Testimonials

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

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

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

We hace just completed our first house swap and it was just sensational everything went so smoothly. We thank Garry and Pat for allowing us into their home in Cairns and the use of their car. They also made arrangements for their freinds to pick us up and deliver us back to the airport which was certainly appreciated by us as our arrival flight was at 9pm. They also enjoyed their stay at our home even though the weather is a lot different than in the tropics. We used the handy house swap form which worked really well to explain the workings of our house and to leave details of the area. 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

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 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)

Just to let you know that I finally struck gold - swapped with a young couple and a baby in Coffs harbour - they had a great time here in Armidale and are keen to do it again. So I wanted to thank you for your service, for giving me another year free when I had no luck in the first year, and for providing a valuable service for people with adventurous natures and/or low incomes. Cheers, Barb.

We have used Aussie House Swap twice in the past year. One an "owe you one" swap which we will be using our part of for a visit to Maroochydore in November (lovely people as we met them when they used our place while we stayed with family) and another a straight swap with a smashing family from S.E Queensland. Nothing but good experiences for us to date. Keith and Vee (Canterbury, NZ)

Last year we did a non simultaneous exchange with a lady who sounded desperate to get away. She came the next day, we met, we cooked for her, we took her all over the city ,welcomed her into our home for two nights and showed her how to see her particular interests.then we drove her to our beachouse. We loaned her an old car and took her shopping. We introduced her to people living close by and made sure she was safe, secure comfortable and happy. She cannot offer the same in return, as in her house to our selves, but we know we are welcome in her lovely home anytime and we have forged a great friendship. We felt good about giving to another person... So to all who worry about home exchange, what more could a single person have asked for. Her holiday cost the airfare only.... I cannot say enough nice things about your website which gives all kinds of people from all walks of life the opportunity to explore, escape, grow forward in richness..seek an adventure and most important of all live just like the locals..and stay safe, cosy comfortable....for the cost of an airfare......... Kind regards, Robyn and Soren

We have 3 or 4 house swaps lined up which should fill the next year. Our biggest and best swap was with a New Zealand family for 17 nights. Although we did not stay put in their house - NZ does require one to tour around - we were there for half the time and it was nice to have a "home base" to come back to after each little side trip. Also, not needing to hire a car saved us money as well. The people we swapped with loved it here, and they did stay put. So I know they were very happy. It required lots of emailing to and fro, and getting the timing right was a bit of a challenge. Thank god for the internet!! Leaving the house "just right" also puts some pressure on during the final days before flying out. We have found that people willing to house swap are of a particular breed - called "trusting". This is why it works. The people who were shocked by the very thought, just shouldn't do it. They are bound to attract problems. The only "negative" experience we had was one couple who pulled out at the last minute due to my bringing "children", stating that their house and pool were not suitable for children. I didn't see it coming, as my "kids" are high school students with part time jobs. But we got straight onto the website and had another swap organised within 2 days - and met some great people in the process. So thank you - it has been fun, and will continue to be. Trish & Peter

We had a successful house swap earlier in the year. We stayed for seven weeks in a house at Merrylands in Sydney which was good for us as we were able to spend plenty of time with our son and his family who live in Sydney. Our house swappers were a young couple contemplating a move to WA so it was also a good opportunity for them to check out the local scene in Perth. The husband was working in a mine near Kalgoorlie and was commuting on a regular basis from Sydney to Perth. They have since sold up in Sydney and have moved to Perth and now live only about 1k from us. We now see them on a regular basis and we have become friends. We are very grateful that Aussie House Swap enabled all this to happen. Regards, John and Chris

We have rented out our home and are currently cruising on our yacht for the foreseeable future. We did enjoy your site and made two swaps in NZ that were both great. We recommend you and will re-join once we have a home to swap. Regards, John and Eddie

We did a swap in Jan 08, which went really well. We flew out on Boxing Day from Adelaide to Sydney & met the other family at Sydney Airport where we swapped keys etc. We were exchanging houses, car & dog. They had three kids the same as us, but they were a bit younger. The house & car was excellent. They had a pool, Xbox & all the stuff you could want for a nice break. We went to Manly, Luna Park. New Years Eve on the Harbor, Watson's Bay, Bondi, Coogee, Wollongong, Darling Harbor etc. Accom & car hire would have cost us about $250 a day. We were there for ten days!!! I thoroughly recommend house swapping to everyone that I talk to now. Keep Safe, Mike

We have just completed our second house swap, this one to Melbourne to attend our two grand daughters birthday party. As we had no where to stay we advertised on your site for a house somewhere near our daughters house. We where lucky enough to do a swap with John & Lisa and their two small children. It was only a 25 minute drive on the freeway to our daughters home. John & Lisa enjoyed their stay on our semi rural property which is very quiet but close to town and the beach. Maybe in the future we might swap again with them. We are slowly convincing our friends this the way to have a holiday! Geoff

We have had two succesfull swaps. The first to Gold coast over christmas, great experience. Lovely family, had a great time. Our second swap was to the victorian alps Mt Beauty we combined this trip with a visit to Melbourne. We saw parts of Australia that we never new existed. The children experienced snow. Both swaps went very smoothly,alot of people we speak to feel skeptical about house swapping. We think its great we love being home from home rather than in a hotel room. At the end of the day you need to trust your house swapper as much as they trust you. I think we are even more aware of looking after each others property because of the trust. Thankyou! Lesley & Shane

We undertook one house swap with a Queensland family (we are based in Hobart) which was very successful. We would thoroughly recommend it to others. Thanks again for the opportunity, it enabled us to spend Christmas with our family - at low cost and very comfortably. Kind regards, Ray and Marian

In July ,2008, my husband & I did a house swap with a wonderful family from Christchurch, New Zealand. Prior to leaving home we had corresponded on numerous occassions & felt almost like old friends,even though we hadn't really met yet. As we were arriving the night before our host family were flying out, we arranged that the Badger family would meet us at our hotel in Christchurch on their way to the airport. My husband rode with them to the airport, dropped them off then returned with their car to pick up me, & my brother & sister-in-law. We had been able to meet in person,swap house & car keys & get local tips before our adventure began. It was terrific to actually meet & chatter together in person. We had deliberately visited NZ in winter as we had never seen snow ( we live in sunny Queensland). We were not dissappointed- it snowed on our drive to the host's home-only about a 20 minute drive!!! We were ecstatic. We arrived to see their home blanketed in snow and looking like a picture post card. The "Badgers" had given us instructions for using their fire place & we were soon cosy & warm & delighting in watching the snow fall. This was the magnificent start to the perfect holiday, for us. Over the next 2 weeks we explored Christchurch & local areas from the comfortable base of our swap home and returned to it from travels further afield that required over night or multiple night absences. Each time ,it felt like "coming home". We visited Dunedin, Invercargil, Queenstown, Lake tekapo & Hamner Springs, just to name a few, staying in hotels & motels. All of these were nice but it was always great to return to the comforts of a family home. Between trips, we returned to our swap home in Christchurch to rest, wash our clothes and repack for the next adventure. It was very convenient not to have to carry all our gear with us everywhere. Afterall, we didn't need swimmers when we were going to Invercargil or Queenstown- just our snow gear. However, a visit to Hamner Springs required both swim wear & snow gear if you are going to fully enjoy the area. We had a wonderful time. We also saved a small fortune by using a swap home as our base and not having to hire a vehicle. We cooked a lot of our own meals when actually in Christchurch-replacing any items that we used from the Badger's pantry. We left our host home as clean & tidy as we found it. As arranged, we left our host's car at the airport for them to pickup on their arrival back in Christchurch. How covenient for us both!!!! Our car was waiting ,as arranged, at Brisbane airport for us to simply drive home again. Hassle free & convenient. When we arrived home, we found the Badger Family had left our home immaculate too. You would never have known that anyone had been in our home whilst we were gone. I only hope that our swap family had as wonderful an experience & holiday as we did. This was our second successful swap & we are certainly keen to swap again soon-perhaps further overseas this time. Thank you Badger family from Christchurch & thank you Aussie Home Swap. Regards, Roslyn & Bill

I was able to secure a swap in Coffs Harbour in May this year, very successfully with a lady who had swapped many times before. Many thanks, Barbara (NZ)

We had a fantastic house swap with a really nice couple in Redlynch, Cairns. We all had the holiday of a lifetime and really enjoyed the experience. Our house swapping couple were lovely and we got to meet up in Melbourne as we were both travelling back. Many thanks - a great way to holiday and a real bargain! kate and tony

We had a very successful houseswap, over New Year last year with a family in Buderim, on the Sunshine Coast. It was a gorgeous house, and would probably have cost around $2000 (if not more), to have rented it over the new year period. I know they really enjoyed staying in our house in Sydney also. We shall definitely do a house swap again, hopefully quite soon. Fran