Budget and free accommodation

I want to share with people who are traveling on a budget some things that I have done which have enabled me to travel for a lot longer and have more holidays.

This whole traveling thing began 20 years ago when I organized accommodation through house swaps for holidays. With my family we had many exchanges in many different countries - all really memorable.

Later when the children had grown up and left home- I started to look again for budget and free accommodation - this was 2006. I found a couple of sites and the biggest of them being Couchsurfing. It now has over 2.5 million members and is going strong.

Some people worry if it safe to stay with strangers, but I have never had a problem, but you need to do your homework and check out references. Don't presume everyone is nice.
Is couchsurfing safe?

We traveled for six months around Europe visiting 13 countries and had over 100 nights of free accommodation. However this whole idea is not just about free accommodation - the people we met, the friendships we created and the experiences we had with the local communities was so much more valuable than staying in a hotel, backpackers or apartment.

I highly recommend you look at some of these sites and talk to people who've done it. It will change you view on the world.

Ruth
http://www.free-accommodation-for-world-travel.com/index.html

Hi Ruth

Do you also offer accommodation in your home?

I have heard that if you don't do this first,you will find it very difficult to be accepted by other people when you want to stay in their place.......

We do offer accommodation in our home.

If you join a house swap organisation yes you would swap your home. However you might choose to host people if the place they are offering is not where you’re looking to go. We have hosted people several times which can be just as much fun. We have also been hosted by people because of the same reason.

Through contacting people to house swap opportunities have come up to house sit as the people have been going away and their house has been empty. We house sat in Tuscany for 10 days through this process. It’s what you and the other person agree.

With Couchsurfing you don’t have to have a bed or couch to offer, although most people do. You can offer to meet people and show them your city or area.

We host many Couchsurfers but when they make a request I always check their profile is filled in and complete so we can get an idea of what the person is like. I also cross check their references. We have had some fabulous people stay from all over the world, some for one night and others for five nights. Again it’s what you agree to. If you look on the coushsurfing website it explains all this.

We have also stayed with many Couchsurfers of all ages, when we stay with them we take a gift and if we’re there for more than one night we offer to cook for them. We now have global friends that are welcome to visit us as well as us visiting them. It’s good for everyone, backpackers, families, couples and older people.

The possibilities are endless
Ruth
http://www.free-accommodation-for-world-travel.com/index.html

I've used Couchsurfing and stayed in the homes of 2 different people, and as I don't have a house of my own couldn't repay the favour. It's quite amazing how people can be so altruistic, friendly, caring and the experiences for me were fascinating. They were totally unexpected from their profiles, and they were both so different from each other - it's definitely something I would recommend, just make sure you get to know the person you are staying with lol