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American International Homestays, www.aihtravel.com/homestays. Specializes in homestays in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China. Full-service homestays start at $100 per night for a private single room, home-cooked breakfast and dinner, 4 hours per day of guiding.
The Couchsurfing Project, www.couchsurfing.com, offers homestays worldwide and tends to attract a younger crowd. This organization has over 200,000 members in more than 200 countries, and 84 percent of them speak English, offering copious opportunities for connecting with other families
Cultural Homestay International, www.chinet.org. A non-profit public benefit organization founded in 1980 to promote international understanding, friendship, and goodwill through cultural homestays. We believe that the best way to eliminate fear and prejudice among nations is to experience directly the cultures, languages, and customs of the peoples by living with them. The emphasis of the program is on the education of the participating student, the volunteer host family, and the local community through communication and interaction in the home, the classroom, and the neighborhood.
Earthfoot. www.earthfoot.org. A virtual Internet community specializing in eco-sensitive people-to-people travel. Check their list under “homestays” and contact a limited but growing group of hosts in Asia, Africa, Central America, and Oceaniay.
Experiment in International Living, www.usexperiment.org. Each program in 27 countries around the globe immerses participants in the daily life of another culture. For three to five weeks, Experimenters focus on themes such as community service, language study, ecology, travel, or the arts, as they enjoy life with their host families and participate in activities with their group. The centerpiece of this cutting-edge exchange program is the homestay—based on the belief that the best way to understand another culture is to live as a member of one of its families.
Friendship Force International, www.thefriendshipforce.org. Friendship Force members travel as Ambassadors from their home country to another country. Local Hosts welcome them into their homes, providing activities that reflect community life and local culture. After sharing experiences of friendship, differences of language, race, creed or politics become less important.
Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), gen.ecovillage.org/, lists ecovillages from around the world, where volunteers are welcome at many locations.
Homestay Central: Homestays around the World, www.homestaycentral.com, is another way to avoid expensive homestay agents for those looking for homestays abroad (Canada, USA, New York, Australia, N.Z., U.K., etc) by searching for your host family online. There are dozens of host families listed and looking for you.
Homestay Finder, www.homestayfinder.com, offers student accommodations worldwide and is a top student placement guide based in the UK.
The Hospitality Club, www.hospitalityclub.org, is a free German-based group dedicated to bringing people from different countries together. Over 250,000 members in scores of countries—in fact, about 60 countries can boast 100 or more members. Line up visits with locals when you travel.
The Hospitality Exchange. 406-538-8770; www.hospex.net. An annual membership gets you access to an online directory of 250 members in 26 countries. Some can offer overnight accommodations; others can hook you up with local families.
LanguagesAbroad.com, www.languagesabroad.com, is unique way to learn a language, while studying and living in the home of your own personal teacher! By living and studying in your own personal teacher's home, you live in the language and you can't avoid learning. This program has been running since 1979 and has over 2000 private teachers worldwide. This personal program is offered in over 34 selected countries.
The Lesbian and Gay Hospitality Exchange International offers host stays for gay and lesbian
travelers in more than 40 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North, Central, and South America. The annual fee is approximately $45. Contact: info@lghei.org, www.lghei.org.
US Servas: Homestays for Peace, www.usservas.org. Servas is an international network of hosts and travelers building peace by providing opportunities for individual visits between people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. During a typical homestay- usually 2 nights-, travelers participate in the daily lives of their host: discussing social concerns, running errands, cooking a meal, visiting a school or lending a hand in a workplace. Servas encompasses more than 15,000 homes and institutions in more than 125 countries on six continents. Contact: United States Servas, Inc.,
1125 16th Street, Suite 201,
Arcata, CA 95521-5585.
Tel: (707) 825-1714.
Fax: (707) 825-1762..; info@usServas.org.
World Homestay. Homestays worldwide for international students, visitors and interns. Our database contains host family listings worldwide. Guests can browse ads and contact families directly. $20 yearly membership fee; year round. Contact: support@worldhomestay.com, www.worldhomestay.com.
WWOOF, (WWOOF International, P.O. Box 2675, Lewes BN7 1RB, England; wwoofintl@phdcc, www.wwoof.org); connects people directly to farms around the world interested in having travelers stay and work for varying lengths of time. After paying a low membership fee, you receive a book listing all farms that accept volunteers and you can contact the individual farmers directly to arrange start and end dates. As with organized camps, you receive room and board in exchange for your work. Like the workcamp organizations, the farms are not just looking for cheap labor. Your presence and the culture you represent are just as important as the work you provide. WWOOF works only with farms devoted to organic production as well as to cultural exchange. Whether you choose satisfying manual work on a farm or more varied work at one or more international workcamps, you’ll find that either is an inexpensive way to have an active, rich overseas travel experience.
| Country and City Hospitality and Homestay Links |
Abundance Farm, www.abundancefarm.com, is a family farm focused on self-sufficiency. Guest stays and volunteer opportunities are available.
AnnsHomeStay, Kerala, India, www.annshomestay.org, is an ideal transit point to the major tourist destinations such as Munnar , Wagamon, Cochin Kumarakom (Backwaters) and Thekkady /Periyar in Kerala (India).
Bali Homestay Programs, bali-homestay.tripod.com, is a cultural exchange program and homestay. A chance to mingle with the Balinese people and learn about their daily life and unique culture.
Bells' Home Hospitality, 506-225-4752; www.homestay.thebells.org, is a homestay service with a small network of middle class families exemplifying the good nature of the Costa Rican people. Vernon and Marcela Bell will help you develop your itinerary based on their own and their guests’ experiences over the years.
China Homestay, www.chinahomestay.org, offers rent-free homestays all over China if you don't mind tutoring or exchanging culture 4 hours/week.
Costa Rica Homestays, www.costaricahomestays.com, is the first Homestay Agency offering lodging and food throughout Costa Rica, and offers optional Spanish language study classes and volunteer programs.
Friends Overseas. This venerable Scandinavian-American friendship program run by retired junior high guidance counselor Larry Eisner is now partnered with an Australian friendship program run by Ann Whyte. Join and you’ll get names of locals interested in meeting and entertaining visiting Americans. The rest is up to you with www.friendsoverseas.org.
Homestay Ecuador coordinates services for persons interested to learn about and live in our country, and who want to share their time benefiting social projects. Having nearly a decade of experience with over 800 volunteers from all over the world, we saw a great need to create and provide services to foreign volunteer. Homestay Ecuador aspires to be the link between volunteers and organizations, projects and persons, providing you with the best and safest way to realize your desire to volunteer while living in our country. We contribute a percentage of our fee towards the benefit and development of social projects. Our Objectives are not commercial, we are a group of that want to help, to support organizations and give the best information and orientation for the volunteer. Contact: homestayecuador@hotmail.com, www.homestay-ecuador.com.
Homestay in Cusco, Peru, www.homestayincusco.com, is an organization who is dedicated to offer a warm home with Cusquenian families for people from all over the world.
Host Family in Peru, www.hostfamilyinperu.com, is an agency which provides accommodations in Cusco, Peru.
I.E.E.A. Homestay in China, www.insightchina.cn, provides immersion in Chinese culture for an enjoyable experience in China.
Linguistic stays in Côte d’Azur, france.homestays.free.fr, a group of french families, in the Riviera (south of France) welcoming foreigners who want to learn or improve french. They live with their teacher's family! We offer a full board, daily courses and touristic visits. A nice way to get to know our culture and make new friends.
Mandore Guest House in India: Homestay and Volunteer Work. We believe that tourism should be about interacting with other cultures, not exploiting them. This could mean more working and traveling with local people on public buses rather than looking at them through the window of a private tour bus. We bring people together from different regions, states, countries, cultural heritage, social and political backgrounds. We do have a priority and positive role in preserving and protecting our cultural and natural resources which also meets the need for ecologically sensitive travel. Contact: contact@mandore.com, www.mandore.com.
New Itineraries Cultural Association: Italian Language and Culture Homestays. Accommodation in your teacher's home in Tuscany with daily Italian language tuition, all meals, private rooms. Quality homes, qualified teachers. Individually-planned tuition. Cultural Association of 20 host families. Cultural excursions around Tuscany with your host as your driver and guide. Contact: info@newitineraries.it, www.newitineraries.it
North Vancouver Homestay, www.northvancouver-homestay.com, is ideally located for folks who want to be close to the city, public transit, shops and tourist attractions.
Proyecto MÁS Chile, www.maschile.cl, organizes cultural integration programs in Chile. Choose a homestay program with a Spanish teacher or a Chilean family to share face to face interaction with the culture, the people and their customs.
Sarah Stanley’s Unique Homestays, Lantern Cottage, Trebudannon, Newquay, Cornwall, England TR8 4LP, 011-440-1637-881942; enquiries@uniquehomestays.com, www.uniquehomestays.com. A worldwide holiday accommodations service for independent discerning travelers and single persons seeking somewhere special to stay. Choose a luxury homestay, self-catered accommodation, or boutique hotel from a carefully screened catalog which includes the U.K., France, India, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, and the U.S.
Sky Homestay Australia, www.skyhomestayaustralia.com, offers language study programs and homestay accommodation for students and travelers in Brisbane, Australia.
Tharavadu Heritage Home. Real Budget Heritage Travellers Inn at the backwater Village. A 120 year old Christian Banglow converted into a Travellers Inn. We provide homestay, food, ayurveda body massaging, boat cruise etc. for our Guests. We are located in the backwater tourist village called Kumarakom in Kerala State in India. Contact: tharavadu@sancharnet.in, www.tharavaduheritage.com.
Thomasinn Homestay, www.thomasinn.com, is a beautiful oasis in Cochin City, India to stay, and explore. The rooms are safe, clean, comfortable and maintained by host family.
Vancouver Central Homestay, www.vancouvercentralhomestay.com, is a Canadian team with more than 10 years experience in Vancouver homestays.
Vancouver Homestay House: International Student Homestay Program, www.vancouverhomestayhouse.com. International student accommodations, homestay, study in beautiful Vancouver BC, clean comfortable rooms, good food, friendly host families, premium services at regular rates, short or long term stays…
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Living Abroad 
Accommodations Abroad 
