Holiday home swaps

Imagine a holiday with no accommodation bills, the chance to live like a local, and the reassurance of knowing that your home is occupied while you're away. Sounds too good to be true? Welcome to the world of home exchange holidays.
More and more of us are being tempted by the idea of swapping our home or holiday house with someone else, to enjoy a cheap break. The idea even hit the big screen in ‘The Holiday’, when Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet exchanged homes, swapping sunny California for snowy Surrey, and, in proper Hollywood style, found true love along the way. OK, so you probably won't fall head over heels with Jude Law or Cameron Diaz if you swap your home, but you might fall in love with a new way of holidaying…
There are home exchange sites for just about every different kind of home. Find the right site, or even sign up to a few to increase your swapping chances, and off you go.
Most sites have an annual membership, which gives you access to contact details of other members. There's no limit on the number of swaps you can make per year, and no other money changes hands, so if you're flexible about dates and locations, you could be swapping every weekend!
Does your home float? Then try Canal Junction, which offers a free service if you have a house boat or yacht which you'd like to swap for another, somewhere else in the world, or on another waterway in the UK. Find out more at http://www.gti-home-exchange.com/
Motor home holidays are popular, and owners can overcome the problem of driving hundreds or thousands of miles by just flying and swapping their vehicle with someone else on Motorhome Holiday Swap’ for just £45 per year. Find out more at http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/exchange.htm
If you like your travel to be green, then go for a home swap with an eco theme. Green Theme International is linked to the Guardian, and has a £25–a-year membership, and specialises in exchanges in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Scotland and Italy. Find out more at http://www.gti-home-exchange.com/
For high-end homes around the world, try Luxe Home Swap, which specialises in 'people with homes they're proud of' at £99 annual membership. Luxe says that a good swap is 'asymmetric' - so if you have a small city-centre apartment right in the heart of the action - you could swap with a larger place in the country and give each other a totally different holiday experience. Find out more at http://www.luxehomeswap.com/
Homebase Holidays has been running for 25 years is a member of the First Home Exchange Alliance, which seeks to promote the idea of home exchanges and ensure high standards and member privacy. The advantage of this is that it shares listings amongst its members, so you get a wider choice of offers and their annual membership starts at £29. Find out more at http://www.homebase-hols.com
Jill Starley-Granger first took the plunge and tried a home exchange holiday six years ago and absolutely loves it:
"My husband and I have a tiny one-bedroom flat in Chelsea, London, and have done home exchanges with all kinds of different places and people. We've swapped with a huge three-bedroom interior-designed warehouse conversion in Sydney, Australia for ten days, a cosy two-bedroom house in San Francisco with a cat for a week, and even a huge rooftop flat in Copenhagen, whose owners were happy for us to bring some friends along for a weekend. The benefits are that it's a very different experience from staying in a hotel, you get to have a taste of actually living in another city. It's a real delight to eat in sometimes, giving you the chance to explore local markets and supermarkets and actually buy things to take home and try. All our exchanges have been great, we've only met the people we were swapping with twice, but they were lovely both times, usually we liaise by phone or email."
Jill's top do's and don'ts
Don't swap without exchanging documents first, such as a passport and a copy of a recent bill, to make sure the flat really exists!
Don't expect your home to be left in an immaculate state, unless you agreed beforehand that'll you'll do each other's cleaning. (Jill recommends arranging a visit from a cleaning company for a happy end to each trip.)
Don't forget to check whether your insurance covers guests staying. As no money exchanges hands, most insurers should cover any accidents.
Do be honest about your property - if you pretend to live in a palace and really live on an estate, your swappers will be unhappy. And you do not want unhappy people in your home. So be truthful about quirks, and chances are, exchanges will still happen - and everyone will be happy!
Do think about mini-breaks - you can always swap in the UK.
Do leave a gift like a bottle of wine or flowers when you leave.