HomeForHome has over 4000 users from Spain. With so many opportunities and so many beautiful destinations there, you shouldn’t leave it out of the list of places you would be willing to visit. We have described some areas in previous posts, like Barcelona and Malaga, but there are several other places that should definitely have their own posts:

Image by Javier Carro

Madrid - The capital and largest city, both modern and filled with historic landmarks it should be a paradise for people that enjoy culture and architecture: the Royal Palace, the Royal Theatre and the Prado Museum would be enough on their own just to please the most discerning visitor.

Valencia - Birthplace of Spain’s most renowned dish: paella, the area also offers a wide choice of fine wines and the city has several landmarks, like the modern City of Arts and Sciences, the Llotja de la Seda (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and other Gothic style buildings. Plus, this year it will host the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe in June, in a new urban circuit through the city’s maritime area.

Andalusia - The southernmost autonomous community, with a varied climate and geography: mountains, plains, Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines. The Costa del Sol, with its sunny sandy beaches, is the main tourist destination but the rich history of the area has left hundreds of architectural and archaeological sites worth visiting. Granada, the last city reconquered by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, has an undeniable Arab legacy. The Alhambra, its most splendorous site, is one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Andalusia.Canary Islands - Seven islands form the Canarian archipelago with their year-round warm climate and endless coastlines also a perfect spot for beach lovers.

This list is not even close to show you the complete picture, it is just a glance of what could be waiting for you in Spain. Such diversity should include the destinations you have been looking for. Find your Iberian home exchange in HomeForHome.

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In our previous post, we discussed ideas to keep your vacations on the healthy side that included mostly tips to use during flights or road trips. Today we want to give you more ideas to stay fit during your home exchange, ranging from a simple hour-long walk to a more complete workout routine.

If you have been attending a gym or following a workout routine for quite some time now, you should not stop just because you are in a different place, you could even find out that you have reached a point where you “need” to exercise. If you are in this group, you have it simple, just set a time to follow the same routine you’ve been using. If you want to reduce the workout time so you can spend more time with your family, at the beach or visiting attractions, you could ask your instructor about how to reduce the workout time without losing intensity. Maybe you can skip certain parts of the routine and substitute them with long walks along the beach, hiking or even walks downtown.

If you enjoy playing sports, like golf, tennis, surfing, trekking, biking or swimming, you may dedicate them more time than you usually do, combining exercise with fun and relaxation. The beach is a great place to  practice sports, of course water sports are a must but also beach-volley, soccer or tennis. Other places may be more suited for biking, hiking, trekking and kayaking, which can be combined with sightseeing or birdwatching.

If you need to incorporate exercise to your life a vacation may be the perfect opportunity to do so. Since you have more free time available, you may find it easier to use some to start a workout routine including push-ups, crunches, squats or simply jogging. Those that don’t like exercise could try less intense activities like yoga, meditation, tai-chi or even dancing.

As fun as sports and exercise are, do not overdo because you can get seriously injured. Remember to stretch before and after engaging in any intensive activity and drink a lot of water to stay hydrated.

No matter where you choose to spend your vacations, HomeForHome helps you find your home exchange deal.

Sometimes, people put aside their healthy habits while they’re on vacation. Without access to their local gym, or their home’s exercise area and the desire to try the delicacies of the local cuisine, you can easily end your holidays with a few extra pounds.

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But eating well and staying active are not forbidden while you are away from home. To get started, you need to be prepared for the journey. Whether you are travelling by plane, bus or car, you can plan your meals ahead to ensure you stay on the right track.

Even though there are strict restrictions to the things you can bring on a plane, you can still manage to have a few healthy snacks in your hand baggage. Prefer vegetable and fruit based foods and of course water to salty snacks and sodas or alcohol. Check with your airline before you pack any foods, since there are security restrictions, but remember that any item bought after passing through security is allowed in the cabin. Currently there are wider menu options in the airports for those that need to eat there between flights or before they get on the plane.

There’s more flexibility if you are hitting the roads, but there’s also more temptation. Plan the trip with enough stops and sufficient time for every meal. That way you will avoid fast foods, greasy snacks, etc. Bring a cooler with fresh goodies, even though it is an extra piece of luggage, you could use it if you take short trips or go to the beach in your final home exchange destination. Of course, water should be the top choice to stay hydrated during the journey.

About staying active, it is harder during flights and unnecessary in short trips, but you should always include short walks both to stay active and to give your body a break from the sitting position. In long flights it is always recommended to move your feet and legs because it helps blood circulation, specially blood return from your feet to your heart. Also, if you take a long drive, you can always plan a visit to an interesting destination along the way so you can take a walk, it will be both relaxing and fun.

Once in your home exchange destination, you can set up a special 30 min exercise routine to stay active (there are many workout DVDs in case you don’t know how to set one up on your own), maybe bring along a jump rope, a resistance band, your exercise mat or another small piece of equipment, and of course appropriate footwear and clothing. Working out will keep you energized and it will also prevent you from feeling down after your vacation is over.

We have mentioned many times that having a fully equipped kitchen is one advantage of home exchange that allows you to save money by cooking your own healthy meals. Yet, another thing to consider is that even though you may be tempted to try as many local plates as you can, keep your portions to the smallest possible size.

Plan your healthy vacations with HomeForHome.

Being eco-friendly does not mean you need to spend extra cash to lower your impact on the planet. In fact, it could even result in the opposite: you may end up saving money by using resources more effectively.

Here we present you some cheap ideas for travelling green as you swap:

- Borrow travel books or guides from your local library or from a friend. Another option is to buy a used travel guide or trade a previously purchased guide. The later is a different but equally effective kind of exchange.

- As we have mentioned before, reducing your luggage eliminates CO2 emission from the extra fuel needed to carry the weight travelling along with you. For example, there are many items that you will be able to use during a swap that you would have to bring along if you had chosen another mean of accommodation (hotel, etc.).

- If you have not included car exchange in your home exchange deal and you need to use a car, choose the model wisely. For example, a small car would be the most appropriate for a couple, compact cars are almost always cheaper and more fuel-efficient, and finally an hybrid vehicle could help you cut on gas adding to the savings. You should choose the smallest car that’s suitable for your needs.

- If you are travelling in your own car, prepare it beforehand. Take it for a tune up and check the tires. There are other ways you can improve your car’s fuel efficiency, check your owner’s manual or search the web. There are many tips and ideas that are easy to apply and can help you save money and improve your car’s performance. For example, a user submitted the following tip to Whatprice.co.uk:

“Use your gears wisely.
Driving in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine is a fuel-efficient way of driving. A vehicle travelling at 37 mph in third gear uses 25 percent more fuel than at the same speed in fifth gear.”

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- Avoid over-using disposable items if you are staying in an area where there’s no recycling plan. Plastic bottles may take over 1000 years to decompose, so if they end up in a landfill the bottles you dispose will be here much longer than you! You could bring your own re-usable bottle and buy drinks in larger returnable containers. That way you will avoid leaving plastic bottles behind and you will save money as the price per volume is less when you buy in bulk.

Send us your ideas for a greener home exchange!

Warmer times are heading our way. It’s time to wave the winter goodbye and step outside to regain our contact with nature. Most people are already searching HomeForHome to find their perfect home exchange deal for the summer, putting some time in front of the computer. If you are answering questions from other swappers or sending out exchange requests, you could probably take a vacation preview to help you cope with the anxiety. That’s why we have a few outdoor suggestions for the spring ahead:

Image by Simon Howden /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gardening - if you enjoy feeling the earth on your hands, it’s time to do some gardening. Soon, gardens will be filled with blossoming, deliciously scented flowers and you don’t want to miss out. Maybe you can start by doing some weed pulling. Save some time to visit a nursery to pick up your favourite plants and grab those garden tools. If you don’t have a garden but you do enjoy their beauty, there’s probably a nearby garden open for visitors where you can spend a delightful day surrounded by daffodils, bluebells, azaleas, primroses, magnolias, orchids, tulips, hyacinths, camellias and violets.

Visit a farm - no doubt this would be most enjoyed by children, as many farms open their doors for baby lambs to be bottle-fed. Of course, there are other animals for kids to admire and learn about keeping livestock (cattle, pigs, horses, hens, ducks, rabbits, geese, etc.) or vegetables to be collected.

Fresh air down the coastline - it’s too cold to swim yet, but since most beaches are uncrowded, it’s the perfect time to take a walk and let the fresh breeze fill your lungs. With no people around, it is also a good time to enjoy the beach with your pet, specially dogs, since sometimes their presence could be uncomfortable for others during high-season, or you may be required to use a lead. If you want to learn more about beach walks with your dog, here’s a useful link.

We hope you find your outdoor treat. If you want to make it an overnight stay, consider home exchange!

Image by Dr Joseph Valks /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Most current trends in vacations involve direct contact with nature. Examples are adventure sports tours, like hiking, trekking, kayaking, etc., but there are several different options. Today we would like to explore one related to the observation of wild animals: birdwatching. This hobby is related to the observation of wild birds. It goes from watching birds in your own garden or yard to travelling to distant locations to watch rare species, depending on your interest and your budget.

There are thousands of documented bird species. Some have splendorous colours, others are noticeable by their songs and calls, and all of them have the particularity of transmitting a sense of freedom, mostly related to the fact that they can fly.

The UK has over 550 documented resident bird species, and there are several migrant or breeding visitor species that can only be seen during a particular season or in a particular area. If you learn that your area is an interesting birdwatching spot, you could include it in the nearby attractions in your HomeForHome home description to attract swappers that would like to combine their home exchange experience with a little birdwatching on the side.

If you want to learn more about birdwatching, both in the UK and around the world, the following links may help you get started:

Fat Birder - a thorough and well organized website, where beginners may find it easier to start their birdwatching web tour.
Birds of Britain - a web magazine for birdwatchers.
Birding UK and Ireland - an online community where information and experiences are shared, groups with a common interest are formed and there’s a variety of forums to learn about birds.
WorldBirder.com - an online photo book with over 6000 bird species from 100 countries and Antarctica.
BirdTrack - an online record of bird sightings, powered by the British Trust for Ornithology, which also hosts a list of species for any location in Britain and Ireland.

It is important that you provide feedback after you complete a home exchange. The comments and rating given will be shown in the house’s page and it will be a valuable addition to the information given by the owner.

Before accepting an exchange request (or sending out one) you can always use the “Contact” button instead, to start discussing the details and get to know the other owner. Home exchange relies on trust, and interaction is the best way to gain other people’s trust.

To be able to comment about a particular exchange, both users need to use the system to send/accept the exchange request. Besides, it is the first proof you will have that the other owner is taking the exchange request seriously.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We strongly recommend you only make home exchange final arrangements through the system, since it is the only way you will be able to comment about it afterwards. Your “Opinion of the exchange” will include a title, comments, and the best and worst things about the experience. All four fields are mandatory. Opinions are extremely valuable. For example, if you become a highly rated swapper you will be recognized as a serious member of the community, or if someone cancels exchanges over an over again, people will see it in their home’s opinions. Of course, there could be a fair reason to cancel an exchange in the last minute and you could receive a bad review if that happens, but if you built a good relationship with the other person beforehand, then they may be able to understand your motives and add them to their review.

If you receive a somehow negative comment and you believe it is unfair, you should contact the other user and discuss the problem. HomeForHome cannot delete or modify comments made by users, but a user can change its comment from their account page using the “Requests” menu. By choosing the correct sent or received request, they will access it to change any details. Comments are an essential part of HomeForHome’s home exchange process, since they are the way to build a reputation. It is important that comments remain clear and fair.

HomeForHome wants you to understand how each tool works, so you can use them wisely. If you have any questions about the system, please use the “Contact us” form and our Customer Support team will help you right away.

We received a suggestion that we couldn’t leave out. It’s Frixo, a UK road traffic reporting website which may help you not only during your journey to your final home exchange destination, but also in your everyday on the road. Frixo provides users with live traffic information, updated every three minutes using various road sensors. The information is accessible in a number of ways:

Quick Traffic Report - Navigating a zoomable map you access relevant information of current incidents affecting UK roads.

Custom Traffic Report -  By specifying a region, city or road you can access a custom report with details about delays, incidents and any issues that could affect your journey.

Live Traffic Delays - Offers a list of current delays due to heavy traffic, roadworks, blocked lanes, etc. There is mention to the time when conditions are expected to return to normality, so you can plan you trip accordingly.

We didn’t mention an important fact: these services are free.

In the reports, there is information about current average speeds in different road stretches, direct links to connected roads so you can easily check your route, and even future planned roadworks. These reports can also be viewed in your mobile phone, so you can receive updated information as you travel, and if you want to receive regular updated information about a specific route, you can sign up to receive reports at any specified time directly in your inbox.

Remember that HomeForHome gives you the opportunity to arrange a car exchange along with your home exchange, which may be specially suitable for medium to long distance trips, where there may be more cost-effective ways of travelling and you won’t have to end your vacation with a long drive home.

Image: Salvatore Vuono /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Since the movie industry’s “Golden Age”, when we say glamour we think of Hollywood. These past few days, red carpets, glittering movie stars and awards were a must in entertainment. The Academy Awards or the “Oscars” are the last event of a series of events known as the award season, which starts with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual Golden Globe Awards in January.

The live broadcast of the Oscars ceremony has a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions. You’ve probably seen some of the award-winning pieces, and you definitely know many of the faces that walked through the red carpets or presented the nominees and winners.

After all the stars have gone back to their regular clothes, and all the statuettes have their rightful owners, what remains is the frame: Hollywood - California. Sunny California, has a wonderful weather year-round, so no matter if you’d rather spend your vacations in the US west coast in a less turbulent season, you’ll have plenty of outdoor things to do.

There are other important, well-respected events related to film-making that take place in beautiful places, so if you are a film-enthusiast, you have other options:

The Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) awarding their famous “Bears”.
The Goya Awards in Spain.
The Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) in London.
Annual Film Independent’s 2010 Spirit Awards in Santa Monica.
Annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
Annual Writers Guild Awards, the 2010 edition took place simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York City.
The Los Angeles Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Germany, Spain, the United States and the UK, sounds good, right? Well, then start planning your 2011 film festival tour (remember to have your formal outfit dry-cleaned) and count on HomeForHome to find an ideal home exchange in your chosen destination(s).

Even we missed it. How terrible! We forgot our own anniversary. Yes, we are one year-old now and we didn’t throw a big party.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Only a year ago, we were taking our first steps and now, HomeForHome has reached over 10.000 registered houses! That means we have two reasons to celebrate. We keep growing thanks to your preference, so congratulate yourselves for being part of this exciting accomplishment.

With over 10.000 houses, there are so many opportunities and so many different options, that it is hard to believe your perfect home swap isn’t waiting for you just a few clicks away.

We are very proud of our members, too. There has been such an involvement, with many of you participating in the forums, helping one another and of course swapping. There are over 500 home exchange feedback reviews published, meaning that there were at least as many swaps arranged in the past year. That’s something like 1,5 swaps each day! However, we keep striving to improve our services, and we are considering many suggestions received in the past few weeks, so don’t be surprised if we make some changes during our second year online.

Once again, thank you for your preference and keep swapping!