**What is couch surfing? **What couch surfing is NOT is the act whereby you jump onto the sofa with both feet, legs apart, arms out, balancing as if you are on a surf board. That would just be silly. Although the guy in the photo does look cool.

What it IS, is a fantastic opportunity to travel the world on a shoestring budget, meet new people and do things as the locals do, all while getting very acquainted with their couch, using it to get some much-needed kip.For FREE.

**Why would I want to go couch surfing? **It's free! All you need to do is sign up to one of the couch surfing sites (CouchSurfing.com currently has over one million members) and create a profile. From there, you can connect with other surfers and get information from their experiences before browsing for your own host and asking very kindly if they'd like to lend their couch to you.

It's a nice gesture to bring a small gift for your hosts. You know, just as a kind gesture, since they're offering you their hospitality for free and all. Why not be typically British and offer up some teabags? None of that Tesco Value stuff, though.

**Where can I go to couch surf? **Anywhere that has a willing sofa! Sorry, couch. Good sites to search are CouchSurfing.com, HospitalityClub.org and Stay4Free.com.

**How much does it cost? **Did we not mention that couch surfing is FREE? Perhaps you didn't hear us. We didn't say it enough, clearly.

[Image: List.co.uk]

Tags: Budget travel , Couch surfing , Budget holiday , Gap year , Year out , Uni holidays