Forget hostels, stay for free

by **naturegirl** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:42 pm

Just ran across this website. Looks great www.couchsurfing.com

by **curlyguy18** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:46 pm

hey that looks pretty cool. Staying at someone's place when travelling saves you quite some money. You just have to be careful who you're gonna allow into your home and/or really get to know the person you'll be staying with.

by **Alan** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:54 am

naturegirl wrote:Just ran across this website. Looks great www.couchsurfing.com

My wife subscribed us to this, as well as to another similar program www.hospitalityclub.com

Overall, our experiences have been very, very positive, and we have met some great people from all over the world. The visitors are usually very interested in learning about Peru, and our reality living here. As a host, you put the limits on how long you want people to stay; we specify 3 nights, but have extended this a couple of times. We have had people from Germany, the US, Argentina, Columbia, France, and probably a few other places. We have never had a problem with messy guests, or theft. On one occasion we had somebody we just plain did not get along with, but that was the exception, not the rule. My wife just loves showing off Peruvian cuisine, and in return, we have had some very nice meals cooked for us, too.

It has been great for our kids to meet so many travelers. We still get letters from some of them, and have standing invitations to stay with many of them if we ever make it to their cities.

The systems work on the principal of constant evaluations, so bad apples get filtered out very quickly. If you are not comfortable with the idea, or simply don`t have space, to invite guests to stay in your home, many "couch surfers" are happy just to go for coffee or a tour of the city.

Wonderful programs!!

Alan

by **rgamarra** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:39 pm

I was pondering what to blog about today, thanks for the idea and material.

Here's the article:

http://rachelinperu.wordpress.com/2008/ ... eap-sleep/

by **naturegirl** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:09 pm

There's also house swap for people with houses. Rachel, don't forget to credit Alan for the great idea for yuour post

by **rgamarra** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:10 pm

I'll put a link to the thread.

by **mammalu** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:11 pm

Great Post, Rachel! I enjoy your blog very much.

by **americorps** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 12:40 am

Alan's link does not work

by **rgamarra** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:06 am

Americorps wrote:Alan's link does not work

It's dot org not dot com.

Forget hostels, stay for free

Forget hostels, stay for free

Re: Forget hostels, stay for free