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:

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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/

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We are really happy to announce that HomeForHome has reached 15,000 registered homes available for home exchange. We keep growing and growing and we are just thrilled!

Last March we announced the accomplishment of the 10,000 mark and just four months later we are announcing this new stunning mark of 15,000 homes registered in the website. Thank you all for making HomeForHome your preferred home exchange portal. Keep enjoying our free services and the many advantages of home exchange:

- Registration in HomeForHome is completely FREE.

- Home exchange is the cheapest way to travel, as the cost of accommodation is zero.

- Home exchange is simple: home owners agree on exchanging their homes during a certain period of time.

- The “golden rule”: treat the house or flat in your destination as your own and leave it exactly how you found it.

- Home exchange is very flexible, with the possibility for car exchange, travelling with pets, family travel, non-simultaneous exchange, long term exchanges, permanent exchanges, study exchanges, weekend exchanges, local exchanges, international exchanges, chained exchanges and many other options.

- The keystone: communication.

If you are new to home exchange, please visit our FAQ page or read some of our previous posts to learn more about this way of travel. If you want to give it a try, we would be glad to have you as a member of our swapper community.

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Every teenager enjoys traveling and teens are enthusiastic travelers, of course if there’s not an important social event they would have to miss, like a birthday party, so make sure to check with them before settling on a date. Home exchange has lots to offer for families with teenagers:

- A house has probably everything they already had available at home. You can search for offers that match their interests too, without adding extra costs. A basic example: computer and Internet access.

- You can offer to bring a friend along without extra accommodation costs. This will definitely prevent days of boredom and believe me, it is a good thing to avoid having a bored moody teen around when you want to relax

- Get them involved in planning the trip. They could help you surf through HomeForHome looking for great swap opportunities and they can help you find cool activities once you have chosen a home exchange destination.

- Let them do some things on their own, just as you do at your own home. With home exchange, if they would rather sleep late while you visit an “un-cool” place, it would be just as if they were staying at home. If you are visiting an attraction, it could be a good idea to split up and let them visit the areas they find more attractive, or even arrange different tours for a certain day. Of course you will need to agree on a place and time to meet and having access to a cell phone during your trip will help you stay in touch at all times.

That’s it for now. If you have tips or advice on home exchange for people traveling with teenagers, just let us know!

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Along with green travel, which involves reducing the environmental impact of our trips, came another interesting and related trend for those wishing to get the most out of their journeys without “buying a package deal”: slow travel.

What is slow travel? Well, simply taking things slow as we travel (what else!). You may be wondering about its benefits and you will find it interesting that there are several good reasons why slow travel is becoming a trend:

1. Slowing down allows you to savour each moment. You will smell the roses, you will really taste the food, you will enjoy the wine… You will find yourself discovering unknown places instead of jumping from one tourist site to the next.
2. If you stay at a place for a long period (meaning more than one week) and you take the time to get to know local people, you will find your trip more rewarding than just a touristic voyage. In slow travel you dedicate time to making new friends and you try to experience the local daily life.
3. Taking the time to DO everything as if you were at your hometown (cooking, cleaning, groceries…) also cuts some expenses. No restaurant meals everyday (maybe just a few to try out the local cuisine), no room service, just you living your regular life in a different, exciting new place, as if you were starting a new life there.
4. Taking things slow is less stressful than rushing from one site to the next and packing/unpacking every two to three days. Slow travel is the best way to relax your body and mind.

Home exchange seems bound to slow travel, as it allows for longer stays, getting immersed in the local community, and experiencing life in a different place that is also a home. In a way, the home exchange community has been exploring slow travel for a while now, with options such as long-term and permanent exchanges becoming more popular… But that’s for really slow travellers.

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When you think of a great beach vacation you probably think of the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean, the Mediterranean coast or a similar location. But which is your favourite UK beach? With the word “crisis” still in the air, it may be a good idea to keep an eye on the holiday budget and there’s no better way to do that than to combine home exchange with a domestic trip (or a even a few) to save both on accommodation and transportation.

They may not be the as dreamy and warm as the Caribbean’s, but there are hundreds of beautiful beaches in the UK’s 19,000 miles of coastline just waiting for you.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) through its Good Beach Guide gives the following recommendations to enjoy your time at the beach:

* Check the public notice boards for information on water quality, currents and emergency phones.
* Follow any advice from lifeguards and understand the system of safety flags.
* Never leave young children unsupervised.
* Do not swim when the sea is rough, or where there are known currents or riptides.
* Do not use inflatable beds or toys - currents can easily take you out of sight.
* Swim parallel to the shore rather than out to sea.
* Do not swim immediately after a meal and never after drinking alcohol.
* If you’ve been ill after bathing report the illness to Surfers Against Sewage Tel: 0845 458 3001
* If you see someone in trouble, alert the lifeguards, or contact the Coastguard (999) - DO NOT ATTEMPT to rescue them yourself, unless you are qualified and have help.

The MCS also has a list of recommended beaches based on water quality, so it may be a good idea to check if your favourite beach is in their list!

Today we continue with our introduction to home swapping and HomeForHome for those that are just discovering this way of travelling.

Does it have to be simultaneous? No, home exchanges can be arranged at different times, specially if you are exchanging a second home or you make your home available during an already planned trip (like a business trip).

What happens to my pet? Should I leave it at home? There is flexibility here, you have to discuss this with your home exchange partner considering your pet’s needs and your partner’s exchange preferences. The options could be to arrange a “pet exchange” having both take care of one another’s pets, take your pets with you, or have your pet stay with a friend while you are away.

What is car exchange? Car exchange is including your car in the home exchange deal, saving money from car renting as well. As with pets, you should discuss this with the other swapper, considering both parties preferences and taking into account the use you are going to make of each other’s cars.

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For a short reminder of how home exchange works and some of the options available through HomeForHome between this one and our previous post, we probaly covered enough. Join HomeForHome, the fastest growing worldwide community of home exchangers. We would love to see you around!

Every once in a while it is a good idea to refresh the basics of home exchange for those who have just discovered this exciting way of travelling.

How much does it cost? Nothing. HomeForHome offers free registration and does not charge you for using the service.

Image by djcodrin /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Who can exchange? Everybody! Home exchange can benefit families, retired people, single people, people with pets, groups of friends, even people that are not home owners. For example, tenants could swap, because there is no financial transaction involved and the exchange cannot be interpreted as sub-letting (it is advisable, for courtesy, that you let the home owner know about this). Another example: if your parents or grandparents have a vacation home, you could ask them to publish it as available during the time they are not using it and that way you can “use” their second home to swap to different places. However, they should participate in the arrangement as HomeForHome intends this to be between owners, and it should be clear to your fellow swapper who is going to be staying in their home.

What are the rules to participate in a home exchange? The basic rule is that you have to leave the home exactly as it was found. But of course we expect some flexibility, things could be misplaced during cleaning, cooking, etc. The details of every particular home exchange are left to the participants to agree on during their personal communications, which should take place before the actual exchange is arranged. Clear communication of each other’s expectations is the key to a successful exchange.

We will continue with these basics in our next post. If you just can’t wait: check out our FAQ section or contact us to learn more about home exchange with HomeForHome.

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!