Florida Keys Exchange . . . . What's Not To Love?

We just returned from another remarkable home exchange, this time in Florida.  We selected a location where my daughter could meet us conveniently during her week long semester break from medical school, and the Florida Keys proved to be just the right spot for relaxation, good food and drinks, golf, and amazing scuba diving!

Yes, I actually became scuba diving certified while enjoying a home exchange.  And if you are ever in the south Florida Keys and wish to dive, you have to try Innerspace Dive Center in Big Pines.  A great company and some wonderfully helpful people.

A great six person dive boat perfect for becoming dive certified, as well as for going out for some gorgeous dives in the Looe Key Reef Marine Sanctuary,  or for exploring the Adolphus Busch ship wreck in 112 feet deep water with Brian and John from Innerspace.

The Lazy Daze beach home, where we stayed for a week.  What a fun party home!  Just wish we had brought more people with us to enjoy this piece of Florida paradise.

Lazy Daze was located at the tip of Cudjoe Keys, about twenty minutes from party central, downtown Key West.  We were able to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Keys all by ourselves, yet also enjoy some fun times in Key West.  This home could comfortably sleep eight or even more people, had a waterfront pool and spa, barbecue, kayaks available for our use, a wonderful hammock and lots of other locations to simply relax and enjoy the beauty of the the Florida Keys.

A large part of traveling for me is tasting and enjoying the different food and drinks of the region.  What's a vacation without doing that?  And The Keys certainly didn't disappoint!

Key Lime Pie or Key Lime Cocktail. . . . . hard to choose which one was better!

Yummy oysters and other sea food at the Half Shell Raw Bar on the historic 

Seaport Harbor of Key West.

The Hot Tin Roof  in Key West is a beautiful place for dinner with a sunset view. You also get to enjoy some delicious gourmet food, along with the view!

Of course we had to fit in a couple days of golf, at the Key West Golf Club.  A nice public course; not too difficult if it is not windy, but watch out for the sand!

So here's a toast to our twenty first successful home exchange made possible by Homeexchange.com. The owners of our Florida home away from home enjoyed a week in our Costa Rica home, and we couldn't have been happier with our stay in their party home on the water!  

Have you made any successful home exchanges yet?  If not, you have to give it a try and see why it is the only way to vacation, where you not only get to enjoy the comforts of a lovely home, but you can save the money spent on hotel rooms to use on wonderful food, fun activities, and exciting excursions.  

Now where to go next for our twenty second exchange??

Looking For A Fabulous Home Exchange? How About Thailand, Or . . . . .

An exotic get-away may sound too good to be true, but with home exchanging your day dreams can turn into a reality with just the cost of your airfare!  A private beachfront villa in Thailand, a tree house in Costa Rica, or a historic villa in France could be your next home away from home.  Take a look at these exciting locations all available right now on Homeexchange.com

This beachfront villa for two people with its own private plunge pool is located in the owner's beachfront resort in Thailand, with all of the amenities of a 4 star resort included.  If you need more room they will include another villa as well. The owners are willing to include airport transfers, 1/2 day tours, and daily breakfast and dinner!  Wow!!!  They are open to exchanges all over the world.  

How about staying in a modern two bedroom houseboat moored just minutes from downtown Amsterdam. Watch the boats go by while relaxing in this lovely one of a kind home. The owners are open to all exchange opportunities, but especially love surfing vacations.

This recently renovated six bedroom villa built in 1868, located ten miles from Paris, is perfect for your large family reunion vacation. You might even recognize it if you have ever watched MTV's "Real World Paris," which was filmed in this historic home in 2003. The owners have small children and would like to exchange with others who do as well.  During the school year they would prefer exchanges in Europe, but during the summer they are open to other locations, especially New England in the United States.

How about  a Spanish colonial home built in 1918 in Santa Barbara, California?  This home can accomodate eight people with views of the Pacific Ocean from most of the home. Includes an outdoor fireplace and grill to enjoy lovely evenings on this spectacular patio. Just a few short minutes from downtown Santa Barbara and beautiful beaches, as well as being 40 minutes from the scenic Santa Ynez Valley where you can experience some wonderful wine tasting. Owners looking to exchange for property in Italy this summer, but may look at other locations as well.

For those wanting a real adventure how about your own two level tree house in southern Costa Rica overlooking the Golfo Dulce?  This unique property is part of a newly developed community of sustainable tree houses overlooking magnificent rivers, waterfalls and cliffs, and within close proximity of numerous adventures just waiting for you to experience.  Wake to the sounds of monkeys and birds while you relax in your private jungle at Finca Bellavista. Perfect for the adventuresome travelers who don't need luxury amenities but want to experience the last Costa Rica frontier.  The owners of this unique home exchange property are the developers of the community and are looking to make exchanges anywhere in the world. 

But of course, if you just prefer a simple little home for a quick weekend get away you can always find those too, but why not expand your horizons and try one of these homes, or another exotic location for your next vacation.  I'm personally leaning towards the tree house!

NO EXCHANGE IN SINT MAARTEN? SO LET'S TRY VRBO!

A Spectacular Place To Spend A Family Thanksgiving - The Caribbean!

Our daughter Whitney started medical school at American University of The Caribbean in August of 2012.  As soon as we found out this exciting news I began searching for a home exchange in Sint Maarten where we could stay for awhile and enjoy the gorgeous white beaches of the Caribbean, while also spending some time with Whitney during any free time she might have. (free time in med school. . . .  not much!)  Once the rest of the family heard the news everyone wanted to come and visit Whitney!  Who doesn't want to go to the Caribbean?  We decided to make it an island Thanksgiving this year and have the entire family join up in Sint Maarten, it being  my job to now find the perfect home exchange to accomodate six of us.

I first checked my favorite home exchange site, HomeExchange.com and then the newest home exchange site I recently joined, Home Exchange 50 Plus (for those of us over 50 who love to do home exchanges).  Unfortunately, after using both of these sites I was unable to fine a home close to the University which would accomodate all of us. There were several gorgeous homes on the other side of Sint Maarten, but we wanted to be as close to Whitney as possible for this trip.

Maybe next time I might try one of these places found on Homeexchange.com:

Beautiful Island Home In Grand Case, Close To
Wonderful Pinel Island

Luxury Villa In Marigot - Would Have Loved This Patio!

Having had no success in finding a home exchange I decided to try and find a rental home, which I really hated having to do, as I am extremely spoiled with home exchanging!  I had heard good things over the years about the vacation home rental site VRBO which has over 140,000 vacation homes advertised by owners all over the world,  so I decided to check it out.  There were lots of properties available on VRBO which would suit our needs, so I just had to find the right one for us with the best price.  Porto Cupecoy, just minutes from The University proved to be just the right fit!

Porto Cupecoy Marina 
 A Lovely Development Which Reminded Us Of Our Home In Costa Rica

A Dining Table With A View
 Perfect For A Thanksgiving Feast In Porto Cupecoy!

Our Porto Cupecoy rental home came with the option of either renting two or three bedrooms, along with a sofa bed in the living room.  I decided that we could probably get by with two bedrooms, and Simona, the property manager who was a delight to work with, gave me a price  for the use of two bedrooms for ten nights.  Upon arriving in Sint Maarten Simona met us at the local grocery store on the property and showed us to our spectacular home for our holiday.  She ended up giving us the three bedrooms for our stay for the price of two bedrooms, which was a wonderful surprise, and made it much more comfortable for everyone. Even though we received a great deal for a beautiful three bedroom bay view condominium, it just couldn't beat a free home exchange!  Oh well, next time I will snag one!

St. Maarten - The Perfect Family Vacation With VRBO

When planning your next vacation or family reunion and have unsuccessfully searched for a home exchange, don't end up in a hotel room, go ahead and give VRBO a try.  Lots to choose from, and hopefully you will be as lucky as us in finding the perfect place to make your vacation a dream come true!

Go ahead and jump right into home exchanging, or if you must - vacation home renting
 with VRBO.  You won't regret it!

At Home In Prague, and Tips For A Successful Foreign Exchange

For nine months I had been planning a week long home exchange in the beautiful Czech Republic city of Prague, along with four other weeks of travel throughout Europe, and as most of my home exchanges through HomeExchange.com have been, it turned out wonderfully!

The First Morning's View From Our Apartment

Catherine, who I had dealt with through emails since the original exchange request was made in February for her family's second home, met us at the train station on a dark rainy night in Prague, drove us to her one bedroom fourth floor apartment, showed us around, and left us to admire what appeared to be another successful exchange. Even though we had never spoken on the phone and had communicated only through emails, I felt that I knew her and was glad to see a welcoming face at the train station after our four weeks of travel throughout Germany and Croatia.  After searching for hotels and connections throughout Europe on our own it was a relief to be met at the train station and to be driven to our destination without struggling to find it ourselves.  Now it was time to finally unpack and relax for a week in our own apartment!

The apartment itself was beautifully decorated and newly remodeled with all of the newest gadgets and appliances, but, minus an Internet connection! Can't have everything I guess, though this place almost certainly did!  

Only Went To Starbucks For Internet Fix
(ok, and maybe a giant cup of coffee too)

To circumvent this problem we headed out to Starbucks or another cafe to get our Internet fix as often as possible between our site seeing and dining.  Problem resolved, though not as efficiently as I would have preferred, but I did get to enjoy lots of wonderful lattes while checking email, and doing other work. 

Our Lovely Bathroom . . . . 

. . . And Cozy Bedroom

An inviting bedroom with a wonderful bed and modern bathroom was a welcome relief from some of the other places we had stayed throughout our trip!

Hostinec U Kalicha
A Wonderful Czech Pub Just 3 Doors Down From Our Apartment!

 We were also able  to shop at little local markets for our breakfast needs, get away from the hoards of tourists, and explore local neighborhoods most visitors to Prague never view.  Though we were able to eventually discover many of the local businesses on our own, I wished that Catherine had left a list of nearby recommended stores, cafes, and restaurants, as we always provide when people come to our homes.  

Though our apartment was about a 30 minute walk from Old Town Prague, which at first was a little disappointing, all of the walking we did made us feel less guilty while partaking in lots of sausage, goulash, potato dumplings and  weinersnitzle, as well as some very gourmet meals, and of course lots of Czech beer. Bet you didn't know that the Czech Republic is the leader in the world for per capita liters of  beer drank per year!

From great sausage and beer to . . . .

. . . gourmet wild boar and wine. We ate well!

I realize now that I should have clarified the location of the apartment better before making the exchange and would suggest doing so before finalizing any agreement.  Getting walking distances to popular tourist or desired locations is highly recommended, but since this was the only Prague apartment available to us for an exchange I didn't do this and was just grateful to have found something which looked to be from the the HomeExchange.com web site, and accurately so, a lovely property. 

Catherine and her family will be coming to our condominium in Reserva Conchal, Costa Rica sometime next year, and though we will not be there to greet her as she did us, we will have our concierge waiting for her with a key and directions and suggestions for a week of fun on the beach in tropical Central America, another world from beautiful historic Prague.  Though our place in Costa Rica is larger, and Catherine may wish to stay longer than the six nights we spent in Prague, we have found that exchanges need not be exact equals as long as everyone is happy with where they are staying.  And we were certainly happy!

A view of the city of Prague . . . . .

     . . . . for a view of the ocean of Costa Rica!  Seems like a good exchange!
         





Important Exchange Points

• Request a list of recommended local businesses before arriving at exchange property and provide a similar list for your home and neighborhood.
• Obtain detailed location information regarding walking or driving distances to desired attractions before agreeing upon exchange.
• Arrange to have someone greet your exchange guests if possible, especially if international travel is involved. 
• Try to speak with your potentials exchangers either on the phone, Skype, or if that is not possible through lots of emails, so that you feel that you know each other and are comfortable with the exchange.
• Don't be concerned if your property may be smaller or larger than the other property, as long as each party is happy.

Now go out and make an exchange for yourself!  I guarantee you won't regret it.

Cheers!

Home From A Honeymoon In France

Yes, my son and his new bride recently returned from their honeymoon in southern France, where we were able to arrange a home exchange for them for two weeks.  What an experience for the two of them to be able to have thanks to HomeExchange.com!

Two Foodies In France Enjoying Some Gigantic Crepes

A FRENCH WELCOME

Giles, the owner of the the vacation beach cottage located in Messanges, met Van and Megan upon their arrival with a home cooked French dinner!  Yes, the owner provided dinner for them after their long flight from California and then a three hour drive to the house.  What a wonderful welcome!  After dinner and showing them around the house, giving them lots of suggestions for places to go and things to see, Giles left them to enjoy their first night in France as husband and wife. 

SAN SEBASTIAN AND BORDEAUX

Having a home base in Messanges for two weeks gave Megan and Van the opportunity to not only explore the immediate area but allowed them to travel to Bordeaux for two nights, as well as to San Sebastian, Spain for two nights.  Since they did not have to spend a cent for their home in Messanges they were able use the money saved to visit the other areas, touring the wineries of Bordeaux, and being the foodies they both are, spending quite a bit on some amazing Michelin starred feasts in San Sebastian.

 Messanges Is Conveniently Located Between
San Sebastian and Bordeaux

Basque Style Tapas Called Pintxos

FRENCH BEACH TOWN

Little did I know when I arranged this home exchange that Messanges is one of the surfing hot spots of Europe.  Megan and Van were unfortunately not able to spend too much time at the beach because of the weather, but on their last day in France they were able to use the gift certificate Megan's aunt had given them for a private surfing lesson at Messanges Surf School.  What a treat, to be learning how to surf from a world class surfer on the coast of France.  Great gift idea Tari!!

California Kids Surfing in France

A NEW FRIEND MADE, AS WELL AS A WONDERFUL EXCHANGE

After Megan and Van's first meeting with Giles they happened to run into him on the beach where he  enjoyed hanging out while his wife and children were away visiting relatives.  They thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him more and feel that he will be a friend they will stay in contact with for many years to come.  A key to this successful exchange I feel was not only all of the contact I had with Giles before the exchange, but also the amount of time Megan and Van spent on Skype with Giles and his wife Virginie prior to the trip. While Giles and his family are not planning on coming to our home at Reserva Conchal in Costa Rica for a year or more, when they do decide to come we will certainly try to extend the same hospitality to them which they extended to Van and Megan while at their lovely beach cottage in the south of France.

New Best Friend Giles

A SPECIAL GIFT
Just remember, even if you may not be able to travel to a foreign country nor have the desire to do so, maybe someone else you love would enjoy a trip of a lifetime thanks to a home exchange you set up. And, surprisingly often times the yearly cost to join a home exchange network is less than one night's stay in a hotel room!  Give it a try, and see what it's like for you, or someone special, to vacation and live like a local.

Repeat Exchanges For The Places We Love

After five years of home exchanges, with twenty exchanges made through Homeexchange.com under our belt, and having saved over $37,000 while vacationing, we now find ourselves returning to favorite locations, as well as continuing to visit and explore new destinations.  This adds another benefit to home exchanging - returning to a city, or even a home, you already know and with which you feel very comfortable.   We don't waste time trying to figure out where the best restaurants, stores, and golf courses are, and are able to jump right into a vacation knowing what we want to do and where we want to go once we arrive.

Welcome Back To Scottsdale, Arizona

We had stayed in in Scottsdale a year ago when we went to watch our daughter play waterpolo for the San Francisco Olympic Club in a masters tournament held at Arizona State University, and decided this year to return to watch the team play again, as well as to enjoy a few days of desert golf.  Since Scottsdale is a very spread out community we decided to try a different area this time and found this gorgeous desert home located about twenty minutes from the ASU pool, and close to numerous golf courses.  This home, unlike the one we exchanged for last year which was a second home, was Lynda and her husband's primary residence.  We have always tried to stay away from primary residence exchanges as they seem more difficult to coordinate and sometimes seem cluttered and inappropriate for an exchange.  However, we could not have been more wrong about Lynda's beautiful home!  I felt like I was in a luxury resort with elegant decore, an amazing back yard with pool and spa, an outdoor living room, and views out over the desert.

Just One Of The Little Spots To Enjoy A Good Book In This Lovely Desert Oasis

Linda and her husband thoroughly enjoyed their week at our home in Lake Tahoe, skiing and playing in the snow, while we enjoyed their Arizona sunshine for the week.  We have even agreed to make this a repeat exchange next year.  We have come to thoroughly enjoy the Scottsdale area, having surprisingly fallen in love with the desert, and are looking forward to making this an anual trip without having to buy a home there to enjoy it!


A Return Trip To The Palm Springs Area

We love to golf, and many of our vacations are centered around playing at beautiful golf courses.  We decided to return to the Palm Springs area again after having exchanged for a wonderful place last year in La Quinta, located right on the PGA West Golf Course.  I contacted the owner of that home again to inquire about another exchange, but unfortunately he had sold the home, so we looked for another place in the desert to make an exchange.  We found a home in the community of Rancho Mirage in a gated subdivision, but not on a golf course.  It proved to be large and very comfortable, but certainly not up to the same standards as the one we had stayed at the previous year.  This home is used mainly as a rental property, so, like other rental homes we have exchanged for in the past, it did not have the personal details and care that a vacation home or a main home has.  

                                                           

The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort Golf Course 

Even though the home was not quite what we expected, we enjoyed a lovely week of golf at some spectacular golf courses, such as Silverrock in La Quinta and the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort Golf Course in Rancho Mirage, and look forward to returning to the area next year to play these courses again, without having to buy a home of own in the desert. 

 Returning To Our Favorite Exchange On Balboa Island

Last year we exchanged for a charming cottage on Balboa Island in Orange County, California which has proven to be our very favorite exchange so far.  We were in Orange County for a week looking at wedding venues for my son's wedding to be held there in June of 2012, and Maria and her husband, who live in their Balboa cottage full time, spent two weeks in our ocean view condo in Costa Rica, telling us we could return when ever we wished to spend another week at their home.  We decided to take them up on their offer and will be returning next month to spend a week there during the actual wedding celebrations in Orange County.  I can't wait to return to this special home on such a unique island in Southern California.  I already know that I can walk one block to Starbucks, two blocks for an amazing Italian dinner, drive over the bridge into all of the shopping centers of Orange County, take the ferry over to the beach, take a long morning stroll around the complete island, and sit on my front patio while chatting with the friendly neighbors.  Feels like I'm coming home!   

Some things I have learned after making twenty home exchanges:

• First homes, as well as second homes, can make excellent exchanges 
• Rental homes are fine for exchanges, but often not as nice as primary or vacation homes  
• There are lots of wonderful people with lovely homes just waiting to make an exchange
• Everyone should give this a try!!

A Home With A Waterfall In Capitola

In late 2010 we received another interesting exchange offer through Homeexchange.com:

LISTING PROPOSED FOR EXCHANGE:

Luxurious, Ocean-View, Villa with Hot-Tub, Sauna and more!

Your Lake Tahoe home looks gorgeous!  We would be thrilled to do an exchange (non-simultaneous is fine) with our home in the Santa Cruz area on the sunny side of the Monterey Bay.  Please let us know if you're interested.  We are especially interested in going to Lake Tahoe in the winter, and our first choice would be New Years if by a remote chance it is still available.  We'd also be happy to trade anytime in the Winter or Spring.  

Kindest Regards,

Jeremy & Randy

Well as Jeremy and Randy had guessed, our Lake Tahoe home was occupied over New Years 2011, not by renters, but by our son and his friends who had an amazing time in the best snow that Tahoe had received in many years.  However, the rest of the season was available and Jeremy decided upon a three day weekend later in January to enjoy some skiing over his birthday. 

Tahoe Home In January

They had a wonderful weekend at our home with plenty of snow, and even asked if they could come back for another exchange at a later date. We decided to visit the Santa Cruz area in the fall when the sun shines brightly with hopefully little fog over the Monterey Bay, and would let them know at a later date if we wished to do more exchanges.

In October we decided to visit Jeremy's "ocean view villa" in Soquel (next door to Santa Cruz), and invited my daughter Gillian and her friend who live in San Francisco to join us. We decided to arrive on Friday to play a round of golf before we got to the house, and Gillian would join us on Saturday afternoon to spend the night with us.  Early Friday morning we packed up the old faithful Travelair and flew 45 minutes down to the Watsonville Airport, where there was no fog, and lot of sun!  Flying into the Monterey area can be tricky, as more likely than not there is fog, but this weekend was perfect, just as we had hoped when we picked the October date.

After playing a challenging round of golf at the beautiful Seascape Golf Course in Aptos we drove over to our new home.  Even though we had seen pictures of the house, which looked wonderful, I was nervous, as I always am, whenever we pull up to our exchange homes, not exactly sure what we will be getting.  We found the villa, which was a located on a hill with an extremely steep driveway (sorry about the bumper, Hertz Rental Car!) and entered the home to find it everything we had hoped for, including an indoor Koi pond and waterfall.

Living Room With Beautiful Views And Indoor Koi Pond

Multi Tered Home 

It had four stories with lots of stairs, but gorgeous decks and views, beautifully decorated and immaculately clean. Jeremy had been concerned that the deck which their hot tub was located on had started leaking, so they had to tear out the hot tub and work on the deck, so we would not have use of the hot tub, but I assured him that it would not bother us at all, and we could always use the sauna in the master bedroom instead!  

Master Bath Tub/Shower

After exploring the home and taking a shower in the unusual tub/shower in the master bathroom, we headed off to one of Jeremy's dinner recommendations, Michael's On Main, in Aptos, where we had a lovely dinner on the deck listening to a classic oldies band.  Felt like we had traveled back in time to Santa Cruz during the 60's.

Michaels On Main in Aptos

On Saturday we decided to play golf at Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey, about a 25 minute drive from where we were staying and had another lovely day, though the fog did stick around for most of the round of golf. 

Golfing At Del Monte Golf Course

 Gillian and Anthony arrived shortly after we returned from playing golf and we all enjoyed wine and cheese on the deck as the sun set over the bay before heading out to dinner at the Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola.

Gillian On Our Deck Enjoying Cheese And Wine

  

Shadowbrook Restaurant Cable Car Ride Down The Hill

Shadowbrook is a must try if you are in the area, but save your pennys, as it is not cheap!  Located on the Soquel Creek in Capitola, one may choose to take the little cable car down the hill to the restaurant or walk the lovely path surrounded by blooming gardens and lights.  I believe the restaurant, open since 1947, has four levels terraced down the hillside once you get off of the cable car, all with views of the creek and gardens.  And of course I can't forget about the wonderful food served here, as well as the unique environment from which to enjoy it.  

Zelda's On The Beach

Sunday morning rolled around, and in the fall that means 49er football, so off we drove to the cute beach town of Capitola to find a place to eat breakfast and watch the game.  Zeldas On The Beach was the place to be!  Even though we had to be inside to watch the game, we were still able to enjoy the views of the seagulls and children playing on the beach on a warm October day while watching our team win a great game.  

The Colors of Capitola

After a walk around Capitola we ended the day on the roof top bar/restaurant of The Wharf House, listening to more great 60's music, enjoying the sunshine, a beer, and of course some freshly caught sea food.  What a great way to end a lovely weekend on the Monterey Bay.

The Wharf House Entertainment

We just might have to take Jeremy up on his offer to do another exchange.  One could get use to this kind of weekend, only a short 45 minute flight from home.