Traveling with Couchsurfing

How to organize a successful Couchsurfing stay

First Register and fill in your profile

visit the Couchsurfing site

It is important to fill in your profile enough so people know about you - so take a bit of time and thought in doing this.

We have hosted many Couchsurfers, but if someone requests a stay and has a blank or very minimal profile I won’t even consider them.

Keep it simple and informative. Hosts want to know what you’re like – so tell people enough about yourself so they get an idea of the type of person you are.

As you stay with people you will receive references from your hosts that will build up on your profile – a little like ebay.

here is a very comfortable couch we slept on

These are the headings for the Couchsurfing profiles you’ll need to fill in.

• Personal Description
• How I participate in Couchsurfing
• Experience with Couchsurfing
• Interests
• Philosophy on Life
• Music, movies, books
• Types of people I enjoy
• An amazing thing I've seen or done

You will also find out about your host by reading their profile and references.

Planning your trip

Be Flexible, before you make any requests you’ll need to plan your trip.

Rather than be too specific with where you want to go – think about the general area, this will give you many more options.

For example if you are looking to go to Florence, it would be a good idea to look for hosts within a 10 – 20 km radius of Florence.

You will need to know if public transport covers this area if you don’t have a car. We did have a car and this gave us more options.

Type of person you want to stay with

We are all different and want different things out of traveling.

If you are a female traveling alone you might want to stay with another woman.

If you are young and like parties and staying out late you will need to look for people who also like these activities.

We have had a few young single people who requested to stay with us as they know they’ll get fed and a bed (as opposed to a couch or the floor).

There are 100's groups to join on the Couchsurfing website.

• City groups, London, Sydney, - they tell you what happening in the city and people organize different things to do. It’s a good way to meet more travelers.
• Lifestyle groups, families traveling, gay travelers, women traveling alone.
• Age groups, Over 40’s, over 50’s over 60’s (not everyone is young who Couchsurfs!
So look at the groups that people belong to in their profile – this again tells you a lot about the person.



Melbourne Foodies Night

In the Melbourne group, Australia, they have "foodies nights". This is posted on the group forum and everyone is invited. Couchsurfers who live in Melbourne and Couchsurfers who are traveling all turn up. This particular night there were over eighty people.

People always ask about staying with strangers and of course you need to be careful and do your cross checks. Read all the information that these websites give you regarding safety, they have good tips and don’t forget to go with your gut feeling. If you don’t feel safe don’t stay.

Couchsurfing Safety Page

Finding a place to stay

Writing emails to the host is your first impression to them. Write a friendly courteous email and also comment about something on their profile to show you have read and taken an interest in them.

Write several emails to the members that you think would be suitable in the general area you’re thinking of.

This is what I did. I emailed ten to twenty members that I thought would be suitable and I received several emails back saying yes, no or contact us nearer the time.

Some of the emails were very friendly and I got an idea about what that person might be like. I then chose the people I would stay in contact with and made further arrangements. I kept in touch each month until nearer the time. (You might not do this, it depends on how you organise your trip) Then I would contact them a week before, and text them a couple of days before. Communication is important – I have heard of people being let down as their communication was vague.

Hosts can change their minds as it is a casual agreement. I had to be aware of that and was flexible.

You could also change my mind, but if you do always let people know - this is really important. One couple we had organise to stay with, the husband was taken ill and we had to reorganise our plans quite late in our journey. I emailed some other Couchsurfers in the same city and because we’d built up good references on our profile were more than pleased to host us at late notice.

Staying with the host

These things are listed on the Couchsurfing website surfing tips
• Learn your host's guidelines. When you arrive, make sure you find out how your host's home runs. How and when can you come and go from the home? Is it ok for you to use the kitchen, the computer, or the phone? Is water or electricity particularly expensive in this city, and if so, what should you do to minimize your impact?
• When in doubt, ask. If something comes up that you haven't already discussed with your host, just ask. Permission to use the computer one time may not be permission to use it whenever you'd like, so make sure you're communicating clearly with your host throughout your stay.
• Make your schedule compatible with your host's. If your host is eager to spend time with you and show you around, it's a nice gesture to make time in your schedule for him. If he's busy and doesn't have much time to interact, find things to do on your own. Also, always talk to your host about when you'll be home.
• Follow your host's lead. Observe how your host behaves in her home and try to behave similarly. If she's a very neat person, be extra careful to keep yourself and your belongings tidy. If she's sleeping and you're awake, try not to disturb her.
• Leave things in better condition than you found them. If your host lends you something of his, be respectful of his possessions and his generosity.
• Never invite guests to your host's home. You should never bring unexpected people back to your host's place - particularly not that cute girl from the bar. Leave the party at the party, sailor
• Don't be shy about showing appreciation. Most CouchSurfers like to do something nice when they have a good experience with their host. You can wash the dishes, fix her bicycle, cook a meal from your home country, or make an art project - whatever it is, your host will appreciate the thought even more than the gesture!
• Stick to your planned schedule. Be very wary of extending your stay. If you really like your host and would like to stick around longer, ask early and be specific about how long you'd like to extend.

Source - Couchsurfing website www.couchsurfing.org/surf_tips.html

Our outcomes

We traveled for four months on the road in Europe, we received 100 nights free accommodation. We had a terrific time and made friends worldwide. We still continue to host travelers and enjoy their company.

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