Trips for Travelling Part 2b: CouchSurfing

CouchSurfing  CouchSurfing.org

Me CouchSurfing in Budapest

CouchSurfing is a social networking site for those that love to explore other cultures and share their own culture with others.  Members offer to accommodate other members in their homes for free.  CouchSurfers can stay with their hosts for as short as one night, or as long as several weeks.  The website also serves as a place to organize events for locals and travelers in the area.  It is free to become a member -- all you have to do is sign up and write a profile.   CouchSurfing is very active all around the world, and is especially active in Europe.  Virtually every large town or city has a very healthy network of surfers and hosts.  If you know what you are doing, you can pretty much be guaranteed to find a host wherever you travel.  It is often a much more personal and rewarding experience than staying in a hostel, and it's free!  Everyone should try it at least once.

How to Get a Host

Disclaimer: I have only CouchSurfed 3 times, and I have not had the pleasure of hosting anyone yet.  Therefore, I have a little experience, and I have heard a lot of good advice, but I am by no means a veteran. 

Have a Good Profile
This is very important!  Your profile is the major way that you introduce yourself to other members.  Make sure that you write at least a few lines of thoughtful information in each section of your profile.  Very few hosts will pay attention to requests from people who have not filled out their entire profile.  Remember that they are inviting a stranger into your home -- you need to put a face to your name so that they know who they are going to host.  Make sure you have a few good pictures that clearly potray your appearance.  Try to keep everything in your profile positive and relaxed.  The host needs to know that they can trust you and comfortably spend time with you.

Have Good References
After you have a little experience with CouchSurfing, you can give and receive references with people you have hosted or stayed with on the site.  When you have a lot of references, potential hosts have more evidence that they can trust you, so it is always helpful.  It is considered good form to leave a reference for everyone that you stay with.  You can get a location and identity verification from CouchSurfing.org if you pay a small fee with your credit card.  Many people do this, but I personally think it's just the website trying to skim a little money off you.  However, it may be worth it if you have the money.


Find Good Hosts
There are lots of potential hosts to choose from.  You can really stay with any kind of person you can think of.  I like to start my search by sorting the hosts in the city in order of experience.  When you are first starting out, it may be helpful to stay with someone who has spent a lot of time in the CouchSurfing community.  They understand best how to break the ice, and they can teach you all the unwritten rules and traditions of couchsurfing better than I can.  On the other hand, sometimes experienced hosts can be more busy.  Everyone wants to stay with the guy who has hosted 2,000 people, so he may be less likely to have an available accommodation.  Try to send requests to some hosts who are moderately experienced as well.

Timing
Contrary to what I believed when I started CouchSurfing, earlier is not always better.  Most CouchSurfing hosts are spontaneous people, and they may not always know what their plans will be in 3-4 weeks.  The best time to look for a host is anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 days before your departure.  If you send requests more than 2 weeks early, you will not have as much success.  If you are a procrastinator like me, and find yourself without a host less than 1 or 2 days before departure, look for an Emergency Couch group for the city you are visiting..  With luck, you can find a host on these groups even as late as hours before your arrival.

Messages
Make sure you write a personal message to each host you request a couch from.  You should read their entire profile before you send the message, and make sure to refer to things in their profile that you find interesting.  Some hosts will actually include a word or phrase in their profile that they want you to include in your message to prove that you read the profile.  The message should be at least a few lines long, but don't feel like you have to write a novel.  One extremely important thing to do is the following: Make sure you provide as many details as you can about the time and location of your arrival, as well as your departure!  Hosts have a daily life to live, they can't usually wait around all day for you to arrive sometime between Monday and Tuesday.  Also, they are your best source for advice about how to get to their place.

Overall, if you are considerate and invest time into your search for a couch, you should have no problem finding one.  Always be open to advice about this; there is a very distinct culture in the CouchSurfing community, and it pays to learn the ropes.

CouchSurfing Good Form
Clean up after Yourself 
You'd think it would be obvious, but I have heard many hosts complain about surfers that leave a mess.  I try to live by the rule that I learned while camping as a Boy Scout: "If possible, leave it cleaner than you found it."  Little things like washing your own dishes and making your own bed are very important ways to show your respect for your host.

Bring a Small Gift
It is considered polite to bring a small gift for your host when you go CouchSurfing.  The best gifts are gifts having to do with your home country, or with a hobby of yours.  It could even be some extra groceries to make up for the extra mouth to feed.

Spend Time with your Host:
For many members, the most important part of CouchSurfing is the connections that members form with each other.  People usually host CouchSurfers because they want to meet interesting people and show them their way of life.  Hosts mainly are less interested in the tourist attractions in the area, and more interested in showing you around the real local hangouts.  If a host wants to show you something in the city, your first reaction should always be Yes!

CouchSurfing Bad Form
"I'm CouchSurfing to Save Money"
Don't say this to hosts.  While you do save money when you CouchSurf, it is not simply a business transaction like booking a hotel.  You are forming a personal relationship with the person hosting you, and that requires an attitude of mutual exchange and benefit.   People in the CouchSurfing community heavily frown upon the attitude that the major benefit of CouchSurfing is the money you save.  Make sure you don't include statements in your profile or messages that imply this is your attitude.

Automated Couch Requests
Do not copy and paste the same request to every host.  Try to include at least something personal to everyone you contact.  You're asking these hosts to give you a lot of their time.  You can spare a bit of yours.

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All in all, CouchSurfing is a great experience for a lot of people, and everyone should give it a shot.  It's becoming more popular every day, especially among the study abroad crowd.  There is some voice of discontent on the website from hipsters who believe that the organization is selling out and becoming too mainstream, but despite their grumblings, it is still a vibrant and exciting community.  Just make sure you stay as safe as you can in the process, and always be aware of the situation you are in. Otherwise, embrace the unpredictability of it, and have fun!  

Tips for Traveling Part 2a: Hostels

When you travel, naturally you'll need a place to stay if you're going to be there overnight.  For us poor college students, conventional hotels are too expensive to even consider.  When traveling through Europe, you don't want to be stuck in some boring hotel room all by yourself anyways.  There are other options that are much more affordable, and offer a much better way to meet others and learn about the area.  In this article, I will focus on staying in hostels.

Before I get started, I'm going to restate something I said in my post about finding transportation.

*** Plan ahead!  You will waste hundreds of Euros if you wait until the last minute to book everything.  Make your reservations at least a week in advance!***

It's a bit pathetic that the only image many Americans have of hostels is from the movie Hostel.  Honestly, if you've seen that movie, you need to wipe it from your memory.  Some people are actually apprehensive about staying  in a hostel because of it.  This is ridiculous, and it's sad that some people are so afraid of the world that they will miss out on all these great experiences.

Hostels are like hotels, except instead of having a room to yourself, you will typically be sharing a dormitory with other travelers.  The best hostels are the ones that have their own interesting quirks.  Sometimes they have an interesting theme, or offer special amenities such as a bar on the first floor.  They are a great place to meet other people who are staying in town, and there is usually a lot of information there about things to do in the area.  Usually a large city will have dozens of hostels available, so make sure you browse all the options when you are choosing where to stay.

Our Hostel in Amsterdam

Hostels typically range from 10-30 Euros a night.  Again, make sure you book in advance because the prices are much higher when you book the day of.  For example, I paid 50 Euros a night when I stayed in Amsterdam because I booked it that day.  My friends, who were staying in the same hostel, paid only 20 Euros a night.  So frustrating! 

 If you're traveling with a group, you can usually make arrangements for everyone to be placed in the same room.  The rooms are typically coed, but they can sometimes be separated by gender.  Hostels usually offer breakfast in the morning, sometimes free, sometimes for a small extra charge.  Make sure you bring your own towel if the hostel dosen't rent out towels for the shower.

Pay attention to when you are allowed to check in.  Some hostels have a 24 hour desk at the front, so you can arrive whenever you want, but not all will do this.  Make sure you know when you need to check out on your last day.  They will not be shy about waking you up and getting you and your stuff out of the room. 

If you're traveling alone and you are staying in a hostel, don't be afraid to start up conversations with the other people there.  It takes a bit of a leap of faith to break the ice, but often the best part of your trip will be meeting other travelers in hostels.  They can be great travel buddies to go out and see the sights with, or they can offer great advice about what to see and what to avoid in the city.  They will always have an interesting story to share.

Here is a list of the hostels I have visited with a short review for each:
Jugendherberge Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany -- OK. Unfortunately there was construction when I arrived.  Nice cafeteria for breakfast.
Hostel des 2 Empereurs, Paris, France -- Good.  Great location, right up the street from the Louvre.  Staff are about as nice as Parisians can be.
Hostel Meetingpoint, Amsterdam, Netherlands -- Good.  Decent bar on the ground floor.  Great location, right in the heart of the city.
Hostel Elf, Prague, Czech Republic -- OK.  A bit outside of the city.  Interesting color scheme, and great staff.  They sell beer for less than a Euro!
Jugendherberge Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany -- OK.  We stayed here when we visited Heidelberg on my high school exchange.  A bit outside the city, but easily accessible.