Combining bicycle tourism and home swapping

The recipe for a sustainable - and unforgettable - trip!

Economical, practical, good for the body and mind, and eco-friendly - Cycling has never been so popular. Whether it's for a daily commute, a simple Sunday bike ride, or a laid back city tour, bicycles are everywhere - and that's good! It’s also increasingly used in home swapping as a way to unplug and travel responsibly. Want to learn more? We’ve got the details on how you can hit the road on your next vacation.

How to combine bicycle touring and home exchange

Home exchanging is the ideal solution for many cycling and bike touring enthusiasts. There are several options if you don’t want to leave your bike behind when you go on vacation:

Organize an hospitality exchange during a bike trip

You have planned a roaming trip on your bike for several days, several weeks, or several months. From camping to glamping to hotels, the alternatives of accommodation are numerous. But what is less known is the possibility to stay for a night with locals! In this case, members of the HomeExchange community offer a room in their home while they are there, also known as a hospitality exchange.

Click here to find out how to organize this type of exchange.

Explore the area by bike during a home exchange

The other option is to cycle around your exchange house or apartment where you are spending your vacation. You can plan your own routes, or take advantage of the advice of your host, who will probably know all of the best local bike paths. In the morning after a good breakfast, hop on your bike for a day of cycling and in the evening, you return to your comfortable exchange house to rest and put your feet up.

Search for an exchange

More than 80,000 bike enthusiasts on HomeExchange

With thousands of cycling tourists, the HomeExchange community is not immune to the growing popularity of cycling and bike touring!If you're already registered on HomeExchange, you'll probably have noticed that you can join "Groups" to more easily identify members with whom you share affinities or passions.

This is the case with the "Cyclists" group, which has no less than 80,000 members! Imagine all the bikes you could use in your exchange house, or the expert advice your hosts could share with you about the most scenic bike tours near their home!

Did you know that by joining this group, you can target your searches to other bike lovers? We explain how to do it right here.

Join the group

Cycling for slow and sustainable tourism

Combining home exchange and bike tourism is, as you'll understand, the best way to travel in a way that is not only economical, but also responsible. Like HomeExchange, bicycle tourism is an opportunity to travel, to discover, and relax and put your feet up (metaphorically, of course). This relaxed pace allows you to truly appreciate each moment, which means that you don't need to go far to get a change of scenery. With a bike, your adventure could begin at the corner of the street...

To promote sustainable vacations, we have also created a responsible travel guide, to help each of us make conscious choices for our vacations.

Consult the guide

These HomeExchangers are in love with biking and traveling

"We just came back from a 5 day bike tour, on a part of the Loire Valley cycle route with 3 successive house exchanges of one or two nights each, from April 12 to 16. Very nice experience with the children (12, 14, and 16 years old), and enjoying a new house each evening, sometimes with animals (cat, rabbit, fish, chickens). We covered 190km in 4 days of cycling!"

Valérie

"We have bikes available (in good repair) at both our homes with recommendations on some nice places to ride. I often get comments saying how much people appreciated using them. People have even taken them in the car with them for a day trip! We love using bikes if they are available, and if not we often hire bikes or use the 'city bikes'."

Linda

"For all of our exchange partners we make our bikes available, as it is the best way to experience the Netherlands and our lovely city of Rotterdam. Most of our guests also use them. We use our hosts’ bikes on about half of our exchanges, like on our exchange in Paris last week. Often, it gives us new ideas or experiences, like our daughter learning to bike when on an exchange in Ghent and our son on an exchange in Utrecht and the use of a mini saddle as a kids seat on an exchange in Baarn. Always a lot of fun!"

Renze Evenhuis

"For all of our exchange partners we make our bikes available, as it is the best way to experience the Netherlands and our lovely city of Rotterdam. Most of our guests also use them. We use our hosts’ bikes on about half of our exchanges, like on our exchange in Paris last week. Often, it gives us new ideas or experiences, like our daughter learning to bike when on an exchange in Ghent and our son on an exchange in Utrech,t and the use of a mini saddle as a kids seat on an exchange in Baarn. Always a lot of fun!"

Renze Evenhuis

Join the community