A family of four experienced a real-life version of the Feast when they they swapped their house for a villa in Cyprus with strangers on Facebook.

Emma Coulthurst, 37, was desperately trying to get her Mario-Kart-obsessed six-year-old son to Super Nintendo World in Los Angeles when she started looking through house swapping sites.

When her Facebook post failed to attract a potential exchange, Emma felt she should give it up.

But six weeks later, a couple from Zeytinlik, Cyprus, offered to trade with them.

Although it wasn’t quite Super Nintendo World, Emma decided to give it a go and booked her family on a three-week holiday in July 2024.

Emma Coulthurst poses in Cyprus with her husband Martin and their children – aged six and eight

The Coulthursts spent the three weeks of July 2024 basking in the hot sun and eating traditional mezze by the pool. Because of the house exchange, they did not pay to stay in the idyllic accommodation

The Coulthursts spent just £1,600 on flights and headed to the idyllic three-bedroom Cypriot villa – complete with pool and barbecue area.

Emma says they spent a total of £3,000 – and insisted she would have spent the same amount if she had been in the UK for the summer holidays.

The 37-year-old mum, who runs an art supply business as well as a holiday let at Woodcock Farm in the Peak District, Derbyshire, said: “We said we wanted to live rather than holiday.

“We spent a lot of time just at home – we had everything we needed there.”

Emma and her husband Martin, 37, a construction project manager, first started doing vacation rental exchanges in 2022 after they ran out of money while renovating their home.

Through the homestay scheme, the young family visited the Pembrokeshire coast, a caravan park and Blackpool for free – just letting other landlords stay in their holiday home.

This year Emma started is looking for a house swap to take her son to Super Nintendo World after seeing it on YouTube.

“My son is obsessed with Super Mario,” she said. “He talked about it all the time.”

“I thought I’d love to take it there but it was so out of our budget so I thought why not see if anyone wants to trade.

The Coulthurst family first started doing vacation rental exchanges in 2022 after they ran out of money while renovating their home.

Emma runs an art supply business as well as a holiday let (pictured) from Woodcock Farm in the Peak District, Derbyshire

People flocked to the comments of Emma’s post to gush about how this exchange would be like a ‘Real Life Holiday’ – a 2006 Christmas film starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black main.

Despite the busy comments section, Emma said there are “no people who want to trade”.

But six weeks later, in September 2023, Emma received a comment from an English woman who lived in Cyprus with her husband.

The couple were looking to spend three weeks in the UK to see the houses there.

Coincidentally, Emma’s mother was on holiday in Northern Cyprus at the time the exchange was being arranged and went to check on the couple.

Emma said: “I was just hoping my mum would say hi and check they were real.”

But after meeting the generous couple and seeing the villa in real life, Emma’s mother simply said: “You’d love it!”

That was all the validation the Coulthursts needed and they booked their flights when prices dropped in January 2024.

However, the day after they bought their tickets, the other couple texted to say they had found a house to buy in the UK – but agreed to honor the exchange anyway.

So Emma and her husband Martin flew in six months later with their children – aged six and eight – who were “besides themselves” when they saw the villa.

The three-bedroom villa in Cyprus has a swimming pool and barbecue area

The Coulthurst children were ‘themselves’ when they first saw the villa in July 2024

Describing their first evening in Cyprus as ‘pure magic’, Emma said: ‘We had seen the wonderful surroundings. The sun was setting.

“We went around the house and there was the money shot – the pool with lush greenery around it.

“It was so interesting.”

The young family spent the next three weeks basking in the hot sun and eating traditional mezze.

On a particularly hot day, the family went to a water park – spending just £80 on entry.

“That’s probably less than the cost for a person in the UK,” said Emma.

During their dream vacation, Emma decided to visit Alagadi Beach and book a private hatch to see baby turtles.

Recalling her once-in-a-lifetime moment, she said: “There were buckets of squirming turtles – they were all climbing over each other.

– They gave everyone a turtle to hold.

During their dream vacation, Emma decided to visit Alagadi Beach and book a private hatch to see baby turtles.

They returned to the villa again in August 2024 because it “cost the same” as a UK holiday.

The Coulthursts returned to Cyprus in August 2024, with Emma justifying the second visit by saying: “It cost the same as staying at home and doing all the things we normally do on summer holiday.

“We like to go out to dinner once a week and the kids have summer clubs and day trips.

“Our vacation rental was still going, so it meant we had an income.”

Emma said she would be open to doing another house swap in the future and would encourage other families to do the same – as long as they do their research first.

She said: “The house exchange was incredible. It was different and so special.

“It was food for the soul. We felt so peaceful and calm.