Family Travel

Home Exchanges

Not only are home exchanges less expensive than staying in hotels, they put you in immediate contact with the people and cultures you come to visit. And because the daily costs are less, you can afford to stay longer. Even if your vacation time is short, you can still immerse yourself in the local culture and meet local people.

Read Home Exchange Tips by Ruth Marvin Webster
Seven Great Reasons to Exchange Homes by Carol Dalton Sebilia.
How to Exchange a Home and Live Irish by Isabel Bearman Bucher.
Vacation Swapping: Home Exchanges Can Cost No More than Staying Home by Linda Lewis
Home Away from Home: Have a "Second Home" For Price of Planefare by Jeri Magg

Green Theme International, www.gti-home-exchange.com, provides home exchanges worldwide. A multi-lingual site with no out-of-date listings, low-cost (US$35.00 per year) easy on-line registration and fully searchable database. Use GTI to select your ideal home exchange partners.

Home Exchange Worldwide - Home Base Holidays, London (est 1985), www.homebase-hols.com, lists up-to-date exchange offers worldwide. 'Home Swappers', a free bi-monthly ezine, provides news, tips and stories by experienced home exchangers. Visit the website for detailed information, to view all current listings and to subscribe to the ezine.

HomeExchange.com (800-877-8723; www.homeexchange.com), 5,500 members, about half in the U.S. and half elsewhere. You pay $49.95 per year to list your house, but you can seek houses for free without even joining.

HomeInvite.com Home Exchange & Vacation Rental, www.homeinvite.com, Global home exchange organization that offers properties for holiday home exchange or vacation rental.

HomeLink USA. (800-638-3841; www.homelink.org). The largest and oldest exchange club, with 50 years' experience. Representa tives in member countries can help you if problems arise. Over 11,000 listings, about 3,000 in U.S. and rest elsewhere. $70 per year for online database access; $40 extra to receive printed directories.

Intervac U.S. (800-756-HOME; www.intervacus.com). The U.S. branch of association covering more than 50 countries. About 5,000 members, 3,800 of them overseas. $65 per year for web-only membership; $125 for book-web combo that gets you 3 directories, with your photo-listing in one, plus access to the online database.

The Invented City. (415-252-1141; www.invented-city.com). Non-members can view abbreviated listings before joining. $50 per year for online database access.

Vacation Homes Unlimited (VHU) - Home Exchange! Established 1983. No.1 in toll-free customer service. User friendly site, no symbols just information and pictures. Only current listings published. Join online instantly, no waiting. SSL secure!