Discover home exchange with HomeExchange Members
Nicholas is an active member of the HomeExchange community and has gone on 17 exchanges to date! His cozy yet spacious flat is located in central London, perfect for discovering the city while experiencing the authentic life of a local
Where did you go on home exchange?
Cádiz, Spain
How did you choose your destination and home exchange?
I wanted to go to Andalusia in January but there not that many Andalusians who fancied coming to London in January! I hadn’t been to Cadiz for years so when I found this exchange for GuestPoints I grabbed it.
"I would not have been able to afford to have gone hadd it not been for home exchange"
What was the conversation like with your host?
This was my first “one-way” exchange using GuestPoints and also the first conducted entirely in a language other than English and consequently I made several mistakes ! Thankfully my host was patient with me and we kept in close contact throughout the process with messages being quickly acknowledged and responded to, firstly via the website and later using Whats-app. When it became clear that I could arrive at the flat earlier than originally agreed my host was able to change his plans and be there to greet me.
Your arrival: How was the house? Did you meet your host? Did they give you any gifts or tips for visiting the area?
The host was waiting at the flat as arranged and was able to show me around and provide some useful tips for places to go in Cadiz.
There was a bottle of sherry and another bottle of the host’s homemade beer waiting for me.
The flat was usually used for holiday lets so had everything that was needed but was a little impersonal compared with staying at someone’s actual home. The lack of wifi was a bit of an inconvenience; in the future I should read the description in more detail!
How did exchanging your home influence your vacation, compared to a traditional vacation rental?
I would not have been able to afford to have gone if it were not for home exchange. In addition being in a flat rather than a hotel room meant that I did not feel obliged to go out if I didn’t fancy it.
Tell us about what you saw during your trip.
Cadiz and the start of the buildup to it’s carnival in February.
The sherry producing towns (Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlucar de Barramedia) and their wonderful bars full of barrels of Sherry.
Bonus question: What is the best memory from your trip?
I’m ashamed to say but it was the bars stacked high with Sherry barrels!
