'AUSSIE HOUSE SWAP'
has so far been seen, heard or featured on:

Australian Woman's Weekly - ('Saving Money Around The Home' article)

:-)

Our house swap was a huge success. All communication beforehand was done by e-mail and a couple of phone calls. It is all based on trust, so there is mutual respect for each other's property and belongings. As a family of 5 it was an inexpensive way to enjoy the sights of Sydney by day, whilst relaxing in a leafy suburb in the evenings. No worries about having to take bedding, toys and entertainment with us-it was all there. We also agreed on a car swap, which worked perfectly, and meant no taxis, or rental cars for either family. We would definitely recommend it and have already arranged another house swap for this year!

Pauline (NZ)

We hace just completed our first house swap and it was just sensational everything went so smoothly.

House swapping is going to be part of our life from now on. Thank you for a wonderful site as we look forward to our next swap.

Geoff & Beverley

In the last 12 months we've had two holidays, both house swaps and both unexpected destinations. Once we let our minds wonder at the possibilities that these two destinations could offer, we agreed and exchanged details. Our first exchange to Sydney was with experienced houseswappers, they'd done 15! Mary had some great ideas and was so relaxed, she helped boost our confidence. The second exchange was to Nelson, on the South Island in New Zealand. What a wonderful relaxed, change of pace that holiday was. We totally chilled out, helped by a large comfortable house with lots of games, toys , trampoline and pool for the kids. We highly recommend house swapping, our home was well cared for, we experienced a little bit of other peoples lives and saved an enormous amount of money.

Liz & Graham

Since joining Aussie House Swap we have enjoyed a number of exchanges in various locations including Brisbane and Sydney. Through this network we have been able to provide our place for couple and their overseas visitors as a holiday venue whilst we were visiting family elsewhere. Similarly we were able to stay in another members home, even though they did not require a swap as they had other holiday plans. We have currently arranged a swap for the coming July holidays and are planning more swaps throughout the year. What a great way to holiday and get a feel for the community/area you are staying in. Each time we have managed to build a great rapport with the people we have swapped with and everything has run smoothly - not one hiccup at all Not only is it an economical, relaxing and comfortable way to holiday, there is a bit of serendipity involved when contact is made, I like that, as it can be an opportunity to holiday in places you may not have thought of. You can say "Why not - lets go there" or "No thanks, it dosent suit us this time" there is no obligation the chioce is yours. I'm just wondering why it took us so long to discover the beauty of holidaying via house swap, however, we don't intend to let the grass grow under our feet as we venture off to lots of holiday destinations and enjoy many more home exchanges.

Kind regards,

Nettie & Grahame

We house swapped with Roslyn and Bill at Forest Lake in Queensland and enjoyed our stay. The family and us kept in touch well before our swap which made us feel as if you new them. Their daughter met us at the house and also took us to the nearest railway station the day we left and was very friendly, helpful and made us welcome. As this is a suburb close to Brisbane you needed a car which was supplied by them so we could drive around and have a good look. Thanks a lot Roslyn and Bill for your very clean house and we would recommend it to all who want to visit that area. As this was our first house swap we look forward to many more.

Sid and Barbara

Recently I experienced my first home swap with a couple in Dodgers Ferry, Tasmania and I am DELIGHTED.Our exchange was for 10 days in late April/early May.They stayed in our home in Brisbane & left our home in a spotless condition- you wouldn't have known anyone had stayed there while we were away.We found Sid & Barbara's home to be very centrally located & to be warm & very comfortable. Our visit felt like a stay at our favourite aunt's home-very homely & at ease.Sid & Barb even arranged for their friends to greet us at the airport & transport us to their home. Very accommodating of them & a very much appreciated gesture. Our daughter met them at our home & showed them around & drove them to the station when the time came to move on again.They ,like us, left a bottle of wine & a small box of chocolates on the kitchen bench to greet us.-little gestures mean a lot.

We included a swap of cars in our exchange & this saved us all a lot of money also.
We exchanged a number of emails & phone calls prior to our swap & this made us all feel like friends even before the swap. This definately helped us feel more relaxed about swapping for the first time.We estimate that we saved upto $3000 on accommodation costs for 4 adults & car hire.WHAT A GREAT WAY TO HOLIDAY!!!!!
We are eagerly awaiting our next swap with a family in New Zealand in July & can only hope that things run as smoothly as the last exchange.Thanks Sid & Barbara of Dodgers Ferry & thanks Aussie Home Swap. Regards,

Roslyn

Aussie House swap. What a great concept. We had a very successful swap Bronte Beach NSW for our house & car at Nedlands WA. Three weeks over last Xmas /New Year. Beautiful house (& Car) & it meant we did not have to burden our daughter & family who were just a 20 minute drive to connect Perfect. We are now close friends with our swap partners. Thank You!

James

In January of 2008, my family aussie house swapped with a couple from Victoria. We had a wonderful time exploring the state, with our base being their beautiful home in the Gippsland. They arrived at our home at the beach in Queensland, looked after our cat, watered my plants and had a good explore of our region. My husband was a little uncertain about letting complete strangers into our home, but we have nothing but a positive experience to remember from the house swap. Our house was left as immaculate by our vistors as when we walked out the door 2 weeks prior. The Handy House Swap Form was used by both parties, and made it easy to list details such as contact numbers and instructions. We are currently in contact with a family from the south island of New Zealand, which will be the site of our next house swapping adventure!
Aussie House Swap is an easy-to-use website, full of information and handy tips, not to mention some great places listed.

From a Happy House Swapper.

Karen

We would like to thank you very sincerely for the excellent house swapping site you have set up and for the excellent idea you have initiated. In this day and age it is not easy for families, and for seniors like ourselves, to travel in this wide brown land of ours, especially with the present cost of petrol and the rising cost of accommodation, even the most humble. Your brilliant idea of house swapping has made it a bit easier to travel. So congratulations and good on you !!

Carl & Margaret

Just telling you that we made a house swap in September for a house in Perth and we live in Newcastle.

We had a marvellous holiday in Perth for a month, excellent accommodation, our house swapper was very communicative. The house was left in sparkling condition when we returned and would certainly recommend a house swap and many thanks to your website for the opportunity to communicate because that is one of most essential ingredient in this house swapping process.

Robyn

We have had one house swap during our membership – and it was fabulous. We are now great friends with the family and once we settle elsewhere, we will be certain to contact them (and others) for another swap. It is staggering to think of the amount of money we would have paid in hotel accommodation – but instead we had a magnificent home in a fabulous location with every household facility at our disposal. As a bonus, we had the convenience of another family caring for our animals and keeping our home tidy and secure during the course of our absence. Brilliant!!

Tania

We are delighted with Aussie House Swap as we have just organised a 6 week exchange to Perth to spend Christmas with our son & family. The exchange is ideal as we are exchangeing cars & the other party are more than happy to look after our little dog & their home is located less than 15 minutes from where our son lives. We did not anticipate getting a Christmas excahnge so it was a real bonus.

This was all organised less than 2 weeks after joining Aussie House Swap.

Mike

I have done a very successful non-simultaneous house swap in Melbourne and the swap went without any problems and was a great help to us. Many thanks and I am in the process of arranging another swap for middle of this year.

Judy

A year ago I joined Aussie House Swap straight away I looked into where we would like to go. I emailed approx 6 other members and 5 off these emailed me back within 3 days unfortunately none where able to swap, after a few months I tried again......we where succesfull it felt like I won the lottery, we secured a weekend away to the Blue Mountains, Within 2 days I organized to swap houses again and while I was working out dates with the family I received an email from Taree.....within a week we orginized two holidays!

We have been to the blue Moutains and Taree, tomorrow we set of for Batemans Bay. I'm a working and studying single mother with two boy's funds are always low and this way we are able to discover the Aussieland without a lot off cost.

Thanks Aussie House Swap Team

Ingrid

I did have a very successful swap last year with a lady at Victoria Point. She had her family with her and they had never been in snow and had a ball. I was very happy to be at her home and walk every day by the sea. Also, I so love the friendly Queensland people. They were so good to me taking me to church, bridge etc.

Pam

'We have just come back from our first house swap in the inner city suburbs of Sydney. We had a fantastic time and were able to save heaps in accomodation costs. Good on you Aussie House Swap'

Robert

We have had 2 house swaps during this 12 months both to Melbourne. The most recent was last weekend when we had a wedding to attend. It worked out fabulously as the house we had in Melbourne was large enough to accomodate all our family (including grandchildren) who had to travel down from north-east Victoria. In return, the family of 5 who came to our house had a wonderful time with our 6 week old puppies and plenty of room for the children to run around. I think house-swapping is a great idea and can't wait to retire so we will have more time to enjoy it. With thanks . .

Helen

We have just completed our first house swap to OZ. It was fantastic, everything went sooo well and cant wait to do it again!!

Karen (NZ)

We had our first house swap in January this year and had a great time, a little nervous at first but everything went well both ends!! We are just in the process of arranging our next swap and have recommended your website to friends.

Julianne

We indulged in our first house swap and had the best holiday we have had in years!  The home in Murrumba Downs, Brisbane was just beautiful and the pool, awesome!  The best thing about the holiday that was at the end, there was no accommodation or vehicle hire bill!!  I have been recommending your site to all of our friends!  We have another swap planned for next year in Melbourne. Best wishes!

Rachel & Ian (NZ)

In the past 12 months we’ve done two swaps to Sydney when we wanted to catch up with friends and family. As we have two small children it was no longer viable (or desirable) to stay in someone’s spare room. Both house swaps went really well. We’ve told all our friends about it. Our second swap was particularly successful as it was with another family with young children. This meant we didn’t have to pack half the things we would normally take – cot, highchair, bottle steriliser, toys, books, stroller, even car seats were all there. We even bought each other a pack of nappies so we wouldn’t have to pack those or rush off to find a shop. I think the secret of a successful house swap is open and honest communication. Be clear about what you have to offer and what you would like. We have had absolutely no trust issues with either of our swaps. We live in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast and I would say that we have received on average one request per week for a house swap and we’ve had no difficulty finding someone suitable. It’s advisable to book early for the school holidays and Xmas period. We reckon we’ve saved ourselves about $7000 in accomodation and car hire this year with just two swaps! Thank you for organising such a wonderful and innovative web site – it’s so ingenious and so simple! Keep up the good work!

Sarah and Mark

We had a very successful houseswap in January this year. We swapped our Queenstown, NZ apartment for an apartment in central Melbourne.  We were very happy with the arrangement as was our Australian 'swapper'.  We are very keen, once time allows, to swap again.

Merv & Jill

I love that we can holiday in Australia with no accommodation costs. This opens up many more opportunities for us to explore new places. We have had three wonderful beach holidays so far. The houses we have stayed in have been beautifully furnished, with beds ready made for us, clean towels and instructions re rubbish night, local venues etc. Each time we return home, our house has been left clean and loved, with gifts of wine, fruit and flowers left for us by our swappees. They also take care to water plants, replace staples such as olive oil, loo paper and cleaning materials. We have made friends with our swappers through phone calls and emails both before and after each swap. We look forward to returning to those places whenever it suits both parties, as well as exploring new places. I can’t wait for my next swap.

Adrian

We think house swapping is a great way to travel & recommend it to all our friends.

Glenys & Bruce

After hearing from a fellow bridge player that she had swapped houses six times over the years to all parts of the world, we decide to swap ours with one in Melbourne. It was an inner suburb home close to all the action: shows, theatre, art gallery, sports venues, etc. We had a ball taking them all in and saved $6,000 over three weeks on accommodation. (We would normally have stayed at a hotel.) On return, we found our home and car in even better condition than we left. Swapping takes a little effort and preparation; and inevitably when returning home you can't remember where the devil you put things away before you left. But I would still recommend swapping. Most people say they wouldn't do it for fear of the other people doing the wrong thing. But 99% of people are decent citizens and if they own their own home they will look after yours in the same way you look after theirs.

Jerry

I would like to strongly recommend this website and this system. I recently completed a house swap with someone in Sydney and it proved remarkably successful for both of us. We have made friends and intend to do another swap in the near future. It saved both of us a lot of money as casual motel-type accommodation is not only sterile and (to my mind) usually quite deadly, but is also extremely expensive.

Thank you Aussie House Swap Team for a 100% positive experience!

A. G.

I have just finished my submission. The enquiries are still rolling in.This is terrific.!! Cheers

Andrew

We just had our first houseswap and found it to be a fantastic experience. We swapped with a family who also have young children so it made it easy with sleeping arrangements and toys to play with. We are very excited about other houseswap opportunities for our future holidays.

Justine & Paul

We love the house swap site. We have 3 swaps arranged. Thank you so much for your organisation.

Di

I think we have just about organised our first swap, less than 48 hrs after registering.

Mark

I have found this a great site, with an easy registration process and prompt help if I needed it. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!.

Wendy & David

We have just completed our very first house swap. My family had a fantastic week in the centre of Sydney and the money we saved on accommodation we had fun spending on kids entertainment and family activities (our kids had a ball!) and to have my own kitchen was fantastic. We are hooked and are already planning our next house swap adventure. Thank you for a great service.

By the way our house swappers said they loved their week in our house and have talked about future house swaps with us.

Ky

We have been inundated with responses to our add, but for now, have settled on a swap with a Sydney family who have a beach house at Whale Beach. Our kids are all surfers, so they'll love it.  We are new comers to house swapping, but I'm sure we'll really enjoy it.  It's a great way to see the world with the family!

Louise & Charley (TAS)

I must report, since joining Aussie House Swap, we have been inendated with enquiries and would thoroughly recommend this site. We are swapping already with two families, one in Townsville and the other in Noosa.

Denise

We have just returned from a wonderful 3 weeks house swap in Sydney, thanks to accessing your Aussie House Swap service. We began emailing several weeks beforehand as we got to know and trust each other and then we eventually made telephone contact to fine tune arrangements. It was a "first time" for all of us and it couldn't have worked better - a survival supply of fresh food in the fridge, lots of friendly notes about good local eateries and things to do, beds made up, even a bottle of gin to set the right mood!! We felt really welcomed and the big bonus was each of our households took our animal companions with us as well.

Jill & Gwen

Within 48 hours of registering with Aussie House Swap I received two very inviting queries about house swaps. I hadn't even had time to upload my photos! An unexpected benefit of joining is that I will probably be traveling to places I had never dreamed of travelling to, and will see more of this country than most Australians, who travel to the usual locations.

Jenny

Its Lenore again from NZ, just letting you know we have just arranged our first house swap.

We are very pleased and pretty excited, to be going to Aussie.

Lenore

I thought I should tell you how pleased we have been with house swapping – and how keen we are to arrange for more swaps. We had our first house swap (a long weekend) which we really enjoyed and have organised for one in NZ for next year. We could have easily organised more if we didn’t have to work and go to school! It seems everyone we’ve contacted who’ve already house swapped have had really positive experiences. Regards,

Suzie

Have had about 6 house swap enquiries - some very good except we couldn`t match times. Had 4 weeks in Tasmania which was great. Have arranged a swap to Fitzroy (Melbourne) for l0 days around Easter.

Bill & Trish

Just to let you know we did a house swap last June/July, 2007 to a beautiful home in Sydney. We even met the folk at the half way point of Port Macquarie for dinner and stayed in the same Caravan Park!!! It went tremendously well. We were first-timers, whereas they had done several swaps so filled us in on what we needed to know.

When we arrived we thought we had hit the "jackpot". Their home was in a millionaire street and was beautifully appointed. We kept in touch with each other a little throughout the holiday to see how each other's cats were doing .... as we swapped minding them too!

All in all, it was a great experience and one we would be happy to repeat again. I believe it is up to the individual to source the genuiness of the swappers before committing to go ahead though.

May you go from strength to strength!!!!

With kind regards,

Carol & Graeme

One couple asked us to swap and we did so – it was a good arrangement with no problems. Thank you for the service.

Bronwyn

Would like to let you know that I made a very successful swap in September last year. Both parties were extremely satisfied.

Pauline

We have just completed a very successful house swap with another swap member from Perth. Regards,

F. H.

We had 2 great swaps last year both on the Gold Coast and are waiting for another to come up again soon. Best idea ever invented, we are quiet envied by our friends.

Lenore (NZ)

We have met a fantastic couple in Bright Victoria through this great home exchange website.

Krista

We have had a very sucessful house swap with a couple from Queensland in October and we did manage to meet up on their last night in our house to swap notes and comments. Many thanks for all your help in setting things up in the first place and making it very simple indeed. Well done.

Trevor (NZ)