Travel clubs link globe trotters

SANDPOINT — Have you thought about exploring Grecian ruins, but found travel costs too daunting?

Or perhaps you want to take a trip into the Amazon, but are just not sure about planning the details.

Sandpoint resident Robyn Yeary-Ward has figured out how to fulfill those dreams for herself. She has stayed with Veronique in Provence, France, and hosted her here. Yeary-Ward also has hosted visitors from Poland, Switzerland and Australia, along with several U.S. travelers.

Yeary belongs to two online travel clubs — The Hospitality Club and Couch Surfing Club — that link people with other travelers willing to act as hosts and open their homes to fellow travelers.

“It’s a nice way to learn about other people,” Yeary-Ward said. It also is less expensive way to travel, she said.

The Sandpoint Library employee has spent the past two years traveling as a result of her membership and is planning another trip for September — this time to Vienna.

“ I see it as a way to extend peace and understanding around the world through hospitality,” Yeary-Ward wrote in an e-mail. “It is also a great means to continue to travel in a most affordable fashion and have a much richer experience in the process.”

And fulfilling that dream for yourself just may be a mouse click away. Check out the Hospitality Club and Couch Surfing clubs.

Both online sites are free, she said. Web sites for the travel clubs are: www.hospitalityclub.org/ and www.couchsurfing.com

Yeary will host one such guest and a potluck today to encourage other people in the community to become involved with the travel clubs.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. For additional information and the meeting location contact Yeary at 290-5600.