Cheap Holidays with Home Exchange
How to Cut the Cost of Your Vacation and Have a Better Time
Doing a house exchange means a cheap holiday and so it is so easy through the Internet. Find out the benefits and the 7 essential keys to a succesful holiday swap.
To exchange homes is a simple idea that makes it possible for many people to visit places they have only dreamed of in the past.
The first thing to do is check out the Internet sites of organisations offering home exchanges. Compare what they offer and the membership charges and look at the destination listings. It is possible to exchange any property from a camper to a yacht.
How to Cut Costs
Maybe you live in Boston and have always wanted to visit Amsterdam. With your partner and two children, that could be an expensive venture. Hotels bills , car hire and eating out will take a huge bite out of your spending money. For many people, international travel, especially with families, is just not feasible, however much they may dream about it.
But if you are prepared to exchange homes with someone else, you can cut the cost of your holiday dramatically. No hotel bills, no vacation rental bills, and you can eat at home and have the comfort of more space and perhaps a garden. Offering to exchange cars will also cut costs.
7 Key Points to a Successful Home Exchange
- Before you agree to the property exchange, give yourself plenty of time and find out all about the other family. Look at pictures of their home. Discuss things with them, like looking after the garden or any special plant care.
- Most people who travel any distance will want to make it worthwhile, so think about two weeks as a minimum exchange time.
- Check that your insurance covers invited guests in your home, and that your car insurance allows permitted drivers.
- Put away valuable things.
- Create a folder with information about the house, contact numbers in case your exchangers need advice, leaflets about interesting local things.
- If possible arrange for a friend to greet your exchangers at your house, and show them any unusual locks or temperamental toasters.
- Relax ,and remember, both exchange families are in a position of trust.
Authentic Experience
Perhaps the best thing about a property exchange is that you can live as the locals do. Let’s go back to Amsterdam for a moment. You do a house swap and find yourself, very fortunately in a house on the outskirts of the city. Your neighbours are curious and welcome you with a few questions and tips about the best place to buy cheese and where you will enjoy a fantastic cup of coffee after visiting the museums.
You go to the market and discover an American who has been living in Amsterdam for a few years. You are invited to meet the next day and your new friend will take you on a canal cruise and show you some of the places that tourists never see. Would this happen if you were in a hotel? It’s unlikely.
Reference : Home Exchange Vacationing: Your Guide to Free Accommodations (Bill Barbour Mary Barbour Al Hartley Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press 1996)
