How I did it: I was signed up on CouchSurfing for years before I finally took the plunge! Now I have stayed with different people all over Europe. I even took part in some meetups, met lots of people in the places I was staying, foreigners and locals. Everyone is different but always open-minded and friendly... sooooo worth it :) Most will try and take the time to show you around their cities, or at least sit down with you to enjoy a meal. Everyone I met on my travels was unique and fun.

Lessons & tips: When you are searching, go into the advance search options. Look at MOST RECENT ACCOUNTS, these people are more gung-ho about the program and will probably check their accounts more. Also click on "definitely or yes". When I first started I searched for females or couples only to be more secure.

And some of the cities I went to, I had to send out 20 requests to receive one positive reply. It's a lot of work to go through EACH profile and send an individual request, but it's SO WORTH IT :)

Resources: The help page on CS, and group pages for the cities you will be staying at for long periods of time :)

Aug 07, 10:02AM PDT | 0 comments | 8 cheers