Homestay & Home Exchanges

Published 22 July 2010 · Updated 12 September 2026 · ACCOMMODATION

Travel Accommodation with Homestay and Home-Exchange

Homestay

If you want to feel the 'real life' of a place, try to stay with local people whenever you get the chance: friends, relatives, people you meet along the way, or friendly guesthouses. You'll probably have less privacy, but will learn more and have fun.

During my around the world trip with no money, my personal strategy in cities was to get to the main square, do a bit of people watching, focus on a target and go for it. Usually it worked.

For the networks that match travellers with hosts, see Hospitality Exchange.

Home exchanges

If you plan a trip around the world with a long stop in one specific place, you can rent out your home for the entire period, and rent or swap a place in the city where you'll have your long stay.

The home exchange networks have grown a lot since this page was written. The ones worth a look in 2026:

• HomeExchange is the biggest. Membership costs US$235 a year for unlimited exchanges, it lists 550,000 homes in 155 countries, and it includes a guarantee covering cancellation, theft and damage.

• Homelink International is still running house swaps worldwide.

• Intervac, which calls itself the original home exchange service.

• Sabbatical Homes, for people who want to stay long in one place, with rentals and house sitting as well as exchanges.

• TrustedHousesitters, which didn't exist when this page went up: you look after someone's home and pets while they're away, and stay for free.

Three sites from the 2010 list are gone: Free-stay.com now belongs to an unrelated business, ExchangeHomes.com is a parked domain, and HomeAroundtheWorld no longer loads.

A swap works best for the stop where you'll stay a month or more. For the rest of the route, see hostels, hotel reservations and a trip around the world in the sharing economy.

Tags: home exchange, homestay, Homestay home exchanges, rtw accommodation