For some it is the most romantic day of the year, for others not so much, but one way or the other, you are probably going to share a special moment and even exchange presents with your significant other. For the most enthusiastic ones and, why not, all those looking for a good excuse to travel we have our HomeForHome (obvious) suggestion: a getaway exchange. Many of our members could be just looking for the same deal: a weekend exchange in a romantic place for a different and unique celebration this February 14th.

HomeForHome has members all over the world, so near of far, your Valentine exchange could be around the corner. For some people, it may be too little time to plan and coordinate an exchange, and that is understandable, but for others it may be easier. For example, if you already had a successful swap in a place you just loved, contact your previous home exchange partner and check if their place will be available during the 14th. Check the forums, there are many topics asking for weekend exchanges.

With only a few weeks before Valentine’s Day you may also find good last minute deals on flights and that wouldn’t hurt the Valentine budget either. A special dinner vs a unique romantic getaway, what would you choose?

One main decision that you need to make when you decide to travel is where to go. It is not an easy decision, there are so many options! Our world is full of great places: exciting, exotic, untouched, bustling, breathtaking… As a year ends, the most renowned travel reviewers select the best travel destinations for the coming year. Today we will present you with the selections made for 2010 by Frommer’s, Encyclopedia Britannica Blog and Lonely Planet, to help you narrow your selection to the best of the best.

Frommer’s has featured the following destinations:

Tunisia
Copenhagen, Denmark
Hanoi, Vietnam
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Hawaii (the Big Island), United States
Salta Province, Argentina
Isles of Scilly, England
Mexico City, Mexico
Melbourne, Australia
Florida Panhandle Beaches, USA
Kerala, India

Encyclopedia Britannica Blog published the selection made by travel expert Natasha von Geldern:

1. Brazil
2. USA
3. Iceland
4. Cuba
5. South Africa
6. London
7. Nepal
8. Melbourne
9. Hong Kong
10. Kyrgyzstan

Lonely Planet picked the following countries in their top 10:

1. El Salvador
2. Germany
3. Greece
4. Malaysia
5. Morocco
6. Nepal
7. New Zealand
8. Portugal
9. Suriname
10. USA

What do you think about this top destinations? Where would you like to go during 2010? Make your choice, find your home exchange opportunity in HomeForHome and swap away!

The New Year is on the road, and you probably made some resolutions and set some special dates aside in the calendar. Of course, with a brand new year, it seems like you’re going to have time for everything, but as the days start to go by, there are things that start trailing behind in the agenda. However, we want to encourage you to reserve some time to plan your vacations. If you choose home exchange, it is a good idea to get ahead of things, since it takes time for some people to find a good match to their swapping intentions.

There are several alternatives to plan your holidays using HomeForHome, whether a short trip to that nearby location you’ve always wanted to visit, a romantic getaway to Paris, a relaxing family vacation in a rural area or the coast, an intense trip to a busy capital, a cultural swap to a distant destination, whether you prefer skiing or surfing or trekking or if your favourite sport during vacations is intensive recreational reading, all these options are waiting for you a few clicks away.

We want to help, so here are some items for your agenda:

- Update your HomeForHome profile, share something new, add more photos, get involved in the community forum, get out there.

- Check your passport and all related travel documents you may need (travel assistance/insurance, credit/debit cards, etc.). You don’t want to find out in the last minute you were supposed to have them renewed a week ago! Remember that your passport needs to be valid for the duration of your trip and some countries even require travellers to have at least six months validity remaining on their passports.

- Mark dates that are set apart for other important activities and exclude them when you search for a place to stay, flights, etc. Also, if you know your house will be free during those dates, mark them as “available” in your HomeForHome availability calendar, since it may help you find non-simultaneous swaps.

- Take the initiative, contact other HomeForHome users, ask them about their homes, their availability, invite them to check out your home. Maybe you can make some new friends along the way.

Home exchange offers great opportunities, and it is quite a simple deal: you agree to exchange your home with someone and you both expect to find everything as you left it when you return. However simple, home exchange is a serious deal. You shouldn’t take it lightly. There are important things that need to be considered because it is a system based on trust and you need to know the other party on a certain level to trust them with your home (even if it is your second home). Communication and understanding are the key to succeed at swapping.

Compare the places you have stayed during your previous vacations to your own home, you’ll probably arrive at the conclusion that your home is far better equipped than any place you’ve ever stayed in during your vacations, so what would you be willing to do to get this extra comfort with no cost at all? Wouldn’t you be willing to take some time to get to know the people you’ll be sharing your house with and let them know you too?

Communicate, take time to learn about your possible swap partner’s preferences and see if they match yours. Start with the information they share in HomeForHome, but dig deeper. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to set some ground rules about things that can and can’t be done at your house during the swap. Eventually, you will find a partner that makes you feel comfortable with them staying at your home. Be patient. Until that moment comes, don’t feel pressured to agree on an exchange that doesn’t satisfy you. Chances are you will have to pass on some offers, so be polite and say no gently until you find your match.

HomeForHome has over 8000 listings worldwide (and rising!). With so many offers, we are certain your perfect home exchange is just a search away. However, how should you get started? Obviously, you shouldn’t have to look through 8000 offers (or even half so many!) to find a good prospect. To make the most of your searching time, it is better for you to decide about a few details before you get started: Have you decided to visit a particular country/area? Remember that the wider the area, there are more chances to find a good match. Are you interested in a particular date? For example, if you are attending an event, you may check the date and use it to perform your search, so you don’t have to look through offers that strictly excluded that date already. Do you have a preference about staying in a house or flat? Answers to these questions may be useful when you use our “Search” features. If you take a look at our search options, you will find several things you can specify to make the most of your search. Of course there’s no need to specify all the search options, but you may want to include all your “musts”, like Internet access or a washing machine.

There are circumstances when performing a detailed search may not be the best way to get started. For example, if you are looking for a long term exchange, there’s another option that could make it easier: search the “Community“. There you’ll find a forum for people looking for long term exchanges, were you can discuss issues about this kind of swap. You are welcome to start a discussion of your own, so other interested users can contact you. The forum is also a good choice for those who do not have a preferred destination and are really looking for interesting opportunities around the globe.

If you need to learn more about how to use any of these features, then just send your questions to help@homeforhome.com and our Support team will be glad to assist you.

Home exchange has many advantages over other ways of travelling. One of them is the opportunity for families with small children to stay in a child-friendly environment. A home is a much better environment for a kid than a crowded hotel or a vacation rental that only has the basic service items.

Kids have to deal with so many adjustments as they grow up that staying overnight away from home can be somehow stressful if they are still going through toilet training or starting to sleep in their own bed. Consider this issues as you plan your swap so you have enough time to prepare your child.

For toilet training it is easy, just remember to bring the potty chair and remember to be patient if there is an “accident” while your child is still adjusting to the new house.

To prepare your child to sleep in a different house, there are some fun activities you may get him involved in. If you have a young child, you may buy a travel bed and let him play in it for a few days before you travel. Most children enjoy having a portable bed, because some are tent-shaped and have enough room for them to play inside. There are several options to choose from, most of them have inflatable mattresses and are easily set up to get a comfortable bed anywhere you go.

To get started, visit HomeForHome to find exciting home exchange opportunities.

Home exchange offers you the opportunity to celebrate a holiday or a special date while you are swapping as if you were at your own home. Christmas, New Year, a birthday or an anniversary are all dates that deserve a celebration and we usually have some traditions for them we can’t do without. However, many traditions pose a minor accident hazard that we must prevent.

Our first example will be the Christmas tree. Many of us enjoy decorating the tree with our family, and after we take turns to place the ornaments, we delight ourselves by turning on its lights. Isn’t it just beautiful? But the Christmas tree may originate a fire if you don’t take some preventive measures, like ensuring it doesn’t dry out, keeping it away from heating sources like the fireplace, or making sure the lights are in good condition as well as the wiring to avoid a short circuit.

Other usual decoration elements for many celebrations are candles, and as any device that may start a fire they should be taken into account to prevent undesirable moments. Don’t leave a burning candle unattended. Keep burning candles away from curtains, table cloths, wooden furniture, or anything else that could catch on fire. Another danger is to light too many candles in a closed environment and end up with poor indoor air quality.

There are many other possibilities, so please make sure you take measures to enjoy celebrations during your swap without any mishap. Visit HomeForHome to find a location for your next celebration!

Nothing spoils a trip like getting lost. You planned ahead, you did everything you could to cover every detail, you packed everything you could possibly need, but your 2-hour road trip becomes an exhausting 5-hour journey through unknown roads and you start your vacation with the worst mood. Even if you got a map before the trip, a wrong turn can be terribly misleading.

What can you do to prevent this? Take some time to plan the route and get to know the possible paths that take you to your destination. You may start with the map in HomeForHome and use this information to find the best route. There are several tools out there to help you get acquainted with some marks along the road, like Google maps, Bing maps or Yahoo! maps. Also, if you use GPS technology, make sure there’s good coverage of the area you are headed to.

After arranging an exchange, contact your swap partner and make sure you check the exact and complete address. Don’t forget to get directions or even for tips to get to your destination faster or more safely. While you are at this, you may ask for directions to get to those places you would like to visit during the swap, and share your own tips with the other party. Comradeship has everything to do with home exchange.

In our previous post, we addressed the fact that home exchange offers the opportunity to bring your pet along during a swap. However, travelling with animals adds a few things you need to consider to avoid unpleasant moments.

We have mentioned a few tips before, including the following items that you shouldn’t forget: a travel bed, your pet’s favorite toy, any necessary pet care accessories and a few disposable pick-up bags. Now, we share some advice that could help during the trip to your home exchange destination, especially if you decide to travel by car:

- Small animals travel more safely in a pet crate/carrier, so, take some time before the trip for your pet to get used to the crate: let him take a nap in the crate, place its favorite pillow or toy inside it, make it as comfortable as you can, and be patient, he may need some time to get acquainted to it. Take him for a short ride in the car and see how he does.

- If your pet gets car sick, consider pet sedation or a motion sickness prescription, and ALWAYS remember to seek advice from your pet’s vet before you chose the best solution.

- If you travel by car, take measures to prevent your pet from becoming too hot or receiving too much direct sunlight.

- Bring a bowl for water and another one for food, and of course bring some water and food for the trip. For cats, you may need to consider bringing the litter box as well.

- Animals that are used to cages (like birds, hamsters, etc.) may be more comfortable and safe in a smaller cage during the ride. You may get a “travel cage” in your local pet store. Also, covering the cage will make your pet less active during the trip.

- If you travel with a dog, you may want to plan a stop during the trip for him to stretch and do his “thing”.

Whatever company you bring, choose HomeForHome to plan your next vacation.

Continuing with the idea of reducing stress, which is probably the leitmotif behind almost every vacation, we present you another advantage of home exchange: the possibility to travel light. As you go to a home, used daily by another family, chances are you’ll find everything you need so there’s no need to bring that extra luggage we usually carry when other lodging options are used. Of course you have to check with your home swap partner what things are available for you to use, and you probably have your own “musts” you bring with you everywhere you go, but a lot of weight may be off your travelling shoulders if you decide to swap homes.

To make it more appealing to you, here we list some advantages of travelling light:

- It will save you some money now that airlines charge you for almost everything you bring.

- Eliminates CO2 emission from the extra weight travelling along with you, helping fight global warming.

- Makes your trip more flexible, any transportation is easy accessible with a small bag, so your choices are widened: plane, train, bus, and even walking! Sometimes you get faster from one terminal to another using your own feet.

- Reduces time spent on baggage checks.

- There are less chances your luggage will get lost or misplaced.

- It makes packing back and forth a lot easier, especially on the way back  when you don’t want to pack (of course you may have a few extra pounds from souvenirs, but that’s OK).