About the author

Tim Moss

Tim Moss has supported over 100 expeditions across all seven continents. He has climbed new mountains, crossed a desert on foot and recently cycled 13,000 miles around the world. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society London and a Guinness World Record Holder. He aims to encourage more people to live adventurously. Read more...

4 Comments

  1. 1

    Tom Allen

    Nice one for bringing it to light. I’ve Couchsurfed with close to a hundred people now. It’s a great point of entry into urban society, if you travel in order to make friends and meet people – cities can otherwise be rather anonymous places. Several times I’ve begun with a single CS host and stayed in a city for several weeks by being passed between mutual friends thereafter. Like you, I’ve also found members in the most far-flung places of all (often foreigners themselves, often involved in volunteering in the place in question, and often very well embedded in that society).

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  2. 2

    Nadine

    I love the idea of CS and it was very useful for my cycle trip around Spain – not only did I make good friends all over the place, but got more personal insights into the culture, becoming part of their families (sharing their traditions). It’s a good way of getting to know a country on a deeper level, when only passing through.

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  3. 3

    Anna

    For me, CS is mostly usefull to meet like-minded people than find a nights stay somewhere. But I think the beauty of it is that anyone can use it for his or her own needs, from findng a “partner” to finding a bicycle to buy and always under the hippyis umbrella of an online travel-lovin community.

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  4. 4

    Kevin Post

    I’ve hosted hundreds of people via CS and Hospitality club but I like CS significantly more for too many reasons I can name in this comment. Everywhere I have ever traveled (with few very remote exceptions) I have been able to find a place to sleep and share experiences with my hosts. I have met some of my greatest friends through the site and indirectly met my wife through Couchsurfing. If you couldn’t already tell t’s an incredible tool.

    I do want to add that there needs to be more of a balance to Couchsurfing. Too many people write articles on their blogs regarding the benefits of traveling with Couchsurfing but forget to mention how amazing it is to host travelers as well. Many people sign up expecting to receive free accommodation without giving back to the community. I highly recommend that before people take off for there adventures that they take the time to host. Just a thought. For example, I am learning Turkish and although I’m not in Turkey I can still host Turks in order to meet great people and practice my target language. While I’m stuck at home working two jobs it’s a great way to feel as if I am traveling in my own town.

    Thanks for the article Tim.

    Reply

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© 2015 - Tim Moss - The Next Challenge

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