We have mentioned Couchsurfing a few times now and even though it is well known among travellers we feel like explaining the concept a little bit.
Couchsurfing is an online platform that basically helps people connect in order to offer and receive hospitality. There are mainly two ways to participate:
1. Hosting people
Travellers from all over the world can send you a message and ask if they can stay in your couch for a couple of days. Usually people stay one to three nights. You can check their profile and references (we’ll explain that further down) and see if you want to host them or not.
Why hosting? That way you can help other travellers. And if that’s not enough as a reason think of it that way: Hosting a person from another part of the world will not only expose you to a different culture right in your own home, but you’ll also see your own culture through somebody else’s eyes. It breaks your daily routine in a pleasant way.
2. Staying at people’s places
While you are travelling you can check the couchsurfers that live in the town you are going to visit. Write them a message and see if their couch is available for you to “surf” it.
Why surfing? Of course you save a lot of money while couchsurfing but that’s not the main reason. Just imagine, you can have friends spread all over the world, share the same travelling spirit and experience a place through the eyes of a local.
But even if you don’t have the time or space to host people, there is always the option to offer some of your free time and show a traveller around. Especially the ones that travel alone will appreciate the company and are happy to get local advice and share a meal or go for a walk around your hometown. Or you have the CS meetings that can be organised by anyone who wants to bring people together. I used to organise monthly events for my hometown Thessaloniki in Greece and it was always great fun.
Now that we are travelling we are meeting so many other couchsurfers and we are staying at their places. Some are still living with their parents, some have children of their own and invite us into their home to be part of their family. The trust and friendship those people give us is indescribable. Honestly, without couchsurfing our journey would not be the same.
But how can you trust a stranger? Well, first of you have to trust your guts. But then of course there is the reference system. I for example joined Couchsurfing ten years ago. Since then different people, hosts and surfers, wrote me a reference. If I was a weirdo somebody would have left me a negative reference. So checking the profile is very important. You see what this person writes about himself, buy you can also check their couchsurfing experience and other people’s impressions of that person.
I hope that answered all the questions.
All the best,
Nikoletta
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