Couchsurfing...

Sandra,

It's difficult for me to comment on that, as my perspective is somewhat different (older white male). However, it's not something I would ever do, and I'd be extremely uneasy if I had a 21-year-old female relative that was going to use Couchsurfing.

Some people seem to be happy with this method of travel, but so far I haven't seen any favourable reports on it.

Hopefully someone here can offer some first-hand experiences and advice.

Good luck and happy travels!

Hi Sandra,

I personally do not have experience with this. But a young fellow that I know just did this recently. I think it was a matter of luck on his part though. The "couch" that was set up was initiated by a 15 year old kid without the knowledge of the parents. When the parents came home, there was the young fellow. The parents were professional people and just took it in stride and let him stay, so it worked out alright.
Having said that, I agree with Ken, I sure would not be comfortable if my daughter were to want to couch surf. Even as a guy it could be risky, but naturally not as much as for a young woman.

I am involved in this CS thing in some ways, but I only surfed one time in Milan.
Europeans are less likely to commit a violent crime. So far I haven't heard of any one, but I heard of some other problems like stealing or asking for sex.
If you do a google search for "couch surfing sex" you can read some interesting thoughts.
I don't find the side dangerous at all, but you have to be careful anyway. You can read other's review and have an idea about the host, try to talk to him/her many times before you go there. Another thing is to ahve a backup in case soemthing happens.
About sex, this will be up to you of course.
I was contacted by many guys from CS asking me if I want them to host me , even if I wasn't looking for a host. Onve I posted message saying that I was going to go to Rome, but didn't ask anyone to host me. A guy asked me if the picture I had in my profile was recent. I asked him why he needed to know that and he said that when he met in Rome with some other girl she was about 20 lbs heavier than in the picture she had in her profile. This tells you a lot about what this guy was looking for. Hosting travelers shouldn't have anything to do with their weight, unless it's about sex.
Another problem I have with staying at other's place is that I might not be able to go back and relax during the day, if the host is not home. Many people don't give you their house key ( I wouldn't either),so you might get stuck outside until late night. The guy who hosted me last year in MIlan was super nice and he gave me his condo key. Well, I talked to him many time prior going to Milan.
The good parts of CS are that you stay for free and you meet new people.

I have never couchsurfed before but am familiar with the idea and did think about it. The conclusion I came to is that I would not be willing to expose myself to the risk associated with it. That said I would certainly consider it from a social aspect of meeting someone to show you around town. But I would be very hesitant to put myself in a vulnerable position.

Probably not the right forum to find out about Couchsurfing...too many old folks. Try the Thorntree, the Lonely Planet discussion board (www.lonelyplanet.com) "Rough Guides" or "Lets Go" I believe both have discussion forums as well, probably more travelers there that have used the service.

Yes, I am old (55), but I also have a brain. Please do not subject yourself to this kind of risk. I'm sure you could have a positive experience, but you could also have a bad one. Why would you take the chance.

Sandra I think the idea is great, but, not for a SOLO women traveller. You will likely not have a problem, BUT, if you do ,, do you want to end up walking out the door at 2 am on your own because mr.frisky decides he wants to share your couch??

Do it with a friend, maybe, on your own, no.

?Read this old New York Times article:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E6DE1230F93AA35754C0A9609C8B63&
sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all.

Here is one paragraph:“One of the oldest services, Servas (www.servas.org), has been around for nearly 60 years and has more of a high-minded mission -- fostering peace through cultural understanding -- while the Internet has given rise to newer groups like GlobalFreeloaders (globalfreeloaders.com) and
HospitalityClub (www.hospitalityclub.org), which tend to attract more budget-minded travelers."

Another site with a big following among backpackers, CouchSurfing.com, shut down in late June after suffering a major computer crash. It is now back online.

With the exception of Servas, most of these organizations work the same way: you can sign up
for free, filling out a profile that describes what you have to offer.”

For additional hosting organizations try these: http://hospex.org, http://we-friends.com,
http://stay4free.com, http://place2stay.net,

My wife and I have belonged to Servas , Global Freeloaders, Hospitality Experience and Couch
Surfing over the years.

Servas is the ONLY ORGANIZATION which screens members with an in-person interview.

Membership requires a donation of at least $40. This means that in order to be profitable, you
should reserve at least 4 or 5 nights with members, who agree to host you for 2 nights free, show
you around and feed you.

In our travels we have stayed with about 30 families and have hosted about 20. We have never had a negative experience.

As a woman traveling alone, I would telephone a host to ask what the conditions are. I suggest staying with a family, but NOT with a single male.

Wow...thanks for the responses, guys. Lots of info...thank you!!!

www.hospitalityclub.org

This is a great travel/networking club for people wanting places to stay while abroad. It may be a couch or a guest room. Some people even state they will show you around, get you from the airport, cook a traditional meal, etc. It is worldwide.
I joined it and had already gotten an offer a day later (though it was in a too far away area). You can read references from other people who stayed with the sponsers.

I Googled that, Bea. It's ummm...interesting.

I wouldn't do it- even if I was single and without kids.

Tami,

HC and CS are built on the same concept.

Don't be silly! Couch surfing is great. I am a 24 year old female and tons of my friends have used it!! I haven't surfed in Europe yet (I am doing my WHOLE 6 week trip by couchsurfing this summeR!) but I have had some people stay on my couch. Check their references- don't stay with anyone without references- but if their feedback is strong it will be fine =) have fun traveling!!

Totally recommend it!
Fellow solo female traveler here.
I have been on CS for a few years. Never actually couchsurfed but have used the site to meet up with people for drinks/dinner/siteseeing and have had GREAT experiences. Everyone I met has been super cool. Met guys and girls in Italy, France, Portugal and Netherlands. Based on these experiences, I definitely would use the site to actually couchsurf now b/c everyone I met seemed really cool and I would have been comfortable staying with any of them.
I suggest only staying with people that have multiple positive references on their page. I actually like to check the page of the person that LEFT them the reference too b/c if that person is super active on CS with lots of positive references of their own, that is a good sign.
If there is concern with the whole "guy just on site looking for sex" thing, then find another female on CS to stay with.
I definitely plan to use this site in the future and will be couchsurfing on my summer trip to Ireland and Italy.

I have found couchsurfing to be a great site. If I were you I would stay with families or older females, at least until you get comfortable with the site. You can also meet just for coffee or conversation.I am a single female travelor in my fifties and I enjoy the home groups and and the couchsurfing. The people I have hosted have been so interesting and trustworthy, and they had traveled extensively using the site in Western and Eastern Euurope.
It is a better site than HC because it's safety rests on the references given. You just have to be smart and pick the people you would enjoy and trust if you were at home. Don't use anyone that hasn't completed their profile or has no references. Hopefully, you can tell by reading between the lines what the person or family is like.I can't really explain the safety issue well, you will have to check out the site. You can always email through the site to others, so if you want to check on a reference you can.
The members all travel on a budget and want to get to know the people in the places they are visiting and they want to see as much of the world as they can. It is a site for all ages (70% are under thirty but they have a million surfers). They have forums (even a forum for 50+ travelers) just like this site. I plan to couchsurf in September in Italy and Spain and also use hostels and BBs.