GOING on holiday to an island in the Med was made possible after I nabbed a free stay in a villa.
With holiday prices on the rise, finding creative and reliable ways to cut back on trips is currently very important.
Being frugal with my holiday budget is something that just comes naturally to me.
From hostels to supermarket meals and finding free attractions, I've always made my budget stretch so when I came across a couch surfing group, I was intrigued.
Couch surfing is where a holidaymaker stays on a stranger's sofa for free.
I was living as a student in Italy and I wanted to try and explore as much of the country as possible for the least amount of money.
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At a couch surfing meetup, my friends and I got chatting with a man from Sicily who agreed to host us at his mum's villa on an upcoming trip.
While I was nervous about crashing with a near stranger, I felt comforted knowing that I was going with two friends.
But after arriving at the villa in Syracuse in Sicily, I was glad I took the plunge.
Not only did we have an entire outbuilding to ourselves but private beach access to an untouched spot.
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As well as the facilities, our hosts went above and beyond to make our stay memorable.
We were guided around nearby towns like Modica and Noto, we were shown the best beach spots where only locals went and had our food catered to at every turn.
Being able to bag free accommodation made my trip to Sicily affordable, and meant I could pay for a guided tour of Mount Etna.
While my couch-surfing story may seem like a dream, there are lots of horror stories online.
In order to avoid the houses and hosts from hell, there are several ways to make couch surfing safe while reaping the benefits.
It's important to find reliable and trustworthy hosts, and the best way to do that is through organisations such as Couchsurfing.
Individuals who are looking for free accommodation pay $2.87 a month to join the Couchsurfing network.
From there, members are invited to Couchsurfing events where they can meet like-minded locals in their area.
They can also message other members and ask to crash on their sofa.
Members are reviewed by themselves and other members, so you'll be able to get a good understanding of the people you want to contact.
Couchsurfing recommends trusting your instincts about a situation.
They said: "If a person, situation, or profile seems unsafe for any reason, move on. Don’t worry about seeming rude."
The organisation also encourages its members to have a backup plan too.
They added: "Know your options. If something doesn’t work out with your host, or if they misrepresented themselves or their home, make sure you have an alternate place to stay.
"Identify the nearest hostel or hotel, or have a backup host in place before you go."
Couchsufing isn't the only way tourists can nab free accommodation, Lizzi Seear, and her partner Alun Westol have been on 84 free holidays after she learnt about house swapping.
And Lizzi isn't the only person who has used Home Exchange to snap up free accommodation across the UK and Europe.
Anna Bundock, 46, and her husband Pete, have used the house swapping website to go on 12 free holidays with their children in tow.
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