Home Exchange Honeymoon
Do you
prefer to mingle with the locals rather than other tourists when you
travel? Then look into a home exchange for your honeymoon. In a
nutshell, home exchanges involve swapping your home (or RV or yacht)
with someone else—you go live in their house while they live in yours.
Sound novel? It's not; people have been exchanging homes since the
1950s. ExchangeHomes.com (see link below) says that the practice started
with teachers in the Netherlands and Switzerland exchanging homes for
their summer holidays; now more than 60,000 people worldwide exchange
homes every year. It's a great option for couples on a budget, too,
since the accommodations are basically free. ExchangeHomes.com says a
home exchange vacation can be as much as half the cost of a hotel-based
vacation.
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Intrigued? Here's a quick Q & A
about home exchanges; consult the websites listed below for more
detailed answers to your questions.
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Is it safe to swap our home with
strangers? According to the home exchange sources we consulted,
there's no guarantee that your home will be safe—but the
overwhelming number of people who participate in home exchanges have
a positive experience. That's largely because of the careful
"getting acquainted" process that most home exchange organizations
promote. Contact with a potential home exchange partner usually
begins with an e-mail exchange; phone calls and mailed pictures and
videos usually follow before an agreement is signed. By the time the
exchange happens, the people staying in your home are not really
strangers anymore. In addition, most home exchange websites offer
tips for making the exchange go smoothly.
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What are the risks of home
exchanges? Swapping homes isn't without risks. There's always
the possibility that your home exchange partner will duck out of the
swap at the last minute. Theft is extremely rare, according to one
website, although reports of damage are not unheard of—a risk that's
minimized by the fact that each party knows where the other lives!
Your biggest risk is probably finding a less-than-tidy house at your
destination. But the large number of people who sign up for home
exchanges year after year suggests such experiences are rare.
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Will anyone want to swap with
us? As newlyweds, our home is pretty modest. A fancy house or
great location will certainly increase your chances of finding an
exchange partner. But many people who participate in home exchanges
are interested in getting "off the beaten path." Your home might
seem unspectacular to you, but it might seem exotic or "quaint" to
someone from your destination country.
The best way to learn about home
exchanges is to read about others' experiences at the websites listed
bel0w; then explore some of the home exchange websites, beginning with
their FAQ pages.
Is this honeymoon
idea for you?
Yes, if you're flexible, have a sense of
adventure, and like to meet new people. This is also a
great honeymoon idea for couples who want to get off the
tourist track in order to "live like the locals." As a
bonus, the cost savings make it great for those who need
to honeymoon on a budget. But if you think you'd
worry about letting others into your home while you're
not there, it's probably best to consider another
option.
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In order to exchange your
home with someone else, you'll need to list it with a home exchange
organization; the membership fee generally runs from $40 to $65
annually. Beyond that, your accommodations will be free; some exchange
arrangements even include the use of a car. So the major cost of a home
exchange honeymoon is transportation to the destination, meals and
entertainment, and other incidentals.
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Honeymoon the Home
Exchange Way (Digsville.com)
Brief account of one couple's 56-night
honeymoon in Europe. "Through home exchange, we toured England, France,
Spain, Belgium and Holland. Besides bunks on overnight trains, in 56
nights in Europe, we did not spend a single Euro on hotels!"
Real-life Home Exchange Vacations
Read about the experiences of eight
home exchange participants on the U.S. Intervac site. "The home exchange
was such a different experience than being a tourist staying in a hotel
- we immediately felt like natives," writes one young couple.
Digsville.com
Post your listing and exchange homes
with about 1,500 members for a $45 annual membership fee. Search
features a "reverse search" for people who want to come to your
destination.
ExchangeHomes.com
Boasts of being in the home exchange
business since 1983. Annual membership fee of $30 enables members to
exchange homes with members in more than 50 countries.
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Detailed search:
Search the listings according to a variety of criteria, including
time of exchange, amenities, and type of exchange.
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FAQ:
A thorough FAQ about home exchange and ExchangeHomes.com in
particular.
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Cost
Comparison: Compares the cost of a hotel vacation versus a home
exchange vacation in two cases.
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Hints and Advice: Extensive article offering hints and advice
for exchanging homes, including a section on the risks of home
exchange.
HomeExchange.com
For an annual membership fee of $50,
you get to list your home for exchange with more than 6,000 other
members from 89 countries.
Intervac
An international home exchange
organization dating to 1953 with more than 11,000 listings in more than
50 countries. About 80 percent of the listings are from outside of the
U.S.
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Your honeymoon story
Have you done this trip (whether on
your honeymoon or other travel)? We'd love to hear about your experience
so we can share it with others . . . just
drop us a line.
Last Updated:
June 15, 2004
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