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Couchsurfing

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 by admin

Accommodation is one of the biggest day to day expenses travelers have and everyone is constantly looking for the best value they can find. No matter what your accommodation tastes may be, one thing everyone has in common is that no one wants to pay a fortune. There are a number of ways travelers can get decent accommodation without forking over their entire vacation fun.

One of the best ways to get free accommodation is by staying with someone who lives where you’re going via Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing connects travelers with people in various cities that offer free places to stay. Sometimes it’s a bed, sometimes it’s a couch, sometimes it’s literally just space. You get to make a new friend and get a local perspective on sites and activities. It’s a good way to meet new people without having to stay in hostels.

A lot of times people are scared to couchsurf because they wonder if it’s safe. There you are, in a new city with all your stuff (and you!) in a stranger’s home. What if they try to murder you in your sleep? Steal your stuff? Sell your kidney? Don’t worry! These people have the same fears as you. Remember, they don’t know you either. Yet the people who would open their homes to strangers tend to be very open minded people and are usually former travelers themselves. They know what you are going through. They want to help. Moreover, Couchsurfing is aware of this and takes many steps to provide security. It offers various levels of verification and allow users to rate and leave comments on traveler’s profiles. When couchsurfing, use the following criteria to help ensure safety:

There has to be a picture. This just shows me that it’s a real person.

The profile needs to be filled out. It shows they are interested and involved. Most people aren’t going to spend the time to fill this out if they aren’t going to be comfortable with strangers in their home.

They have to be verified. Couchsurfing has many ways to prove people are authentic and ensure safety. They can be verified by other travelers, with a mailing address, or credit card. Knowing that a person has been verified reduces the likelihood that they are going to be a crazy psycho killer.

They should have comments from other travelers. If other people have stayed with or have at least traveled with the host and were O.K., chances are you will be O.K. too.

No matter what is in the profile, you need to use your judgment. I haven’t heard of any really bad couchsurfing experiences besides the person was a jerk. Usually, you end up talking with people over e-mail and get a to feel them out a bit about what they except. If it doesn’t seem right, don’t do it! Couchsurfing can be a great opportunity to meet other travelers and get the inside view of the city. However, it is important to use caution and exercise judgment when staying at stranger’s home. Trust your instinct.