Home Base Holidays: helping arrange Home Exchange Vacations for over 25 years!

 www.homebase-hols.com                                                                                                  August 2012 (issue 88)

Home exchange Italy Featured Home Exchange

Sansepolcro, Italy (2 bedroom)  


Traditional terraced house in the heart of a beautiful Tuscan town. Charming location, convenient for excellent restaurants and local museums and the train station with connections down the Tiber valley to Perugia.

Exchange request: Open to offers

 

View this home swap offer... 

 

More home swap offers
Home Exchange EdinburghHome Swap AustraliaHome Exchange LondonHome Swap New York

"We have had five successful exchanges in the past and really enjoyed them and are returning to house swapping after a gap of a few years." 


Travel Writer's Handbook

Tell us a (home swap) story competition winner!

 

We received some delightful entries in the competition to win a copy of the latest edition of 'Travel Writer's Handbook'. As the standard was so high, it was difficult to pick one winner. However, Judith Stafford, a long standing member of Home Base Holidays, has been chosen for her very unusual home swap story (see below). Congratulations Judith! The book is on its way to you.

 

Winning story: Anything can happen on a home exchange!

 

"The best thing about house swapping is, it gives you the opportunity of experiences you would NEVER get in a hotel!

 

We swapped houses to San Diego - perfect climate, gorgeous home, great food and welcoming neighbours, one of whom invited us to swim in her pool.

 

All the kids played, we sipped Margaritas and a few more ladies and their children turned up. Suddenly one of the Moms screamed "Rattlesnake!!!".

 

All hell broke loose - the kids were herded onto the trampoline and my husband was dispatched, as the only male present, to sit on the fence above the snake and make noises so it would get angry and stay there, coiled and rattling - and staring up at him menacingly.

 

More screeching from the Americans until "Bart", next door, rang the police who came and shot the snake. Hysterical screaming at the mention of the word "gun", while us Brits just stood calmly in utter bemusement, each thinking - well frankly I'd have thought they'd be used to this stuff.

 

When things had died down, the man of this house returned from his "work" of skateboarding. We thought., "Isn't he a bit old for that kind of thing?" and carried on supping his tequila.

 

The rattle from the snake's tail is in a jar in our kitchen.

 

Turns out the skateboarder was Tony Hawks!"

 

Judith Stafford, Magnac Laval, Limousin, France

 

Runners up, in no particular order, whose stories will be published in future issues of Home Swappers (all our winners have also received three months extra added to their Home Base Holidays memberships):


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Home Exchange Discount Code   
To celebrate the 2012 London Olympics we are offering 20.12% OFF Home Base Holidays memberships (usual price £29 for 1 year).

To take advantage of this offer:
Offer Expires: 12th August 2012
Cut out expensive hotels and you can save thousands on your vacations

 
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(only £29 for 1 year) 

...more home swap offers
Home Exchange ItalyHouse Swap EnglandLuxury Home SwapHome Exchange Brazil

Home exchange tip: local map with emergency details    

 

Local Map We published an article in the July issue, 'Home swap tips and pointers', and asked for your useful tips. John & Vivienne, who live in Deal, Kent, sent a very important reminder:

 

"On exchanges in Oz for the past two years we have needed emergency treatment at the local hospital. Easier said than done.

 

If we had been left a local map indicating where the hospital, doctors, dentist etc. were we would not have had the panic to find where the hospital was when needed.

 

So a plea to all exchangers - please leave a local map with clear instructions for emergencies and how to get there." 

 


...more home swap offers
Home Exchange FranceHome Swap DenmarkHome Swap LondonHome Swap France

Travel insurance: let us give you a quote!  

Home Exchange Insurance

 

Home Base Holidays has teamed up with Insurance4u2travel to provide tailored travel insurance. They provide competitive premiums for a wide range of travel insurance products for residents of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man).

 

Get a quote today!   

 

Select your requirements and get a quote...   

 

Insurance4u2travel is insured by the UK Branch Office of Union Reiseversicherung AG. Union Reiseversicherung AG are authorised in Germany by BaFin and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority.   


Members offer: join second home swap site for free!

June - August: members can join 2nd home swap site for free 

 

If you are a current Home Base Holidays member (or join during June, July or August 2012), you are offered complimentary one year membership to a second long established home swap agency (based in Canada). To take up this offer, contact us (subject line: Free home swap offer). Contact us to sign up to the free offer! 


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Further Info

Newsletter Contributions:
We are always pleased to hear from members and subscribers and to receive contributions for the newsletter and blog - short reports on your exchange experiences, tips you feel would be useful to those new to the idea of home swapping and any questions you have on home exchange.
 
Copyright:
All Home Swappers content is copyright and cannot be used in any form without written permission from Home Base Holidays. However, please feel free to forward the newsletter (in full) to friends and colleagues who may be interested in home exchange (use the Forward Email link below the newsletter).
Happy Home Swapping!

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