Home exchange and house swap in Austria

From Vienna to the Carinthian lakes, from Innsbruck to the Wachau valley: with Homeforswap, swap your home for a home exchange in Austria without paying for a single night’s accommodation, in winter or summer.

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A home exchange in Austria offers a rare choice of settings in a small country: imperial cities on the Danube, Alpine villages, lakes for swimming in summer and ski slopes in winter. You can look for a flat near a Viennese coffee house, a chalet in February or a lakeside house in August, and enjoy a real stay in Austria with locals.

With Homeforswap, you swap simultaneously, at the same time as your hosts, or on a deferred basis, on different dates, which suits a mountain house well. Non-reciprocal exchange exists too. Between members there is no rent and no commission: you don’t pay for the night. That is the basis of a flat swap in Austria, or of a whole house.

Why a home exchange in Austria works so well

🏔️ Two full seasons

Skiing, snowshoeing and Advent markets in winter; hiking, lakes and mountain roads in summer. A deferred exchange lets you aim for the season you prefer, without paying for the night.

🏛️ Cities to live in, not just to visit

Staying in Vienna or Graz with a local means having your coffee in a neighbourhood café. The Viennese coffee house culture is recognised as intangible cultural heritage in Austria.

🔄 Exchanges made to measure

A flat in Vienna for a long weekend, a house by a lake for the whole summer: simultaneous, deferred or non-reciprocal exchange adapts to the length and season of your stay.

Where to do a house swap in Austria

From the Danube to the Alps, here are eight main areas to start your search.

🏙️ Vienna

The Ringstrasse, the Hofburg, Schönbrunn Palace and traditional cafés, with the Vienna Woods on the edge of the city. An imperial capital that is also worth visiting in winter, with its Advent markets.

🎻 Salzburg

Mozart’s birthplace, at the foot of the Hohensalzburg fortress, with a Baroque old town listed by UNESCO. A good base for day trips to the neighbouring lakes and mountains.

🛶 The Salzkammergut and Hallstatt

Lakes, villages on the water’s edge and the Hallstatt-Dachstein cultural landscape, listed by UNESCO. The Wolfgangsee and the nearby lakes draw the crowds mostly in summer.

🎿 Innsbruck and Tyrol

A city ringed by mountains, the Nordkette range reached by cable car, and two Winter Olympics. Around it: Kitzbühel, the Zillertal and the Ötztal, for skiing as well as hiking.

🧀 Vorarlberg and the Arlberg

Lake Constance at Bregenz, the cheese route of the Bregenzerwald, and Lech, Zürs or Sankt Anton for skiing. Here, the dialect is closer to Switzerland’s than to the rest of Austria’s.

🏊 The Carinthian lakes

Wörthersee, Millstätter See, Lake Ossiach: southern Austria is lake country. Klagenfurt and Villach make handy bases, with the Hohe Tauern and the Grossglockner to the north.

🍇 The Wachau

A Danube valley between Melk and Krems, with terraced vineyards, apricots and abbeys. A cultural landscape listed by UNESCO, best discovered village by village.

🎃 Graz and Styria

The historic centre of Graz and Eggenberg Palace, listed by UNESCO, then the vineyards of the south and Styrian pumpkin seed oil, a protected designation.

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Making your first home exchange in Austria a success with Homeforswap

Choose the season before the home — February is the peak of the winter season in the mountains: offer your dates well in advance. In summer the lakes take over, and Advent markets brighten the cities at the end of the year.
Plan for winter driving — From 1 November to 15 April, in wintry conditions, the Austrian transport ministry requires winter tyres or snow chains. Agree with your hosts what equipment the vehicle has and whether it is part of the exchange.
Think ahead about the motorway vignette — Motorways and expressways require a vignette, increasingly often a digital one linked to the number plate. If a vehicle is lent, agree who takes care of it and how long it is valid for.
Prepare a local welcome guide — The neighbourhood market, the café to try, the season’s trails, heating or wood stove, waste sorting: a few written pages reassure your hosts. Add a written exchange agreement.

Frequently asked questions

It depends on your nationality. Entry conditions vary from one country to another, so check the current rules on the official Austrian government website and in the travel advice from your own country’s foreign ministry before you book. Austrian law also requires registration with the municipality for any stay of more than three days in the same place: ask your hosts how to go about it.

It all depends on your plans. February is the peak of the winter season in the mountains, Advent brings the cities to life from late November to December, and summer is the season for lakes and hiking. The Grossglockner road, for its part, closes in winter and reopens in early May.

It depends on the destination. For a mountain valley, a lake or the Wachau, a vehicle is handy, especially if the home is isolated. In a city, choose according to the neighbourhood. Agree with your hosts whether a car is part of the exchange.

Between members there is no rent and no commission: you don’t pay for the night. You still pay for transport, meals, final cleaning, insurance and your activities, such as ski lifts. The Homeforswap subscription lets you publish your listing and write to members.

Yes: the two homes don’t need to be of the same type. A city flat can be swapped for a mountain house, simultaneously or on a deferred basis, according to what the two households agree. State your dates and your destination in your listing.

Each member can confirm their identity, every stay relies on the reviews left by the community, and an exchange agreement frames the deal. Homeforswap remains reachable if you have any questions.

All home exchange destinations in Austria

Explore Austria state by state, then city by city, from regional capitals to mountain villages.

Regions of Austria

Cities in Austria

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Also worth a look: what is home exchange · how it works · all our destinations