Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Our Easter home swap in the Spanish mountain village of Sella

Nina arranged a home swap holiday staying in Steve & Liz's home in Sella, Alicante, Spain

We love hearing about members' home swaps! Here's a recent trip report from Home Base Holidays member, Nina, from her family's Easter home swap staying in Steve and Liz's house in Sella, Alicante, Spain.

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"We swapped houses with Steve and Liz during the Easter holidays. It was perfect for us, as it was only a few hours drive south from our home in Valencia and a lovely change of scenery for all of us. Although we had a bit of rain during our exchange (yes, it does rain in Spain too!), our family had a great time just relaxing in the comfortable house in Sella. The village is fantastic and so picturesque, the views from the terrace are amazing. We went for walks, visited the nearby safari park, and went to the beach which is only 25 minutes away by car. The exchange went very smoothly, we had perfect communication throughout and we would happily organise another swap with this lovely couple in the future." - Nina and family

 

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Steve and Liz's home in the mountain village of Sella, Spain

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Nina's stylish home in Valencia, Spain

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Meet the members
	Nina and family Nina's home swap offer is a stylish four bedroom house in Valencia with a private swimming pool.  View Nina's Valencia home swap offer
	Steve and Liz Steve and Liz's home swap offer is a fabulous historic home in the beautiful Spanish village of Sella. View Steve and Liz's home swap offer in Sella, Alicante, Spain

 

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Interested in home swapping? Sign up for free!

Rather than booking a hotel or holiday rental, arrange free accommodation by arranging a holiday home exchange. Sign up to the Home Base Holidays two-week free trial.

Five steps: prepare your home for a home swap vacation

Home swapping is an excellent budget-friendly way to travel and explore new places. Here are five tips to help you prepare your space for a home swap holiday.

1. Clean and declutter: Prior to your exchange, make sure you give your home a good clean and declutter so that your home is ready and welcoming for your guests. Clear space in your fridge and also make room in your wardrobe so that there is space for your guests to hang their clothes. It's also very important to make the beds up and leave plenty of clean towels and extra bedding. 2. Leave basic provisions: You don't have to go grocery shopping for your guests, but it's nice to have staples like tea, coffee, sugar, milk, bread, butter, cereal, toilet rolls and washing up liquid on hand to help them get settled while they figure out the lay of the land. 3. Create a welcome pack: Put together a folder of useful information. This can include practical information such as how to operate the alarm, when the dustbins are emptied, etc. Leave useful telephone numbers including your mobile number, the number of a friend or neighbour, the local doctor, local taxi company, emergency plumber, etc. Leave up to date tourist leaflets, maps, guide books, take away menus and information about public transport. 4. Small repairs: Your guests will be expecting a clean, tidy, but lived-in home, not a five star hotel, so don't feel that you have to completely over-haul your home to make it acceptable; but, if there's a few nagging little jobs (that door that has to be jiggled a certain way to close it, the dripping tap - you know, the small niggles that most of us can live with), the run-up to an exchange might provide the perfect incentive to fix them. 5. Leave a gift for your guests: Start the swap on a great note by going that extra mile to welcome your guests with a kind, unexpected gesture. How about some fresh flowers with a welcome card, a nice bottle of wine or maybe a nice locally produced treat?

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Home Base Holidays: start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays and arrange home swap swap holiday accommodation for the new year. Save over 90% on the cost of your next holiday!  Search the latest home exchange holiday offers