Best and Worst Couchsurfing Stories From Around the World [NSFW]
![Best and Worst Couchsurfing Stories From Around the World [NSFW]](https://charlieontravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CROP-Cheering-for-Brazil-World-Cup-Couchsurfing-2.jpg)
When you get that message through on Couchsurfing saying someone has agreed to host you, it’s always really exciting. You’re going to meet someone new, see the local side of a place, and have an awesome time – or are you?
I’ve heard a lot of tall tales about Couchsurfing from travellers on the road, and here are some of the best (and worst)…
Carnival Parties and a Crazy House
Jules and Christine from Don’t Forget to Move didn’t get much sleep when they were surfing.
Our best Couchsurfing experience definitely comes from our time in Veracruz, Mexico, during the carnival. Our host for the weekend was Carlos, a local Mexican guy who was offering up a big two-storey house to as many surfers as it would fit. Literally!
When we arrived at the house, it was already packed with at least 50 people from Mexico and all over the world, and the guests kept coming over the weekend! There was no furniture in the house, only one running tap and the toilets were clogged, but it didn’t matter. We found an empty spot on the floor, dumped our stuff and hit the beers! Over the next couple of days, we partied hard and barely noticed the hard tiled floor underneath us on the odd occasion we got some sleep.
Two Nights in Paris, Porn Stars and Pocket Pussys
Mat, a Kiwi traveller I met in Poland, had his two strangest Couchsurfing experiences back-to-back in Paris.
Day 1, Paris: I arrived in the evening after a long day of travel. The guy’s house was in the outer suburbs of Paris, about a half hour metro ride, and by the time I got there it was 10pm. His mother was staying with him; she seemed nice and had prepared a meal for us all. Me and the guy had a few beers and chatted about traveling and life experiences. After a while, his mum went to bed and we continued chatting and drinking…
He told me he was bisexual and started telling me stories about his sex life in great detail, and how getting tested is important – which was the only bearable thing in this whole time. But then he put on a porno featuring a famous French porn star and he asked me repeatedly if she was turning me on. I’m a pretty laid-back guy so just said, ‘nah, not now man,’ and continued sipping my beer. After that, he grabbed a role of paper towels, went over to the sofa and began to have a wank. He told me not be afraid, said that it was normal, and wanted me to join him.
It was a pretty weird situation, since it was now midnight and I was in a new city. I didn’t want to cause too much offence, just in case he kicked me out. I continued to drink my beer alone, watching the porno, not wanting to look at him. After a while, he went to bed and I slept on the couch (not the wanking couch). In the morning, I told him I was going to stay somewhere else and got in contact with another host who had offered me a place…
Day 2 in Paris: I moved from the above place to my next host who had a well located little apartment quite close to a lot of the main attractions in Paris. The guy’s profile had mentioned that his surfers get a double bed in a room to themselves, so I was very much looking forward to having a comfortable sleeping surface for once. I arrived to a cooked meal already prepared, followed by beers and a French history lesson.
This guy was really nice and provided great hospitality. The only thing here though was that my room was full of porn DVDs, pocket pussys, a sex doll, a laptop with the sole purpose of watching porn, lubricant, condoms, paper towels and complete instructions on how to use the material provided. I couldn’t help but feel during my stay there that there were some cameras up in the room and he was hoping to get some new material for some sort of home made sex tape. Although this seems really weird, the guy was a good host and we had some good chats. I ended up staying here 4 nights.
Looking for a cheap accommodation alternative to Couchsurfing? Check out Homestay.com where you can find lovely private guest rooms with local hosts.
Does Sexsurfing mean that Couchsurfing isn’t Safe for Solo Female Travellers?
Agness from eTramping shares her uncomfortable story of sexsurfing, the sleezy underbelly to Couchsurfing.
I’m extremely adventurous and am keen on meeting different people from around the world. I’m also a budget traveller, so Couchsurfing seemed to be one of the best accommodation options when backpacking Europe in winter 2012.
Unfortunately, my Couchsurfing experience was more like sexsurfing. After being hosted by male hosts who offered me sex for the hospitality, I am not sure if it is the best and safest option for solo female travellers. Long story short, I picked my 8 hosts (5 male hosts and 3 female hosts) in Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Oslo and Prague. I was asked to have sex twice, and two of my hosts admitted they only accepted the requests because they were hoping to sleep with me. I felt embarrassed and really uncomfortable. Who wouldn’t? There were a few really awkward situations that I don’t want to recall…
When I was back home, I wrote a blog post summarising up my bad experience – Couchsurfing or Sexsurfing? What’s the difference nowadays? Within a few days, there were more than 150 different responses in which our readers shared their opinions and experiences on this issue. Surprisingly, many comments suggested that having sex with your host was pretty normal.
On the other hand, I met amazing people in Bruges, Amsterdam, Brussels and Prague thanks to Couchsurfing. We had a blast together and still keep in touch. This summer I’m about to visit one of the girls who hosted me in Prague. We’re meeting up in… Paris! I’ve learnt my lesson, however this bad experience will not stop me from Couchsurfing. I’m back in Europe in July, and I’ll be travelling across Portugal, Greece and Germany. I’ve already activated my Couchsurfing account and I hope to find some awesome hosts… female hosts this time.
What’s so funny?
Margherita from The Crowded Planet wasn’t in on the joke when she Couchsurfed in Turkey.
At 40 Couchsurfing experiences and counting, we consider ourselves very lucky having never had a really negative experience. But when it comes to strange experiences, we’ve had many. In 2011, we travelled from Italy to Georgia by train, Couchsurfing most of the way.
One of the places we visited was Kars, a Turkish town near the Armenian border. Our Couchsurfing host was a young man called Yildiz, a telecommunications engineer. We nicknamed him ‘silent boy,’ because he was always very quiet and didn’t seem to like to engage in conversations. Having said that, he was a lovely person; he made us breakfast each morning and took us out for walks around the city, and gave us lots of tips on how to reach Ani, an archaeological site a few kilometers away. Trouble is, most of our conversations were monosyllables. He did have good English; I think perhaps he genuinely didn’t like to talk, but liked the company.
One night, he took us to a friend’s house for dinner. Yildiz and his friend are both Kurdish, and the night with the Kurdish family was… erm, interesting. We did eat delicious food, but the mother of the family laughed her heart out each time I tried to talk. When I asked Yildiz why was she laughing, he refused to translate, saying I would have got offended. I never found out why she thought I was so funny!
Is finding a good host impossible in Paris?
Jacqui, who I met whilst teaching English in Taiwan, has surfed over 20 times in 13 different countries but says her first Couchsurfing is still her best.
The First and the Best: While living in Turkey, we decided to try hosting, noting that the first experience would determine whether we would continue or not. Of course, when the brothers from Switzerland arrived, they had no idea how much pressure was on them. Luckily, we had a fantastic weekend with these two!
To start things off, we crammed way too many people into a Fiat and went to the coast to have the best meal I had in the year I spent in Turkey, full of Raki, fresh fish, fruit and cheese. The next night, during the Super Lig finals, the boys made an effort to learn Turkish chants at our favourite watering hole.
By the end of it, almost everyone in the bar had bought them a round, and they were so drunk they probably don’t even know who won. When they had to leave, they left an entertaining note in dry-erase on our fridge and gifted me with a Swiss army knife direct from the source!
My two worst experiences in Paris: The first host gave us confusing directions, and when we arrived later than expected, we found that he was much older than stated and requesting massages for our “tardiness.” We refused, but all seemed fine.
Around midnight, while my friend was showering, he freaked out saying she had to finish immediately, and that we couldn’t stay there again, we had to leave at 7 when he left for work. In broken Spanish, I arranged a last-minute place with an Argentine, but he worked at 6, so we had to leave earlier. The door was locked from the inside, so we had to awkwardly wake up our unhappy host to leave.
The next host was nice, just not the place. It was a tiny room half full of trash with no ventilation, the air mattress was deflating, so we spent the night laying on each other, and we later found out (after walking all day in 40°+ weather) that there was no shower. We used a bucket and a fountain in the middle of the hallway to wash “the important parts” as our host instructed and dumped the water out the window because the drain didn’t work. It was interesting.
The Generosity of Strangers
Dan Hagen has hosted around 100 people in his home in Wicker Park, Chicago.
I’ve had plenty of great guests come through the house over a span of two years. One of my favourites was a group of four Hungarians who were on a roadtrip. When I came back after work, the house was empty.
A little while later, the door swung open and they came in with nine bags of groceries! Apparently in their culture, it is custom that when you stay with a host, you repay the favour by cooking them dinner. They made some great Hungarian pancakes and French onion stew, and we spent the next few hours drinking in my kitchen. Budapest is now on my ever growing list of places to see, thanks to these guys.
Dark Clouds and Suspicious Streets
Jowita from Polacos de Polonia was an awesome host to me and Luke whilst we were travelling in Poland earlier this year. She recounts her worst experience and her better ones too.
Abandoned in Marrakech: We only had one negative experience with Couchsurfing. In Marrakech, Morroco, we had to go to the suburbs and wait for our host. The area seemed quite dreary: non-operating hospital buildings, suspicious streets, decaying houses. Imagination did the work – it was getting late, with sky full of dark clouds. There were some people around, but we couldn’t communicate with them, not knowing Arabic nor even French. Our host ignored our calls. Only when we called him from the phone booth did he mercifully explain to some boy standing next to us to put us on the bus to the centre, because he was not going to host us!
Marriage Therapy in Bosnia: It is much harder to name the best experience, as we had so many; with both hosts and surfers (you were one of them Charlie and Luke!) We would like to bring up here the story of Sandra and Dejan from Tuzla, Bosnia. They didn’t really have much time to host us, but they did it anyway, because they care about people. Sandra is a psychologist and she provided us with a short but illuminating marriage therapy session (not that we needed it!!) and Dejan constantly felt responsible for us. Not only did they give us a ride, offer us food and a place place to stay, but when we asked where can we could get the best rakija in Bosnia they said: ‘on our balcony’ and gave us more than we would ever have asked for!
Sleeping in a Buddhist Prayer Room and Eating Cow Tongue for Breakfast
Illia and Nastia from Crazzzy Travel talk about the time they slept in a Buddhist prayer room in Bangkok.
Couchsurfing in Bangkok is always awesome, but once it was really awesome! Our host, a lovely girl called Susitha, lived in a traditional Thai wooden house on the bank of a tiny, dirty (but not smelly) river. There were no walls to separate the rooms on the first floor, but on the second floor there was a separate Buddhist prayer room.
We slept on a mattress in the corner of the prayer room. It was unusual, but romantic! Every morning, a cute dog walked into our room to wake us up. We cooked Ukrainian food for Susitha and tried traditional Thai breakfast, made by her mother: mashed rice with ginger, row eggs and cow tongue. It was the most exciting Couchsurfing experience we’d ever had!
Couchsurfing through the World Cup in Brazil
Dan and Casey from A Cruising Couple share their awesome World Cup Couchsurfing experiences.
We’ve been Couchsurfing for years, both independently and as a couple. To date, we feel incredibly lucky to say that we have only had absolutely wonderful experiences. While we don’t Couchsurf as often as we used to, we have been utilizing the resource while we’ve been in Brazil for the World Cup the past few weeks and have had some of our best experiences yet!
Our first host in Belo Horizonte met us at the bus stop, got the family together for a home cooked ‘welcome’ dinner, prepared a private room for us, and generally went above and beyond to make us feel like we were part of his family. We then went to Couchsurf in Brasilia where we were met with a similar hospitality: our host picked us up and dropped us off at the airport, played tour guide, and took us on a weekend camping trip. We had such a wonderful time with both hosts that we plan to meet again when we are in Rio, just to hang out.
From Sleeping at a German Fetishist’s to Welcoming Guests at Chinese New Year
Nicholas from My Rambling Feet has had two very different open-minded experiences.
Surfing in Germany: I have stayed with Couchsurfing hosts in all sorts of dwellings, from massive farm houses to Soviet-era student dormitories, but it’s hard to forget that time I slept in a German fetishist’s playroom!
His profile appeared near the top when I searched for a host to stay with in Berlin (I’ll never figure out how the CS engine matched us according to “relevance”), and was an honest description that didn’t attempt to hide anything. The open way which he lived life piqued my curiosity though. It helped that he lived in a part of the city that was central to the places that I wanted to go, and there were a couple of positive references to go with his profile.
He turned out to be a generous and open-minded host with whom I could hold an intelligent conversation. There was a proper bed in the room, but it’s not every day that you sleep with masks, cuffs and restraints hanging around, among other things! That said, I slept soundly throughout my stay!
Hosting at Home: Hosting Couchsurfers can be difficult when the people you live with don’t buy the idea of sharing a private dwelling space with strangers. My family and relatives don’t either, but they warmed up to the idea of having a couple of visitors with us for dinner over the Chinese New Year, when most of the shops in Singapore close for the holiday.
They turned out to be sweet hosts, explaining each dish that we made to our Austrian and Lithuanian guests and getting them to toss some salmon salad with us. It was the first time the visitors had specialities like fish maw and black nuts. Our domestic help had a laugh watching my cousins trying to outdo each other to impress them! The experience hasn’t won over any of my family members yet, but that might change if someone who has hosted me pays a visit. When that happens, I’m now certain they will be very able hosts!
The Local Taiwanese ‘Nightlife’
Strange and confusing experiences aren’t uncommon for Westerners living in Taiwan. My partner and full-time travel companion, Luke, tells the story of our first Couchsurf.
There was one unusual night which I will always remember. Charlie and I arrived in Kaohsiung, a sprawling mega-city on Taiwan’s south coast, late at night. When we met our Couchsurfing host, her English was shaky and our Chinese was even worse, but she was friendly and we were pleased to have been invited to stay with her.
At 11pm, her parents returned to the apartment with two cups of hot, milky coffee as a gift for us. They are shy but smiley. Our host and her parents talked in Chinese, then she asked us if we would like to see the local nightlife. We were pretty exhausted, but didn’t want to be bad sports, so we agreed to a night on the town.
At first, we were surprised when our host’s parents seemed to be getting ready too, but then our host told us that they would be driving. A gift and a lift into town? How generous of them! We raced along through the neon-lit streets of Kaohsiung. When we stopped, I couldn’t see the club, but everyone seemed to be getting out. The night was taking a turn for the stranger; her parents actually seemed to be coming with us! I knew that Asian parents could be protective sometimes, but this… We turned a bend, and were greeted with a magnificent view of the city.
Our host smiled, “I see you like the nightlife!” The what…? “The night scene,” she said, “Or should I say night view?” Ah. Things finally started making sense. Turns out, Kaohsiung has an excellent viewpoint from which you can see the whole city lit up at night!
Check out Homestay.com, a great budget alternative if Couchsurfing isn’t for you.
Are any of these Couchsurfing experiences familiar? Have you heard any other weird and wonderful stories?
Abbi
Great post and stories. This is obviously on trend at the moment. I’ve just written about my first couch surfing experience. I had a great first host, and its made me want to do it again. I had no idea that it was known as sex surfing though!
Charlie on Travel
Thanks, Abbi! Awesome, would love to read about it. I’ll go find it on your blog! Glad you had a good experience. Mhmm, yes, it’s never happened to me, but there are a lot of sexsurfing stories out there.
Agness
Margherita, what a story! Wow, I’m really impressed. I love people with such a great sense of humor! Thanks Charlie for having us here. I’m back in Europe this week and I’ll do some couchsurfing in the Netherlands :-).
Charlie on Travel
Awesome! Let me know how CSing in Europe goes :)
Casey @ A Cruising Couple
Thanks so much for including us! OMG though- I cannot believe the porn house story! I don’t think I could have stayed there. Haha it did make me remember that we did once have a couchsurfer invite us to his home for the sole purpose of having a three-way. We just deleted that message and didn’t bother responding haha.
Charlie on Travel
My pleasure, guys! Thanks for writing something up and for your awesome photo :)
Oh gosh, yeah, I couldn’t believe it when Mat told me the story in person. Craazy! I don’t think I could’ve stayed either, I’d have felt so awkward.
Wow, did you really? That’s a very bold message for someone to send!
Laura
It’s so refreshing to read an honest post about couch surfing! So many travel bloggers write about how it’s the best thing since sliced bread – which we’ve found it can be, but we’ve also had a couple of dodgy experiences too (the worst one where the guy had sex swings and wooden dildos everywhere.. )
Charlie on Travel
Hi Laura, thanks for stopping by :) I’m glad that you enjoyed the collab post. That’s quite a story about wooden dildos and sex swings =/ Did you stay with the guy?
I agree, Couchsurfing is great, and a lot of bloggers tend to not write about their bad experiences. I think it’s good to compare the good with the bad, as with everything.
Laura
Yea we stayed for three days lol and then got really freaked out and left. I’ll get round to writing a post about it eventually!
It’s good to go into couch surfing with an idea of the good and the bad :)
Charlie on Travel
Hahaha! Great, I can’t wait to read that post =D
I think you’re right, though a few people have been totally put off of the idea after reading these ‘bad’ stories.
Shing
Charlie this post is fantastic! It was interesting to read all the stories, I remember reading Agness’ thoughts on couchsurfing when she wrote it at the time and thought it was very candid. But the story I laughed out loud at was the back-to-back porn palava. However, this does open up the question about how safe it is for solo female travellers, if I was in that situation the only thing that would have given me an ounce of security would have been the bizarre fact that his mother was in the next room!
Charlie on Travel
Thanks, Shing! Yes, Agness’ is actually the only CS post that had stuck in my mind, and only since reading her story back then did I start to hear other crazy stories when we got chatting to other travellers.
Oh gosh, Mat was so unlucky to end up with back to back Paris porn stays! When he told me, I was sooo surprised. Mm, yes, I agree and am not sure how I would feel about solo CSing; I think it would just make me super fussy and particular about who I sent requests too.
Ben @ Road Affair
Haha seriously had to laugh hard at some of the stories. Some are simply unbelievable, especially the one with the pocket pussys and dolls.
Good thing is that even though some of those are considered “bad experiences” they never really put anyone in danger. They might be annoying at the time but later on you can look back and laugh about it.
Charlie on Travel
I know! I hardly believed Mat when he told me that one! But he did take a photo after all!
Yes, fortunately there wasn’t anything dangerous as opposed to just uncomfortable.
Surya
Really interesting post, but I’m kind of glad I didn’t come across this when I was still inexperienced and looking for courage ;) i couch surfed several times in Europe is 2013, and had only positive experiences (except with one Italian from whose house I fled without staying) :D
Charlie on Travel
Oh really? Most of these are good stories though, I think. Though I guess the uncomfortable experiences might be enough to put someone who is new to Couchsurfing off!
Glad to hear you mostly had good experiences. What happened with the Italian!?
Ken Kai
Woah, that collection is on the way to completion! I have to try the couch surfing a bit. I mean, I guess I’ve done the bedsurfing part mostly in most of my travels! Actually! That almost reminds me. I’m couchsurfing at the moment, because I am on a couch which folds out a bed. Yeah!
Charlie on Travel
But you’ve not actually used the Couchsurfing website yet, Ken? I would definitely recommend it.
Margherita @The Crowded Planet
Thanks for featuring us Charlie! So many crazy stories, Paris CSers seem to be a weird bunch! We’ll never stop loving CS, no matter how weird the tales get. Next stop is Couchsurfing in Madagascar!
Charlie on Travel
Thanks for contributing, your story is excellent! Yes, does seem that way, though I’m sure there are some good stories out there too haha. I’m looking forward to hearing about your Madagascan CS adventures!
Illia and Nastia
Sooo many various experinces – just wow! Great post and thanks for including our story!
Charlie on Travel
Yes, lots of different stories going on! Thanks for writing =)
The Guy
Wow what a collection of experiences!
I’ve never tried couchsurfing and if I ever did then I’d certainly think twice about Paris!
I remember reading Agness’ article when it was first published and it was a real controversial one for some. It did bring home the reality of how some, not all people approach the whole couchsurfing experience. It is a great shame really, as deception can create a lot of awkward situations for vulnerable people in a strange place.
Charlie on Travel
I know right! Some of them are really quite… surprising.
Yes, Agness’ article is one that has stuck with me actually. It’s easy to forget that a lot of people unfortunately don’t use Couchsurfing the way it was intended and for the right reasons. You’re right.
I myself still love CSing and am fortunate (as well as being careful) to have not had any bad or awkward experiences.
christine
OMG some of these stories so crazy!! I have never done it before. I always hear mixed stories but I might do it one day :)
Charlie on Travel
I know!! Some of them really surprised me when I heard them You should definitely try it! :)
Rashaad
My CouchSurfing experiences could be considered boring compared to ones I’ve read here. But here goes…
My first CouchSurfing guest (I was living in Japan at the time) decided to hitchhike a relatively short distance to my house (I was living in the countryside but didn’t have a car at the time) one Sunday afternoon after we ate lunch together. She was comfortable hitchhiking in Japan. Anyway, I cycled back to my house and a couple of minutes from my house, a purplish car pulled alongside me. I immediately recognized the driver, Yoji – a prominent local doctor who spoke fluent English. In the back seat was Katalin – my CouchSurfing guest.
Anyway, I often attended the English conversation class that Yoji hosted and in the next chat circle, we were talking about something (I don’t know what) and then he turns to me says, “Let’s talk about your friend.”
Vanessa
I’m a budget lovin gal, but I don’t think couchsurfing is for me (and a lot of these stories just confirm my fears!) I think at the end of a busy travel day I like to retire to some relative peace and quiet- even having my own little space in a bunk in a hostel dorm room – and its nice to have some downtime. Not sure i could enjoy that downtime with fetish masks all around!
Charlie on Travel
Hey Vanessa, I’m so sorry to hear that you’re not going to be trying Couchsurfing! Nearly all of the hosts I’ve stayed with have had homes that are peaceful and quiet – and mostly I’ve had my own room too.
Also, the stories of fetish masks etc. shouldn’t put you off – these are relatively rare and not anything that most people will experience. Being very selective about who you send requests with is usually a way to ensure that doesn’t happen :)
Ilse
Hi couchsurfingfriends is more than hosting or being a guest. I am 64 years old and signed up for couchsurfing September 2011. I live on a small island in the Baltic Sea and thought that not very many people would ask to be my guests. Until now I have hosted 229 persons from 38 countries, and I only have had good experiences. Me and my guests share knowledge about our countries, lifestyles, work, politics and many other things. And I can advice about what to see in my island. It is like a cultural exchange. When I am traveling myself, I often meet up with my former couchsurfingguests, have been invited to there wedding, follow each others lives on Facebook, and I sometime connect them if there next destination is a place where I know people. So couchsurfing can also bee meeting people for talks and etc. my next guests will be from Ireland and Russia, I have 2 guest rooms and many find it nice to meet up with people from another place and go out and explore my island together. Do read the profiles of both guests and hosts!! Big hugs from an old lady hosting in Bornholm Island.
Ryan
Absolutely crazy stories here! I feel like my own window of opportunity for Couchsurfing has come and gone as I get (a little) older, and some of these experiences just solidify that it’s no longer for me :) Sounds like there are a lot of creeps out there! Definitely prefer having a single room to unwind at the end of the day than any sort of shared accommodation. Not sure if my back could still handle all those silly sleeping arrangements of my youth like crashing on a concrete balcony in Munich at some random exchange student’s flat with no blanket or mattress because every hostel in town was full for Oktoberfest. Great experiences to reminisce about, but I’m starting to enjoy my simple comforts (and space) while travelling. Excellent post, Charlie!
Charlie on Travel
Not at all, Ryan! You’re not so old and people of all ages Couchsurf. I heard about an awesome retired lady living in Taipei who hosted travellers every weekend even!
We’ve only once had a shared room when CSing, but I know what you mean about having time to yourself in the evening when travelling. We’re fast growing out of hostel dorms though sometimes still have to stay in them because of our travel budget. But we’re really fond of CSing, we’ve met some awesome people and love spending our evenings drinking wine and having a home cooked meal together etc. It’s just about finding the right host/surfer for you.
Derek
I LOVE these! The really unfortunate side-effect of a community like Couchsurfing is that people can use it to force others into uncomfortable/unsafe situations. That’s why it’s truly important to communicate when you’ve had bad experiences within that community so that others can be forewarned. On the other hand, one of our Embark team members met his serious girlfriend through a Couchsurfing experience and is moving to Paris next month to live with her!
Charlie on Travel
Yes, there are some really interesting stories! You’re right though, and it’s a real shame that some people would use Couchsurfing in a negative way. I think it’s important just to be careful when choosing hosts and if something doesn’t feel right, then to listen to that instinct. Great to hear about your friend and his girlfriend – very exciting!
Sebastian
Great collection of stories! It really depicts what couchsurfing is all about: sharing your life. There are some negative sides due to some shabby people trying to get laid, but all in all it’s a great idea and a great community. I’ve been a couchsurfer for 7 years, and I’m glad to say that I’ve made lifelong friends that I’ve seen met up with times after hosting them (some are actually coming from Rome to Oslo to celebrate my birthday ^_^).
In conclusion, keep up the good work couchsurfers!
Luke Sanders
Great stories!!
CS can provide the good, bad, awkward, and weird. I haven’t had much time surfing, but I hosted a lot while living in Naples and you can really come across some strange guests. I once had a group of about 7 Finnish travelers who stayed up all night hanging out in the kitchen and hallway outside my flatmates room doing seemingly nothing. One night in particular they had wanted to come home early from a night out and then stayed up all night giggling like children, who knows about what!
A friend of mine was hosted by a guy in the south of Italy and had to fake to his parents that they were friends who’d met traveling as they didn’t know he was doing couchsurfing. She also had to stay closed in his tiny room because they had an aggressive dog and he hung out on the bed right next to her in his tiny underwear. This same guy had accepted to host two other girls but didn’t have room for them and they had to stay in his father’s clinic.
The weird stories about CS are funny, but the great ones are inspiring!
Barry
Pretty much half the hosts offering me a couch to sleep on in South France were gay and upfront about what was expected…sometimes it better to book into a guesthouse. Still I’ve had some really great experiences & met lifelong friends through couchsurfing. Rock on Kaohsiung. I was there last week!
Nina Rizzo
Hey Charlie! This is great..I just wrote about how wonderful airbnb is- I’d love to repost this on my site but I don’t see a button- can I share?
Charlie on Travel
Hi Nina – There are sharing buttons along the left side of the screen all the way along the page, and also again at the end of the post :)
lifeinbigtent
Yes, I had as well not good experience in Singapore – first time from my a bit long experience with staying in CS or HC places :/
http://lifeinbigtent.com/singapore/
Charlie on Travel
Ah lame – sorry to hear that!
Inka
Spent my boring office time to read this and it’s literally interesting! Way to start my Couchsurfing with some good things here as a basic knowledge. Great!
Charlie on Travel
Glad you found it interesting, Inka! I hope you get to escape the office and Courchsurf instead :)
Sarah
I have never couch surfed or hosted, but I’m up for the idea of hosting, as I don’t travel much but love to meet new people and learn about different cultures. I have 2 kids though and am iffy about inviting strangers to stay with my family. Do you have any tips or suggestions on hosting with kids?
Charlie on Travel
Hi Sarah. Well, we don’t have kids but we have stayed with a family before. Many travellers (especially women) actually prefer to stay with families because they feel that it’s safer. I think that before agreeing to host anyone it’s important to read their profile through first, send them a couple of messages to see how friendly they are (you can usually tell by then if someone is a bit iffy) and if you’re not sure then have a quick call with them on Skype beforehand. I think it’s also important to remember that most people in the world are lovely :)
Brad Imming
My Girlfriend and I have been using Couchsurfing since September and our only negative experience was when a host cancelled on us after we had already arrived in their city. Besides that, we have stayed with 6 wonderful hosts and met up with a handful of other Couchsurfers! In the end it comes down to how much research you do before requesting/accepting a host.
Albert
I have never surfed, but i have host more than 10 people. I prefer to chat a lot with my guest before they come, so i know more about them. I bet it’s a good thing to do. Only 2 of them so far giving me a headache, while the rest are not, and i always make good friend with people i hosted. But this is a really interesting story, i will need to be more careful if i want to surf at someone place then :D
mike singh
People talking about Negative references. I hosted over 300/400 people around the world and never had any negative experience.i was active in all volunteering works for couchsurfing and its meetups ..
But a day came i got scammed by a girl and almost endup in jail ..i was lucky that i had that girl chat conversions and messages we exchanges …
Please be careful when you host people sometimes we never knows who and what coming in to our house…. i burned my hand and in return i got CS deleted my profile becoz they only can do that much.. removing the real surfers …i wish CS should brings some new rules where people must share their Govt ID’S, house contracts and travellers must show their passport copies ..Helping others its always good but we have right to protect ourselves as well..
tks/mike
Sophie
It’s actually really nice to hear that you have had such good experiences with couchsurfing as well as bad. I ended up deleting couchsurfing because I was getting so many private messages from men over 10 years older or more asking me to meet up even when I wasn’t on available to meet up. It just got so exhausting because I ended up having constant messages which started making me feel unsafe since I’m fairly young and it was my first time solotravelling. Maybe I will try again when I’m in my 20s but for now I’ve been put off.
Pamela
Oh, Couchsurfing in Paris is impossible. I’ve been at DeGaulle Airport for 5 days now trying to find a host!! Just WAITING to hear back from people, not just on Couchsurfing but on HospitalityClub and TrustRoots, too. BeWelcome – no one answers that anymore in ANY city, I’m afraid. I’m also waiting to hear back about an AuPair job out on Corsica. At this point I’ll take Marseille, Nice, Lille, Lyon, etc. My problem is I’m not RICH, I can’t do this, “one or two days and then back on the streets contacting literally everyone in the country again…”
Although regarding living at DeGaulle Airport, I can’t see how “Terminal Man” did this for 18 years! What, did the police rouse him and make him sleep on the floor every night for 18 years???
Charlie Marchant
Hi Pamela, thanks for sharing your experiences. I’ve not Couchsurfed for quite a while now, but from what I’ve heard it’s becoming harder and harder to find a host. I suspect it’s related to the growth of Airbnb and the sharing community moving towards that paid model.