By Valerie S. Johnson
It’s practically a rite of passage for college students or recent graduates to enjoy a few months traveling around Europe or elsewhere in the world. Most are on a tight budget and stay in inexpensive hostels. Often they encounter expatriates from their home country, rather than meeting the locals. It’s not exactly the cultural exchange they expected.
A relatively new option is the CouchSurfing Project, which offers the possibility of sleeping on a host’s floor, couch, or in a bedroom – at no charge. Potential travelers post their profile at this hospitality website, then choose their destination. Email contact is made via the website with potential hosts whose profiles are also online.
The average age of the CouchSurfers is 25, and about 70% are under thirty. But it’s not just for kids – over 1,200 of the registered CouchSurfers are between 60 and 90 years old. There are CouchSurfing destinations in the US and all over the globe. The number one CouchSurfing city? Montreal.
For those concerned about the safety factor of showing up on the doorstep of a stranger in a strange land,
CouchSurfing has developed a system of verification and vouching, although according to statistics on the website, only a small percentage of its members participate in this feature.
So consider opening your home and showing your hometown to a visitor, or crashing with the locals for free next time you travel.
Travel Abroad and Stay for Free
