Forget cramped hotel rooms – do a home exchange

If you’re concerned about the cost of hotel rooms – which seem to get more expensive by the day – there’s another option.

HomeExchange.com has listings of hundreds of home owners looking to exchange their homes from Anguilla to Zimbabwe(!). There are also numerous testimonials from happy users.

To start your search, you will probably want to look at the listings to see what is available, and then if there are destinations that appeal to you (and there are so many to choose from, it’s very likely) you will need to set up an ad with a description and some photographs of your own home, and facilities nearby. There is a low cost membership of $99.95 a year, and the site offers the second year free of charge, if you fail to find a suitable exchange in the first year.

With the low cost involved – though you do have to budget for your flights, of course – it’s likely that you will be able to have a longer vacation than would be the case if you went the standard hotel route. Living in a real home, with all the normal features you would expect such as a decent sized kitchen and as many bedrooms as you need, can be much more interesting, as you will be able to “live like a local” while still having the local attractions on tap whenever you want to visit them.

HolidayExchange.com was featured in the 2006 film, “The Holiday”, starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet.