A wee bit of shameless self-promotion

Just wanted to mention that Kim Mance, editor-in-chief of the online women's travel magazine Galivanting, linked to my advice on home swapping in an article for MarieClaire.com. Her story has lots of excellent advice for people looking to save money while travelling. And these days, isn't that all of us?

Thanks for the link, Kim!

Crash on a couch

Looking for a way to meet folks abroad? One option for adventurous types: couch surfing. It is, as the Christian Science Monitor put it recently, "the universe of social networking itself, simply pushed into the real world."

In a nutshell, travellers hit the CouchSurfing website and make connections with people willing to offer people a free place to stay for a night or two, along with a glimpse into local culture. It's not a technique for the faint of heart, as there's no way to guarantee that your host--or your guest--isn't someone you'd rather not share a roof with (the CSM article includes several horror stories). But the CouchSurfing Project claims that complaints are few, perhaps because many (though certainly not all) members are 20-somethings with an easygoing outlook on life.

For safety tips for travellers using services like CouchSurfing, see my article on hospitality clubs on my travelling-like-a-local website, LaVidaLocal.com.