The Revolution of Travel

Imagine having free accomodation on the holiday of your dreams; being shown around by a local who wants nothing more than the pleasure of your company; and experiencing first hand the intimate details of a culture far from your own. Know that this is not a fairy tale – this is Couch Surfing.

The New Year has arrived and we will soon bid a sombre farewell to a glorious holiday season, bracing ourselves for the months of hard labour which loom ahead. In times of depression caused by 8 hour work days and university assignments, I find comfort in reflecting on the past few months, as well as planning my next big adventure.

Having recently decided to travel the world, hoping for a life changing experiences, I did some research and became slightly despondent. Air fare, airport taxes, taxi fare, bus tickets, hotels, backpacker lodges, hostels, tour guides: the list of expenses is endless. How could I ever think of travelling the world on my meagre student budget?

And then I stumbled upon one of the best kept secrets in cyberspace: Couch Surfing.

The Couch Surfing organisation was established in 2003 by Casey Fenton and three of his friends, Daniel Hoffer, Sebastien LeTuan and Leonardo Silveira. While travelling through Iceland, Fenton e-mailed over a thousand people to enquire about free sleeping space in their homes. Fenton explains that he received countless positive responses and resultantly experienced one of the most fulfilling travels abroad.  It was from this experience that the Couch Surfing idea was born.

Essentially, Couch Surfing is an international network of people who love to learn and travel without the budget to do so. Many Couch Surfers explain that Couch Surfing is about more than  finding free accommodation, but sharing cultures and celebrating the goodness of humanity as well. The very fact that no money is exchanged is a deliberate attempt at reaching as many people as possible, throughout the globe, to create the rich and positive encounters.

The official Couch Surfing mission is to “create inspiring experiences”. This mission is shared by most in the Couch Surfing network, whose opinions are aired through testimonials on the site. One such Surfer is 22 year old Alex Sit from Australia who states:

“In the day and age of mass commercialism and at times public distrust, I’m glad to know there is a site on the internet where you can find people from all around the globe with similar interests who are looking to meet people for nothing more than meeting new friends.”

Once registered, you can choose to host (make your home available to travellers), Surf (travel and sleep on international couches) or engage in both. If you are not in a position to open your home, you can still participate in the Couch Surfing experience by choosing the “coffee or drink” option i.e. meeting up with travellers to show them what your city has to offer.

It is perfectly normal that you may be sceptical about this initiative – admittedly it does seem too good to be true. We live in a world where one needs to be vigilant about every place that one visits and with whom one stays. The administrators have taken the safety of travellers seriously, establishing a verification system which ensures that the hosts are in fact who they claim to be. Coupled with this verification system is the only real currency exchanged through Couch Surfing – references. Surfers leave positive or negative references which are visible on their profiles for the public to see and decide whether they are in fact worthy of contacting. Ultimately, however your safety is your own responsibility and you simply need to be as careful as possible.

From personal experience there are a few hurdles that need to be taken into account when embarking on this adventure. Firstly, as a result of the large nature of the network (over 1 million Surfers) it may be difficult at first to connect with anyone. It is thus advised that one joins the myriad of interest groups on the site. These groups serve to further connect people with similar interests. From political views to age groups and even to eating preferences, the groups allow for communal conversations and private messages. Secondly, in order to get fully verified, one must own a credit card. Unfortunate as this is, it seems to be the only way at present that the administrators can check the identity of surfers. Do not despair, verification is not essential and the administrators are currently working on other ways in which to make this service more accessible.

If you are working with a tight budget but would still like to travel, Couch Surfing is definitely a very appealing option. Open hearted people living in wonderful places celebrating the human spirit – what more could we want.

To find out more about Couch Surfing, visit http://www.couchsurfing.org