Home Swap Vacation

A home swap vacation is a great way to save a bunch of money on your vacation hotel and meal bills. It’s practically like a free vacation. But even better, it can give you a chance to experience another culture in a way that is impossible on a traditional vacation. You will be more like a local than a tourist. And staying in a real home is way more comfortable than a hotel.

The internet has made the idea of a home swap vacation much more feasible than it was previously. Now it is easy to find people all over the world who are eager to trade homes with you for a week or a month.

There are close to 50 home swapping companies around the world. It’s a good idea to investigate a few of them and get a feel for the services they offer. Then go with the one that you feel most comfortable with. The key to a successful home swap vacation is to maintain good communication. This includes your potential swap partners as well as the agency facilitating the swap. Make sure everyone understands the agreement. Be sure to ask questions. Don’t assume anything.

Ask for references and be ready to provide them yourself. Honesty is important for both parties. Check out your potential home swap vacation partner and at the same time be sure to give accurate descriptions and details about your home. An exchange agreement is usually a good idea. This is the place to spell out all the little details about what’s expected from both parties. Things like pet or plant care. Is a car included? How is mail to be handled? Who pays the utility bills? It’s best to get this out front beforehand.

Here are a few of the top companies that can help you with your home-swap vacation. They can help you find a home, list your home and help you with that all important exchange agreement.

HomeExchange.com has close to 10,000 listings in over 85 countries. That’s a lot of homes to choose from! They’ve been around since 1992 and the owners are very experienced home swap vacation enthusiasts. They have been written up in numerous magazines and newspapers. They are very careful about their members and investigate any serious complaints. Members that are at fault are kicked out, although that only happens rarely.

Home Link International claims to be the "world’s largest home exchange network". This may be true as they have over 15,000 listings. They’ve been around since 1953 so they have a long history of operational experience. Twice a year they put out their Holiday Exchange Directory with photos and info for home-swap vacations around the world.

If you are looking to find a home swap vacation partner without paying a fee you can try CraigsList.org. This is strictly an internet enterprise. Among many other types of listings you will find a home exchange section. You can browse through the listings for free. The downside is that you get no help in making the transaction like you get from many of the other home swap vacation companies.