Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Q&A: Is my home suitable for a home swap holiday?

Toys and children's books can be a bonus of swapping with another young family

Q: Hello Home Base Holidays team! I've been browsing offers on your website and am interested in arranging a home swap holiday. I have a 2-bedroom cottage in the Cotswolds and would initially be interested in arranging a shorter break within the UK. I just wasn't sure what people would expect of my home and how to prepare it for a swap. My home isn't luxurious by any means but I think it's very nice, cosy and comfortable. However it is also full of my family's stuff (we have a 3 year old girl with lots of books, toys, etc!). I'm guessing it's okay to leave our belongings in the cottage during the swap or would our guests expect us to clear much of it out? Also, are there any precautions we should take prior to a swap? - Katie

A: Thanks for getting in contact and lovely to hear you're interested in home swapping! Your Cotswolds cottage sounds lovely and I'm sure it would be a very appealing offer to many members. Planning your first swap can feel a bit daunting and so choosing a shorter swap closer to home is a great way to start. You do not need to clear out any of your items prior to a swap. Home swappers aren't expecting to stay in an empty show home but will be expecting a home just like yours, a nice real home contain furnishings and belongings. In fact, if you arrange to swap with a family that have a similar aged kid(s), having childrens books and toys can be a really big bonus!

Prior to the swap, make sure that you give your home a good clean and declutter so that it's nice and welcoming for your guests. Although you do not need to remove your belongings, it's nice to clear a little space in your wardrobe, kitchen cupboard and bathroom so your guests have room to unpack. 

• 4 Tips for Happy Home Swap Holiday Guests
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• Five steps: prepare your home for a home swap holiday
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• Travel Q&A: does size matter in a home swap holiday?
• Communication is key to a successful home swap holiday

Home swaps are mutual agreement between the two members and is based on trust that will develop over a lengthy correspondence in the run-up to exchange dates. However, it is always important to contact your home insurance company to make sure your policy will cover the period your guests will be staying. There are also several specialist insurance companies that provide very reasonably priced top up cover for home swappers, contact us for details

Tip: For peace of mind, some members also choose to use a lockable room or ask friends/family nearby to store certain personal items that they would not want available for use by exchange guests (e.g. a work laptop).

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

Home swap holiday: cosy log cabin in Eryri (Snowdonia)

Home swapping to a log cabin in the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

We love hearing about your home swap holidays! Here we've received a trip report from Home Base Holidays member, Madeline, who enjoyed a lovely family home swap holiday to Karen's cosy log cabin set within the beautiful Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). 

Family holiday in Wales: scenic log cabin & caring home swap hosts "We enjoyed such a wonderful one week home swap holiday staying in Karen's lovely log cabin. The cabin is in such a fabulous location, in a beautiful spot within the Snowdonia National Park with amazing views over the Rhinog Mountains. The log cabin was so welcoming, it is really nicely renovated, clean, plus warm and cosy, perfectly equipped for colder days! Communication with Karen was excellent and we really appreciated the thoughtful recommendations for our family. The cabin is in the Trawsfynydd Leisure Village which is very family friendly, our kid really enjoyed visiting the playground on site. The setting and surrounding area is just stunning with lots of walks and outings to choose from. Plus what a treat to watch all the busy bird feeders in the garden! Thank you so much for such a lovely holiday." - Madeline

Highlights of the holiday: Swapping to a cosy log cabin with stunning views Beautiful location in the Snowdonia National Park Kind and responsive owners

Madeline's riverside home in Frome Lovely, peaceful family flat in Frome, a beautiful, historic town in Somerset. View the home swap holiday offer	Karen's log cabin in Snowdonia, Wales Norwegian style log cabin nestled within the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park. View the 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

Travelling with kids: wonderful home swap in Devon

We love receiving trip reports from Home Base Holidays members! In this trip report, members, Eliza and her two young daughters, enjoyed a wonderful non-simultaneous home swap holiday staying in Isabel's cosy cottage set in the beautiful East Devon countryside. 

Eliza's home swap holiday in the Devon countryside "We had the most wonderful time in Devon swapping homes with Isabel and her family. We'd arranged a non-simultaneous home swap holiday and Isabel couldn't have been more welcoming or lovely. It was such a treat to get to enjoy a couple of nights in such a beautiful part of the Devon countryside. Isabel's home is a lovely cosy cottage set in a beautiful valley close to the coast. The cottage is in such a perfect location, just a short stroll to Lyme Regis and ideal for exploring East Devon's Jurassic Coast. My husband couldn't join us so it was just myself and my two little daughters. Isabel went to every effort to make sure I had everything I needed, including a cot for my youngest and even a bucket and spade when we went to the beach. It really was such a lovely break and I'd recommend Isabel's cottage to everyone. Thanks so much!" - Eliza

Highlights of the holiday: Enjoy gorgeous country walks direct from the cottage Going to the beach. The cottage is less than 10 minutes from Lyme Regis! Cosying up in Isabel's beautiful cute cottage

Photos from the home swap in Devon

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Reply from Isabel: "Thanks so much Eliza for the great review. We really enjoyed meeting you and your daughters. We loved our home swap to your beautiful Cotswolds cottage and I really hope we can arrange a swap again later this year! Many thanks, Isabel"

Eliza's cottage in the Cotswolds Cosy cottage on the edge of the Cotswolds. Set in a pretty village in the Wiltshire countryside. View the home swap holiday offer	Isabel's cottage in Devon Lovely cottage in the beautiful East Devon countryside. 10 minutes from Lyme Regis. View the 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

First time home swappers: fabulous trip to the UK and Italy

Jarn and Ian's home swap holiday to Burnham-on-Sea and Lake Como

We love receiving trip reports from Home Base Holidays members. First time home swappers, Jarn & Ian, enjoyed a wonderful home swap holiday with Jenny & Colin, swapping to their house in the English seaside town of Burnham on Sea. They even enjoy a short trip to Italy's Lake Como!  

Jarn & Ian's fabulous home swap holiday in the UK & Italy "Thank you so much for the opportunity to be in the UK again! We had house sat and exchanged homes with friends of friends, so we were a bit hesitant at first to go on-line and find a suitable couple to stay in our house and us in theirs. We had contacted a few members while looking for somewhere suitable and close to see our family in the UK.  When Jenny and Colin responded, we were thrilled! We chatted online, then emailed and after a few days we called and spoke. It’s actually a bit like online dating!! These lovely people, were so knowledgeable and helpful throughout the process. We both discussed dates and cars, insurances for the houses, passports were viewed and driving licenses. Arriving to their beautifully cleaned home, we felt at home straight away. Plus they provided lots of food in the fridge, which they told us to help ourselves to... how kind and appreciated that was after a long haul flight! We both have dietary restrictions and so it was so handy and cost effective to be able to cook delicious, home cooked food. Plus having laundry facilities was a great plus too. The supermarket was less than a mile away. Jenny and Colin’s home was close to Bristol Airport, so we even enjoyed a short trip to Italy and Lake Como. On our return, we relaxed for a couple of days in a comfortable home. Recovered for the next adventure, where we explored this wonderful area and ended up in the beautiful town of Clovelly, near Bridport. We also visited Bletchley Park, which was amazing. The home swap was fantastic. Now we are great friends but never meet. We speak and email each other often. We feel very blessed and lucky." - Jarn & Ian

Highlights of the holiday: We were extremely lucky to have a delightful exchange with Jenny and Colin, such beautiful people. Visiting Clovelly, Bletchley Park and a trip to Italy's Lake Como The best part is having a home from home… no unpacking and packing up... blissful. Home exchanging makes everything so much easier.

 

Photos from the home exchange

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Jenny & Colin's home in Burnham-on-Sea, UK Lovely semi-detached house close to Europe's 2nd longest sandy beach. View their home swap holiday offer	Jarn & Ian's home in Adelaide, Australia Fabulous home close to city, beautiful beaches and vineyards. 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 swap holiday offers

Home swap holiday in Spain with such wonderful hosts

Pete & Dawn swapped their apartment in Chester for Bert & Heidi's house on a golf community in Spain

We love receiving trip reports from Home Base Holidays members! In this trip report, members, Pete and Dawn, enjoyed a wonderful non-simultaneous home exchange holiday staying in Bert and Heidi's house set within a private golf complex community in Vera in the south of Spain. The two families built an excellent friendship, sharing local tips & recommendations. 

Pete & Dawn's non-simultaneous home swap in Almeria, Spain "This was the second part of a non-simultaneous home exchange holiday with The Bramer family. We had already built up an amazing friendship leading up-to and during their visit to our home in Chester. They are such warm and wonderful people, and such great communicators. They took such great care of our place in Chester. Their home in Vera, a beautiful village overlooking the mountains, was a 1hr 40 mins drive from Murcia airport on excellent and easy roads. The house is part of an exclusive golf complex community, but this small group of villas has its own secure gates entrance, private parking and use of a great pool. On our visit the pool was hardly used by any other residents and we loved having a daily swim to ourselves. We enjoyed drinks at the Golf hotel terrace, listening to the golf gossip! 😀 And had a very nice meal at La Hoya also near the hotel and a just a short walk from the house. Their house is so lovely, super clean and very comfortable, it has everything you could need. We especially enjoyed using the plancha grill on the roof terrace, we cooked several meals enjoying the lovely views from the roof terrace in the evenings. We explored Almeria City, the Alcazaba is well worth it and free to visit for UK. We booked an excellent 4WD tour of The Tabanas desert, Cabo de Gato coastal nature reserve with is stunning beaches and clear blue seas. So many amazing views as you drive through this region. We really enjoyed this beautiful home swap trip which was made extra special by the wonderful messages and helpful local tips shared between the families. Thank you so much Heidi and Bert " - Pete & Dawn

Highlights of the holiday: Mountains & coast: great location for the stunning scenery  Wonderful house with wonderful warm hosts Relaxing in the sunshine & enjoying the roof terrace

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Reply from Bert and Heidi: "Hi Pete and Dawn, thank you very much for this lovely review and the gratitude of your Almeria holiday in southern Spain. We crossed paths thanks to this great home swap website and what a beautiful and satisfying home exchange it was for both of us. It was a great pleasure to see you and Pete enjoying Almeria and we discovered so many similarities in our lives 🌝 Thank you very much for this special holiday exchange with amazing conversations and friendship. Very best wish, Bert and Heidi "

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Photos from the home exchange

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Pete & Dawn's home in Chester, UK Beautiful top floor apartment overlooking the canal basin in the historic city of Chester. View the home swap holiday offer	Bert & Heidi's home in Vera, Spain Lovely home in a golf complex community with fantastic views, roof terrace and swimming pool. View the 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

Travel Q&A: arranging a home swap for the Xmas period

Arrange a last minute home exchange holiday for Christmas & New Year

Q: Me and my husband are hoping to visit London over the Christmas period and hopefully staying until the 5th January. Most of the half decent hotels and holiday rentals we've looked at have been incredibly expensive. Also, as we're hoping to be in London over Christmas and New Year, we'd ideally like to stay somewhere where we can relax and enjoy a homely festive feel.

We've just started looking at the possibility of arranging a home swap holiday in London, it sounds like it could be a perfect option but ...we are total novices in this! We have a two bedroom cottage in Cornwall (not far from St Ives). My concern is, have we left it too late to arrange a home swap for this Christmas?

Allison

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A: Thanks for getting in contact! Home swapping sounds like it would be an excellent fit for your travel requirements. Firstly, the accommodation is free (except for the small membership fee) and secondly, you'll get to stay in a real London home over the festive period - far more festive than a hotel room!

You'll still find many members that are looking for last minute home swaps over Christmas and New Year. However, it's best to get a move on and start looking as soon as possible!

The first step is to sign up to a home swap website such as Home Base Holidays. You can add details of your home in Cornwall and add your request for a home swap to London over Christmas and New Year. Once you've added your offer, start browsing London offers and contact members to enquire about a festive swap!

• Search home swap holiday offers

You can also add your offer to "Last minute swaps" and also search other members that have selected the Last minute swap option.

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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 6-week home swap holiday exploring Australia

Jenny & Colin enjoyed a wonderful 6-week home swap holiday exploring Australia

We love hearing from Home Base Holidays members about their home exchange experiences. Here we have a fantastic trip report from Jenny & Colin on their fabulous 6-week holiday swapping to Jarn and Ian's lovely home near Adelaide.

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Jenny & Colin's home swap holiday exploring Australia "When Jarn and Ian contacted us from Moana, near Adelaide, Australia we were thrilled to accept their offer of a 6 week home exchange during their Australian Spring. For many months before the trip, we kept in touch exchanging lots of laughs and information. They did everything possible to make us feel welcome and help us get the most out of our trip. What a delight to arrive at their lovely, super clean, modern home on the coast. It was beautifully decorated with Jarn's photos and treasures from their travels. There was everything you could possibly want for a comfortable stay – including friendly, helpful neighbours. The neighbourhood was really lovely and green, with easy access to a major road leading to Adelaide and the wider areas. We used to catch the train to Adelaide, which was easy and so cheap. During our stay we took the opportunity to fly from Adelaide to Port Douglas, then to Sydney and then on to a week with a campervan in Tasmania and back to Adelaide to spend the remainder of the trip in Moana. £800 for 2 people for 4 flights – unbelievable! We had one week in each destination. Port Douglas was beautiful, warm and sunny with the rainforest coming down to the beach. We took the chance to ride on the Sky train over the rainforest and took a day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef to have a look at the corals - I shall never forget swimming in the Coral Sea! Sydney was a wonderful exciting city and we saw all the major sights and had some great food. Easy to travel around and fun on the ferries. Prices for everything were very reasonable. Tasmania was much cooler, more like our Autumn back home but still sunny every day. We started at Hobart explored the east coast, then to Launceston and back down the middle to Hobart. Brilliant roads – so quiet even though it was their school holidays. Tasmania is lovely, green and reminded us of North Wales! Beautiful pristine beaches and rolling open countryside. We spotted an Echidna (Tachyglossidae within the order monotremata-egg laying mammals) near the coast. What a privilege. Regretfully, we didn't have time to explore further into the mountains. The camping sites are amazing with camp kitchens, showers, laundry etc. Then back to Moana and a couple of weeks exploring the wider area and Adelaide especially the Aboriginal exhibition in the museum and the parks. A big thrill for us was listening to and seeing birds everywhere we went. Visiting wildlife parks and encountering wild kangaroos in a reserve not far from Moana was a great experience. We even saw a brown snake – an unwelcome guest in an enclosure in Sydney Zoo – not many Australians get to see that! Fabulous home exchange with so many wonderful memories! So grateful to Jarn and Ian who have helped give us the trip of a lifetime. Pleased that their enjoyment of our home and country helped make their first experience of home swapping so enjoyable for them too." - Jenny & Colin

Highlights of the home swap holiday: Wonderful 6-week holiday exploring Australia Encountering the wildlife and people Getting to know Jarn & Ian and staying in their lovely home

Photos from Jenny & Colin's trip to Australia:

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Jenny & Colin's home in Burnham-on-Sea Semi-detached house in Somerset, close to Europe's 2nd longest sandy beach. View their home swap holiday offer	Jarn & Ian's home near Adelaide Spacious new build home on the southern end of Adelaide, very close to superb beaches. 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