Internet and communities, the birth of alternative ways of traveling

We already knew that Internet was a great way to save money when planning a trip and while traveling. There is plenty of information about destination (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/) that might save you the purchases of a guidebook, special offers that permit you to get great discount on accommodation or transportation (http://www.lastminute.com/) or even forum that give tips on how to “travel on a shoestring”.

But Internet also helped the development of “free” travel, thanks to websites such as:

http://www.homeexchange.com/ that put in touch people that want to swap their house with another household and to go and spend some times in a new destination.

“Home Exchange is the vacation alternative where you stay in my house and I stay in yours”

Or http://www.wwoof.org/ that bring together farmers that need help on their land and travelers that are expecting free accommodation and a share of knowledge on farming.

“WWOOF organizations link people who want to volunteer on organic farms or smallholdings with people who are looking for volunteer help”

There are many websites of this type, but this month we wanted to focus on a particular organization that has been offering a platform for people to stay with local inhabitants for free while traveling. This project has been created in 2004 under the name of couchsurfing. It is the “largest hospitality exchange network” in the world and works thanks to optional donations from its members with a non-profit organization status.

The principle is quite simple each member has a personal profile that could be compared to a facebook profile where you can find information on the kind of housing he proposes (you can be on the network even if you are not able to host anyone), places he has been traveling to, his philosophy…

You will search within the website by destination in order to find a potential host and simply send him a message.

One of the great characteristic of this website is that it operates like a real community and allows you to join groups, post tips or questions, organize/participate to gatherings, and create a network with the members you’ve met by leaving positive/negative references that provide the website a certain safety.

With over 1 million members in more than 69,000 cities couchsurfing is a great proof of solidarity between travelers from all over the world and give hopes in a world where mutual help between people is often missing.

I have , personally, being using it for a few years and consider it as a great option for alternative and cheap travel, a nice way to travel while staying at home with hosting people from all around the globe, but above all a good opportunity to learn about other cultures and destinations. Just last week two Taiwanese “surfers”, brought me to the Taiwan night of the Midem and it gave me the chance to discover all the great music of this country that I’ve never heard about before!

So go visit the website at http://www.couchsurfing.org/ and maybe register too!