Traveling the World – One Couch at a Time

What if you could travel to destinations far and near and not have to worry about paying for a hotel?

Depending on where you’re traveling, a hotel room can cost $100 and up. There’s a relatively new trend called couchsurfing that allows people to connect in order to exchange information and find free couches to sleep on while traveling. According to the group’s website, their motto is, “You have friends all over the world, you just haven’t met them yet.”

Founded by Casey Fenton, Daniel Hoffer, Sebastian Le Tuan and Leonardo Bassani da Silveira in 2004, Couchsurfers.org’s members have grown to more than 9 million across the globe.  Here’s how it works:

• If you’re a prospective couchsurfer, click here to get started by creating an online profile, including photos, designating whether or not you want to list your own couch or find one to crash on
• Next, you can browse through the list of available national and international couches
• Connecting is easy … once you’ve found a few you’re interested in, you can send couch requests asking if they are available for the dates you need

Couchsurfer Matt Dunphy, from San Diego, Calif., joined the community in 2007.

“You get to do and see things that aren’t in the travel guides. For example, I hosted a couple from Germany and brought them to a neighborhood mac and cheese cook-off with a band and keg. The greatest perk (about couchsurfing is) the connections and friendships I make with like-minded people around the world,” Dunphy said.

Besides being able to meet people from other places and cultures, you can’t beat the cost — couchsurfing is totally free!  To learn more, visit www.couchsurfing.org or “Like” their Facebook page here.