Rachel Lipko / Staff Writer

I had just put out close to $300 bucks for a flight into Halifax, Nova Scotia—and that was on top of the $10,000 price tag for the 2008 summer Semester at Sea experience coming up in June.

The cost of my trip was getting to be too much.

I’ve been all around Canada but never to Nova Scotia, since it’s very far away and getting there is expensive. Did I mention that $300 dollar plane ticket is only one way. With the circumstances, I thought that now was my chance to actually go and explore the area a few days before my ship set sail.

But, convincing my friends this is going to be a trip they just couldn’t miss was a harder than I thought. When asked what there is to do up there, even I didn’t know. With that said I had no takers and no desire to sit in a hotel room or hostel hoping to find a local willing to take me under their wing. Being a student my funds were tapped out and paying out more money room and board just wasn’t in my budget.

That’s when a fellow student and travel nut suggested CouchSurfing.com. She explained that the concept was innovative and the perfect price for students or anyone just pinching pennies.

In 2002 Casey Fenton, then 23, purchased a discounted airfare ticket to Reykjavik, Iceland for a long weekend. All packed up and ready to go Casey discovered one thing was missing, a place to stay. Being a free spirit and not wanting to be an average tourist, Casey decided to spam over 1,500 Icelandic students and ask them if he could crash on one of their couches. The rest is pure history.

Two years later, in 2004, Casey started the website and a way of life for some travelers, Couch surfing.com. The site basically lets people offer up their couches for free to travelers who are coming through their area and don’t want to pay for hotels. Many of the host doubles as tour guides, giving the surfers a one of a kind look at their city or town that the individuals wouldn’t have gotten during their own exploring.

Now I’m assuming that a few of you out there are thinking who would be crazy enough to sleep on a strangers couch thousands of miles away from home? Well, at least 439,914 people who are the members of Couch surfing.com are and me of course! I don’t think the hosts’ couches could be any more uncomfortable than the beds offered up in hotels or hostels and this way you get to select your host and talk to them to see what their all about, an option not granted to travelers staying in hostels.

This is where Anna comes into play or better known to me as my host in Halifax. Anna has hosted many times before with her roommate David and she finds the experience to be unique and rewarding. But, Anna and David like better to use the site for their own travel, using it to stay in a small farm town in Ireland last summer, Turkey that same fall, and when they go to St. Petersburg two weeks after my depart for my trip with Semester at Sea.

To make the process more enjoyable and safe for everyone, Couch surfing.com has what they call the “trust circle.” This means the first step is you sign up for an account on the website you begin to link yourself to current users that you know personally. They along with people who couch surf your abode leave you vouches to ensure future surfers of the kind of person you are. For extra security members can go on to the second and third steps. The second step has members pay $25 via their credit card to verify they are who they claim to be on the website. Then, a letter is mailed to the address you’ve given with a password on it. If the name and address you’ve given is correct you will receive the mail and be able to go on to step three and become an authorized member.

Couchsurfing.com doesn’t only connect travelers with hosts; the site also has the option for locals to meet up with travelers for a drink or day explorations if they don’t feel up for hosting. It also gives great traveling advice to groups or single travelers. Advice like storing different amounts of cash and a few different credit cards in different sets of luggage just in case one is lost—or never, ever accepting packages from strangers due to a few couch surfing community reports of travelers being tricked into smuggling drugs. They even have a page for solo woman travelers to read over and become more prepared for the experience.

So if you’re low on cash this spring break and are looking to travel on a small budget, this may be for you. Friendly people and a unique get away offering a locals perspective can be gained in any continent and every country or providence you desire to experience.