People always think that traveling costs an arm and a leg. Sure, it can, if you really wanted it to. But the truth is, there are a ton of super affordable ways to travel. Couchsurfing is a great way to reduce costs while traveling and to connect with locals on a deeper level. This is why we wanted to share more about what Couchsurfing is and why it’s such a great way to explore the world.
Sure, some people think that Couchsurfing is a way to get a free homestay. This is the wrong way to think about this service. Couchsurfing is so much more than that! Before you get started, you should see if Couchsurfing is right for you.
Couchsurfing is all about learning, exchange, and growth. You learn from others who you may not seem to have much in common with. You exchange about traditions, culture, food. You grow as a person, as a traveler, and as a human.
Whether you’re heading out on a short trip or a really long one, Couchsurfing is a great alternative to the typical way of traveling. It gets you out of your comfort zone, maybe to help you discover a new one. It introduces you to friends you didn’t know you had yet, and this is probably the best way to describe it.
This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For more information, please see our disclaimer here. We take all the efforts necessary to ensure the information included in this post is accurate, correct and current, sometimes, things just change! Travel information like opening hours, business operations and prices may change. If you find anything in this post that is incorrect or outdated, please let me know in the comments so I can update it for other readers. Cheers!
Table of Contents
What is Couchsurfing?
Founded in 2004 as a small passion project, Couchsurfing is now a global community of 14 million people. You can couchsurf in more than 200,000 cities around the world with amazing people looking to share their life, their home and their journey with you.
We had the pleasure of staying with new friends in Korea, Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Singapore. We sometimes had our own room and large comfy bed. Sometimes, we slept on the floor, on traditional mattresses (like in Japan where people pay top dollar to live this experience in Ryokans). In Korea, we even had our own little house to ourselves.
Regardless of our living conditions, the friendships we made, the discussions we had and the memories we now share are well worth any discomfort or lack of privacy we may have had.
Is Couchsurfing right for you? – Questions to see if you’re ready to Couchsurf
It’s true, that Couchsurfing is not right for everyone. But here are a few questions you can ask yourself to know if it’s a good way for you to travel.
1. Do you like meeting new people?
Because you will meet a ton of them doing this. Not only will you meet new friends who will host you, but you will also meet their friends and family. You may also meet other couchsurfers, like the time in Singapore when we ended up hanging out with another couchsurfer our host was housing. We are now lifelong friends!
2. Are you fairly flexible?
If you can go with the flow, don’t mind changing your plans around and being flexible with dates, places and people, then you’re on the right path.
It’s happened a few times that our plans with hosts fell through because of miscommunication or changes to their schedule. It’s also happened that we ended up staying with double-booked hosts who had another couple stay with them… but that was perfect because we all ended up getting drunk together!
3. Are you comfortable getting out of your comfort zone?
We’re not just talking about sleeping in uncomfortable conditions, but we mean about communicating with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you. Or do you enjoy trying new foods? Going to off-the-beaten-path places? Are you ok being confronted with situations that will make you change your perspective or undo thoughts you’ve always had? Because it will happen with all the new people you’ll meet and experiences you’ll live.
4. Do you mind sometimes roughing it?
We’re not going to lie. Couchsurfing is not always glamourous or comfortable. We’ve slept on the floor, in different beds, in a kitchen. But we’ve also had hosts give up their own bed, or offer us our own room. Really, you will find it all. But if you’re expecting to live like royalty, like you would in a hotel, this is not for you.
The best way you can figure out if this is right for you, is to either head to one of the many events they hold in cities so you can meet the type of people who couchsurf. You can also try hosting and see if you like interacting with people in this way. And if you’re brave enough, why not just try Couchsurfing. On your next trip, just put in a few requests and try it for yourself.
The pros and cons of Couchsurfing
Although Couchsurfing has a ton of pros, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Here are the pros and cons of Couchsurfing.
The benefits of Couchsurfing. All the pros of staying with local hosts
There are so many benefits to Couchsurfing, but here are just a few:
- Learning about a new culture by immersing yourself with locals. Like when Ryan and Aoi took us all around Kyoto and spoke to us about Japanese ‘boyfriends’. Daekwong in Andong invited us to stay in a traditional home with her mother and took us to the Andong Mask festival.
- Seeing how locals live and actually living like them. Like when we stayed with Takahiro in Matsumoto and slept on the floor with circular pillows.
- Making new friends in every country you visit. We are waiting for ours to come to visit us now!
- Sharing moments you never would have had with locals, like the time we spent Julbul Nori in Hahoe, a forgotten village in Korea.
- Changing your perspective through deeper and meaningful conversations, like the ones we had with Adus and Sofia in Prague.
- Getting an ‘in’ with locals, seeing things most tourists don’t see, like when Renate took us to the coolest places in Berlin.
The negative sides of Couchsurfing. Some of the cons of this social network
There are some negative things to deal with when you’re staying with locals… These things don’t happen often, but they do happen, and they kind of suck!
- Having hosts bail on you. It’s unfortunately happened a few times that we show up to a city, and go to meet a host at a predetermined place, wait for hours… and they never show up. In those cases, we just end up booking a room on Airbnb or on Booking.com. You need to be flexible when couchsurfing, and quick on your feet.
- Not always being comfortable. Sure, there are times when you will have a bed and a room to yourself. But more often than not, you won’t have a very comfortable place to sleep on. BUt the connections you make are worth it.
- Not all hosts are friendly. It happens. Some hosts don’t want to hang out with you, or just aren’t that friendly. Those times, we end up not staying much longer with them and move on to our next place. The fun part of Couchsurfing is to connect with others. However, if you do have a host who is a creep (read further below), it’s important to report them.
- It’s harder to coouchsurf as a couple. We really wanted to couchsurf in Australia, but most people were looking for young solo female surfers. Some people use Couchsurfing as a dating site. And that’s ok, as long as both people are consenting. But that’s not what we were looking for.
Is Couchsurfing safe?
Yes and no… But mostly yes!
We would always joke with Ryan and Aoi because our parents were convinced that our hosts were going to murder us… and so were their parents. So apparently, Couchsurfing is the best way to meet serial killers! But truth be told, in all our travels, we didn’t have any bad experiences.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t happen. We had met a friend in Korea, who we met back again in Auckland, and she had just left her host because he had gotten too touchy with her. He had made a few advances, which she quickly refused, but he didn’t seem to get the message. So she left. And she left an honest review on his profile.
We met another single girl traveling through Couchsurfing for four years now, and she had only had a handful of these situations.
Usually, when you read someone’s profile and their reviews, you can get a pretty good understanding of who they are. And you should always follow your gut. Avoid or get out of any situation you’re not comfortable with. And report any creeps you meet along the way.
However, these situations don’t always happen. Pretty much all of our encounters were positive, and we know that we have made friends for life!
How to pick the right Couchsurfing host for you
Here are a few simple steps you can follow to make sure you pick a good host and that you know what to expect. The most important thing in all of this is to be safe, have fun, and trust your gut!
1. Look through their Couchsurfing profile to find out more about them
Take your time and really read through the host’s Couchsurfing profile. Sometimes, hosts have a secret word that you have to include. Other times, they will set some ground rules for you. Make sure you’re ok with them! Also, make sure you check their preferences. We didn’t have much luck in Australia as most hosts seemed to want only female surfers… or nudists!
If you can, try to look them up on Facebook and LinkedIn as well. These are great ways to get more insight into the person you’ll be living with for a few days.
2. Make sure you have things in common with your Couchsurfing host
Or at least, make sure you speak the same language. We once picked a host who we seemed to have a few things in common with, and whose English was decent. Ends up, he was using Google to translate everything with us the whole time through email. When we met, he could barely talk to us. We didn’t stay with him for long as it made for very long nights.
It’s so important to not just randomly send out requests but to actually take the time to get to know your potential host. The more things you have in common with them, the more fun you’ll both end up having, the deeper the conversations, and the better the connection!
3. Look at your Couchsurfing host’s references
If they’re creeps, or if they aren’t that cool, you’ll be able to see it in their reviews. That’s why they’re so important to leave when you surf as well. It’s the best way to know if these hosts are respecting their guests and the basic ground rules of surfing. We’ve read some reviews where the host asked for money after their stay or made unwanted advances.
Again, check out their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles as well, as you may find things in common, or total deal-breakers.
4. Give yourself time to find the right Couchsurfing host
This is not so much about a host, but about them in general. It seems like hosts get a lot of requests from other travelers. So make sure you give yourself enough time and send out requests ahead of time. No one likes last-minute guests, but also…
5. Send a lot of Couchsurfing requests and emails
It seems like a lot of people don’t answer… like ever. So if you give yourself the time and make sure you write to a few people in every city, you’re more likely to find a host that right for you.
Just don’t get discouraged if you don’t get answers. Just keep sending requests!
And like we mentioned, you might get bailed on, so you may want to have a back-up, in case you can allow it.
6. Send out a personal email
Sure, you can copy-paste a few lines that are generic, regardless of who you’re writing to. But to get a better response, make sure it’s personalized to the host you’re writing to. Talk about their likes and interests.
That’s the best way to start your experience with a Couchsurfing host on the right foot. It sets expectations clearly, and it shows them you’re not just looking for free accommodations.
Quick tips for having a better Couchsurfing experience
Here are some tips to make sure you are prepared as a guest:
- Bring a gift or offer something useful. It’s the least you can do for someone who is opening their home to you. Just think that if you slept in a hostel or hotel, you would pay a ton more money. So why not be a good guest and bring your host something local from your country. Or, you can pay for their meals, cook for them, whatever! It’s the easiest way to show them your gratitude.
- Make sure you’re clear on when and where you’ll meet. It’s happened a few times that we’ve been left stranded when our Couchsurfing host didn’t show up… even if we gave each other a clear meeting point. Make sure you’re clear on when and where you’ll be meeting. Maybe tell them what you’ll be wearing so there is no confusion. And if you have a local number, or can connect through WhatsApp, exchange contact info.
- Stick to your host’s schedule, follow their lead. If your host has a tight schedule and asks that you come and go with them, you have to oblige. They’re giving you a home, and as most parent’s say: “My house, my rules”. Just follow their lead and all should be good!
- Take a hint. Don’t overstay your welcome. Some people are naturally generous and shy about their feelings. Also, when you travel to foreign countries, customs are quite different when it comes to hospitality. It’s important to read between the lines and understand when a host may not want you to extend your stay or would like you to leave. In our experience, the best thing is to be honest and talk about it. Ask them if things are unclear for you. If anything, blame it on a cultural misunderstanding.
- Leave the place better than you found it. This comes to the basics of traveling. Help your host out with cleaning, shopping, and putting things back when you leave. Just make sure that you are being as helpful and accommodating as possible while you’re with your host, under their roof.
We’ve had some of our best travel experiences through Couchsurfing. Our long trip was the first time we had tried it and it ended up being amazing on all fronts. But we took the time to do our research and send out thoughtful requests. We followed all the tips we detailed in this article.
If you follow these simple guidelines, chances are you’ll be able to find the right Couchsurfing host for you and have the best experience as well.
Let us know in the comments if these tips and recommendations helped you out. Do you have any other questions you’d like us to answer?
We put a lot of time and effort into the content we create. Please like, comment and share, every action on your part helps us out tremendously and is very much appreciated.
You can also help us by pinning it for others to find.
0 Comments