Benefits of Membership

Cut your Travel Costs Save hundreds, maybe thousands, per year! Little or no cost for travel accommodation means you can travel for less money, and stay longer.

The Orthodox Connection The unique Orthodox Christian focus of our club means that wherever you go, you are among friends. Your host can provide information about nearby church services, local pilgrimage sites, and other points of interest to the Orthodox traveller.

Better Accommodation Why stay in one little hotel room? With Egeria you have the use of a whole apartment or house, plus possible extras like a car, bikes, boats, season tickets -- you never know!

See the World  With Egeria you can see at a glance all the amazing places where there are Orthodox Christians who are keen to share their home and culture with you. You may end up falling in love with a city or country you never even considered before.

Use of a Kitchen  Eating out while traveling is fun, but it is very expensive. When you exchange homes you have the advantage of cooking for yourself or friends whenever you want. This saves a lot of money, and it is ideal for those with dietary restrictions or allergies, and for families with children. At the very least, you'll have a fridge to store any perishable treats you pick up!

Home, Pet and Garden Care Rather than having to arrange for house sitters, you and your exchange partner will be able to look after each other's homes. You may also discuss the care of one another's pets and the watering of plants and gardens.

Work from Home - in Another Country! If your work is portable, Egeria offers a unique opportunity: exchange homes with someone in a similar situation for an extended period of time, and immerse yourself in another culture while continuing to earn your living!

Safe Haven for Students If you have grown children going off to study out of state or abroad, you may be concerned about how hard it can be for young Orthodox Christians to maintain their faith under pressure from the wide world. Campus life can be extremely harsh, and surprisingly lonely. Getting to church and connecting with other Orthodox in a strange place can become very difficult. Use Egeria to find - or offer - alternative healthy, friendly and welcoming Orthodox accommodation for our Orthodox students!

Young-Family Friendly As travel lovers and parents of young children, this one is close to our hearts. An Egeria home exchange is wonderful for families with kids. Not only does it help make travel affordable, but you will most likely have a lot more room to stretch out than by staying in a hotel. An equipped kitchen means you can stay in and cook for your little monsters whenever it suits your family. Exchange with another family-with-kids, and you'll get childrens' beds, toys, books, and space to play the way kids need to.

Stay Home, Make Money You don't even have to go anywhere to use an Egeria membership. You can turn your guest room into a source of income for yourself, your parish or a favourite charity. Just create a B&B profile which states that you are charging a fee for the room rather than doing an exchange. Other Egeria members will be glad to know that your little Orthodox B&B is there!

Clergy Breaks Just for the man in black. Whether you are a city priest who longs to commune with nature in a rustic setting, or an isolated mission priest who would love a holiday but worries about leaving his flock, Egeria can help. Trade homes and parish responsibilities for a change of scenery without the worry. Your parishioners might enjoy the break too!

Scholars Abroad The very first Egeria client was a PhD student travelling from the University of Victoria to Princeton for research. His grant would not have covered his travel expenses, since it was quite minimal and he needed to be at Princeton for three weeks. Costel was also facing nearly a month alone, since he didn't know anyone there. The Egeria website was still in the planning stage, but its founder Jenny Hainsworth asked Costel to hold off booking a hotel for a bit while she did some asking around - she wanted him to be a guinea pig for the concept of Orthodox home and hospitality exchange. Sure enough, through following Orthodox connections, Ms Hainsworth was able to place Costel in a friendly Orthodox household close to Princeton, free of accommodation costs, and with daily car travel into the bargain, since one of the hosts happened to be a Princeton librarian! The Egeria website is now a reality, and Orthodox scholars everywhere can use the site to find themselves great accommodation that costs little or nothing. More money for books!

Live like a Local, Not a Tourist When you stay in a hotel you are often cut off from the true character of the place you are visiting, and you are unlikely to meet many locals besides those working in the tourist industry. With an Egeria home exchange you stay in a real neighborhood among real people and experience real local life. Home exchangers love the authenticity of this type of travel and the learning opportunities it brings. They can get very creative with welcoming their visitors, too - everything from festival tickets left on the kitchen table, to neighbours dropping by with a hot dinner for the newcomer!

Low Price of Membership Most home exchange clubs charge between $75 and $500 every year. Others are free, but this often means that members are not really committed to making an exchange or hosting anyone, or they let their information go out of date. The Egeria membership fee is very affordable, but it ensures that your fellow members won't forget that they joined!

Guaranteed Use If you are unable to make use of your Egeria membership in the first year, we will extend it a second consecutive year FREE. (Subject to Conditions)

One Membership, Unlimited Swaps You are welcome to use your Egeria membership for as many stays as you wish during the year or two-year term.

Build Community Friendship among Orthodox Christians of different cultures and backgrounds is one of the greatest ways to build unity in the wider Church. It is one thing to imagine or assume what people from a certain place are like; something very different to have friends in that place with names and faces, with whom one has shared meals, in whose parish one has worshipped. It is our sincere hope that in enabling such genuine friendships to form in a thousand little ways, Egeria will be a blessing to the Church and her people.