Dreaming of a villa in Tuscany? A chic apartment in Manhattan?
Or a house by the sea in Sydney?
Budget travel doesn't have to mean share bathrooms and bed-bug friendly hostels. Networks such as Couch Surfing can set you up with a place to stay and instant local friends in almost any location in the world, in exchange for you offering a bed at your place for a friendly traveller too.
Or, if you want to make like Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz in 'The Holiday' and enjoy a longer vacation in a house you would normally pay big bucks for, check out Home Exchange
Home exchange does have a subscription fee, but networks such as Couch Surfing are completely FREE.
This savvy traveller is keen on this nice little pad up for exchange in Provence, France:
