How HomeExchange Makes Group Trips Possible and Easier

At HomeExchange, we love giving the floor to those who can talk about it best: our members. This testimonial was written by Amanda, a adventurous HomeExchange member, who shares with us her experience on how home swapping with HomeExchange has completely changed her traveling with her friends.

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Love Traveling but Struggle to Organize it

Friends make just about everything more fun. Dinners, celebrations, walks, sporting events, concerts. They all seem just a little more special when you can share them with your friends.

Vacations are another one of those times when the memories that you create with friends are so very special. The years of reminiscing about adventures that you shared are just irreplaceable.

So often the obstacle to achieving the perfect friend getaway is finding the right accommodations. Maybe that extra vacation cost isn’t in someone’s budget this year or you can’t find a place where everyone can be together, but also have their own space.

Before I joined HomeExchange, I grappled with all these challenges. Budgets and appropriate accommodations for the people I wanted to share my adventures with often presented an insurmountable challenge.

Home Swapping Seen as a Liberation

What a miracle when I discovered home swapping! Besides all the benefits for my family, I could now go on all those amazing friends trips that I had dreamed of. Because there would be no cost for accommodations, budgets were no longer a big issue. Even concerns about limited vacation days from work were diminished because in the new work from home culture, it was possible to do just that and still enjoy time away with friends.

In fact, we took extended family members on our very first home swap. I was able to invite my sister-in-law, her husband and children to a wonderful beach vacation. Because we drove, the cost was miniscule and the cousins were able to share time at the beach in a beautiful home.

After that, an annual beach trip (if not two!) with friends or family was put on the calendar every year that my kids lived at home. Happy memories for our kids and those they grew up with.

Visiting the World in Good Company

While family trips are amazing, it’s also hard to beat a trip with adult friends. I love a good girls trip and I have enjoyed so many.

I’ve enjoyed three trips to Paris with HomeExchange. Two were with family and friends, but one was an unforgettable week with my dearest friend that we will never forget. We stayed in a gorgeous four bedroom apartment steps from the Arc de Triomphe. Because we weren’t paying for our accommodations, we could enjoy tours, restaurants and shopping and not feel guilty about over indulging.

Visit Paris with HomeExchange

I also received a swap request from someone in Rancho Santa Fe, California. I had never planned to visit there, but the home and area looked so wonderful that I gathered up some friends and we headed out. Yet another great memory for all of us.

New Orleans was another unplanned trip, but when someone offers you an incredible apartment in the heart of the French Quarter, you grab your pals and go. The owner, in turn, loved our home enough that we enjoyed four swaps in total involving several different friends and family members.

The Best Way to Plan a Group Trip

Spending time with those we cherish is just good for us, but the cost and difficulty of finding a place to stay, often prevent us from taking the steps to do it. Since joining HomeExchange, I have definitely seen an increase in the time that I spend with the people I care about. I’m much more inclined to plan a trip and invite my friends when I know it won’t be a financial burden on any of us. I have found to, that friends will contact me and suggest another trip because they so much enjoyed the previous one.

This was the case with a recent trip to Franklin, North Carolina. A friend sent me information on the beautiful waterfalls in the area and said she would love for us to all go and see them. So, of course I jumped on the HomeExchange web site and found a place. We had a great weekend together with just the right amount of activity and relaxation.

We also were able to take our friends on their first trip to Spain this summer. It was a fantastic trip and they were amazed at how much we saw but also how restful it was due to the fact that we were staying in a beautiful home and had lots of space for down time.

The most recent trip with friends was a girls trip to Cape Cod. What an amazing home with a gorgeous view. There was a bedroom for everyone and lots of living areas where we could spend time together. There was so much to do in the area but we also wished we could stay longer and just enjoy the house. I know that everytime we get together we will be reminiscing about this trip.

Endless Home Swapping for Endless Memory

I could expound endlessly about all the incredible trips I’ve taken with others thanks to HomeExchange. Not only have I taken friends with me, I’ve made new friends through this mode of travel. I have so many incredible memories with old friends and new thanks to HomeExchange. What a wonderful gift it has been to me and one that keeps on giving!

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More about Amanda - 14 years on HomeExchange, 84 exchanges :
- Amanda's home
- You can follow Amanda's adventures on Instagram here and here