Holiday - celebrate (in the words of Madonna)

Rita Marcangelo

03 February 2011

Madonna might have sung with even more of a spring in her step if she'd known what has to be one of the best kept secrets of the credit crunch.

Holiday exchanges - basically you swap your home with someone else, and get a free holiday - what's not to like? I can choose anywhere (UK and overseas) and anytime. All I need to do is find someone who's willing to exchange.

I've just signed up to Guardian Home Exchange  (there's also Home Exchange - or search online for more sites) and I'm getting the holiday vibe already. The tricky thing is deciding whether we want a week on the South Coast, a weekend in the Cotswolds, maybe a couple of weeks in a French villa. Hey, why choose, why not do all of them?

Apart from the small fee I paid to register, I'm looking forward to saving hundreds of £££s (maybe more?) on family breaks. Or more accurately, being able to take holidays that we wouldn't normally be able to afford. Plus the warm green glow from knowing this is more sustainable than flying and staying in a big hotel - that typically wouldn't contribute much to the local economy and would have a big environmental impact.

As well as home exchanges, we'll no doubt be persuaded to go camping - by our kids who flagrantly flout bedtime rules when sleeping al fresco. So before we dig out the camping clobber, I'll have to remind myself of some green camping tips.

Have you done any home exchanges? I'd love to hear your experiences - or other ideas for cheap, green holidays.

- Rita Marcangelo, Publishing & New Media Team