Travelling Europe on a budget

I was very reluctant to suggest Couchsurfing as he wants to save money and that is not the point of Couchsurfing (but a happy side effect).

If you main motivation to couchsurf is to save money then please do not join. It is a cultural exchange and you are expected to give something back to your hosts. Be it a gift, cooking a meal, taking out for dinner. Helping with the housework (many different ways not always involving a monetary value). As Couchsurfing has got more well known, more people who just want to save money have joined the site and mooching of hosts. As a result I have seen a lot of generous and experienced hosts leave site in the last 18 months as they are sick and tired of being taken advantage of. Please to not contribute to degeneration of this site.

Having said that it is a great way to meet locals and really get a feel and insider look at the country/city/town you are staying in.

@#7, I agree with your point. The only reason I bought that up is because of the seemingly important budget.

#10. I disagree somewhat. The main point is cultural exchange yes, and it should not be used as a free bed.. i.e. as a host I would expect to spend time with the surfer. But that being said, I think a large part of it is to enable poor people to travel the world. I think that is a wonderful concept. I used to live in one of the more expensive cities in Europe. I hosted around 25 couchsurfers there. Many of them were very poor, and there is no way they would have been able to travel if it weren't for couchsurfing. I would NOT allow couchsurfers to take me out and pay for my dinner. When they come to my city, they are MY guests and I treat THEM. Similarly, I have used couchsurfing (and surfed with strangers outside of CS) in at least 30 countries and it is rare that they expect anything other than a cultural exchange and having a good time out of me. I think hosting people yourself and being generous with those is the best way to "give back". Reading someone's profile before hosting/surfing is also a good way to prevent being taken advantage of.

I always steer away from any suggestion that because a place is cheaper someone should go there

That is your opinion. Many people opine differently. Especially in the "shoestring" branch.

That's where we disagree mate Max. I let Couchsurfers buy me dinner, cook me dinner or buy me beer or give a gift just like I do when when I surf. I also will cook for surfers sometimes, but I stipulate they have to be self sufficient with there food.

I am happy to drive my couchsurfers around and show them the sights. Take them out to spot wildlife (koala's wallabies etc in our nearby bushland). But I am not happy hosting free loaders.

It is not just for the poor, it is just that this is becoming the expectation.

Never had an issue with free loaders until the last 18 months, when there has seemed to have been a attitude shift and i am not the only one have have noticed.

Summarising, we basically have different opinions and we both respect each others views.

thanks for the point to couch surfing. I've been a member for a while and I love the concept.
I Definately think of it as a combinarion of a money saver and a cultural exchange. if its 30 quid for a local host however, is much rather spend the same amount cooking someone dinner and having a night out. I wouldn't expect somebody to pay for my food, that's a bit cheeky haha

as it turns out, ive got family friends in Kosovo, so ill probably be heading from Greece up through Bulgaria and into Kosovo that way, then hopefully get. a lift with said friends to the Albanian border after my time there. has anybody had experience hitch hiking in eastern Europe? is it advisable, dangerous, the same?

any answers greatly appreciated thanks x

oli

i remember the castle of chilio. frpm the Rupert Everett documentary. that will Definately be something to add to the list, thanks. Ive uaf aspirations of swimming the hellespont but i doubt thatl ever happen hsha

Unfortunately, there is a whole segment of backpackers who give 'backpackers' a bad name. It is for this reason that the word 'backpacker' is a derogatory term in many places. When an initially good idea like Couchsurfing comes along it starts to become known through word of mouth to a group of like minded people.

Take WWOOFing for example. Initially, it was intended to allow people from cities in the UK to go out to a farm for a weekend and learn about organic food. The original name was Weekend Workers On Organic Farms, thus WWOOF. The intent was for the worker to gain some insight/knowledge and hopefully when they returned to the city they would start buying orgainic farm produce which would be a benefit to the farmer.

But over time, WWOOF has changed dramatically. First, it has become a business that sells memberships. Second it is no longer only about organic farming, just about any kind of company can join WWOOF and look for part time labour in exchange for room and board. In other words, using the participant.

On the other side, many people now join only to get room and board for a few hours work and see themselves as getting more out of it than the farmer/business. In other words, they are using it for selfish reasons. So now both sides are trying to get the best of the other.

Obviously, not all participants are like this but it is inevitable given human nature that this is what will happen. Couchsurfing is no exception. From an initial idea of a cultural exchange where the traveller met and spent some time with a host, it has become something that is posted about here and elsewhere as a 'free bed' for a traveller. As a result, someone may show up at 6pm looking for a free meal, spend a couple of tours telling their host what a savvy and worldly traveller they are, go to bed and leave in the morning, but not before a free breakfast.

If you Google you will find information and people who believe anyone who says they don't Couchsurf primarily for a free bed but primarily for the cultural exchange are kidding themselves (to put it politely). You will also find that Couchsurfing as an organization has become controversial and its practices questionable indeed. Again, the money making motive comes into play. So you get questions about 'where does the donation money go' and various other allegations of impropriety.

As a result, someone may show up at 6pm looking for a free meal, spend a couple of tours telling their host what a savvy and worldly traveller they are, go to bed and leave in the morning, but not before a free breakfast.

The host then writes that in the review, and anyone that hosts that traveler in the future has themselves to blame for not reading through the reviews.

Olly, I've just understood what you mean by -
I'm not allowed to go anywhere i need an injection for 3 months after the clinical trial I'm doing
(I'd thought it meant you had to have an injection after 3 months.)

So - travelling always involves an element of risk, but the savvy traveller minimises that risk.
Bearing this in mind, I hope you're up to date with tetanus, hep a + b, polio vaccinations, etc. Otherwise, is there some way you can have the recommended vaccinations (the list above is not exhaustive) before this trial?

Just because something isn't compulsory doesn't mean it's not a sensible precaution.

Actually Max. Stuff being polite.

Complete C RAP that Couchsurfing is for the poor. If someone wants to stay with me just to save money they can get stuffed and I tell them so when i respond to their couch request. These so called poor are all from 1st world countries. They think they are "alternative " but wear the same uniform.

I have surfed thru South America, Middle East, Africa not Europe, but a dare say it is different to Europe and tight arrses are not tolerated where I surfed.

People do not host to feed and let someone sleep in their house to ignore them. Read the the Couchsurfing guidelines Max.