How the Trend of Couch Surfing is Changing the Way Young People Travel

It used to be that backpacking across Europe was the cheap way to visit Europe. Travelers would stay in cheap hostels and eat at even cheaper side street cafes. Once you got tired of walking, the Euro-rail was a cheap, quick and convenient way to get around. With twenty-two participating countries getting around is incredibly simple. The rail even has sleeper cars if you plan on traveling overnight.

However, with the advent of the internet, traveling across Europe has changed. Now you can look online to find the best rate on a Euro pass, look for recommendations on the best places to shop, eat, and sleep at your destination. The web has also made traveling incredibly inexpensive. With companies like Expedia and Travelocity finding reasonably priced flights to foreign countries is not near as difficult as it used to be. If you factor in websites that are completely devoted to giving you promotional codes and coupons, traveling can become a way of life, and for many, it has.

Websites like Hotwire and Priceline can help you find a cheap flight to your jumping off point in Europe and the internet can provide you with the best place to buy a Euro pass (buy while you're in your native country, it's cheaper) but where do you find an inexpensive place to sleep at night? You could look up local hostels and/or hotels, but if you're willing to really get involved in the culture and forego the fancy, ostentatious hotels... you can sleep for free on a host's couch.

That's right, there are now social networking sites for couches! The most popular one, called hospitalityclub.org, is the brain child of a guy named Veit Kuehne (yeah, try pronouncing that one!). It has grown from nothing to extraordinary in just a few short years. (Overnight successes are almost never overnight!) The idea is that travelers post the places they will be visiting and willing hosts volunteer their couch for one, two, or even three nights. Naturally most of the users are younger people who are used to living the broke-student way of life and can handle sleeping on a couch without waking with unending aches and pains.

Hospitality Club isn't the only site that has jumped on the couch surfing bandwagon. Other sites like couchsurfing.com and place2stay.net have joined the fray. As the dollar weakens and the euro and the British pound gain strength, traveling to Europe has become an increasingly expensive venture. Get rid of a lot of that cost... by experiencing the true culture of Europe and sleeping on someone's couch.