“Someday I will quit my job and travel the world” said every man to himself at least once in his life! You sit at your desk, doing your day job, but admit it, you fancy being a globe trotter! You imagine yourself having breakfast at an American diner, coffee at the local French café, lunch at some fancy lake side bakery and dinner at the funky bbq food truck. But then, you worry that an overnight stay in a foreign country will cost you a lot of money, so obviously you wave away all thoughts of travel and get back to doing your desk job. Worry no more, couch surfing will help you for sure!

Couch surfing has been in practice from ages, where people from the same community used to help each other stay overnight when they travelled for business. But the term ‘couch surfing’ is a relatively new concept where when you are in a foreign country, you stay with a localite, at his home, usually free of cost. A localite hosts you on his couch and you surf from couch to couch throughout your journey. You, hence, become a couch surfer. Since the host does not charge any lodging fee, your travel budget automatically reduces drastically.

Apart from the monetary advantage, couch surfing offers a host of benefits:

• It is more personal. Like staying with a friend and having lots of fun.
• By staying in a home rather than a hotel, you learn the native culture and experience the local life. The enthralling stories you hear will take you into a magical world. You will be able to experience all that a place has to offer in a way hotel stay will never be able to give you.
• Your host will know all the best places to visit. He might also offer to show you around. Rather than visiting the commercially well-known places, this can be a huge asset for you.
• You make friends in every part of the world and friends made by the virtue of travel are of the best kind!

The joy of travel is in the places you see, the food you smell, the culture and tradition you get you witness and the local stories you here, not in the 5 star swanky hotel with 24 hours room service.

This said, there are a few do’s & don’ts that you must keep in mind for your own safety: