Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Peak District to the Lake District | Home swap holidays

We love hearing from Home Base Holidays members about their home exchange holidays! Kay & Garry swapped their home in lovely market town of Kendal in the Lake District for Kara & John's lovely cosy home in Totley on the edge of the Peak District.

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Kay & Garry's lovely swap to the Peak District "We really enjoyed our week’s home swap holiday staying in Kara and John’s spacious and comfortable home in Totley. It was such a pleasure to sit watching the birds in their peaceful large garden, and we loved having an evening stroll in the delightful woodland paths which open directly from the garden gate. The house is very well situated for easy access to the Peak District, and we also went to a live music gig in Sheffield one night which was only a short drive away. We had long walks in the stunning Derbyshire Dales and bike rides along the safe and quiet cycle trails to attractive villages, and saw the traditional well-dressing in Tissington. We also enjoyed a scenic walk around Chatsworth Park and a visit to Bakewell for fish and chips by the river, and met up with an old friend in pretty Ashford-in-the-Water (which has a lovely tearoom with a sunny garden). We can also recommend a visit to Tagg Lane Dairy for delicious homemade ice cream! One of the Totley local pubs, The Crown, is only a short walk away and we had a great Sunday lunch there and went to a fun and friendly quiz another night. Otherwise we were happy to spend evenings relaxing in this gorgeous house (the only drawback being that we miss those comfy reclining sofas now we’re back home!!) Kara and John couldn’t have been more helpful and generous, so kind to leave us some lovely treats including one of the best pork pies we’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much for a fantastic stay and for being such great exchange partners."

Highlights of the holiday: Beautiful peaceful home and garden Easy access to Peak District attractions Friendly local pub with great food

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Kara & John's cosy home swap in Kendal "We had a wonderful week long home exchange at Kay and Garry's house in Kendal. Their home is warm and welcoming and had everything we needed for a very comfortable stay. I really enjoyed sitting in their pretty and private garden. Their home is on a lovely quiet road within walking distance into Kendall town centre and footpaths from the house. We were very impressed with the pubs and restaurants we visited. (Pappy’s Texas BBQ was a big hit). We packed in lots of activities during our week, including ghyll scrambling, kayaking and paddle boarding and of course plenty of walking. We visited Lakeland Motor Museum as a wet weather activity and we all thought it was excellent. Kay and Garry have been amazing exchange partners and would definitely love to exchange again in the future."

Highlights of the holiday: Lovely location of the home Excellent outdoor activities Local pubs and restaurants

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Kay & Garry's family home in Kendal Lovely family house in Kendal, a perfect base for exploring the Lake District. View their home swap holiday offer	Kara & John's family home in The Peak District Peaceful family home situated on the edge of The Peak District National Park. 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

One of the best home exchanges we've ever done!

Paddy & Kath's sea view home in Ireland and Graham & Linda's thatched cottage in Suffolk

We love hearing from Home Base Holidays members about their home exchange holidays! Paddy & Kath swapped their seaside home on Ireland's stunning Ards Peninsula with Graham & Linda's lovely 18th Century thatched cottage in Suffolk.

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Graham & Linda's home swap just yards from the Irish Sea "This was one of the best home exchanges we've ever done, and we've completed exchanges all over the World! Firstly, the accommodation in Paddy and Kath's seaside home was superb, so comfortable we would have been quite happy to just sit and enjoy the stunning views of the sea! But there is so much more to see and do. The scenery along the coast and around the Lough are some of the best we've seen anywhere, the trip to Giants Causeway and the Rope Bridge was memorable as were the views. The two National Trust properties we visited (Mount Stewart and Castle Ward) were great and we spent several hours there enjoying the garden walks and views. In Belfast we visited the Titanic Exhibition which we highly recommend and also the Crumlin Road Prison, and Black Cab tours. We were spoilt for choice when deciding where to eat out, but the Artisan Cookhouse, that Kath recommended, was the pick of the bunch. I think our most striking memory will be the humour and friendliness of the people we met during our stay. Many thanks, Graham & Linda"

Highlights of the holiday: Superb sea views and beautiful countryside with lots of interesting places to visit Lovely comfortable house to come back to each evening Everyone we met was friendly, chatty and proud of their beautiful country

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Paddy & Kath's home swap to a thatched cottage in Suffolk "We had just over a week in The Nest, Graham and Linda's beautiful thatched cottage in the really lovely village of Rattlesden. We were spoiled with wall to wall sunshine so enjoyed breakfasts in the garden, and endless trips to the plethora of national trust and other beautiful gardens. Our favourite was Fullers Mill. We got to Sutton Hoo which was fascinating. We loved the distinctive villages and rolling countryside, the village pub, and a memorable trip to Hyde hall. Graham and Linda’s neighbours were super friendly, everyone was. We loved our home swap in this lovely place! Thank you so much, Paddy & Kath"

Highlights of the holiday: Staying in their lovely and comfortable thatched cottage Exploring the beautiful area Fullers Mill garden

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Graham & Linda's thatched cottage in Suffolk Grade II Listed 18th Century thatched cottage situated in a picturesque village. View their home swap holiday offer	Paddy & Cath's seaside home in Ireland Spacious detached seaside property just yards from the Irish Sea. 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

How to write description for your Home Exchange listing

Home swapping? Include a good description of your home and area

Planning a home exchange holiday? Writing a good description for your home swap offer can really helps your offer stand out. Providing an honest detailed description also helps to avoid any misunderstandings during the holiday. Creating a clear, compelling description gives other home swappers a good sense of your home and location.

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Step 1: Look at your home from the visitor's point of view

Imagine you’re talking on the phone with a potential home swap guest who knows only that your home might be right in terms of its general location and size. What questions might the person ask? What features of your home and its location might encourage the person to agree an exchange?

Tip: If you had only 140 characters in which to convey what’s best about your home, what would you say?

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Step 2: Write a compelling headline

If you were looking for a place to stay with your family in London, which of these listing headlines would grab your attention?

“East London home”

OR

“Spacious family home in vibrant East London. Excellent public transport nearby”

The second headline gives you useful information and makes the home seem appealing. It tells you at a glance that the home is family friendly and sounds like a great base from which to explore London. The carefully chosen words such as “spacious” and “family home” convey a sense of what the home is like and implies that the home has everything you might need for your stay.

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Step 3: List points to include in your home exchange listing description

Before you start to write your home exchange description, make a list of the features and items of information to include. Include key facts about your home and its location, along with anything that makes it special.

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Step 4: Write a quick first draft

Read through your list. Then start writing. Use active language to help people visualise the home and the area. Be specific and truthful. Tell them what you like about living there and why they’ll find it the perfect home from home.

Tip: Start your home exchange description with a sentence that conveys the most important message about your home.

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Step 5: Improve the draft

Now is the time to be critical. Use the guidelines below to make sure that your description makes your home come alive and answers travellers’ most important questions.

Be specific. Try not to be too vague. If you wrote “It’s a fabulous apartment” would the reader know what you mean? A more useful description might be: “Our lovely bright open plan apartment has beautiful picture windows that overlook the ocean.” Use language that talks to potential guests, such as “You’ll appreciate the warmth of our fieldstone fireplace on chilly evenings.” Be concise. It’s important to include detailed information about your home and area but remember, you’re not writing a novel. Instead, readers will scan the content quickly to pick out the most interesting and relevant points. Short sentences and short paragraphs communicate clearly and quickly, so make it crisp, clear, and to the point, avoiding the common tendency to ramble or repeat yourself. Use adjectives with care. Descriptive words such as “cozy” “spacious” “elegant” and “comfortable” can convey a sense of what your home is like. But what a Londoner or a New Yorker might consider a “spacious” apartment can seem little more than a closet to a traveller from Colorado. One person’s idea of “beautiful” or “elegant” might seem gaudy or overdone to someone else. Also, avoid using lots of capitalized words! Be truthful! Your description creates expectations in the traveller’s mind, so it should always be truthful and accurate in your home exchange listing description. There’s no need to emphasise the negatives but never fudge the truth or omit any important details that may result in a bad home swap experience for your guests. An example of this is, if you own a dog or a cat, make sure that this is clearly included in your description – even if the pets are not in your home during the swap dates, their fur may make it a big no no for anyone with pet allergies.

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Join Home Base Holidays: start home swapping Enjoy free holiday accommodation by arranging a home swap. Sign up to Home Base Holidays Start swapping: browse home swap holiday offers

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Lovely home swap in New Quay (+ host's friendly cats!)

Rick & Jen enjoyed an Easter holiday exploring the Ceredigion coastal path

It's so nice hearing from Home Base Holidays members about their home swap holidays. Here's an excellent trip report from very experienced home swappers, Rick & Jen, on their recent holiday exchanging to Susanne & John's home next to the Ceredigion coast.

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Rick & Jen's lovely Easter swap exploring the Ceredigion coastal path "We had such a lovely home swap in Wales over the Easter period. Susanne and John's home is just inland from some glorious coastal scenery, prompting regular evening walks along the beach watching the sunsets. New Quay port can get busy so we opted for the free parking at the old waterworks and walked around the sandy bay when the tide was out, we loved it! Highlights of the home exchange - being welcomed by the friendly Greek cats, superb views from the house over the Welsh countryside, cycling the numourous lanes, the woodland walk from the centre of Llanarth round to the New Quay road, and the garden centre just next door made few quite a few visits. Recommended trips for coast walks and sandy coves would be Mwnt and Llangrannog, and the National Trust gold mines at Dolaucothi is well worth the trip. Great tips and communications made for a very relaxing and stress-free week, thanks again Susanne for the swap, hope you enjoyed your time in the Dales." - Rick & Jen

Highlights of the holiday: Great location in gorgeous Welsh countryside Friendly welcome from the cats Regular communications made for stress-free week

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Rick & Jen's farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales Stone farmhouse in quiet location just off the main square in Grassington. View their home swap holiday offer	Susanne & John's house by the Welsh coast Cosy 4-bedroom house in the beautiful area of Wales called Ceredigion. 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

3 Easy Steps for Creating a Home Exchange User Guide

It’s good to anticipate what your home exchange guests might need to know about their home and local area. It can be frustrating to spend your valuable holiday time figuring out how to use the new appliances, how to get hot water from the shower, or where to put the rubbish and recycling.

Putting together a home user guide for your guests not only helps them enjoy their stay, but it conveys a clear message: “We want you to enjoy your stay!”. It has the added benefit of helping to keep you from being bombarded by texts and phone calls while you’re also relaxing on your home swap holiday.

Here are 3 easy steps for creating a great home user guide. Once you’ve written and assembled the guide, all you’ll need to do is update it when something changes.

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Step 1. Decide what “must-have” content to include

Think about what guests need to know to live comfortably in your home and handle any problems that might come up. Must-have content typically includes:

• A short, friendly note welcoming your guests to your home
• The home’s street address and telephone number
• How guests can reach you while they are staying in your home
• The password or code for your security system, if any, and how to turn it and off
• The Wifi password and what to do if it goes down
• Phone numbers for the fire department, police, hospital, pharmacy, and poison control
• Instructions for sorting the recycling, where to put the rubbish and recycling
• What to do if the power goes out, the plumbing backs up, the heater or water heater won’t go on, they lose their keys, or something else serious happens
• Instructions and/or manuals for the appliances, heater/air conditioner, TV, streaming services, sound system, barbecue, and other equipment
• Cautions (“The toilet in the front bathroom backs up easily so be gentle”; “Please do not lock the door between the stairs and the back hall – we don’t have a key”; “the drawer in the kitchen table falls out easily so be careful when you open it”)
• Rules (“Please do not play the TV or music loudly after 10:00 at night”; “Please do not smoke in the house or on the property”; “Please park only in our assigned space, #288”)
• What guests should do when they leave (“Please replace the toilet paper and cleaning supplies”; “Strip the beds and put the sheets in the washer”; “Leave us some milk, eggs, butter, and bread”)

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Step 2. Decide what nice-to-have information to include

A big part of traveling is the fun of exploring a new area, but it’s also nice to have a local’s point of view. Help guests have a great experience by being a “virtual tourist guide,” with suggestions for places they might not find in their travel books.

• Where to shop: supermarkets, farmers’ markets, bookstores, cafes
• How to get around: maps of the area along with bus, train, and ferry information and schedules along with phone numbers for taxi and airport shuttle services
• Where to play: parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, gyms, beaches, golf courses, tennis courts, hiking trails, ski slopes, and other recreational facilities
• Where to eat: a selection of cafes, bars and restaurants they might enjoy

Tip: Collect menus from places you like and leave them for your guests

• What to see: local attractions such as museums, art galleries, nature preserves, sports arenas, universities, and more

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Step 3. Write and assemble your home user guide

Make your home user guide easy to read. Use lists and headings to help guests quickly find specific information. Keep sentences and paragraphs to a minimum. To assemble the guide, you can staple the pages of instructions and suggestions together and put the maps, menus, and brochures in a basket or put everything in a binder or folder with pockets.

Tip: E-mail guests a copy of the written part of the guide so they can look it over and ask questions before they arrive.

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Arrange a home swap holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays for free and contact members to arrange your home swap holiday accommodation. Search 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

4 Tips for Happy Home Swap Holiday Guests | Travel Tips

Experienced home exchangers know that helping guests enjoy their stay in their home isn’t difficult, but it does take some extra attention. Here are 4 tips to ensure that your guests are happy and have a wonderful home swap holiday. Search home swap holiday offers

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Tip 1. Make sure your home swap listing is accurate

An inaccurate or misleading listing description is one quick way to leave your home swap guests feeling unhappy with their stay in your home. Make sure that your listing has accurate detailed information about your home and location. Of course, you'll want to highlight the best bits of your home and area, but make sure you also be honest about anything that could be a potential issue (e.g Have a 5 floor walk up apartment? Make sure potential guests know if there is no lift. Have pets? Let your potential guests know as this could be a big no no for allergy sufferers).

Good communications when in the planning stage helps ensure that both you and your guests enjoy a wonderful stay in each others' homes.

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Tip 2. Good communication (stay in regular contact)

As mentioned, good communication is key to successful home exchanging. Make sure to discuss and agree all details before agreeing to an exchange. Spending time getting to know your home exchange partners helps to build trust and avoid any misunderstandings. Make sure to answer any questions promptly. If you'll be out of contact for a while, let your exchange partners that you'll be away and let them know when you'll be back in contact. 

Provide serveral ways that you can be contacted (e.g. through the website, via email, WhatsApp and phone numbers). It can also be a nice touch and reasuring to schedule a phone or video call with your home exchange partners prior to agreeing the swap. 

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Tip 3. Provide the basics (toilet paper, basic food, bedding, towels)

You don't want to arrive at your home swap accommodation to find that there is no loo roll! Your guests won't expect you to fully stock your cupboards but make sure that you leave basic supplies for their arrival. Provide plenty of clean towels and bedding but also provide your guests with toilet roll, kitchen towels, cleaning supplies, pots, pans, kitchenware, and so on. Many hosts also provide basic food items for their guests arrival e.g. bread, butter, milk, olive oil, cereal, salt & pepper... even a bottle of wine!

It’s not difficult or expensive to provide the basics for your guests. Think about what you would need if you were staying in a home like yours for a few days or a few weeks. 

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Tip 4. Information about your home & area (create a 'Welcome Pack')

Put together a Welcome Pack for your guests with clear, detailed instructions: how to turn on the heating or air conditioner, where to put the rubbish & recycling. Not only will that help your guests enjoy their stay, you’ll be less likely to be bothered by messages and phone calls when they can’t figure something out.

One of the most rewarding things about home swapping is that you get to 'live like a local' as you explore your host's area. You'll often find lovely off the tourist trail discoveries such as independent shops and cafes, places to buy food, local restaurants, churches and historic sights, etc. Help your guests discover some of your favourite local attractions by including this information in your Welcome Pack. Think about what your guests might need or like to know about your neighbourhood, things they might not find in their tourist guides. You might include maps and restaurant menus; directions to food stores and markets; where to buy bus and train tickets; locations of parks, gyms, beauty salons, and pharmacies; suggestions for good places to walk; and brochures for interesting places and sights known only to locals. 

It's also always good to leave your guests contact details in case of emergencies. In addition to your own contact details, include phone numbers of an emergency plumber and electrician. Include the phone numbers of your local doctor, dentist and emergency response call out numbers (i.e. 999 in the UK and 911 in the US & Canada). If you're also able to leave the contact number of a local friend, neighbour or relative, this can also add to the reasurance.

Check out our blog post: Prepare a Welcome Pack for your home swap guests

 

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Join Home Base Holidays: start home swapping Looking for a budget friendly break? Arrange free holiday accommodation by choosing to swap homes rather than book hotels or holiday rentals. View the latest home exchange vacation offers then sign up to Home Base Holidays.

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