Travel Tips from a Peace Corp Volunteer

One of the listeners of the Amateur Traveler sent me these travel tips. She has been a Peace Corp volunteer for two years and allowed me to share these tips anonymously.

1. Couchsurf whenever possible. Couch surfing, as you probably know, is a great way to travel on a budget. You can contact Couchsurfers anywhere around the globe and hopefully find a free place to sleep! For more information check out www.couchsurfing.com. There you can find the program’s philosophy and plenty of people who are also interested in traveling and hosting. Many Peace Corps Volunteers couch surf and are able to travel longer on their limited funds. If you are weary about staying at someone’s home, you can always meet up for coffee or a drink. Couch surf-ing is a great way to meet a local who can provide you with the most up-to-date information about your travel destination.

2. Find out if there are Peace Corps Volunteers, or PCVs, serving in the country you are visiting. Many times PCVs not only have a place to stay, but they also become “ex-perts” on the country in which they serve. They also get to know a lot of locals. Staying or just meeting up with a Peace Corps volunteer can certainly enrich your experience. They will probably show you their site, tell you about the best places to eat and maybe even take you to work with them. Once you meet one volunteer, you will have connections to many others around the country. I can’t speak for everyone, but generally we volunteers love having visitors and will do our best to help you learn more about our communities. You can connect with volunteers by checking out their blogs on www.peacecorpsjournals.com (blogs are arranged by country) or look for them on www.couchsurfing.com. There are currently about 7,000 PCVs serving in over 70 coun-tries, so give them a chance to share their experiences with you!

The contents of these tips are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.