Communities are one of the best ways to find your people on Couchsurfing. They're spaces built around shared interests, hobbies, and locations where members can have real conversations and connect beyond just stays and events. Whether you're into hiking, photography, language learning, or want to meet other Couchsurfers in a specific city, there's likely a community already waiting for you.
And if there isn't? Create one. Any member with a completed profile can start a new community and build something from scratch.
Do I Need to Join a Community to Participate?
No. All communities are open, so you can browse posts and jump into conversations without officially joining. Joining just means the community will show up under Your Communities in the Library menu, making it easy to get back to.
How Do I Find a Community?
On mobile:
- Tap Explore
in the bottom navigation bar
- Tap the search bar
- Select the Communities category
- Search by name or location to find communities you're interested in
On the web:
- Click Explore
- Click the search bar
- Select the Communities category
- Search by name or location to find communities you're interested in
How Do I Join a Community?
Once you've found one you like, open the community page and tap or click Join Community. After joining, the button changes to Joined and an Invite button appears so you can bring your friends along.
What Will I Find on a Community Page?
Each community has a discussion feed where members post updates, ask questions, and share ideas. There's also an About section with the community's description, rules, and moderators.
How Do I Search Within a Community?
On mobile:
- Open the community page
- Tap the search icon in the top bar
- Type your keywords to find posts and replies
On the web:
- Open the community page
- Click the search icon
- Type your keywords to find posts and replies
How Do I Invite Friends to a Community?
After joining a community, you can invite friends directly from the community page.
On mobile:
- Open the community page
- Tap Invite
- Select friends from your list and tap Invite at the bottom
On the web:
- Open the community page
- Click Invite
- Select friends from your list and click Invite
Invited friends will receive a notification in their Activity Center.
How Do I Leave a Community?
On mobile:
- Open the community page
- Tap the Joined button
- Tap Leave Community
On the web:
- Open the community page
- Click the Joined button
- Click Leave Community
You can rejoin any community at any time.
Not Seeing the Community You Want?
Create one. Any member with a completed profile and a paid membership can start a new community. You'll choose whether it's based on an interest (like hiking or board games) or an interest tied to a specific location (like Photography in Berlin). From there, give it a name, a description, a cover photo, and invite some friends to get things going.
A Couple Things to Know:
- Each community may have its own rules, visible on the About section. Reviewing them before posting is always a good idea.
- If a community doesn't have moderators yet, you can apply from the About section by tapping or clicking Apply to Moderate.
- You can report a community or a specific post using the three dots (⋮) menu.
Need more help? Get in touch. You can also reach us anytime through Settings → Contact Support.