How to Travel the Arab World: Couchsurfing
While we read about the wonders, landscapes, and treasures of the Arab world, actually visiting those countries can seem both intimidating as well as expensive. With hotel prices, transportation costs, food expenses, as well as simply not knowing where to go within the country, traveling can be overwhelming. Many people who are not avid travelers choose to go on an easier, less hassle, less expensive trip to a more traveled part of the world instead of going the extra mile and carrying out research to find out where to go and where to get the best prices. Luckily, the innovators of this generation have found ways to avoid the usual obstacles of traveling in the Arab world. In this series, a few different traveling organizations will be featured. This will aid you in finding a unique way to travel and ensuring your trip is as authentic as possible. In this article, the organization, couchsurfing, will be explored.
Unlike the previous article in this series featuring wwoofing, couchsurfing is offered to people who might not be interested in organic farming. The idea of couchsurfing emphasizes cultural exchange and meeting people from different countries or different cultural backgrounds instead of the the labor and housing exchange that Wwoof was based upon.
If you’re worried about safety, don’t be. There is a team that reviews both the hosts and the couchsurfers to ensure a mutually beneficial experience and make sure that it is safe. While the name couchsurfing implies that you’ll be roughing it on the couch, that is not always the case. Some hosts offer you your own room and take initiative to do things with you out in town or make you a meal that is from their region. Additionally, it is completely free in accommodations other than the $2.99 monthly contribution the website or the $14.99 yearly contribution if you decide that you’ll use it for that long.
Why Couchsurfing in the Arab World is so amazing:
Hospitality is known to be generally really valued in Arab households. According to Arab America, “The ultimate goal of Arab hospitality is to honor a guest and break the ice, thus ridding people of the “awkwardness” and fear that comes with meeting a stranger.” To read more about Arab hospitality, read our article here!
What is really special about couchsurfing is that the hosts are usually also travelers who share the passion of being on the move and meeting new people that bring something to the table. On the couchsurfing domain, hosts fill in their interests, where they have lived and also what they are looking for in a guest. By matching interests with a host, the traveler is almost guaranteed to have an awesome time.
What kind of people will I stay with?
Simply searching for hosts in Zahlé, Lebanon yields 713 prospective hosts. Looking through them you could find many hosts, just as an example is demonstrated here. This host published that, “I’m an outdoorsy person and I love anything that involves the ocean. Swimming, snorkeling or surfing are all fun, which distracts from your mind that you are doing a workout. Being outdoors in the sun and the salt water is great for freeing your mind and feeling alive.” So ideally, someone who had the same interests would message this host and see if he would host them.
Of almost 20,000 couchsurfing hosts in Amman, Jordan, there are definitely more options in some of the bigger cities. The host below is one that lives in Amman and is interested in creating a balance between money making and mother nature. In his profile, he states that he’s visited 42 countries and by reading hiss profile, it is clear that he is well traveled.
The last host spotlighted is in Marakech-Tansift, Morocco. This host is only 27 and uses couchsurfing to meet new people from all around the world. He has 59 references and has obviously been a host for a while.
While concluding, bear in mind the value of these organizations that allow you to be able to travel without spending a penny on accommodation. This is a thing of this century and people are becoming more savvy with traveling for less money and making the experience one of their own. Keep an eye on wwoofing and couch surfing because with time, there will be more and more hosts available and you can live out your wildest dreams.
