Travel the Home Exchange Way

Post-lockdown getaway? Try a staycation home swap

Starting to think about travel? Try a home swap in your own country

It’s been quite a worrying and surreal few months. Although everyone has been doing their very best to turn negatives into positives (baking sourdough bread, brushing up on a new language, struggling into yoga positions, or just binge watching Netflix), lockdown has been a tad tough and I know many of us are itching to plan our next home swap getaway. One things for sure, that first post lockdown trip is going to be extra special!

It seems likely that for many of us, our first post-lockdown trip will be a getaway within our own country. We're starting to see signs that “staycation” home swaps will be a very popular option in the second half of this year. Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a gradual but very encouraging uptake in new members signing up to Home Base Holidays - the majority of which have noted in their destination request that they are looking for a home exchange within their own country.

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Searching for a post-lockdown getaway? Here's a small selection of new holiday home swap offers added over the last couple of weeks (click to view larger version)

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Links to the above home swap offers:

• North Yorkshire, England: lovely 3-bedroom cottage in the market town of Yarm. View offer
• Malaga, Spain: stunning sea view 3 story home just a short stroll from the beach. View offer
• Amsterdam, Netherlands: charming four-floor canal home built in early 1600s. Overlooks famous Herengracht canal in the heart of Amsterdam. View offer
• Devon, England: beautiful Georgian house overlooking open countryside. View offer
• Glasgow, Scotland: beautiful 3-bedroom red brick family home in Glasgow. View offer
• Torquay, England: Grade II listed historic Crescent with beautiful period features. View offer
• Paris, France: modern house just 8 minutes from the A Cergy Préfecture rer station. View offer
• Devon, England: stunning converted barns in the heart of East Devon's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). View offer
• Trusham, England: thatched cottage in a beautiful English village on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. View offer
• Bristol, England: Victorian terraced home in a beautiful, friendly, leafy street. View offer
• Lismore, Ireland: Georgian Country House set in beautiful landscaped gardens, in magnificent countryside. View offer
• Warsaw, Poland: Cozy flat in one of the coolest parts of Warsay, close to the river and city centre. View offer

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Planning a post-lockdown getaway? Sign up to Home Base Holidays and then start contacting other members to arrange your free holiday home swap accommodation.  Have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected]

 

Books and a comfy chair: cosy home swap homes

When someone is being interviewed in their home office for a TV news report, do you ever get side-tracked from listening, trying to read the titles of books in a bookcase behind them? If you do, you are very likely to also be eager to check out the books in your home swap hosts’ home, perhaps looking for common interests, or something completely different from your normal reading matter to dip into.

Books really do furnish a room if you love reading and, on a quick check through some Home Base Holidays listings, many interior photos do include books, often with an inviting comfy chair or sofa nearby.

Small selection of book-filled homes available for home swapping:

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Links to the above home swap offers:

1. Recently converted 1930's Presbyterian church in Shrewsbury, Shropshire,  England. View home exchange offer
2. Home in the pretty little town of Hay-on-Wye in Wales, famous for its many bookshops and annual literary festival. View home exchange offer
3. Large Edwardian family home located just south of central Manchester, England. View home exchange offer
4. 300 year old cottage in pretty village near Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. View home exchange offer
5. Cosy flat in a listed 1920s apartment block in Berlin, Germany. View home exchange offer
6. Large, comfortable home in a beachside suburb, just south of Fremantle, Western Australia. View home exchange offer
7. Bright Victorian 2nd floor apartment in Glasgow, Scotland. View home exchange offer
8. Charming 18th century stone cottage in the heart of a village on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. View home exchange offer

Swap stories: our fabulous winter home exchange

Sheringham swap: Marguerite's December home exchange on the Norfolk coast

This home swap experience was sent in by Home Base Holidays member and very experienced home exchanger, Marguerite.

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"This is the second year in a row we've arranged a Christmas holiday home swap. I'd usually think about home swapping in the spring or summer, but a couple of years ago we received a very tempting home exchange offer in Suffolk for a couple of weeks before Christmas - we took up the offer and enjoyed it so much that we arranged another Christmas exchange in 2019!

One of our favourite places is Norfolk, thanks to the beauty of the coast and the wildlife. We were very lucky that Sue and her husband from Sheringham were happy to exchange in December. Their home was so warm, comfy, full of character and right next to the sea. Sheringham itself was a delight with its Christmas lights and lovely little shops and such friendly locals.

We'll definitely be looking for another Christmas home swap this year. In the meantime we have so much lined up, next week we have a home exchange in Ulverston (Lake District) thanks to Steve and Jean, followed by home exchanges in France, East coast, and the Peak District ...and hopefully still time to pack lots more in! Thanks to Home Base Holidays for making this possible."

- Marguerite

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Marguerite's Christmas Sheringham swap

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Meet the members:   Marguerite (in photo) is a retired Teacher and avid traveller. Having lived in France many years, she speaks fluent French. - View Marguerite's home swap offer in Harrogate - View Sue's home swap offer in Sheringham

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Arrange your 2020 home swaps Sign up to Home Base Holidays and cut the cost of your 2020 getaways. By swapping homes you'll enjoy free accommodation plus all the space and convenience of a home from home. Search home swap travel offers

Trip report: home exchange in beautiful Vermont

Vermont home swap: beautiful sunset on Lake champlain

"We had a wonderful 3 week home swap in Sarah and Peter's home in South Burlington, Vermont. As the home exchange agreement was made well in advance we had plenty of time to get to know each other via messages and Skype. Sarah is an absolute perfectionist to detail and arranged everything for our trip to go as smoothly as possible. The house is really spacious and very comfortable. There's a lovely garden and deck to enjoy the lovely sunny days and the raspberries and tomatoes (delicious!). The neighborhood is extremely quiet even though it is situated a few minutes walk from a busy highway. We really appreciated the loan of the two cars especially the hybrid and the two bikes at our disposal which we used every day along the very safe cycle routes that took us into lovely wooded areas or countryside. Burlington is situated on Lake Champlain which is spectacular especially at sun set. We were surprised at the diversity of all the activities and places of interest in and around Burlington, there was so much to see from art galleries to apple orchards, museums, national parks, boat trips, dinner trains, restaurants, shops and of course the magnificent fall colors which we managed to see the beginning of. Sarah left us an excellent guide with advice and remarks of the best places/activities to see and do. We can highly recommend an exchange with Sarah and Peter who are excellent hosts and looked after our house in Belgium with great care. - Helena & Mike (Profondeville, Belgium)

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Highlight from the home exchange:

1. Very comfortable home and excellent hosts
2. Beautiful area on Lake Champlain
3. Lots of places to visit for all interests

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Photos from the home swap:

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Meet the members:

Peter & Sarah:  Peter and Sarah are happily retired. They have a lovely home in Burlington, Vermont, USA. Burlington is rated as one of the most livable cities in the USA. Its location on the shores of Lake Champlain near both the Adirondack Mountains and the Green Mountains means there is hiking, biking, skiing and boating nearby.  View their home swap offer in Burlington

 

Helena & Mike:  Helena and Mike are retired English teachers. They have a 200 year old cottage in the beautiful area of Profondeville between Namur and Dinant. Profondeville is situated on the river Meuse an area which is renowned for it’s beauty with the possibility to cycle or walk along the river for many hours. View their home swap offer in Profondeville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Arrange your 2020 home swaps Sign up to Home Base Holidays and cut the cost of your 2020 getaways. By swapping homes you'll enjoy free accommodation plus all the space and convenience of a home from home. Search home swap travel offers

Family travel: benefits of a home swap vacation

Arranging a family getaway can typically be quite an expense what with transport, activities and accommodation costs. However, by choosing to swap homes rather than booking a hotel, you can dramatically cut the cost of your family getaway as your accommodation will be free. Being able to enjoy the space and comforts of home rather than being cramped in a hotel room can be big plus when travelling with children.

Obviously, some homes are not suitable for young children (e.g. certain features such as balconies, swimming pools, etc can cause a hazard) and so when searching home swap offers avoid any where the member has marked their home with the "Not suitable for small children" icon. However, do keep an eye out for homes displaying the "Suitable for small children" icon as these homes will usually be an ideal as a base for your family vacation.

Check out the Home swapping: is your home suitable for young kids? blog post.

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Home swap tip: if travelling with your young children, you may want to arrange a home swap with another young family as their homes may be ideally suited for your needs (e.g. toys, changing facilities, child car seats, etc)

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An excellent bonus of home swapping is that, as you are arranging a stay in a locals home, they are in an excellent position to offer advice and tips for budget-friendly family day trips and activities. Another big plus is that on a home swap you will have a kitchen where you can prepare a few meals and snacks before you head out on your adventures.   

Child-friendly home swap in Stockholm

Similarly, when adding your own home swap offer, it's useful to include information on your home's facilities/activities that may be useful to other families looking for a swap. Also, you can include some ideas for local outings. You will, of course, be able to expand on this, asking and answering questions, once in correspondence with potential home swap partners. It's also a great idea to put together a welcome folder for your home swap partners with information about your home (e.g. how to turn on the heating), emergency numbers, transport details, maps of the area and leaflets and recommendations or local activities and day trips.  

The beautiful home swap offer in central Stockholm (HE37376) is a lovely two-bedroom child friendly apartment. The apartment is also fully accessible for wheelchairs. The member has given excellent information (plus more photos) in their listing, both on the family's home and the local area.

'Plenty of toys, Wii U console and books (half English/half Swedish) for the kids. Other children’s accessories such as car seats, rain coats, boots, bikes etc are also available for our home swap guests.' - Jon (Stockholm, Sweden)

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View this family friendly home swap offer in Stockholm 

Home Swappers newsletter: 2020 holiday home swaps

2020 home swaps: whether you're looking for a staycation or traveling overseas, now is the ideal time to sign up to Home Base Holidays and start planning your home exchange accommodation for this Easter and summer getaways.

• Check out the latest issue of the Home Swappers newsletter

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This issue of the Home Swappers newsletter:

• Featured home exchange: Beautiful Georgian townhouse in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Villa in Los Alcazares, Spain located on Roda Golf & Beach Resort
• Five reasons: to try a home exchange holiday
• Home swaps for 2020: browse up-to-date listings in over 90 countries
• 20% discount code: sign up and start swapping!

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Holiday home swaps in 2020 

Cut the cost of your 2020 getaways by choosing to swap homes rather than book hotels or holiday rentals. By swapping homes you'll enjoy free accommodation plus all the space and convenience of a home from home.

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