A little note on Couch Surfing

Now I did say that I knew of cheap ways to travel, I didn't say they were 100% safe...but what would be the fun in that? One of the best ways to really get to know a place is couchsurfing. For those of you who don't know what couchsurfing is: It's an online tool used to locate other couchsurfers in almost all major cities around the world. Basically they offer up their couch to let you sleep on while you visit, for absolutely free! The website is relatively safe, and you can see how often people respond to surfing requests, what they are all about, how they ranked with other couch surfers, so on and so forth.

I heard that in one city in europe their is a couchsurfing ISLAND. I also heard that there is a place to couch surf in a TREEHOUSE. But most of them are just regular couches. If you don't feel comfortable staying the night but are looking for some company, many couchsurfers are registered just to meet for a cup of coffee, or are willing to give you a tour of the town.

Okay so I have couchsurfed twice (officially). On my way down to volunteer in New Orleans I stayed with a woman in Memphis. She completely trusted us to let ourselves in while she was out with her friends, and sleep on her couch. The next day she took us out to lunch at the Deli (not your ordinary Deli, the deli has award winning fries). Now she lives in Chicago, so I would love to surf with her there!

The other person I quickly became friends with even though we only spent so little time together. He showed me the side of New Orleans that most tourists don't see, and I still keep in touch with him just from that one night. A really mellow, cool cat.

To find out more go to www.couchsufing.com and join the network :D

One thing to be aware of however, is that the locations of the houses are not always central, so you will want to find this out before you choose who you want to surf with. I live in Duluth, not a big city by any means. In Duluth alone there are 140 couchsurfers.

This is my absolute FAVORITE way to travel.