Couchsurfing

A backpacker’s guide for how to find a cheap place to stay, wherever in the world you’re traveling and whatever your budget.

Whether you’re looking to save money or you arrived too late to check into a hotel, below are 5 spots where you can sleep for free in Europe.

I had a local connection, a place to sleep for 4 nights, and an extra $160+ in my pocket.

People participate in Couchsurfing groups because they like sharing their knowledge and helping. Learn more about this useful feature.

The Pan American Collective was a week of events, ranging from parties to sightseeing.

Under no circumstances do you Couchsurf without doing your research.

You can simply meet for “coffee or a drink” and you do not even have to offer your couch!

People mistake this awesome travel community for simply free accommodation…

Post by new contributor Lindsay Clark of Nomadderwhere. The first mission of the day was to make it to the city, as the locals do, wandering up weaving lames and …

…my drive from the airport got me closer to the real Uganda…

Dave arrives in Barranquilla for Carnaval and has to figure out whether to couchsurf or stay at Hotel Olimpico.

I met Milena from Couchsurfing at the Juan Valdez Cafe in Parque Lleras. We walked across the street to Thaico for dinner and drinks. Like many of the restaurants in …

Couchsurfing in Medellin often means meeting people socially, versus staying with them as most Colombians live with their families until marriage. I arranged to meet Jesusa from Couchsurfing downtown one …

I arrived in Madrid after a tiring 8 hour bus ride. We stopped every 2 hours for toilets and food though. Snow covered the ground 2 hours outside Madrid. I …

At the Cairo airport, I learned Jetairways was a Belgian discount airline. The 737 was fully booked with Europeans returning home for the holidays. I was completely surrounded by children …

My last day in Aswan was all about killing time until the night train back to Cairo. Normally I could occupy myself for hours on end with a solid internet …

    I met Christel on the flight from Doha to Jo’burg. I had the window seat and she sat to my right. Once I confirmed she was from South …

A benefit of spending so much time in Asia was the affordable accommodations. Single rooms with baths were the norm, and even if there were scorpions crawling around some of …

  During the first part of the flight to Singapore, there was frequent turbulence and flashes of lightning through the clouds. Initially, I was engrossed in a conversation with the …

Bonnie was new to couchsurfing, and I was her third guest.  She worked in Sydney, and lived with Tom and Eliza in Newtown, a very close suburb to downtown Sydney.  …