A little about the Couchsurfing Project

I have encountered a lot of questions regarding my accomodations while on my travels. I am on a rather tight budget for six weeks of travel and had to be quite creative when finding cheap places to stay. I, of course, starting looking at hostels first. Part of this dream of mine to backpack around Europe included staying in these friendly, albeit, non-luxurious temporary abodes. I expect that the greatest part of my experience will be the friends I make along the way.
While doing my research, I came across something called the Couchsurfing Project. CSP is a network of more than 1 million travelers in 231 countries who open their homes and hearts for fellow travelers. Their motto is, "Participating in creating a better world, one couch at a time." Each "surfer" has his or her own profile page where a traveler can find all sorts of useful information about the host. The thing that I love about the project is all the positive energy that leaps off the page. I mean, if you're interested in traveling and really getting to know the people and places you visit, CSP members are the way to go!

So here's how it works...
Decide where you want to go and do a search for available couches. The couch may actually turn out to be an inflatable mattress or a hammock or a bedroom all to yourself! Read the profile of the host and determine if this is the kind of person you might be interested in spending some time with in close quarters. Some you will, some you won't! You're basically trusting a stranger in a foreign country and they are trusting you, so it's important to do your homework at this stage in the game. Once you find a host, send them a request to surf their couch! Many hosts really like to have a personal message that shows you've read their profile and made an informed decision about why you want to stay with that particular host. The CSP site handles the correspondence and you and your future host will have several email conversations regarding what to expect, where to meet, etc.

My first experience will be with Thomas Pedersen in Kobenhavn (Copenhagen). I may have to work something for a couple of nights in Oslo before then but Thomas is my first confirmed CS host! Next stop will be with Wiebe Witte in Amsterdam. I will post another blog at a later date with contact info as my trip gets closer.

I have made a few contacts in other cities a while back but I ran into two problems. First, I was requesting WAY to early. People don't know in March what they're going to be doing in July. Secondly, when I'm on vacation so are many other people around the world. I got several responses that potential hosts would not be home that time of year. My strategy now is to be patient. For those of you who know me well, you also know how difficult a task that will be! HA HA

So if you find yourself taking a trip and you want to really get to know the people and places you are visiting, I highly recommend that you look into the Couchsurfing Project. For people like me, it's more than just a free place to stay, it's the essence of traveling. Check out the CSP website at:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/

Happy Travels!