Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

First house swap holiday: swapping Cambridge for France

Lovely one week home swap holiday between the medieval village of Soreze and Cambridge

It's lovely to hear from first time home swappers. Mark and his family enjoyed their first exchange, swapping their house in Cambridge for one-week staying in Jan and Fred's holiday home in the medieval village of Soreze in the South East of France.   

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Jan & Fred: swapping SE France for a wonderful week in Cambridge "We have a second home in the town of Soreze, SE France. We spend a lot of time there but don’t live there and so using our place for home exchanging opens up all sorts of possibilities. We were delighted when Mark and his family approached us, looking for a stop-off on their tour of France. They have a home in Cambridge and we thought it sounds really nice, not too far from where we live in the UK, and its got lots of interesting places to explore. Their house is lovely – spacious and light, especially at the back of the house. We spent a lot of time sitting in the open plan family area with the double doors open to the tree-lined garden. Its quiet and in the morning, you can listen to the birds with your first cup of tea. We took the bus into the city each day, choosing a different museum or gallery to explore. The city itself is small and easy to walk to most of the colleges. Not all the colleges allow public access of course, but the ones that did have magnificent grounds and gardens – free to sit in and just take it all in. We visited as many museums as we could, but didn’t get round them all in a week. We’d really need another visit to see everything. The museums themselves were phenomenal. From quaint mahogany cabinets, to state of the art presentations, zoology, archaeology, sculpture, geology, science, Darwin, Newton, etc etc. We loved the Whale Café at the Museum of Zoology, and spent a happy hour in the quirky courtyard at The Punter bar on Pound Hill. Of course, we had to leave time to explore the little coffee shops and restaurants too, so it all takes time. But we took things slowly and savoured it all in the marvellous weather we experienced. Had it rained or snowed though, we would have found plenty to do! We could have taken a punt down the river and under the many bridges, but as it was, found a lovely walk along part of the way. I read the guide books after we returned, which made me realise how much more there is to see. We’ll just have to go back sometime! Highly recommended beautiful city, full of marvellous architecture, very clever people and a gorgeous river. Thank you so much to Mark and his family for a wonderful stay in their home!"

Highlights of the holiday: Emma and Paul's local tips and recommendations Exploring the stunning 'Pueblos Blancos' villages Beautiful stylish home with wonderful village and mountain views

Photos from Jan & Fred's Home Exchange in Cambridge

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Mark & family: swapped Cambridge for a lovely medieval village in France "This was the first house swap holiday for our family of 2 adults and 2 girls, aged 10 and 12. We swapped with Jan and Fred who are experienced home swappers and easy going. All was very uncomplicated to arrange and while they stayed in our home in Cambridge, we were travelling for the summer in France and stayed for 1 week in their lovely holiday home in Soreze. Their house had all one needs for a lovely stay. Jan and Fred were very organised providing lots of information before leaving, posting key well in advance and being available while we were there. The house was lovely and cool even when hot outside and their courtyard, while small, was great spot to enjoy our morning coffee and croissants! Soreze is a beautiful medieval village in Tarn area of SE France. Very relaxed but with bakery, a few restaurants and supermarket to make daily life easy. We enjoyed walks in the immediate hills, and swimming in lake and swimming pool, each 10 minutes by car. We visited the abbey in Soreze when feeling more cultured. We had a wonderful week and would definitely recommend the swap to any couple or family with children. Thank you very much Jan and Fred!"

Highlights of the holiday: Our home swap partners, Jan & Fred, made everything so simple Staying in their lovely house dating back to medieval times Exploring Soreze and the beautiful surroundings

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Mark's family home in Cambridge, UK Family home 10 minutes walk to river, then 30minutes walk into Cambridge's historic city centre. View their home swap holiday offer	Jane & Fred's home in Soreze, France Medieval town house in the pretty village of Soreze, set at the foot of Les Montagnes Noires. View their home swap holiday offer

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

We swapped our Paris home during the Olympics for a relaxing summer holiday in the Swedish countryside

Beautiful morning views from Alex's family home near Umeå, Sweden

It's lovely hearing Home Base Holidays members' home swap experiences. Here we have a trip report from Heather who swapped her townhouse in Paris during the Olympics for a fabulous summer holiday in Alex's family home in a quiet village close to Umeå, Sweden.

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Home swap in Sweden gorgeous family house set in glorious countryside "We managed to dovetail the home swap so that both families met, which was really delightful. It was great to escape Paris during the Olympics for a relaxing summer break in the beautiful Swedish countryside. The drive from France to Sweden was looooooong but we found great places to stop along the way.  The Swedish outdoor life in summer was a revelation - eating strange new berries and mushrooms, the light nights and incredible skies, swimming and building bonfires. Costs in terms of supermarkets etc were pleasantly similar to France. The weather was mostly great and the extra trip we added to visit Norway was easily done with Umea as a base. We only visited Umeå once (beware the incomprehensible parking regulations and speeding fines!), we didn’t make much of an effort to get to know the town - we were set for an outdoors/country break and it couldn’t have been lovelier. The house itself is in a pleasant hamlet, just a short bike ride from an amazing lake. So civilised! Fire pits and little huts you can stay in - then wander into the forest for a handful of blueberries. Alex’s garden was bountiful and we feasted on her delicious potatoes, beans and redcurrants. The house was spotlessly clean and tidy but spacious and very comfortable - we particularly appreciated the minimalist feel, which was the direct opposite of our house and has inspired some epic clearouts, now that we’re home. We’ve had many home swap holidays and they’ve pretty much all been fantastic, but this one was particularly lovely. The camaraderie between us messaging each other and sharing our family delight at how extraordinarily different our summers were, was very warm, genuine and funny and I hope we’ll stay friends! Can’t wait to come back to see the Northern Lights! " - Heather

Highlights of the home swap holiday: The fact that we escaped the Olympics to visit beautiful Sweden Picking wild blueberries, swimming in pristine lakes, the High Coast Meeting Alex and her lovely family and swapping lives

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Photos from the summer swap in Sweden

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Heather's townhouse in Paris, France 3 storey family home in a friendly quiet neighbourhood with excellent transport links. View their home swap holiday offer	Alex's lovely village home near Umeå, Sweden Northern Swedish village house in picturesque location only 9 km from city centre. View their home swap holiday offer

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

Wonderful home swap in Lake Constance, Switzerland

Beautiful views from Marianne & Hubi's home in Weinfelden, Switzerland

We love hearing from Home Base Holidays members about their home exchange holidays! Here's a recent trip report from home swapper, Linda, on her summer holiday staying in Marianne & Hubi's beautiful home located near Lake Constance, Switzerland.

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Swiss swap: amazing holiday exploring Lake Constance, Switzerland "We had an amazing summer swap exploring Lake Constance region of Switzerland. There was so much to explore, we felt spoilt for choice. Our only regret is that we didn’t ride the cable car to the top of Säntis, as it was too cloudy and we had left it to our last day. So we hope to return one day and discover more of the delights that the region offers! Our most memorable days were probably those that included swimming in the lake at Rorschach and the river at Zurich, the historic bathing huts simply made us smile. We found travelling around really good and easy whether by public transport or on foot. Getting to grips with the ticketing system and timings of boats on Lake Constance was a little tricky but we soon got the hang of it and loved exploring the beautiful region. Our hosts, Marianne & Hubi, were excellent and very thorough in preparing for our home swap. They provided heaps of information on local recommendations, places to visit, transport options, as well as useful information about their house. They made everything so smooth and worry free! Their home was a delight to stay in and couldn’t be faulted in any way. Thank you both so very much indeed." - Linda

Highlights of the home swap holiday: Staying in Marianne & Hubi's unique and lovely home. Stunning location with a great choice of places to visit and things to do. Reliable and regular public transport including boats on the lake

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Photos from the home swap in Switzerland

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Linda 's stone cottage in Swanage Charming 2-bedroom stone cottage located on Dorset's Jurassic Coast. View their home swap holiday offer	Marianne & Hubi's home in Switzerland Lovely 4-bedroom mountain view home located near Lake of Constance. View their home swap holiday offer

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

Stunning unique summer home swap holiday in Scotland

Stunning views of the River Tay from Peter & Angela's home in Scotland

We love hearing from Home Base Holidays members about their home swap holidays. Here we have a trip report from very experienced home swapper, Irene Bews, on her summer swap to Peter and Angela's stunning home overlooking the River Tay estuary in Fife and Angus, Scotland.

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River view home swap holiday in Fife and Angus, Scotland "I'm currently on my third home exchange through Home Base Holidays this summer! Each have been truly unique, staying in fabulous homes and locations ...this current one is absolutely exceptional. This has been such a wonderful home exchange swapping to Peter and Angela's stunningly unique home overlooking the River Tay. Their home has incredible gardens with the most beautiful views over the river. The weather was so good, which made it hard to leave their lovely extensive gardens. We explored a lot of the local area by bike and chilled out with long swims in their private pool at the end of the day. It's been an absolutely wonderful home exchange holiday. Thank you so much Peter and Angela!" - Irene Bews

Highlights of the home swap holiday: Staying in a stunning unique house with incredible river views The hidden gem of a swimming pool in the garden Exploring the local area by bike

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Photos from Irene's summer swap:

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Irene's rural home on the Orkney Islands Stunning rural 3-bedroom family home on the idyllic Orkney Isles, north of Scotland. View their home swap holiday offer	Peter and Angela's home in Fife and Angus Beautiful 4-bedroom Victorian home with wonderful views overlooking the River Tay estuary. View their home swap holiday offer

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

Swapping to a beautiful 'pueblos blancos' village in Spain

Stunning village and mountain views from Emma & Paul's private terrace

We love receiving feedback from Home Base Holidays members' on their home swap holidays. Shown below is the trip report from Gareth & Christine swapping to Emma & Paul's beautiful 'Pueblos Blancos' village house in Gaucin, Andalucia, Spain.   

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Gareth & Christine's home swap holiday in Gaucin, Andalucia "We had such a lovely holiday swapping to Emma and Paul's beautiful village house in Gaucin, Andalucia, Spain. We stayed there in Spring 2024, which proved to be a good time of the year for a visit: the weather was perfect for us and the countryside was carpeted in beautiful wildflowers. Emma and Paul were generous and thoughtful home swap hosts and gave us plenty of local tips and suggestions for making the most of our visit. We did our best to try out as many of their recommendations for bars and restaurants in the village as possible, which were varied, numerous, excellent quality and very good value. The village of Gaucin itself was delightful, with stunning views all around. Gaucin is known as one of the most beautiful ’Pueblos Blancos’ villages in Andalucia. We particularly enjoyed our walks up to the castle and the foothills of El Hacho. The local shop was a revelation - how they managed to provide the variety and quality of produce in this location was a wonder! The house was everything we could have wanted: it was clean, stylish and well appointed. The upstairs lounge and terrace were particularly lovely attractive with wonderful village and mountain views. We were able to make day trips out to the coast and other Pueblos Blancos villages, which resulted in a varied and interesting break. Thank you Emma and Paul for a wonderful swap."

Highlights of the holiday: Emma and Paul's local tips and recommendations Exploring the stunning 'Pueblos Blancos' villages Beautiful stylish home with wonderful village and mountain views

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Emma & Paul's reply: "It was an absolute pleasure to host Christine and Gareth and they are welcome to return any time. So pleased they love our little village as much as we do and looking forward to our home swap to their home in Devon. Best wishes, Emma & Paul"

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Christine & Gareth's beachhouse in Exmouth Wonderful 3-bedroom beachhouse in Exmouth overlooking the beautiful Exe Estuary. View their home swap holiday offer	Emma & Paul's home in Gaucin, Andalucia Beautiful 1-bedroom ’pueblos blancos’ village house in Gaucin with stunning village and mountain views. View their home swap holiday offer

 

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

Swapping London for the Lake District National Park

It's lovely to hear members' home swapping experiences. Shown below is Home Base Holidays member, Melanie & Tom, on their wonderful holiday, swapping their townhouse in London for Nic's beautiful cottage in the Lake District National Park.  

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Melanie & Tom: our home swap holiday with Nic was a joy! "From start to finish our home swap with Nic was a joy! We were blown away by the kindness and extensive information Nic provided in order to make sure we had a lovely time. We spent a rainy day on a steam train; enjoyed a cruise up lake Windermere to Ambleside; a pottery session at the divine Farmer’s Arms community pub; as well as paddle boarding around the famous Swallows and Amazons ‘Wild Cat’ island on Coniston Water. After a busy day out we’d return back to Nic’s beautifully decorated cottage for a glass of wine by the fire or in their stunning garden when the sun was shining. And what a garden! We especially loved the huge swing chair and idyllic woodland area. We feel very lucky to have enjoyed such a successful swap and would do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you, Melanie & Tom"

Highlights of the exchange: Wonderful hospitality of our hosts Their lovely cottage and beautiful garden Exploring the Lake District National Park

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Photos from the home exchange in Cumbria

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Nic's reply: our fabulous home swap holiday in Richmond "Hi Melanie, It was a joy to host you and share tips on the area so you got the maximum fun out of your stay here in the Lake District National Park. I feel like we got to know each other well and I hope our paths cross in the future. You all left my home in such a beautiful way even with a pressie to return to after a long drive North from London ....very lovely and uplifting. I'm really open to swapping homes with you again as I loved your home and the area you live in is just fabulous. I really enjoyed the 15 mins walk via the woods and over the Thames to Teddington High Street (great coffee!), visiting Petersham Nursery, oh and the Ivy Cafe in Richmond. Your tips honestly made it for us ...thank you for swapping homes... what a great experience. Best wishes, Nic, Nettie and Maisie xxx"

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Melanie & Tom's townhouse in London Stylish 4-bedroom townhouse in London's Richmond. Located just a short stroll from the River Thames. View their home swap holiday offer	Nicola's cottage in the Lake District Beautiful former detached 300 year old school house nestled in the Rusland Valley. View their home swap holiday offer

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Home Base Holidays: swap homes and cut the cost of your holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and start arranging a home swap holiday. Save over 90% on the cost of your next holiday!  Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

Discovering Dorset: home swap overlooking Swanage Bay

Brilliant home swap overlooking Swanage Bay "We had such a brilliant holiday swapping to Sebastian's lovely flat on the seafront overlooking Swanage Bay. Prior to the home swap, we had a Zoom meeting with Sebastian and Karen - this was really good and gave us a good idea about what we both liked. We loved the aesthetic of the flat and the stunning sea views from the bay window. Even though the weather was not consistently good, we managed lots of amazing walks on lovely quiet beaches - we even had several beaches totally to ourselves. We got in some great outdoor swimming - on one swim we were joined by seals! It's not an area we knew but we are completely hooked and there's so much to do there we will have to plan a return visit. We enjoyed fish from the local fish shop, steak from the local deli and managed to get in a couple of performances at the Mowlem, about 2 mins' walk from the flat. Also loved Durlston Country Park which was ideal for a lunchtime dog walk. The scenery is stunning, and after spending the days exploring and with the sounds of the sea - we slept so well. We couldn't have had a better home swap. Thank you so much Sebastian & Karen!" - Sian & Mark

Highlights of the home swap: Sebastian and Karen's flat overlooking Swanage Bay Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and Old Harrys Rocks Quiet beaches and swimming with seals!

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Photos from the home exchange in Dorset

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View the home swappers' holiday offers:

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK (HE40858) Sian & Mark's colourful and cosy Victorian terrace house located just a short walk into Leamington Spa. View Home Base Holidays offer	Swanage, Dorset, UK (HE18816) Sebastian & Karen's holiday flat just meters from the beach with stunning views over Swanage Bay and the Isle of Wight. View Home Base Holidays 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. Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.