Couchsurfing: 5 Reasons You Should Give It A Try

Couchsurfing: the craze that is revolutionising travel across the globe. Giving you the chance to save money and gain a deeper understanding of a country’s culture, couchsurfing offers a solution for many of the issues globetrotting throws up – no wonder it’s the hottest trend in travel right now. But why exactly is couchsurfing so popular?

Cheap and cheerful

First and foremost, couchsurfing is an incredibly affordable way to get around. The concept involves staying with a host rather than staying in hostels or hotels – and it’s completely free! Travelling expenses can add up scarily fast, so you’ll be grateful for any savings made along the way.

Expand your social horizons

Couchsurfing is a great way to meet local people. This not only gives you a deeper understanding of the culture of a particular country or region but also benefits your travelling plans, as they can help you plan where to go. Lasting friendships can stem from couchsurfing, so that by the time you touch down on home soil you’ll have a circle of friends from all over the world.

Trim down accommodation search time

If you are a good guest – respectful, sociable and a pleasure to have to stay – you may find that the camaraderie among the couchsurfing community provides you with places to stay in neighbouring vicinities, which gives you more time to spend exploring rather than finding your next hostel.

Enhance your experience

Good hosts will be more than willing to show you around, clue you in on the best things to see and do and give you a deeper and more profound insight into a country than a guide book can ever hope to do. In this way, staying with locals can enrich your travelling experience, helping you to make the most of your adventure.

Peace of mind

With a three million strong community that is growing every day, couchsurfing is a safe way to travel. You can choose whether you stay with a male/female/couple and are free to peruse their public profiles to gauge personality, common interests etc. You can also see reviews left by other travellers who stayed with a certain host and contact the traveller to see whether they would stay there again.

An additional way to ensure peace of mind is to invest in backpacker travel insurance before you go. While the unpredictability of travelling is half the fun, it is important to be covered should anything go wrong.

Photo by Wonderlane via Flickr Creative Commons