chrismi

My wife & I are planning a 4-8 week holiday next year (between April - June in 2005). We are planning on doing a houseswap and establishing a base home from which to travel.

We are just starting our planning and we're looking for ideas/suggestions.Our primary focus is to take a break so we don't want to have a base house in an interesting and enjoyable location. When travelling from our base house we want to visit places that would be of interest to all family members. Our kids are 15, 6, 4, 2.

We're not sure where to base oursleves and what places would be best. We're thinking central Europe (Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, or France, language isn't a concern).

We are looking for ideas or input from anyone with any experiences to share.

Are there travel services/companies that can help us plan?

rex

I would personally chose Italy or France - - so many more rental properties to choose from there.

And by the way, none of these countries is in <i>central</i> Europe.

Central Europe starts about Berlin-Prague-Innsbruck-Ljubljana and includes Poland and pretty much all of the former &quot;Soviet satellite bloc&quot; countries, though Romania and Bulgaria are often called &quot;southeastern Europe - - along with Greece and (European) Turkey.

Eastern Europe is Russia and the six European nations that used to be in the USSR. Although essentially just as far east, I never hear anyone refer to Finland as part of eastern Europe.

Best wishes,

Rex

Anonymous

There are several organizations that can help your search for a home exchange. HomeLink.com is my favorite.

With that size group and those travel dates, you will need to be flexible. Most of your potential exchangers are interested in summer travel and/or offering smaller accommodations than you need.

There have been several long past threads on home exchanges, which you can search for.

Cicerone

Before giving any suggestions can you tell me (i) what time of year you would go, (ii) whether you speak any European languages, (iii) if you would want to rent a car or would prefer to rely on public transport for both day-to-day living in the house and travels further afield, (iv) whether you would like to be in the countryside, a small village, or a large or small city. (There are advantages and disadvantages to living in a small village versus a larger town, the disadvantages being mostly language and the availability of certain foods or other items you or your children may be used to.)

Overall, I think this is a fun idea. A house swap is probably your best bet given the length of time you have. Please bear in mind that the countries you have mentioned are all fairly expensive to live in (I live in Switzerland currently), and with the current Dollar/Euro/Swiss Franc exchange rate you would need to have an adequate budget. You also would need to make sure that your health insurance will cover you and your family outside the US for such a long period.

Anonymous

Cicerone, the OP has already specified (i) spring (April-June); (ii) language doesn't matter to them; and (iii) home exchanges usually include use of the family's car.

As for (iv), it would be unwise for them to get too specific about their preferences, since due to their dates and the 4 kids, their options will already be very limited. IMHO, they should go to the home exchange company web site(s), plus in their group size and dates, and see what, if anything, shows up!

US health insurance policies can be very limited about WHAT they will cover, but I've never heard of a time limit, especially as short as 4-8 weeks. Most will only cover emergencies, anyway.

Anonymous

plus in --&gt; PLUG in

mikemo

I am planning the same for August - October '05 as my house in San Miguel de Allende, MX is leased next summer.
Umbria and Tuscany, Italia are my first choices, but we'll spend some time in a friend's condo in Beausoliel, FR near Monaco.
My US BC/BS health insurance covers me overseas, but I have to pay upfront and file for reimbursement.