Couchsurfing

funkey_monkey

Has anyone on here ever used Couchsurfing whilst travelling - www.couchsurfing.org?

As someone who travels alone I usually find it difficult to mingle with people during the evening. I would be interested in this and would like to hear some feedback from people before I look into it more.

Note: I will be travelling in South America if that is of any consequence to this thread...

Kevin joyce

In general its good, but i would say that you wouldnt want to be depending on it because a person who would agree to host you might pull out at the eleventh hour.

spurious

I was a host for a number of years. I never had any problem with the people that stayed with me.

If you are really just looking for companions rather than accommodation, some members who cannot physically host you to stay will meet you for a drink or a coffee to help you get acquainted with a town/city. Make sure you've contacted any hosts well in advance.

funkey_monkey

Thanks - I'm really only looking for people to meet up with at the minute. Looking to travel in South America so it would help fill out the idle evengings when I have no activities planned.

undo

As an active CouchSurfer, I have had lots of great experiences on both sides - hosting and surfing. I also happen to have met my girlfriend through CouchSurfing but that is just a lucky coincidence. I have traveled around Europe and met many interesting places. My girlfriend's sister is just back from a trip to Japan where she surfed and met many locals that way. Another friend of mine is in the US, staying with locals there. CouchSurfing works great all over the world. You get free accommodation but most of all, you get to know many locals. You should definitely go for it.

patbuz

Definitely am a fan of connecting with locals when I travel - especially when I travel alone! An easy and safe way to connect with locals is a site called Tripping. If you're going to say Buenos Aires, you can use Tripping to find a local host who will take you to their favorite restaurant and introduce you to their friends for an evening out. It's a great way to meet up with cool locals for a fun evening. I would totally recommend you check it out for your upcoming trip! Have fun!

dory

I've hosted a few people here in Kosovo. To be honest, staying with someone else on my holiday is absolutely not for me, hence why I've not stayed with anyone yet. But I am meeting up with people in Mumbai later this year. It's the easiest way to get to know people.

I know lots of people have used it to get contacts where I am now. People come here to do research and that is a fast track way to get friends and to find out who you should be interviewing. Others use it for language learning/hooking up etc.

In general, highly recommend it!

Clareboy

You should watch O Tholog go Tolg on TG4, which is about 2 girls who are travelling around Europe and staying with Couchsurfing hosts in the different countries.

Adrian4

Is it possible to coachsurf within Ireland?