Holidays abroad can be organized almost free of charge. What is exchange leave? House exchange: is it possible to give up housing for a vacation Vacation exchange vacation

it's time to hit the road

Both my husband and I always liked to travel - we also met on a trip, and continued to travel. When they got married, they continued to live in the same way. With my eldest daughter, I still listened to the advice of Russian pediatricians like “not to take her anywhere until she is three years old,” but the next children were much luckier - they simply live at our pace, the same life that we consider correct and interesting, they practically travel with us from birth.

Our whole unusual travel story began when our third daughter was born. We realized that we could no longer rent one room in a hotel - we couldn’t fit in, and traveling with such a group and with such restrictions had become very expensive. We didn’t want to travel less, this is the main joy for us, we realized that we had to look for another way.

I started thinking after the film “Exchange Holiday”. How easy and simple everything is - two girls corresponded, pressed a button, and now one is in England, the other in America. And I went looking for information - how did we not know this until now? It turns out that the home swap movement has been around since the 60s. Since we are, let’s say, active, even adventurers, I was very excited about this idea. In some families, as it happens, the wife will come up with something, suggest it to her husband, and he will say to her: “Are you crazy?” And my husband says: “Oh, cool, let’s try it.”

find “your people”

We were so excited about this idea of exchanging houses that we immediately registered on one of the sites. Your eyes, of course, run wild, you feel like the whole world is in your pocket - just pack your suitcases. But the feeling is deceiving! It may seem like there are a hundred options, but in order for you to match with people, you first need to do a huge search. You can send a hundred letters, but only correspond with one family - so that everyone is really satisfied with everything. I always advise being flexible with your requests.

For the first time we started our search in the spring with thoughts about summer - well, we need to go to the sea? I started writing letters to Greece, Spain, France and quickly realized that most people plan their lives much in advance. “Yes, great,” they answered me, “but let’s probably next year shall we try? Everything has already been planned..."

I also started receiving letters, one of them was from Iceland, from Reykjavik. Of course, we didn’t have this in our plans; we were supposedly going to the sea, where it would be warm. I looked at the photographs and felt that I was in my own childhood. That Chukotka where I lived, which my children have never seen in their lives - and probably never will see. It was all in the photographs of Iceland - the hills, the tundra, the northern lights. I say to my husband: “Listen, this is a strange option, of course...”

As a result, we went to Iceland on our first “exchange” trip, and that family went to join us in London. Before the trip, we cleaned up the house, my husband fixed everything that had been in need of repair for a long time - an excellent reason, by the way, to do everything that had been put off.

We leave a folder with our guests necessary information- where everything is, where to go, where to eat. And in the refrigerator minimum set— a snack, a bottle of wine welcome.

We arrive in Reykjavik - and there is the same set! We didn’t agree on this, but in the “northern” refrigerator there were the same cheese, yoghurt, and a bottle of wine. Then I realized that people who are ready to take such adventures are simply similar. The music and books in the houses are similar, the paintings and little things are different. Not on purpose, it just happens that way.

Six years have passed since that first trip, and we can’t stop, it’s like a drug. We finish one trip, start planning another, and already have a third in mind. Now we go about every two months.

People are the same

My non-profit project “Home Exchange Vacations and Other Unconventional Travel” began with a blog with travel tips, interviews with people who prefer unusual ways to travel around the world - couchsurfing, house sitting (house sitting). For people who want to spend little money on this, there are a huge number of options. I dream that the children will grow up and lead their own lives, and Killian and I will travel the world even more often - we will live in Venezuela in the mountains, in Australia in a villa...

For us, traveling is an experience, an opportunity to see how differently people live. Different countries, different religions - but we are still all the same! It’s so painful to feel now that a lot of things that are happening in the world are separating people, dividing them. Politics, sanctions, fears associated with this. This is all dangerous and wrong, so any idea that will unite and not alienate people from each other - I am for it! And I am sure that this is the most important and valuable thing for children: when their parents show them the world.

Our children already know that there are different traditions that need to be respected. Everything may be different, but the world as a whole is still kind, and everywhere you will find people like you, with the same values and principles. Sharing is a great principle, you give and you receive in return. We want our children to be happy - and the world in which they live is good and friendly.

travel and study

Traveling with a child is a huge opportunity for development. He can get much more than in a month at school with a traditional education and boring textbooks. Now completely different things are relevant! We prepare for trips together: a little geography, a little history, a little religion, architecture, and we plan walks. Everything is unobtrusive - and there is much more knowledge and benefit.

So, thanks to the exchange, we decided to go to Nice for six months - we took the children out of school, immersed them in a new language, new culture- “good” stress is useful, a person is mobilized. Modern world so changeable, the difference between what my childhood was like and what the world is now is huge. Our children will grow up and they will need completely different skills than those taught at school. They need high adaptability, the ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions, developed emotional intelligence, creativity, knowledge of languages, empathy, and understanding of foreign cultures. They will be bolder, more open, and will understand that constantly learning, relearning and relearning is what is very important.

WILL COMMUNICATE

My blog, group on Facebook - all this is slowly growing. I saw that few people in Russia knew about this possibility, so I started talking about it and promoting the idea. Yes, this method is not suitable for everyone, but there are definitely those who will find it useful. I wrote where to start, how to protect yourself, why you shouldn’t be afraid. House swapping is safer than renting an apartment, because when you are in someone else’s house, you also have guests, you are on equal terms. Besides, while the exchange is being prepared, you have already exchanged letters, talked on Skype, looked at each other.

The process is slow, and after these few months you are no longer strangers to each other. But it is also important to trust your intuition: if you feel uncomfortable, do not hesitate to say: “Sorry, circumstances have changed.” There are reviews on sites, and the owner cannot remove negative ones, for example, this is a reputation, honest feedback.

There are now more than three thousand people from Russia and other countries in my house exchange group. It is important to me that we have comfortable communication, trust, and a safe space. And I see that despite the fact that we do not have the protection that is available on paid exchange sites, people are happy to take advantage of the opportunity, change, and negotiate. The project practically lives its own life - because the idea of exchange itself is cool. And I hope to write a travel book someday.

Accommodation exchange travel, i.e. Holidays with the exchange of houses or apartments are not a new phenomenon in Western countries.

This movement is over 50 years old, but it only began to gain global popularity in the Internet era.

Today, there are dozens of popular websites offering temporary housing in various parts of the world.

If you are ready to provide your apartment to tourists from Japan or Argentina, then in return you will receive the keys to their house completely free of charge.

If you still decide to exchange housing with foreigners during your vacation, then agree on the duration of your stay, additional conditions(for example, watering flowers, cleaning the apartment before leaving) - and you can go to another country.

There are two main reasons why people around the world choose apartment exchanges for travel.

The first is significant cost savings.
After low-cost airlines made the cost of air travel affordable to literally everyone, the most significant expense item became housing rental. “How wonderful it would be if you could travel around the world without spending money on hotel stays or renting an apartment,” people thought at some point.
REFERENCE: Indeed, if you cross out this expense item, then vacation becomes not a luxury, but simply an alternative pastime. You no longer need to save money all year to go to the sea for three weeks. Traveling is now easy to organize without breaking your piggy bank.
The second reason for the popularity of vacation apartment exchange is opportunity to immerse yourself in ordinary life host country.
You can endlessly prepare for your trip: read guidebooks, study ratings the best entertainment in the city and communicate on forms with other tourists, but then the spirit of adventure disappears.
For those who are not interested in walking the beaten path, an exchange holiday will be the ideal solution.

pros

Exchange of apartments for the duration of the holidays also has additional bonuses, which include:

Minuses

But there are also some disadvantages to traveling with a home exchange. The main ones include:

ATTENTION: When done thoughtfully, a home-sharing vacation can be a way to travel around the world without spending a significant amount of money.

Where can I look for vacation home exchange options in different countries?

Before you start looking for a vacation apartment, it may be helpful to learn about the main ways to exchange apartments between cities for a vacation or in other countries.

The first is the conclusion of a lease agreement. You and the owner of another house sign agreements to rent out the property for a certain amount. In the event of a conflict, the contracts will become the basis for litigation in court.

The second option is to draw up a house exchange agreement. Agreements of this kind are not provided for by the legislation of our country, but can serve as evidence of the very fact of the exchange.

It is better to search for an apartment on trusted sites dedicated to this type of tourism:

IMPORTANT: On the World Wide Web you can find many similar sites for exchanging apartments for vacation. Registration on some of them is paid, while others require payment only for Additional services. In any case, the amounts requested by the sites will be significantly lower than booking a hotel room.

Procedure for renting out an apartment for travel

So, you've decided to look for alternative accommodation for your holiday. In order to implement this plan, several steps must be completed:

Register on one or more apartment exchange sites.
Take photographs of your house or apartment and the surrounding area.
Fill out the form in as much detail as possible, add colorful description apartment and the city in which it is located.
You can wait for responses or look through the available options and write to the owners yourself.
When a suitable option is found, you should discuss the terms and conditions of use of the property with the owner of another apartment, sign rental agreements, and exchange keys.

Keys can be exchanged by mail, leaving the keys with neighbors or in person.

Features of housing exchange tourism

Foreign and domestic tourism for housing exchanges differ significantly.

IN Western countries– this is a common occurrence; travelers are already accustomed to entrusting their accommodation to enthusiasts like them.

On websites you can often find not only modest apartments, but also spacious private houses, the owners of which could easily afford a hotel room.

In Russia, this type of tourism is just beginning to develop. As a result, we still have a rather modest selection of houses for exchange, and we rarely come across unusual options. This situation does not promise great prospects for tourists wishing to relax within the country.

On the other hand, Russian home owners receive a large number of offers from foreigners who dream of visiting a country that is still exotic for them. So if you decide to submit an offer on an international resource, you will get the opportunity to visit many countries.

REFERENCE: Contrary to popular belief, home exchange tourism is not only for owners of luxury apartments located in the center of the metropolis. Of course, the house must meet certain standards, but a lot depends on your ability to present it.

Describe life in your city, add high-quality photographs, listen to the advice of community members. Perhaps you will receive an offer from the owner of an apartment in Venice who wants to experience the atmosphere of the Russian outback.

If you are tired of traveling through travel agencies, you are unable to book hotels via the Internet, or you simply want to save on housing, then you can become a couchsurfer, i.e. travel on exchange. Couchsurfing - exchange holiday. First of all, this will allow you to see the country through the eyes of its inhabitants and gain invaluable experience. independent travel, and most importantly, you can make new friends all over the world.

Couchsurfers- people who travel the world, staying not in hotels, but with friends whom they previously met via the Internet.
It is absolutely not necessary to spend money on a hotel; you can simply stay in an apartment with friends, who, in turn, will someday also come to you and be able to stay in your apartment. U couchsurfers they have their own specialized websites where they meet, negotiate and discuss the conditions and places of their future shelters. At the same time, couchsurfers, as a rule, do not care in what conditions they have to spend the night. This may not be a sparsely furnished apartment, but it may also turn out to be an empty room with only a sofa and a refrigerator. Couchsurfing is so addictive that it has become a way of life. The location and living conditions in this case are not the main thing. The main thing in an exchange holiday is communication with like-minded people and travelers like yourself. Couchsurfing- This is tourism for the exchange of housing and vacation spots. Couchsurfing is an exchange holiday.

Of course, everyone decides for himself whether he can become a couchsurfer and host complete strangers in his apartment, sharing his bedroom (in the normal sense of the word) and kitchen with them, and accepting their habits and desires. Arranging exchange holidays , you first “write off” with your future guests and try to learn as much as possible about them during the correspondence. Some people simply love to receive guests, and receiving foreigners is doubly enjoyable for them.
On the other hand, you yourself can go to the country you like in the same way, without worrying about your place of residence or booking a hotel in advance. Moreover, it is possible that the receiving party (host) will help you (the coach) navigate an unfamiliar country and a specific city. If desired, the host will show you the main attractions and accompany you to night club or to the museum and explain where it is better and cheaper to buy food. In this case, you also save on guides. When receiving guests from another country, you can take a walk together in your own hometown and probably learn a lot of interesting things about him. Only a couchsurfer can really understand the life of a country, how ordinary people live in it, what they are passionate about and, as a result, gain a unique and invaluable traveler experience.
Once you become a couchsurfer and start traveling on exchange, you will, of course, have to communicate with your guests. The unspoken language of communication among couchsurfers is English language. However, no one is stopping you from learning the language of the host country, for example, Albanian or Greek.

If you decide to become a couchsurfer and are ready travel on exchange, learn a few simple truths. First of all, before agreeing to host strangers in your home for the night, try to find out in advance what they are like. Ask them, for example, to send you their photo and tell you more about themselves, ask what languages they speak. Go to a specialized website, where perhaps someone has already communicated with these people and left reviews about them. Couchsurfing, an exchange holiday, is also practiced by people with a different orientation. Therefore, do not hesitate to clarify these points in advance. Otherwise, having received your consent to spend the night, your guests may be very upset when they do not receive from you what they expected. In short, you must have some intuition to correctly assess the capabilities and desires of your guest. Among the large army of couchsurfers, there are also those who can easily sit on your neck. The most harmless thing in this case may be dinner at a restaurant at your expense.
If you are not satisfied with a candidate for accommodation, do not hesitate to refuse him. After all, you don't owe anyone anything. You should do the same if you yourself are going to visit someone on an exchange holiday. Try to burden your homeowners as little as possible and people will be drawn to you, and rumors about your hospitality will spread throughout the world.
Couchsurfing does not necessarily require overnight accommodation. It is enough, having written or called in advance, to simply meet in some museum or just walk around the city, sit in a cafe and thereby strengthen your acquaintance. Remember that an exchange holiday is, first of all, about communicating with new people.
If you are interested in this type of tourism, you can leave your suggestions in the comments.

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Holiday abroad in a luxury resort or in the center of one of the European capitals you can do it for practically nothing! All you need is a foreign passport, a ticket to your destination and the ability to find a common language with people. New fashion swept the world - exchange holidays. You go to visit a foreign friend, and he and his family go to your apartment. So the most expensive thing - accommodation - becomes free.

Reporting by Anna Nelson.

The elevator is broken. Therefore, Paul Broughten, like all residents of an ordinary house on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, will walk up to the 5th floor. He will use someone else's key to open the door of someone else's apartment, but he will enter as if it were his own home. The 64-year-old retired economist left his native California to feel like a Russian for a couple of weeks.

Paul Broughten: “In this apartment I have a chance to try on the life of its Russian owners, to say hello to their neighbors in the morning. This is a completely different idea from the country. Because if you are on a tourist tour, you will remain tourists. Most likely, You won't meet anyone except your guide or the hotel receptionist, who will only be interested in how much money you are willing to spend."

Paul will not spend a dime to live in this apartment, in which he will immediately discover one striking feature for him - a washing machine in the kitchen, instead of the usual laundry room for Americans in the neighboring house. After a few days, he will already notice other features.

Paul Broughten: “It seemed to me that Russians were shocked when a man washed dishes. It’s just that in the USA it’s absolutely normal.”

Basically no restaurants. During the first few days, Paul bought groceries at random, using gestures and a single word: “Thank you!”

In the kitchen, he opened purchased jars with inscriptions in a Russian language unknown to him. After trying horseradish, mustard and adjika, I finally found my favorite jam in one of the jars. He usually has breakfast with it in his Californian mansion on the ocean. You can see what the house Paul built looks like on the website of one of the apartment exchange clubs. There is no data except on private housing in Antarctica.

English teachers came up with the idea of exchanging houses 50 years ago, but in Russia they recently learned that becoming a member of any of these clubs is quite simple: pay a fee - a maximum of $ 100 per year, find an exchange partner from anywhere in the world in the catalog, apply for a visa and buy a plane ticket. Saving a lot on accommodation.

Eduard Kuznetsov, representative of the American club in Russia: “For example, with this money you can buy souvenirs, you can extend your vacation if the house is in Nice, and there are also offers in Nice - with this money you can rent a yacht.”

Interest in Russia in such clubs is huge; even the Fiji islanders show it. But compatriots still perceive the “we come to you - you come to us” scheme as an adventure.

More than 100 thousand people are involved in this game all over the world. But there are still only a hundred Russians who have risked exchanging their square meters for foreign ones. It's probably a matter of our psychology. As children, we read fairy tales with a menacing question: “who sat on my chair and broke it.” And when we get older, we are already interested: - maybe you also need the key to the apartment where the money is?

But Muscovite Alla Cheboksarova nevertheless decided and with her two children went to Germany, where the mistress of the house, once a Russian, and now a German subject, was already waiting for her. She will go to Moscow a year later.

The same as on the Internet - without deception, there will be a three-story house, a bathroom with clean towels, bedrooms, a stove and a specific trash can, with separate bags for different types of garbage. To non-specific guests, only a German cat will appear.

One of the conditions of the exchange was a golf course so that children could learn noble games - here it is. Having lived on the exchange, Alla will formulate what hotels are, which would have been quite within her means, but now clearly are not to her liking.

Alla Cheboksarova: “Well, this is a reservation, a concentration camp, one might say, paid for with your own hands. Everything is thought out for you and you only do what has already been planned in advance.”

You can, for example, go randomly and stumble upon the cheapest jewelry store in the city.

And the American Paul, having temporarily become the master of someone else’s Moscow apartment, realized that he was also the master of his own time.

They will feel at home, while forgetting that they were a guest. The housing issue, if it spoils them, is only in one thing: upon returning to their homeland, they will report that they will never go anywhere again, nor by bus, nor in a crowd of tourists.

Presenter: “Western researchers have compiled a list of the most ridiculous reasons why embassy employees refused to obtain a visa. For example, one woman was banned from entering the UK because she was going to live with her fiancé in London for several months as a housewife. The embassy said that if she didn’t want to work, then she had nothing to do in England. And they refused to issue a visa to one man because he was going to settle too far from his friends, who invited him. Well, that’s supposedly. , suspicious. We will talk to the deputy head of the visa service about what you need to know so that the embassy employees cannot find fault with anything and not let you into the country. travel company Mikhail Danilin. If you have such a desire to hitchhike, what visas do you need to get for this, and whether you need to get visas.

Guest: “In any case, if you are going to go to a country with a visa regime for Russians, visas, of course, need to be obtained. Another thing is that you need to consider the issue in each specific case from the country, because whether you are going only to Schengen countries, maybe Maybe you are traveling to both Schengen and non-Schengen countries. A certain package is collected, given to the consulate, and there the consulate decides how to issue you a visa or not. Travel companies do not undertake the processing of such visas. Because you need to know for sure. to submit documents where a person will live. Almost all embassies, consulates require a reservation, a hotel or a voucher for accommodation, an invitation, which specifies exactly what date, what month the person will arrive and leave. Well, if the person goes there himself. embassies and prove to the consulate that he will travel like this, and he travels like this, there are some, minimal chances, he probably has to get this visa.”

Presenter: “And if people decide to exchange apartments, as we described in the previous article, then in such a situation what visas are needed?”

Guest: “In my opinion, it will definitely be necessary to apply for a visa by private invitation from a private person. And one hundred, 99 percent, the person himself will come directly to the consulate.”

Presenter: “Can problems arise if you receive a visa and your passport expires?”

Guest: “They are bound to arise. Another thing is that in each country, if you look around the world, the validity period of a passport before departure from abroad, from this country, is different. As a rule, it is from 6 months, which means countries South-East Asia, everyone's favorite Thailand, India. And up to 3 months of the Schengen countries of Europe."

Presenter: “Is it possible, when receiving a new passport, to keep the visa you already have in your previous passport?”

Guest: “As a rule, this is not allowed. If you are applying for a new passport, then you must submit all the documents again for a visa, in the new passport. The only exception that I know of is American visas in the old passport, when entering the United States, are valid today. That is, you can leave with a new passport, and then show your canceled passport with your old visa and they will let you through.”

Presenter: “And if the period of stay in one country or some rules of stay in this country are violated, a refusal is obtained in the future. Can another country also refuse a visa because of this refusal?”

Guest: “Again, you need to look in which country the violation occurred. I know that at the moment the general computer base of the Schengen agreement is developed quite seriously. And if a person violates the rules of stay in one of the countries of the Schengen agreement, then with the receipt of a visa to another Schengen country, he may have problems."

Many have seen the film “Exchange Vacation,” but few are ready to put themselves in the shoes of its characters: it is not yet customary for us to exchange housing for the period of vacation. Although, by analogy with Western sites offering to find a suitable option for exchanging houses, such resources are also appearing in Russia. “In the future, this method of finding housing will be especially in demand,” says Maria Barabash, a journalist and mother of three children. “Prices for vacations are rising, but I still want to travel abroad.” Maria leads the community "House Swap" and wrote a book in which she tells how to decide on an exchange, what needs to be done for this, and also gives stories of successful exchanges of our compatriots. Here are some of them.

Holidays at sea: exchange with Russian emigrants from Cyprus

I accidentally read about this type of recreation on the Internet. I registered on a foreign website and didn’t even send letters to anyone. I was waiting for requests.

The offer to exchange houses came from a family of Russian emigrants who live in Cyprus. We talked several times on Skype - they turned out to be easy to communicate with, they were ready to meet us at the airport and show us the sights. There were no difficulties (except for the fact that it took a long time to decide on handing over the keys and check-in).

Unfortunately, we were unable to arrange a car exchange due to high price to include a new driver in insurance. We lived next to the sea, which is what we wanted from the beginning, we really liked everything. The guests were also pleased and talked with all their relatives and friends. Enjoyed the cold and rainy weather.

For those who are thinking about exchanging, I would first of all advise making the apartment comfortable for guests. Install water leakage sensors so as not to worry, tell your neighbors about the arrival of guests and get their approval.

Everything in the film is true!

Olga Kuznetsova, Moscow

I watched the movie “Exchange Holiday” - everything is clearly shown there! My husband and I each exchanged apartments with our colleagues at one time or another. Recently, the economic situation in Russia has changed, the financial situation of our family has become more complicated, but we still have the desire to travel. Accordingly, house swapping is seen as an opportunity to save money and at the same time gain a new experience while meeting new people and their lifestyle.

We registered on the site in March 2014. We haven’t sent out the letters yet, but we have already received two offers from Italy, two from Spain and one from Cyprus.

Previous exchanges were with familiar people, our friends. The usual method of communication is correspondence. For clarity, the letter was accompanied by instructions in pictures - how to get to the house from the metro, what the entrance and staircase look like, what key to unlock what, how to use household appliances, etc. In the future, I plan to use video instructions - you can upload it directly to YouTube and send the link.

Everyone is happy. The desire to come to Moscow was expressed by people who have already been to Russia, have some connections here, or Russians living abroad.

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