HOUSE SWAP: As you prepare your meals in your exchange partner's kitchen, drive their car and sip wine on their balcony, they will be doing something similar in your home

Participating in a home exchange is the furthest thing from a package holiday. It takes initiative and effort, but with the personal connection comes the guarantee of a genuine cultural experience.

When you swap houses you are stepping into the shoes of another family and allowing them to guide you to the best of everything their locality has to offer. The arrangement offers comfort and privacy, and is one sure way of avoiding tourist traps.

And the catch? With home exchanges you get to be guests and long-distance hosts at the same time. Organisers and experienced participants agree this kind of holiday is not suitable for everyone.

As you and your family prepare your meals in your exchange partner's kitchen, drive their car and sip wine on their balcony, they will be doing something similar back here.

The Republic is a popular destination for home exchanges, according to Ms Marie Murphy of Homelink, an international home exchange organisation. "A lot of people want to come here and we don't always have the properties to meet the demand."

Leo and Aileen Healy from Portmarnock in Dublin have participated in several home exchanges over the past six years in the US, Canada, France and Spain.

The most successful was a visit to Vancouver.

"We stayed in a gorgeous house overlooking the harbour. It had three balconies, with a view of the bay on one side and views of the snow-capped mountains on the other side," Ms Healy recalls.

Potential home-exchange partners have to provide information about themselves, their area, property and preferred destinations. The more open people are about where they are willing to go, the more interesting offers they are likely to get.

An exchange is a reciprocal agreement based on mutual trust and respect - so there's no point in gilding the lily. It's obviously better for visitors to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed. There's an extensive list of codes to describe any possible amenity or feature the property has, from a piano to use of a boat.

The Healys have never found anything out of place on their return home.

"Once we had a keen gardener staying and he had the garden in better condition when we came back."

Ms Healy likes to leave the first meal and a bottle of wine for her guests and they return the favour.

The internet has provided a great boost to the whole business of arranging home exchanges, the season for which begins each September. It is possible to narrow down the hunt for suitable properties using search tools, while e-mail saves a lot of correspondence time and wild-goose chases.

A web-only photo listing for one year costs €76 (£60) with www.homelink.ie and €70 with www.intervac.org/ireland.

Home Exchange International (www.homeexchange.com) is a far-reaching, well-organised US site with a range of properties worldwide.

Householders who want to get involved in an exchange must pay a subscription and provide an agency, such as Homelink or Intervac, with the relevant information and photographs.

They can opt for a printed listing in a brochure, an internet listing or both. Once they have a membership number and password they can get access to the contact details of other members all over the world.

In most cases, there is a lot of contact with the other party before the exchange goes ahead. It takes some time for both parties to be satisfied that they have ironed out all the details and know each other well enough to take the leap.

The Healys learned from their first exchange in North Carolina to ask more questions.

"The home was beautiful but it was in the middle of a very large estate with a long drive to the nearest shops. Now we put together a big file full of letters and photos before we go," Ms Healy said.

Homelink provides members with an exchange agreement form that they advise members to sign. The organisation keeps a copy of the agreement and mediates in the event of a dispute.

It's also possible to team up with friends or family when planning a trip, as long as everything is agreed with the other householders.

"On three different occasions, my sister and her husband came with us and another time we were joined by two friends," Ms Healy explains.

Ms Murphy has had to deal with very few problems in her 18 years working as the Irish Homelink organiser.

"The vast majority of people are so keen to have their house looking spic and span that we hardly ever have complaints."

It can sometimes be difficult to get the dates right for a straight swap and non-simultaneous exchanges can be arranged.

People with holiday homes can be very flexible with dates and the system is also popular with retired people.

The most popular destinations for Irish travellers are North America, France, Italy and Germany, Ms Murphy has found.

Preparing the home for the guests is probably the toughest part of the whole arrangement.

"You really have to spring clean the house and do all the jobs you might normally put off, but the reward is that you come back and find it the same," Ms Healy says.

Homelink asks members to compile a clear, useful guide to their home and surroundings for guests when they arrive. It should include local tourist information, household notices about the use of appliances, pet and plant care, and neighbourhood details such as when to leave the bins out.

Phone numbers of a recommended doctor, dentist, babysitter, restaurants and helpful friends are always welcome. Whenever possible, homeowners are asked to arrange for a family member, neighbour or friend to come and welcome the exchange partners when they arrive.

The success of home-swapping is that it is a reciprocal agreement between like-minded people.