Homestays and Hospitality Exchanges For Seniors

Reviewed by Senior Travel Editor Alison Gardner

For more information, read Home Exchange Tips by Ruth Marvin Webster
Vacation Swapping: Home Exchanges Can Cost No More than Staying Home by Linda Lewis
Seven Great Reasons to Exchange Homes by Carol Dalton Sebilia.
How to Exchange a Home and Live Irish by Isabel Bearman Bucher.
Vacation Swapping: Home Exchanges Can Cost No More than Staying Home by Linda Lewis

Australian Homestays & Farmstays, www.australianhomestay.com. Plan and book your accommodation web site-direct through Australia's leading homestay, farmstay, B&B, and self-contained accommodations directory. Every state represented.

ElderTravelers, PO Box 471, Liberty Lake, WA 99019, info@eldertravelers.org, is back online with a slightly modified web address, www.eldertravelers.org, having lost its “.com” address during a 2003 ownership transition period. To celebrate its return with a new domain name, it is inviting 2,300 former members in 43 countries and new members alike to take advantage of a grand re-opening special until the end of 2005: the first year’s membership is half price at only $20.

Home Base Holidays, 7 Park Ave., London N13 5PG, England; 011 44 20 8886 8752; info@homebase-hols.com, www.homebase-hols.com. Established in 1985, the agency has home exchange offers worldwide with new listings daily. The free bi-monthly Home Swappers newsletter includes articles and tips from experienced home exchangers. The regularly updated blog, Travel the Home Exchange Way (homeexchangetravel.blogs.com), answers questions on swapping homes and includes special home exchange requests. Membership: one year £29, 2 years £39.

HomeExchange.com, P. O. Box 787, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254, U.S.A.; 800-877-8723 or 310-798-3864, fax 310-798-3865; www.homeexchange.com/seniors.php. Established in 1972, this outlet now has 10,000 members, 50% in the US. Easy to search under many categories, includes a special section for seniors. One-year listing is $59.95 and photos are free.

HomeLink International, 7 St. Nicholas Rise, Headbourne Worthy, Winchester, SO23 7SY, U.K., 011-44-1962-886882; exchange@homelink.org.uk, www.homelink.org.uk. Established in 1953, HomeLink International is the oldest and largest home exchange organization in the world with 24 offices worldwide, staffed by experienced home exchangers and meeting the home exchange needs of the more than 13,000 listed members in 69 countries. Each year HomeLink publishes a full-color 800-page print directory with thousands of individual listings and photos. Members also have year-round access to an online database on the latest listings and assistance from 24 English-speaking officers worldwide. Annual membership is about $200 (£115).

New Zealand Homestays & Farmstays, www.nzhomestay.co.nz. Plan and book your accommodations web site-direct through New Zealand's leading homestay, farmstay, B&B, and self-contained accommodations directory.

Sarah Stanley’s Unique Homestays, Lantern Cottage, Trebudannon, Newquay, Cornwall, England TR8 4LP, 011-440-1637-881942; enquiries@uniquehomestays.com, www.uniquehomestays.com. A worldwide holiday accommodations service for independent discerning travelers and single persons seeking somewhere special to stay. Choose a luxury homestay, self-catered accommodation, or boutique hotel from a carefully screened catalog which includes the U.K., France, India, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, and the U.S.

Seniors Home Exchange, www.seniorshomeexchange.com. The only home exchange group exclusively for the over-50 age group. Register and view listings from 38 countries, including exchanges of motor homes and caravans. $79 for three years, $100 for lifetime, with second home listing at no extra cost.