whilst the Royal Forest of dean is the back. There is a fly fishing lake in the village and two good pubs.

Interested in this very attractive home exchange offer? See full home swap details for Inglewood House.

Home exchanges within easy reach of a major airport

Often major airports are quite far from the main city they serve. Others, unless you are familiar with them, won't give you much of a clue on location from the name.

When searching home exchange offers in a country or area you don't know a lot about, you will usually find details of the closest major airport(s), transport links and how long it takes to get to a home in members' listings. If unsure of an area, ask the member for more information. You should also be able to find local tourist sites to help point you in the direction of areas you'd like to visit.

We will always try to answer your questions too, particularly for the UK (as Home Base Holidays is based in London). One member, who already had flight tickets booked to Gatwick, seemed to be looking for an exchange within the immediate area, limiting his destination request to Gatwick. As this might put off some members in southeast England and London from suggesting an exchange, we tried to help and hopefully persuade the member to widen his destination request:

Gatwick is mainly known for its airport serving London and the southeast of England. As it is the UK’s second largest airport, it has good transport links to central London (30 minutes on the Gatwick Express train) and towns and smaller cities throughout the area.

In case you aren’t too familiar with the area close to Gatwick, here is a link to a tourist site with a map and information, including distances from Gatwick airport, that may help you when deciding which members to contact to suggest a swap:

http://www.visitsoutheastengland.com/gatwick/explore

When you login to your member area to browse listings, choose Europe from the drop-down menu and then England from the country list. You will then see a list of counties to narrow your search further depending on the areas that interest you, e.g. you could choose London to see all current offers in the city if that is of interest; or, if you prefer a smaller town/city or countryside, try a search on (one at a time): East Sussex, West Sussex, Sussex*, Kent, Surrey. Before doing a search, you can limit the results in other ways too, e.g. choose ‘No small children’ under ‘Additional Options’.

If you are open to offers further afield, check out offers in England without limiting your search to a county. As you will be in England for six weeks, you might want to consider the option of arranging two swaps in different locations too as many members, if not retired, won’t be able to swap for as long as six weeks but may be able to exchange for part of the period. When contacting members, explain your situation re the period you will be here but also, if you can be flexible on length of exchange within that period, do mention this as an option too.

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*This photo is of the South Downs Way, a lovely place for walks and only two miles from a beautiful house offered for home swap in Ashington, a pretty West Sussex village easily accessible from Gatwick Airport. View this home swap in West Sussex

Home Swappers newsletter: travel like a local

Swap homes and live like a local. Home swapping is much more than just free accommodation (although that is very nice); it allows you to really get a feel for the places you visit. Whats more, by getting to know your home swap partners, you have a fantastic source of travel tips and recommendations from a real local. 

 

• View the latest Home Swappers travel newsletter

 

In this issue of Home Swappers newsletter:

 

• Featured home swaps: Stylish apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland | Idyllic villa in Bali, Indonesia
• Trip report: Fantastic first time home swap (Cheltenham, England to LA, USA)
• Home swaps just in: Central apartment in Prague | Canal view apartment in Amsterdam | Beautiful mountain view home in Orgiva, Spain
• Home swap tip: sharing local recommendations with your home swap guests

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 Find your perfect home swap vacation: join Home Base Holidays

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First impressions: making home swap guests feel at home

It’s great if, at the beginning of an exchange, you are able to arrange an overlap with your home swap guests at one of the homes or at the airport. However, as travel arrangements often make meeting difficult, give a little thought to last minute touches that will make your guests feel welcome on arrival at your home.

You will have already discussed what will be available for both parties to use whilst in each other’s homes. Most Home Base Holidays members also leave a few basic items - fresh milk, butter, cheese, bread - and often the ingredients for a simple meal for their guests.

When they first enter your home, your guests should see a clean, uncluttered hall or entrance. Then, as they walk through to your living/dining areas, it would be lovely to see a vase of fresh flowers (the photo above is in a beautiful home in Northern Ireland overlooking the Irish Sea and Scottish coast; click here to view the offer).

 

Along with your detailed information folder, a short welcome note plus a bottle of wine, a bowl of fruit, pastries from a local patisserie, or anything else you feel would make a nice treat for your exchange guests on arrival, will make them feel at home.