1.    Start well in advance of your vacation time, and allow plenty of time to arrange the swap.  Once you have found a house you like and arranged in principle to swap, you still need to make sure you are both comfortable with the home exchange details.  This may take several e-mails to decide who feeds the dog or waters the house plants. 

2.    You have to decide in advance if your exchange partners can use your ski gear or snorkel equipment.  Can they drive one or both of your cars and how far?  Check all of your insurance policies.  And seriously, if you're leaving the dog in their care… is that OK with them?

3.    You may feel like a burglar when you first enter someone's home, and they're not there.  To make this as comfortable as possible, both of you should agree to leave the names of your neighbors or family to contact and instructions for appliances.  It's a good idea to leave a letter stating that they are welcome guests in your house even though you aren't there… and they should do the same for you.  Leave important contact numbers and emergency phone numbers.

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Home exchange vacations could be a wonderful to enjoy a vacation on a shoestring budget. But it’s not for everyone.  You need to consider home exchange details for any vacation house swap to be successful.  

You want to be trusting, but you also need to protect yourself.  The first thing you need to consider is which exchange club to use.  You need to see what they specialize in, because most do specialize.  Do you need a club that caters to families, or seniors, or people with pets?

Home Exchange clubs are based in countries all over the world; they may list houses mostly in their own country, but many have international listings as well.  If you have a specific country in mind to visit, try to get an idea of how many listings they have in your country of choice before you plunk down your money.  Try to look for an exchange club that allows many pictures on their site, or even videos.  You want to know what you're getting into.

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We don't  endorse any specific site, but a few sites you can check are Know Your Trade, Home Exchange, and Home Base Holidays.  Find exchange clubs on the internet, read the reviews by users, and decide which one might work best for you.  Some specialize, so check to see if they are more interested in families or seniors or whatever.

Home exchanges are not for everyone.  If you think you will be overly worried about someone stealing something or not taking care of your house just the way you would, maybe you should forgo the house swap and stay in a hotel.  If you're the type of traveler who wants to move around every night and not stay in one place for a couple of weeks… forget it.

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There are as many types of accommodations as there are types of travelers.  You want to travel, but you've got to have a place to sleep, so now it's time for some decisions.  

Make up your mind that it's not going to be just like home.  (If you want that… you might as well STAY home.)  What do you want or need in the way of a room?  Your choices can go from having a reservation in a big hotel to just finding a room in a local village as you travel.  

What makes you comfortable when you travel?  Do you want lots of luxury, a big room and a concierge to get you tickets to the latest play?  ...Or…  Are you an adventurous traveler who carries a backpack and wants to find an inexpensive local place?

Let's look at your 11 options.

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If you are looking  to stretch your travel dollars, there is one really good sway to do it.  One way to travel within your budget is to consider a home exchange.

Have you heard about it?  Home exchanges have been around for decades, but they've really gotten easier to arrange with the internet.  They've become popular with families, seniors and boomers.

You basically arrange to trade your house for someone else's house from another city, state, or country during your vacation.  You get to spend a week or two in… say London… while that London family gets a beach vacation in, oh, San Diego.  With hotel rates in popular areas so high, swapping houses can be a great way to save money, plus you will have a kitchen, multiple bedrooms, and you'll probably get to know the neighbors and see some things that you wouldn't have seen from a hotel room.  It can not only help your travel budget; home trades can be rewarding from a cultural standpoint as well. Read more

When you go on vacation, you most likely worry about employing someone to look after the pets and landscape.  While away, your home sits vacant, and you have to  pay top dollar for accommodations in your vacation destination.  A home exchange holiday vacation is a great way to save some money and have someone else look after your home at the same time.  A home exchange holiday vacation is possible in exotic places or quiet retreats.  Many people participate in home exchange holiday vacations, and most of these people are quite happy with the experience.  Some of the people who participate in a home exchange holiday vacation make their own arrangements through family or friends, but many make the arrangements through special services. Read more

You just cannot get any better than FREE when it comes to find the best deals on accommodations, and participating in home exchanges offers just that: FREE lodging.   It may amaze you how easy it is to get a free home exchange vacation.

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Looking for a way to travel on a shoestring?  Home exchanges may be  the right option for you.

Title: House Swapping – the Ultimate in Budget Travel

Author: Shari Hearn

How would you like to stay in Umbria for two weeks and not have to pay a dime for your accommodations? That would sure save you money on your vacation, wouldn't it? And, let's say your accommodation was a 4-bedroom, 3-bath stone building which datesback to the 14th century, with a kitchen with all you need to
cook fabulous meals? That would save money on dining out, now, wouldn't it? Of course, with the house costing nothing, whoneeds to save money by eating in?

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