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The modern couch potato
While I was backpacking across Peru the last couple weeks, I kept hearing about couch surfing. (And not the lazy TV-watching kind). Apparently it's become the rage of late, traveling not hostel to hostel, but couch to couch.The most established organization--and nonprofit to boot--that connects you to complete strangers who will host you while you're traveling is the Couch Surfing Project. We introduced it last year, when it was already a couple years old (but still considered in its infancy).
Now it's hit prime-time. Membership has apparently tripled in each of the three years it's been up, averaging roughly 5,000 new members each month. The editor of Budget Travel, Erik Torkells, nicely sums up the reasoning behind the phenomenon's booming popularity. "If I couch surf I could be on some cool ex-pat's or local's sofa. I've already leapfrogged barriers. It would take weeks under ordinary circumstances to get in someone's home."
I think the next time I'm in South America, or anywhere else, I'm going to try being a couch potato.
Filed under: Hotels and Accommodations, Budget Travel
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jazz Jul 19th 2008 5:51PM
While I like couchsurfing there is a growing new hospitality child. http://www.bewelcome.org is a new site for sharing something REAL.
No, not files, not pictures. BeWelcome is a culture crossing network that lets you not only share a place to sleep but a place to meet up and help others on their way.
BeWelcome is all about building bridges and really touching other cultures. Staying at a local's house and enjoying local festivities but also facing a population's problems are ways to get to know a totally new perspective. This is why we support local communities and social initiatives and encourage our members to take part in their activities.
Justin Glow Jan 14th 2008 11:36PM
I've Couch Surfed (via CouchSurfing.com) in the past, and it worked out pretty well. BUT, it's not practical, in my opinion, unless you know your schedule well ahead of time and don't have a problem sticking to it, or enjoy sitting around waiting for your emails to get returned to find out whether or not you have a place to stay in the next town. I wasn't that patient.
But when I did Couch Surf, the host was great, I met a lot of cool people, and throughly enjoyed the experience. So go for it, if you can make it work with your travel schedule.
wongoz Jan 15th 2008 8:11AM
Wow, you're clueing into Couchsurfing only now? It's been around for quite a while now, at least a year before I joined in 2004. Come on, where's the real travel advice for us carefree and cheap travellers?
BTW, agree totally with #1... def need to plan in advance, though it's excellent if you plan on staying somewhere for more than a few days... a couple days hostelling, a couple days couchsurfing... good combo.