Tired of hotels and bnb? If you are free travelers and are looking for the spirit of sharing, here is the post for you.
You know, when you travel for a long time, looking for a place is fundamental where to stay overnight.
I have been traveling constantly for more than five years now and looking back on the past I realize how much my habits have changed. In 2017 I traveled all over Italy by train and bicycle for three months with my boyfriend and we only paid five times to sleep. I have been traveling around Europe since November and have never paid to sleep. Now a hostel or a room on Airbnb are always the last choice and I'll explain why.
You meet local people and savor the simple life, the typical dishes, talk and compare. It's really nice to realize that there is someone ready to welcome you into their home without even knowing you.
We are still in contact with some of these people and families who hosted us.
An important thing is the thought that in addition to being hosted, you too would be willing to host.
The site Couchsurfing we all know it well, but in my opinion it is a bit too dispersive, many people are registered only for fashion and not for real interest in hosting. Especially in Italy (I speak from personal experience) you really need to be able to recognize the right people, otherwise you risk sending empty messages. By the way, if you are not a verified user (you have to pay to become one), you can only send 10 requests per week.
Speaking more practically ...
How can we find someone to host us without using Couchsurfing
1. Be Welcome and Hospitality Club
They are practically the ancestors of Couchsurfing, but I think they are better than it, because those who are registered have a real interest in meeting people who travel and they do not do it just for fashion.
2. Warmshowers
Absolutely my favorite! What a bicycle trip to me… It's a couchsurfing for cyclists, cyclists who host other cyclists. Here the subscribers have the same interests as you and are really ready to host, in most cases. We were hosted by many people both in Italy and abroad, often those who hosted us also prepared an excellent dinner, which is very welcome after a day on the bike.
3. Trustroots
A site recently born but which is growing more and more. Born from a community of kids traveling in hitch-hiking, now has more than 25.000 members worldwide. The peculiarity is that you can only register by invitation, just to strengthen the concept of community. Or via the waiting list: you subscribe, you invite 4 other friends and when they are on the list you can all subscribe to the site.
4. Exchange
A site that connects travelers and locals who host someone to learn something, whether it's a foreign language or typical cuisine.
5. Talktalkbnb
The name says it all, a host offers hospitality to speak a foreign language.
6. Bed & Learn
An all-Italian site, with the same principle as the previous ones, based on the exchange of hospitality, cultural values and knowledge.
Another tip
Finally, perhaps the most "ancient" method but which lately is completely changing the way we travel: spontaneously ask people's homes. Especially if you have a tent to put in your garden, you stop in the countryside or at a farm and then just ask: most people have always welcomed us. I am traveling in France by bicycle and very often we have asked the locals: we have met so many great people and have always been amazed by their simple and impromptu hospitality.
