Couchsurfing.com is a site I joined in 2006 while traveling through central Mexico. I stumbled upon it one evening while surfing the web at a hostel somewhere in Michoacan. The premise of the site is simple... free housing exchange. People offer up their couch, futon, bed, cot, hammock, or floor space for people to come and stay who happen to be traveling by. Then when they go on a trip they can do the same and when the travelers settle down they offer up their couch for surfing. 

For those of us who are habitual travelers this is awesome. It makes trips and vacations possible that weren't before by removing one of the main expenses of travel: housing. I am now able to extend my vacations by a week, sometimes more. If I don't have the time then I have the money to get that souvenir that I was dying to have but felt was too expensive.

Safety is #1

Right now you might be asking yourself, "How on Earth is couch surfing safe?" and I would ask you, "How is staying at a conventional hotel safe?" Sure you may have your own private room and bath but it's likely that over half the people working at the hotel have access to your room. The people at the front desk and cleaning personnel will for sure, yet somehow we still feel safe sleeping and leaving our valuables in this environment. 

On Couchsurfing.com there are multiple ways for you to determine whether or not it would be safe to stay with an individual or even to see if you would get along well with a certain person. Anyone can leave comments about other people they have met, stayed with, or spoken to making it easy to spot someone who may be a bad choice for couch surfing. Also, members of Couchsurfing.com have the option to get verified which means they have made a small donation via credit card so that Couchsurfing.com could verify their name and address. This way you know that a verified member is who they say they are and lives where they say they live. Finally, there is the vouching system where verified members who volunteer their time and money to improve the couch surfing community have the ability to vouch for other members they meet. If a person is vouched for by three of these couch surfing ambassadors it adds even another level of verification and security.  

Anyone Can Join  

Not much of a traveler and don't have a couch? that's okay, Couchsurfing.com wants you to join anyway. There is likely a community of people who are a part of this website in your area and there's not doubt that they wouldn't want to meet you.  The couch surfing community throws events, parties and get-togethers all the time so that everyone has an opportunity to meet on another and build friendships inside the community. This in turn creates a stronger and safer environment for anyone traveling to the area who needs a place to stay.  The number of people on the website as a whole also makes for a great resource of personal experience. I have received messages multiple times about teaching English in Central America because that's what I did for a living. People have also asked me about the itinerary of their Costa Rican vacation and about what are the "must see" attractions while traveling through Panama. I, in turn, emailed others about my plans when I built the gate in my backyard. The resources are seeming unlimited because there are 771,524 members representing 1,219 languages with 1,334 new members joining daily.(on Oct 12, 2008) So before your next vacation sign up and fill out a profile and check it out. Help change our cultural paradigm by sleeping on someone's couch. And if you're ever in Oregon send me an email. My couch is always available.

Hostels are key. Get a hosteling card. HiUsa.com has great resources for international and domestic hostels. Most hostels I stayed in were very accommodating, you may have to sleep in a 28 person room, but if you like to travel, this isn't a problem, your never there but to get some shut eye. Hostels are also flexible about dates and some are flexible with prices!

Many nights I slept in train stations and bus garages. I'm not advocating this for everyone but I traveled with a friend and Japan is a very safe country. The best way to do this is to pack light and put your backpack behind you, lock it with a zip tie or combo lock and put a strap around your wrist so no one can pull anything out while you sleep.

When traveling around the country, save money by taking buses instead of trains. A great method if your only traveling a few hundred miles is to take an overnight bus, while saving money on a hostel for that night and awaking at your destination. I went from Osaka to Tokyo on an overnight bus costing $50, and saving an extra $15 by not spending it on a hostel.

Remember when staying in a hostel to bring a small combination lock for your locker. Make sure you lock things up when your not in your room, even if you are using the showers.

While you lodge, instead of spending money on washers and dryers bring a small clothesline and hand wash your clothes in a sink and let them dry on a clothesline in a bathroom or outside, depending on hostel and time of year.

My friend only brought 2 pair of boxer briefs with him, he would take a shower with one pair on, then let them dry while wearing the other pair during the day, and repeat this every day. Might sound weird but he always had clean boxers and saved room on packing!

View the rest of this series on my $2000 trip to Japan, with tips of lodging, travel packing, and eating.

Safe Travels.

When it comes to finding the cheapest ticket, check all the travel websites first, like Kayak, Travelocity, Orbitz, StudentAirfare, Hotwire and so on. Begin to do some more research now that you have a base price and range.

Check airline websites directly, bypassing the bulk sellers of tickets, sometimes you can save a couple hundred dollars by going directly to United Airlines website for example. Ultimately I found the cheapest airfare through a travel agent, booking the flight for $630 round trip, total.

I flew Chicago to San Francisco to Osaka, previously I've flown direct O'Hare to Tokyo for around the same price.

To make some extra cash while traveling, when you get to the airport, go to the gate and ask the attendant how well sold the plane is. Airlines typically overbook 5% or so depending on flight. Put yourself on a list for overbooking, so if the flight is overbooked you give up your seat for someone else, get a couple hundred dollars in cash, a night in a nearby hotel and usually fly out the next morning. You can't beat this, if you do it on the way there and back you can pocket some extra cash, sometimes up to $200 each way.

One last tip, when searching for a flight avoid the summertime, it's always busier, pricier, and slower. Fly in downtimes and check for flights with crazy layovers. I saw flights to Tokyo that had a 20 hour layover in Rome. This may not be for everyone but you get a cheaper flight and enough time to run around Rome for a day.

View the rest of this series on my $2000 trip to Japan, with tips of lodging, travel packing and eating.

Safe Travels.