Couchsurfing is the cheapest and richest way to travel the world. It allows you to stay at a local’s house while traveling, host other travelers at your home, or meet other travelers in your area. In this article, we explain what is Couchsurfing and how Couchsurfing works.
What we cover:
There is a big misconception and ignorance about the couchsurfing community. It is not a ‘free room’ website, nor a dating website. If you have that idea we strongly recommend you to read this post or choose another website/service.
What is Couchsurfing?
Couchsurfing is an online platform (Website + App), born in 2003, which provides a hospitality service and a social networking community. The community is all around the concept of travelers staying with local hosts free of charge. However, it is much more than that!
There are 3 ways to be in the community: surfing, hosting, or attending social events. Every person in the community has a profile (you can see Matilde’s profile here). Everyone you interact with, within the community, is encouraged to write a review about you. This is valuable information for future hosts/surfers.
Couchsurfing moves yearly +4 million surfers through 400,000 hosts and 100,000 social events around the world.
Couchsurfing is part of the gift culture where you don’t pay in cash for your accommodation, however, remember someone is opening doors to a stranger… It’s expected that the surfer gives something in return.
Most of the time interaction, respect, and sharing cool experiences will be more valuable than any money. Anyway cooking a meal and doing some cleaning is always welcomed (at least this is how we show our gratitude).
Why you should use Couchsurfing?
Couchsurfing is not for everyone. It depends on your style of traveling and on what you chase in a trip. If you are looking for comfort and relaxation without thinking about anything else, it might not be the best solution. If you are ok with sharing your space and your time with a stranger then you should do it! That stranger can become a good friend! Also, staying in a local place allows you to dive deep into a local’s life and learn things about their culture that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
It is the cheapest and richest way to travel because there is no money involved and it gives you benefits like:
– Learning local culture, food, and language from a local.
– Making friends from all over the world – The interaction host-surfer is strong and often leads to deeper relationships carried home for a long time.
– Visiting the best places and getting to know the ones to avoid – A good host provides a deep understanding of the place you are visiting, such as the best places to eat and visit, the scams you should avoid, and the hidden spots you can’t lose.
Related: A week with an Indian family in Haryana, India
Is Couchsurfing free?
Yes! Joining the Couchsurfing community is free and open to everyone, however, it is always welcomed something in return (not money). Once again, most of the time, interaction is the best offer. A cooked meal or a small gift are also ideas. The paid version, also known as ‘Getting Verified‘ gives you benefits like:
– Increased Trust – Verification proves your honesty with the community. Hosts/Surfers often look for verified accounts for security on both sides.
– Unlimited Messaging – Possibility to send unlimited requests to different hosts
– 24/7 Support – Couchsurfing’s Safety and Trust team is available 24/7.
You can get a free extension on your verification by hosting surfers. If you are interested in the community we recommend you start with the free version and perhaps later upgrade it!
Is Couchsurfing safe?
Despite the Couchsurfing horror stories you can find online (like in everything in life), Couchsurfing is super safe but you must follow some basic rules, like making sure your host’s and your profiles are complete and with some trustworthy reviews, making sure the profile connect (languages, interests, skills), etc. Being couchsurfing a review-based system, it becomes safe for both sides, because you know any misbehavior SHOULD result in a bad review and it can end your Couchsurfing experiences forever!
In the end…
Couchsurfing is a very rich community full of great people and stories! If you are open and flexible enough it allows you to have amazing experiences, and unforgettable moments and make friends forever. We can’t recommend Couchsurfing enough, we love it and we won’t stop using it anytime soon. We used it several times and we don’t have anything else than good memories.
Start creating yours today!! 🙂
If you would like to see our first couchsurfing experience in an underdeveloped country (India) click on this link!
Useful links for your next trip!
Some tools and platforms we use and recommend. By using these links, you help TravelB4Settle! Thanks 🙂
- Travel safe with Heymondo. Travel insurances with the best prices on the market, specialized for travellers, flexible plans and high coverages. Get a fast quote with 5% discount.
- Revolut Card – Free transfers and cash withdrawals abroad without fees. Get your free card
- Book flights with Kiwi for good deals, advanced research and flexible trips.
- Book an apartment you like with Airbnb, a hostel with HostelWorld or any accommodation with Booking!
- Rent a car with Rentalcars, comparing vehicles and prices before travelling!
- Get cashback in more than 120.000 online and offline stores with CashbackWorld . Read our complete guide
More tools, equipment and services we use and recommend on our Resources Page.
![How does Couchsurfing work? [Full Guide]](https://www.travelb4settle.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/8-1-1024x341.jpg)
