As it gets harder to find a cut-price family break, especially during half term, Jackie Annett found a way to enjoy a luxury holiday in Croatia during October half-term where she only paid for the flights
Home Exchange: A Cost-Effective Travel Solution
As soaring prices make it harder for families, or indeed anyone, to enjoy a holiday abroad, Mirror writer Jackie Annett shares her experience of trying a family home swap holiday, where she saved thousands by using Home Exchange to arrange her holiday. Prices soared after the pandemic closed destinations for months during lockdown and are still yet to return to pre-pandemic costs. Last year, travel expert Paul Charles said:
“Prices are rising by an average of 10 per cent for hotels, airfares and tour operator holidays yet we are still splurging, mostly to get away from bad weather. The bulk of us booking will still be paying much more in 2024 than we did in 2023, due to higher costs and price rises put through by travel firms.”
Families hoping to travel during half-term or the summer holidays find that travel and accommodation can cost up to 20 times more during those weeks, making it an impossible luxury for many of us. And parents trying to avoid those costs face a fine of £60 per parent for each child if they take them out of school for a holiday. This rises to £160 after 21 days, and then after 28 days parents can be taken to court. These figures will rise to £80 and £160 from August.
So while home swapping isn't a new phenomenon, it's become more attractive to many of us as we search for cheaper options to enjoy a week abroad. Daily Mirror features writer Jackie Annett travelled to Croatia - and ended up with a luxury villa after spending £488 on return flights to the UK for her and her daughter. She was delighted by what she found after arriving at the rural abode - which featured a swimming pool and hot tub. She writes...
Jackie Annett's Home Swap Experience
Waking up to the sight of the lush, green slopes of the Žumberak Mountains separating northwest Croatia from southeastern Slovenia, I can’t quite believe this cute villa with its own pool and hot tub is ours for the week and we haven’t had to fork out a penny - apart from our flights. It’s half term and I’ve brought my teenage daughter on a much-needed break to a small village called Klake near Samobor at the foot of the mountains - just an hour away from the hustle and bustle of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. Everything is peaceful apart from the faint sound of a woodsman chopping down trees in the distance and in late October it’s just warm enough to sit by the pool and take in the fresh mountain air.
While home swapping is not a new phenomenon, 2023 was the year when it really took off. Last year the number of people signing up to the site more than doubled according to HomeExchange, that’s 103% more subscribers looking to travel all over the world for a fraction of the cost. I can certainly see the attraction - being a single parent for the last 14 years has meant our budget has been more Benidorm than Bangkok. So I was keen to give home swapping a try especially if it meant we could afford to holiday somewhere a little bit more interesting.
Happily, our week-long stay in a Croatian Villa was a far cry from the holidays we’re used to - instead of being packed around the swimming pool like sardines, our mornings were spent lounging lazily by the private pool enjoying coffee and Samobar kremšnita - delicious cream cake made locally. Around lunchtime boredom would inevitably kick in and we’d hop into an Uber in the direction of Samobar or Zagreb for shopping, sightseeing and people watching.
Croatia has its fair share of must-see attractions - there are the Plitvice Lakes National Park famous for its turquoise-coloured lakes and the quirky Broken Relationships Museum in Zagreb where we enjoyed whiling away a rainy afternoon nosing into people’s past love affairs. The museum houses 4,000 pieces from all over the world, but the one that had us in fits of giggles was a collection of air sickness bags which were kept as a memento of a long-distance relationship.
So what was it like holidaying in someone else’s home? Well, we saved a fortune, had much more privacy than we would usually have staying in a hotel and we enjoyed an adventure a little off the beaten track - what’s not to love?
Other Home Swap Stories
'We've travelled to 70 different homes'
It’s not every day you can say you’ve been burgled by baboons while on holiday in remote South Africa, but then Elena, 42, and Paul, 48, enjoy holidays a little off the beaten track. The couple from Bromley in Kent have been exchanging their home for 11 years which has allowed them to travel to 70 different countries. They've holidayed in Argentina, Moscow and New Zealand and last summer travelled to Limpopo, just north of Johannesburg where they stayed in a lovely lodge with an off-grid community an hour from the nearest town.
“The reality is that your money goes ten times further when you’re home exchanging and you get an entirely different travel experience,” Elena explains. “But for us, this isn’t just about saving money. Our swap this summer started in Limpopo which is north of Johannesburg, where the country borders Zimbabwe. It’s not very touristy there, so it felt like a really authentic travel experience, and it was so interesting to see how people were living. It was so remote we were even burgled by baboons!”
Even their little boy who is nearly six loves home exchanges and prefers them to hotels because it means he can play with other children’s toys. While they were still in South Africa, Elena and Paul flew to Cape Town where they stayed in another HomeExchange property boasting stunning views of the bay, as well as a sauna, pool and yoga room. Back home, their house in Bromley is popular with holidaymakers because the area they live in has a country feel but is just 20 minutes from central London. “Most people like the idea of being able to see London while having more space to themselves when they come home. We’ve only had positive reviews and we’ve never had any problem guests.”
'We love living like a local'
A teacher’s salary doesn’t usually stretch to holidaying in the hills of San Francisco, an eco house in Iceland or a houseboat in Amsterdam. But Susan McTaggart, 49, who lives in Scotland with her husband Joe, 52, who is also a teacher, has found a way to take her family on exotic holidays without breaking the bank.
“Over the past eight years, we’ve ticked off so many places on our bucket list and experience living like a local in some unique properties. We have only been able to afford to travel to these amazing destinations because our accommodation is free.”
Not only do they swap houses, they swap cars too, which means they can save on car hire costs and eating out because they can stock up at the local supermarket. “Our last exchange was in the south of France where we stayed in a 200-year-old converted sheepfold, complete with its own private pool and courtyard. The total cost of this two-week holiday was only £126 per person and we saved even more money by agreeing to look after each other's pets.”
One of their most memorable home-swapping experiences was when they stayed in a beachfront villa in Bali for three weeks. “We had a private pool and staff with a chef and a housekeeper who did our laundry,” she gushes. “It was the lap of luxury yet we’ve saved a massive amount of money - it must be tens of thousands of pounds.” Their boys are now 20 and 22 but still tag along on family holidays - Susan only wishes ‘we’d started home exchanging with them sooner’. “From day one we have been amazed at how many offers we get for swapping our cottage in Scotland. Our modest four bedroom semi-detached home nearby castles and distilleries appeals to members from all over the world. Our house and cat have always been really well looked after. In fact, we often return home after a fabulous holiday and wonder if anybody has been staying in our home at all.”
'We've made lifelong friends'
Saving 30k on holidays over 10 years has enabled retired couple Deborah and Les King to travel the world. Deborah, 64, and Les, 68, from Chesterfield in Derbyshire go on four trips a year to places like Bali, Philadelphia and Sri Lanka. “After appearing on the BBC ’s Home away from Home almost 10 years ago, we were introduced to home swapping,” Deborah says. “We have since travelled the world making life-long friends through home exchange.”
Over the years the couple have saved more than £30,000 and they’ve also been able to treat friends and family to free holidays in Cornwall and San Diego. Friends often say to Deborah they couldn't do a home swap because they couldn’t imagine a stranger sleeping in their own bed. “But they will happily sleep in a bed hundreds of people have stayed in at a hotel or holiday let,” Deborah says. “We get to know our guests before we agree to an exchange and make sure we are comfortable with inviting them to stay at our home.”
And they agree it’s not just about saving money - getting to know the local area is so much easier as exchangers share their local knowledge too. For Deborah and Les, it’s allowed them to enjoy their retirement to the full. “We have three swaps agreed in the next four months, Florida, Edinburgh and Norfolk,” Deborah says. “We can’t wait!”
author Dailymirror,Rosaleen Fenton