RaiderInBlue47

https://www.couchsurfing.org/

Just curious, anyone ever used couch surfing for touring? I just thought about it. If you're comfortable with sleeping in a stranger's house but don't want to camp, then you can save a LOT of money this way. I actually might use it to get to the start site of my next tour a night early.

thirdgenbird

my girlfriend wanted to use couch surfing for a trip but it worried me. (22, nice body, traveling alone)


while i personally have not used this site, i have stayed in strangers homes on a week long ride (RAGBRAI)

safariofthemind

Common sense applies here. No different than hitch hiking IMO.

provisional

I'm also looking into this. I know people who've done it before and had positive experiences. Though I've yet to do it myself, I'm surprised it isn't more commonplace.

johnr783

I used it while on tour this summer. I met some great people and had a lot of fun. It is also a great way to find things to do while in the town.

Compared to spending the night at a campsite alone or stealth camping alone? There are a lot of couples on couchsurfing and warmshowers as well as just women. Plus Couchsurfing has a referral system that can be used to decided whether you feel comfortable staying with/letting a person stay with you.

Another thing to consider is most of the people on CS and WS are fellow travelers or people that want to travel so it is a lot like finding kindred spirits There is a lot of respect among each other.

It is definitely something you should consider doing. Even if you dont stay there, maybe meet up with the person for lunch or dinner so you can get a "locals" point of view.

raybo

I have used couchsurfing.org on virtually every bike tour I've done in the past 4 years. I been hosted all over the US (both west and east), France and Switzerland. Since I ride solo, meeting people willing to host me is one the best things about bike touring, for me.

While I'm an old guy, I've never been in a situation where I felt threatened or unsafe. I have met people who where not my type, where the conversation lagged, or weren't interesting to me. In such cases, I simply say I'm tired and go to sleep early. In almost every case, I'm also fed dinner.

On every tour, I've met wonderful people who I consider friends, invite to my house, and hope to see again.

I find it kind of funny that bike tourists would worry about the safety of someone inviting them to spend the night when many people worry about bike tourists being axe murderers.

In September, 2010, I rode through New England and was hosted a dozen times. Here is what I wrote about one such encounter:


Jim and Melissa live in an 1880s house that has seen better days. When I arrived, Melissa was making pesto sauce while we made small talk. After about an hour, Jim told me they were going to a neighborhood potluck and that I should come, as well. I took a quick shower, changed clothes and we walked about half a mile over to someone's backyard.

There were several tables laden with lots of food and we walked into the backyard. After about 10 minutes, we all got in a big circle and the host started to talk.

Chuck (the host) said that it had been a while since they'd had a neighborhood party and it was about time for them to meet one another again. We went around the circle with people telling their names, addresses, and how long they'd been in the area. About 1/3 of the people were new, having purchased a place in the past year or two.

Needless to say, I was a bit of an outlier. In addition to bike touring and couchsurfing, I mentioned that I was a docent at Alcatraz. These facts would be the basis for most of the conversations that got started. Melissa's pesto was great, as were someone's chocolate chip cookies.

I talked with Claire, an out of work ex-bond analyst who was wondering where to go from here and a bit shocked at her new living arrangements, saying that she now owned a car and wasn't living in an apartment (and who left when I mentioned I was married!), George who was born and raised in Great Barrington and a font of local history (and opinion), Chuck, the host, who was a retired school teacher and curious about my travels, as well as other interrupted conversations. I spent several hours, smiling, and eating. It was great fun and a real trip highlight.


It sure beat spending the night in a campground!

Ray

staehpj1

Warmshowers.com is similar but cycling specific. I have been both host and guest via them and it was a positive experience either way. Sometimes even when I/we didn't stay with a host they were able to provide local info or other assistance. That said I consider it a once in a while thing since my tours are likely to avoid larger towns and in a town with a population of under 100 the chance that there is a warmshowers or couchsurfing host are pretty small.

Caretaker

It's Warmshowers.org


https://www.warmshowers.org/

skilsaw

Raybo said "I find it kind of funny that bike tourists would worry about the safety of someone inviting them to spend the night when many people worry about bike tourists being axe murderers."


You can couch surf in the concrete bomb shelter built in my basement during the cold war.
I'll show you my collection of whips, hand cuffs, and ropes. Bring your axe.

fietslogies

Also interesting to know is that there are several hospitality networks in Europe and Japan which cover only one or a few countries. On the contrary with CS and WS, they don't publish the personal information of their members on the web and choose for a brochure or a booklet with all the contact information. That can be practical too, as while cycling it's not always that normal to find internet access.

France: Cyclo-accueil-cyclo (500 hosts in France, 200 out of France): https://www.cci.asso.fr/cac/ (Site in French only)

Germany: Dachgeber (2940 hosts): https://www.dachgeber.de/ (Site in German only)

Switzerland: Velodach: https://www.velodach.ch/fr/index.htm (Site in French and German only)

Austria: Argus: https://www.argus.or.at/info/dachgeber.shtml (Site in German only)

Italy: Ospitabi (50 hosts): https://www.fiab-onlus.it/ospitabi.htm (Site in Italian only)

Japan: Japan Cycling Navigator (18 hosts): https://www.japancycling.org/v2/db/he...=-Home%20Stay- (Site in English and Japanese)

Netherlands and Belgium: Vrienden op de Fiets (3500 hosts + 400 in other countries, mainly France and Germany): https://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/ (Site in Dutch, English and German) Main difference with the other hospitality formulas is that they are allowed to charge an amount to cover the costs of your stay. Their rooms contain always a bed with sheets and towels and breakfast is included.

The Smokester

..It's Halloween...And his name is skilsaw...

spinnaker

I have used couchsurfing.org on many of my tours. Most of the people I have meet are very nice. There were one that had I known ahead of time what I was in for, I would have made other arrangements but it still made for a interesting stay. I guess it is all about attitude.

I do prefer to use warmshowers when traveling in the States. Many stateside couchsurfers seem to be a different breed. Not bad people, just not my type of people. Also stateside couchsurfers seem to be in the younger set.

Warmshowers is not as popular in Europe. But then again, European couchsurfers seem to be a bit different then their stateside counterparts. They also tend to have more older members in Europe.

One thing you need to understand about couchsurfing. It is not an organization to arrange places to sleep for the night. It is a place to meet and share with one another. If you don't like talking to to others while on tour then it is not for you. To me , this is one of the best parts of being on tour. Especially when you travel to a foreign country.