Home exchange

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On a previous blog post about all the countries we have visited, we mentioned that we had been to Argentina on a home exchange. This post gives the low down of how a home exchange works and why it is a great way to go on holiday.

Please note that we have only done one exchange, but we would do it again in a snap.

You may have seen the movie, The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, where they swap homes for a vacation. Well, the website they use in that movie actually exists (www.homeexchange.com).

We registered our home in Johannesburg on the website (costing approximately $100 a year) a few months prior to South Africa hosting the football (soccer) world cup in July 2010. An Argentinian family wanting to exchange with us over this period quickly contacted us. Argentina sounded good to us, and not being soccer fanatics, the choice seemed easy.

After initial contact through the website, you just start negotiating with each other directly to put a plan in place that will suit everyone. In the end, our Argentinian contact decided the come with four of his mates, which meant accommodation for us in two cities: San Carlos de Bariloche and Buenos Aires.

What did you do with your stuff during the home exchange?

We cleared out one cupboard in the main bedroom but left everything else in the house. Sure, you may be nervous about your precious items being stolen but there is a mutual respect for each other’s homes.

We even left our car for them to use, but they were not adventurous enough to try deal with Johannesburg traffic on their own.

Was anything damaged?

One serving platter was chipped. Otherwise the house was left in a pristine condition. On the other hand, we also left a mark on the wall in the room we stayed in when our suitcase bumped it. So, all in all, I feel these types of things would have happened as normal wear and tear with anyone in the homes.

Any regrets?

Yes, that we did not get to spend more time with the people we had got to know after several months of discussing the logistics of the exchange. We only briefly met on our first night in Buenos Aires to hand over keys.

More about our stay in Argentina

Bariloche is one of the most picturesque places situated in Patagonia on a lake. It has a strong Swiss influence with great chocolate available everywhere. In summer, it is a hub for all the adventure sports like mountain biking, off-road bikes, hiking and water sports. In winter, it is a short drive to go skiing in the mountains. We were there just as the first snow was falling.

Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, is a vibrant modern city with plenty to do and see for tourists. We managed to fit in a tango show at Senior Tango, eat massive beefsteaks that Argentina is famous for, visit the famous cemetery where Eva Peron is buried, and take a day trip to see the colourful houses in La Boca.

Swiss influence can be seen everywhere in San Carlos Bariloche, Argentina

View heading up on the cable car in Bariloche before the snow really started coming down

View of the lake under the clouds from the top of the cable car in Bariloche

The famous colourful houses in La Boca, Buenos Aires



During our time in Argentina, we also visited El Calafate.  That story is worth its own post as it was simply magnificent, but it was not part of the home exchange, so it is not covered here.

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