Posts: Learn Spanish in Spain

Exchanging homes with residents on the Malaga Coastline is the preference for many foreign visitors. Businesses involved in the organization of home exchange vacations carry out most of their business via internet.

I´ll take your house and you take mine. Basically that is the deal, and it works wonderfully for many thousands of families all over Spain. This latest trend in international tourism allows you to get to know new places in comfort with minimum cost. It is called home exchanges, and is exactly that: Swapping houses between people and families who wish to stay for a while and travel in each other´s countries. The only cost involved is the travel aspect as there is no exchange of money. There is no limit on distance or destination. Even language is no longer a barrier thanks to the companies that help to organize these exchanges.

Having recognized the benefits of home exchange, a number of tourism companies have created websites in search of clients. In Spain, the home exchange business sector began a few decades ago and its popularity has been growing ever since. Thousands of people come to Spain and thousands of Spanish families travel internationally every year as home-exchange tourists.

Sun and beach

Intervac operates on five continents and is one of the pioneering companies in this sector. Around 50 people in Malaga province are inscribed as Intervac members and have access to a database giving them the ability to make contact with other home-exchange home owners everywhere in the world. Not surprisingly, for Spanish home owners living close to beaches it is much easier to arrange home exchanges.

In general, Spanish members prefer destination countries where English is spoken in order to allow all family members to practice English which also helps the children in school. Mari ángles Sas, the Intervac representative in Spain, says that countries within travelling distance by car are also preferred. Often if they can´t travel their by car a car exchange is arranged as well. Home-exchange holidays in Scandinavian countries are also very popular among Spaniard home-exchange families.

Sharing everything

House-exchange does not have to be limited to just the house, in fact there are no limits as to what can be exchanged. Often cars, pets, neighbours and friends are part of the agreement. Gerald Gómez, the Spanish representative for Homelink International, comments that the person handing over the house keys is often a close family friend and normally stays in contact with the exchange family.

Lasting friendships are often formed through this situation of being a guest and host at the same time in a different country. Mutual trust is the basis of most exchanges and normally the new family occupying the home quickly forms part of the established family circle of friends, even if only for a few weeks in the year. Although this is a new way of holidaying for many Spaniards, it is quickly becoming very popular.

Home exchange Web sites: www.intervac.com and www.homeexchange.com

Subscription prices: Variable. Around 50 to 100 Euros.

Destinations: The Countries most requested by Spaniards are England, USA, Canada and the Scandinavian countries. In Spain, the popular destinations requested are the coastal regions.

Client profile: Families that wish to travel abroad.

For your next vacation consider travelling to Malaga to study Spanish at Cervantes EI Spanish school while enjoy your home exchange experience.