We’ve all seen the movie – and now we can have the real life experience. Just don’t expect Jude Law to show up on your doorstep
There’s a good chance you’d never considered house swapping (or perhaps even heard of it!) before the 2006 hit film, The Holiday.
But that feel-good festive feast of ridiculously good-looking people and impossibly idyllic homes has changed the game and now there’s an enormous industry dedicated to that very practice.
Better still, it’s available right here in Ireland.
Home swapping actually originates back to 1953 when a group of teachers set up the first home swapping business and it’s becoming more and more popular in Ireland particularly with retirees and families with young children.
Home4Home is Ireland’s largest home swap website based in Galway city allowing unlimited home swaps per year for the cost of less than a night in a B&B! Originally aimed at the Irish market (with local knowledge and Irish-based staff), there are now international properties listed on the website from those living abroad who want to come home to visit family and friends.
Here are some of the benefits of doing a home swap with another home in Ireland:
- It’s extremely affordable
- You can travel light
- You’ll discover parts of Ireland you may never have visited otherwise
- There’s an added sense of adventure
- You’ll have someone to water your plants or feed the cat while you’re away
- You’ll feel like a local in your temporary abode
- It’s a sustainable option
- You get to see how someone else lives and may or may not get decor ideas to use in your home when you get back
There are lots of Christmas events happening across Ireland from Galway’s famous Christmas Market to Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo, a Traditional Christmas Experience at Fota House, Co Cork to Christmas bargains at Kildare Village. However, the cost of accommodation can make it difficult to attend any Christmas festivities that are further away
If you’re interested in swapping with a like-minded family and having some festive fun in a different part of the country, go to home4home.ie and sign up now.
