*Our first house swap experience in Denver, Colorado - we stayed in a historic neighbourhood near City Park in a 125-year-old renovated home.*

Have you ever wanted to try a new way to travel that’s cheap, fun and could take you places you would never normally go?

If you’re anything like me, I am done staying in hotel rooms. Especially with kids - cramped hotel rooms are less than ideal for longer stays.

For family travel, staying somewhere with the comforts of home with a full kitchen and lots of spaaaaace is much more my cup of tea.

Enter house swapping, or home exchange.

Think The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet but less Hollywood-y and more real life. And just as fun.

It’s honestly changed the way we travel. And we ain’t looking back now.

We just completed our first ever house swap - my husband and I took our two kids aged 6 and 4 to the USA over the Australian summer school holidays for 8 weeks.

Always dreamt of a white Christmas? Ohhhh gosh, me too.

So, we took the plunge and made it happen. If it wasn’t for the house swap, the cost of accommodation would have made it near impossible.

Although we didn’t get snow on Christmas day, it was cold so we got to rug up and experience all the feels of an American Christmas with my family in Denver.

Beautifully decorated houses, hot chocolate, fireplaces, the Parade of Lights in Denver, the most incredible light display at the Denver Zoo at night made it so memorable.

Annnnnd Santa even got to shimmy down a real chimney for once.

Part two of the house swap we headed into the Rocky Mountains and stayed in Frisco, Colorado for a month of snowboarding.

Our Colorado house swappers stayed at our place in Australia - enjoyed our pool, the beach lifestyle and explored our beautiful region.

They wanted warm, we wanted cold - a perfect match!

Why choose house-swapping?

First of all – it’s an affordable way to travel (or almost free). It’s great for families with kids as you can arrange swaps with other family-friendly homes (read: new toys, books and kid-approved spaces to enjoy!)

Swapping cars is a huge plus, too. If you’re flying to your destination, you could save thousands on car rentals. And if you swap with a family, car seats are included. Bonus.

The fun part about house swapping is living like a local. Exploring new neighbourhoods, local playgrounds and coffee shops.

Bye-bye to overpriced tourist-trap locations.

Snow covered street in Denver Colorado — *Our gorgeous snow-covered street after our one (and only) snowfall during our stay in Denver, Colorado.*

The benefits of house swapping

No more worrying about overstaying your welcome with family or friends or paying for overpriced hotels.

Having our own space to spread out, give the kids some down time and cook meals was a life saver. It made it not only affordable but also way easier to be away from home for so long.

We had use of their car (which lucky us - was much nicer than ours), and so we had car seats included in the deal. It made life so easy!

There was also a guest bedroom which meant family from further away could visit and stay with us too!

I will admit it did take me quite a while to convince my husband about house-swapping but once we did it, he loved it too.

Worried about having randoms in your house? It can take a little while to get used to but our advice - get to know your house swappers before your exchange. We did a few FaceTime calls prior and lots of messages back and forth to ask questions.

Soon your home exchange partners won’t feel like randoms anymore, they will feel like friends.

Some cute unexpected challenges along the way

Cat with Christmas lights — *Wilson, the most adorable and snuggly cat we looked after during our home exchange.*

Ok, not exactly a deal breaker (not even close) but there were a few little *challenges* we faced.

Our arrangement included us staying in our swappers’ primary home in Denver for the first month and the second month at their shared family holiday home in Frisco, Colorado.

For the first swap we also agreed to look after their cat. What could go wrong, right?

Now if you have kids who don’t have a pet, you may also be used to hearing, “When can we get a dog?” and “I reeeeealllly want a cat, Mum”.

Heard that before? Coz, same.

We happen to live in an estate that doesn’t allow cats or dogs (it’s a wildlife protection area), so we’ve never had a pet.

Soooo, we thought it would be exciting for the kids to experience life with a cat to keep them entertained for a month and get their fix of a furry friend.

The cat was sweet, and we all adored him but my four-year-old was also slightly afraid of his midnight visits. So, we had to keep the door closed.

The house had so much character and was so incredible but being old, it has creaks and the doorknobs were loud. Who would think loud doorknobs could be a problem. Ha!

The cat happily slept on the chair outside their door, but when either of the kids went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, we all woke up and it was excitement central.

“Awww, the cat!”

“Eek, Wilson’s coming into our room!”

“Can we play with him?”

The midnight cat romps mixed with jetlag plus with being in a new place meant we barely slept for a few weeks.

All fun and games until everyone is cranky on holiday because they only got 26 winks.

Slight hiccup but we adored the kitty snuggles (and we miss him now), and the kids learned some responsibility being *pet owners*.

Another challenge was finding enough to do to keep the kids entertained on days when it was particularly cold and when our family were working or at school. Not necessarily a house-swapping problem, just a ‘being on an extended holidays with your kids’ consideration.

Living in a city area is generally more expensive too - something to keep in mind when choosing a location.

Being away for 8 weeks meant we had to be conscious of spending and pick and choose what we could do. It didn’t help that the exchange rate was woeful (around 0.61 USD for every $1 dollar AUD during our visit). *Sigh*.

We had some awesome experiences with our kids and explored so many new places (while negotiating treats, breaking up fights, and asking them to put their shoes on fifty-bazillion times).

Pet sitting the cat Wilson during our house swap. — *Our house swap included looking after a cat (which the kids loved) - including the midnight playdates.*

How does house swapping actually work?

Okay, the most common type of house swap is the simultaneous swap (that’s what we did!). You swap homes at the same time.

A non-simultaneous swap allows you to stay at someone’s home, and they visit yours at a later date. A great option if you own a holiday home or have a self-contained living space.

Next is a hospitality exchange, you host someone in your home while you’re still there, and in return, they host you at their place on another occasion.

Swaps can be for a long weekend (although short stays can be tricky as it takes a while to get your house ready for a swap), a week, a month, or even six months.

Once you start, you never know what you might discover or the people you might meet. Life is all about experiences, right?

Top tips for a successful house swap

Our home exchange house in Frisco, Colorado — *Part two of our house swap arrangement we stayed in snowy and beautiful Frisco, Colorado - near the ski resorts of Breckenridge, Copper and Keystone.*

We are premium members on a fantastic platform called People Like Us (I’m not getting paid here, I just really love it). It’s a warm, friendly and welcoming community of like-minded people from around the world.

Although there are many other house swap sites out there.

We wanted to be in a very specific location near my family in Denver, so in this instance, my cousin found our house swappers by putting our home listing on a local Facebook community page with a call out.

Luckily, we got a few responses but the people we ended up swapping with knew our area and couldn’t wait to get back to Australia. A win!

Tips to consider for a successful swap:

Since our swap wasn’t through an “official” website in the end, we drew up an agreement with dates, inclusions, responsibilities.
If you’re swapping cars too, chat to your car insurer to make sure your swappers are covered.
Write up a house manual for your guests. It helped both of us navigate all the little nuances and quirks of each home.
Manage expectation up front with things like cleaning arrangements for a fuss-free and easy experience.

The pros of house-swapping?

There are so many pros to house swapping - here’s a few:

There’s no need to put all your personal belongings or family pictures away. Love that! It’s what makes each home unique. (Gosh, if you had to remove all your personal items each time, you just wouldn’t do it).
I loved being in a home that felt lived in, with real quirks, and every kitchen gadget under the sun.
Seeing how other people live is really interesting.
Swapping is based on mutual respect – you’re in their house and they are in yours. You look after each other’s homes as if they are your own. It’s that simple and it’s beautiful.
Your home is going to be empty anyway while you’re on holidays. Why not have someone be there to look after it? Watering plants, taking care of pets and keeping an eye on things. It’s a win-win.

All in all, it was an incredible first experience and we will certainly do it again (and again).

If a goal for you this year is to travel more, consider house swapping. It’s a sure-fire way to make your next adventure one to remember.

Snow trip to Colorado - snowboarding with kids — *We were lucky enough to secure a house swap in Frisco, Colorado - within 15-minutes to Breckenridge and Keystone ski resorts for lots of snowboarding fun!*

Hi, I’m Abby! I’m a freelance writer, copywriter and content creator. I help brands, businesses and organisations find the words to share their story, connect with customers and make an impact.

I have a passion for travel, sustainability and exploring the world with kids.

Need help with travel writing content? Get in touch via the contact form on my website or drop me a line at hello@abbywallace.com.au