'Such a different experience' - retired Irish teachers exploring Europe for free through house swaps
A couple in their fifties have traded hotels for holiday house swaps and are making the most of their retirement by swapping with other keen travellers, visiting three countries in 2023 free of charge, with one fellow house swapper even naming their baby after their daughter.
Sinead McWalters, 56, a retired teacher, discovered HomeExchange, a house swapping site, in January 2023 and, after listing her house for just 24 hours, she received her first request.
Since then Sinead has gone to Turin in Italy and travelled across Portugal, and most recently is visiting Spain, staying in homes along the way while offering her own home to holidaymakers.
The family have been able to bond with their fellow travellers so much that one couple named their baby after Sinead’s daughter.
Sinead, who lives in south-east Ireland with her husband Ronan, 55, also a retired teacher, and has three grown up daughters, said: “The hosts of places we’ve stayed at have been so friendly – they give us restaurant recommendations and one place they even gave us their museum passes and their bikes to use. It’s such a different experience than staying in hotels.
“You’re not in a touristy area so you really get to appreciate the local culture and we get a really deep insight into their way of life.”
Used to camping or staying in hotels, Sinead recalled wanting to give home swapping a try after her husband had recently retired – freeing up their time to see more of the world.
Telling her husband Ronan about the website, they decided to list their house and, within 24 hours, they received their first request.
Surprised by how quickly people had responded to her listing, Sinead and Ronan had their first exchange firmed up by February and began speaking to a couple in Turin, Italy, and chose to do their swap with them in June 2023.
“Discovering HomeExchange, we knew it was worth exploring and we couldn’t be happier. It’s just a fantastic system and we’ve met some wonderful people.”
Since their first swap the couple have toured Europe, staying in eight different houses around Portugal and most recently exploring Malaga, Spain.
Sinead said: “It’s not a financial thing, I don’t like asking people for money because I think it takes the whole feeling out of it and goes against the ethos of it.”
Sometimes the couple stay at home while people visit, calling it a hospitality stay, where they are on hand for tips or help.
Sinead added: “We never rent out our bedroom during home exchanges so we use the spare rooms for guests.
“When we’re also home, we give them their privacy and have a separate sitting room that they can relax in, and they have their own private bathroom.
“We’re also on hand if they need a babysitter and they want to go out for a date night, which we’re happy to do.
“We’ve always been massive travellers and I still love camping but it’s a summer activity, and now that we’ve retired we want to be able to go away all year round and we’ve found that home exchanges are far more comfortable than other travel alternatives.
In fact, Sinead and Ronan bonded so well with another couple that they wanted to name their baby after Sinead.
She said: “They are a couple from Turin and they really wanted to call their baby after me but their friends and family made them realise that it would be unpronounceable in Italian.
“So instead they named their little girl after my daughter Meabh, but are spelling her name the English way – Maeve.”
Sinead added: “At a hotel or an Airbnb, you’re usually in the centre, in a really touristy area, but through HomeExchange we’ve been able to stay in local neighbourhoods and it’s given us a deep insight to the local culture and way of life.
“It’s an experience you would just never get otherwise and we love being able to connect with other people.
“HomeExchange has given me so much hope for humanity. The trust, transparency, welcome, generosity is far greater than I would ever have imagined.”