People are swapping almost anything that is not perishable: clothes, books, appliances, and probably anything you can imagine. So why not swap houses too? The advantage over swapping items is that it doesn’t need to be permanent, a house swap can last from a weekend (or even less!) to several months at a time but you will return to your home sweet home.

Swapping is cheaper than buying and that is why it has become so popular these days, besides, it is said to be a green practice because things get used and reused until they become obsolete or broken, instead of just sitting hidden in a shelf or closet somewhere around the house because you don’t use it any more. The deal with house swapping is similar: it is cheaper than paying for other types of accommodation and it helps travellers reduce how their trips impact on the environment.

Seems like a good combination for a deal: cheap and green. How better can it get? We invite you to join today and start enjoying the benefits of being part of our community of house swappers.

What’s a getaway anyway? Well, a getaway can be any thing you want it to be and the flexibility of house swapping can take you away for almost any reason, anytime and without having to spend a fortune. Just pick a reason and exchange your home to:

• Get away from the noise
• Get away to a place nobody knows who you are
• Get away to visit the cousins
• Get away from to somewhere breezy
• Get away from tourists
• Get away to the countryside
• Get away to visit the cousins
• Get away to the beach
• Get away to visit a friend
• Get away to show your children something new
• Get away to enjoy a music festival, and art exhibit, a play ( )
• Get away from stress
• Get away from the routine

I could really use a swap away from/to _____ . Fill in the blank, swap away and remember that some HomeForHome users will allow you to take your pet away with you. Let them get away too!

Image: Public domain image taken from Wikimedia Commons.

Why should you travel to Paris? Depending on who is asked, this question could have several different answers, but which are our top three reasons? We are just about to let you know why HomeForHome is the best place to search for a good house swap opportunity to visit Paris:

1) Paris is the single city with most registered houses waiting for a house swap proposal. Paris alone has more homes registered than most countries!

2) Someone willing to swap their home in Paris could be looking for a different type of vacation, away from a tourist hot-spot or in a different type of hot-spot (for example, Rio de Janeiro is completely different but still a hot-spot). This, combined with the fact that there are over 1600 Parisian homes in HomeForHome, makes it quite likely that you’ll find someone that wants to travel to your area or open to travel to somewhere different.

3) Paris is a year-round destination. No matter when you can travel, you’ll always find magic. Of couse, keep in mind that some attractive areas might not be open to the public during certain times of the year, always check before you make plans. The Internet has become an excellent tool to do so, as many sites have their own websites or you can check websites that offer information for travellers.

Now you know our gold, silver and bronze for Paris.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

The word “crisis” is still in the front page, stronger than ever and with all the negativity it implies. Risk, debt, budget and debacle are words nobody wants to hear and fear, but it seems they will linger for a while. Something one should not forget is that in times like this, people save money by making cuts in expenses they believe are less important, which is great, but they sometimes include something really important which is resting, taking time to relax and do special things to remain fresh and strong.

HomeForHome can help save money while still enjoying one of life’s pleasures: travelling. Home exchange allows users to save up to 50-70% in travel expenses compared with other options, specially for families. The cost of accommodation is the where the major cut is, but there are also other savings like those related to food because when you swap you can buy the ingredients and prepare your own meals. Another large cut could come from transportation because you have the chance to arrange a car swap as well.

Count on HomeForHome to travel in times of crisis.

Weekends can be seen as weekly vacations. They are a time to forget about work responsibilities, spend time with the family, go back to your hobbies and relax - at least most weekends. So why shouldn’t you make the most out of this weekly vacation? HomeForHome can help you find other swappers interested in weekend home exchanges, maybe in a nearby city or town (or maybe further away), and once in a while you could experience a weekend getaway without the cost of paying for a place to stay. All you need is a HomeForHome account and transportation - that if you can’t arrange to include a vehicle swap.

A short term home swap is perfect for weekend getaways, and there are many advantages of swapping your house with someone in your same country - check out this previous post from 2009 about Domestic Exchange - and this combination is excellent to arrange a trip to your favourite band’s concert or that music festival you always wanted to go to.

A weekend home swap is perfect for new swappers, because you can test how everything works without leaving your home for more than two days and see if you can handle this way of travelling. They are also a good way to build a reputation, just remember to make the arrangements using our “Request exchange” feature and making sure your counterpart agrees to the exchange using the system, so they can leave feedback once the swap weekend is over.

Be optimistic, your next weekend can be a house swap weekend = a fun vacation weekend
Be ultra-optimistic, your next weekends can be house swap weekends

Image: By OsamaK (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Image by Tom Curtis /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Homes, houses, apartments, villas, rural houses, second homes, flats, family houses, lovely houses, cottages, detached houses, bungalows, seaside houses, town houses, seaside houses, semis… People refer to their properties in a number of ways but their interest is the same: find someone willing to visit their location and get them interested in their homes.

HomeForHome keeps growing and we are welcoming new home owners week after week with our differential services. But home exchange in itself is what attracts new swappers:

– It is usually cheap and it helps people save huge amounts on travel expenses.

– It provides a different travel experience, as you get involved in the normal city life like a local.

– It is green, it lowers the environmental impact of your trips and reduces the carbon footprint left behind after you leave.

– It supports a better way of interacting with others: communication is the key to arranging successful home exchanges, you will get immersed in the local pace of life while you swap and you will find yourself not only contacting people from the travel and hospitality industries, for example interacting with people at the local market to buy groceries.

– You can build lifelong relationships with people from around the world, and even make a more than a few friends.

– It is tremendously flexible: weekend exchanges, long-term exchanges, permanent exchanges, exchanges to study abroad or learn a foreign language, hospitality exchanges, car exchange, bringing your pet along with you or having your partners take care of your pet during their stay at your home, simultaneous exchanges, non-simultaneous exchanges, and we could go on and on.

HomeForHome just wants to make it easier and more accessible, so we hope to be helping

One advantage of home exchange is that you can experience life as a local. You will be staying in a house, probably located among other houses, in a residential area and far away from hotels, resorts and the touristic areas. Usually, hotels are located nearby, in the same area, and if you stay in a hotel it is not easy experience the city’s rhythm as a local, because you end up surrounded by other tourists and travellers.

Image by Simon Howden /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How can you take the most of your “residential” stay and get in close contact with the local community? Here we have a some more tips (we gave you some already in previous posts):

- If you like sports, buy a ticket to a local game, sit in the bleachers and enjoy how the locals “live” their favourite sport. For example, in New Zealand or Australia you would have to go to a rugby match. In Brazil or Argentina the choice would be football, in the USA the season sport (American football, baseball, basketball…).  There’s no need to go to a NBA game! A smaller local league can be as much fun.

- If you like shopping, instead of visiting the big department stores and malls, take a stroll through your new neighbourhood and let the small shops entice you. Your home swap partner can give you some ideas.

- Visit those stores you wouldn’t visit in a regular trip. For example, visit stores that offer furniture, crafts, books, sporting goods, even cars! Play the role of a local and have fun.

With HomeForHome you have it easy to find a house and also some bonus ideas

As the Northern Hemisphere sees the Summer of 2010 come to an end, the Southern Hemisphere is preparing to receive its Spring and in a few months, when the North becomes very similar to a walk-in freezer, the 2011 summer. There is no need to say that South America then becomes one of the warm places you can dream about on a cold windy afternoon (not to mention snowy or rainy). In anticipation, we will review some of the top spots to have a good time travelling to the Southern end of South America to transform your home exchange experience with a golden sun tan and a load of warm memories.

Image by Gabor Pozsgai /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a preview, let us say that if you travel to any of these places you will find a combination of beach, nature and entertainment, with a scale that goes from quiet to sizzling, town-size to big-city, small shows to renowned festivals, Atlantic Ocean waters to Pacific Ocean waters and Spanish to Portuguese

Argentina - its Atlantic Ocean coast beach resorts: Mar del Plata, Pinamar, Villa Gessel, Carilo, San Clemente, Monte Hermoso, Miramar…

Brazil - a treasure South of Rio: Florianopolis.

Chile - experience the Southern Pacific Ocean: Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, La Serena, Arica.

Uruguay - the Atlantic Coast resorts: Punta del Este, Cabo Polonio, La Paloma.

Where can you find a good home exchange offer to travel to any of these destinations? You know it: HomeForHome! If you worry about the costs, remember that HomeForHome offers FREE home exchange opportunities and adding its many benefits it becomes (by far!) the cheapest way to travel.

Home exchange is a rising trend. Every day more people decide to try this way of travelling and enjoy its many benefits. HomeForHome is the fastest growing online home exchange service. Why should you try home exchange? Why choose HomeForHome ? Read on…

Home exchange is very simple.
HomeForHome offers you the tools to make it even simpler.

Home exchange is fun and exciting.
In HomeForHome ’s community forums you can have a lot of fun meeting people from all over the world.

Home exchange offers a lot of different alternatives.
HomeForHome makes it easier for you to find people sharing your same interests: long-term home exchange, short-term home exchange, weekend exchange, car exchange, permanent home exchange, study exchange, exchanges for families, travelling with pets…

Home exchange is the best way to lower travel costs.
HomeForHome takes the word cheap to its lower level: everything is free.

HomeForHome has a few extras, including these:

• Our Support Team can offer you guidance to complete the registration process and get acquainted with the website’s tools and resources.
• It has a built-in translation tool so you can receive and answer messages and requests in many languages.

If you are not an active traveller and you would rather spend your vacation time in a “resting” state, there are many things you can do in Wales while you take advantage of the huge savings home exchange has to offer. For example, Wales has 641 castles and three World Heritage Sites you can visit. The three World Heritage Sites are:

Image by Tom Curtis /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd: Beaumaris Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Conwy Castle and Harlech Castle.
2. Blaenavon Industrial Landscape: evidencing the importance of the region’s industries to the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution.
3. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal - Truly a monumental piece of civil engineering, both creative and majestic.

Other “slow” activities you can enjoy in Wales, and specially recommended for wildlife lovers, are birdwatching or admiring the rare bottle nosed dolphins, basking sharks, leatherback turtles and Atlantic grey seals that can be spotted in the Welsh marine environment. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park,  is the perfect place to do this.

You can also find a list of attractions that can be visited for free if you are looking for a low budget holiday. The list includes museums, art galleries, parks, exhibitions, festivals, castles and trails. Navigate through http://www.visitwales.com/ to find more details.

As you can imagine, Wales is a great destination for family vacations. Three family friendly features of Wales:

- Perfect place for outdoors activities.
- Several free-entry attractions.
- 1,200 Km of coastline: sand and sea are a perfect combination to entertain the little ones.

Find more information in the links below and more ideas in HomeForHome’s next post.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - http://www.pcnpa.org.uk/
http://www.visitwales.com/
Cadw (the historic environment service of the Welsh Assembly Government) - http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/
Southern Wales - http://www.southernwales.com/
Mid Wales and the Brecon Beacons - http://tourism.powys.gov.uk/
Visit North Wales - http://www.visitnorthwales.co.uk/