Where is it located?
The Netherlands are a small country in Western Europe and is sharing borders with
Germany and Belgium. Besides Europe, the Netherlands also have territory in the Caribbean with the ABC islands. The most interesting thing is Sint Maarten or Saint-Martin. This island is interesting because it brings the Netherlands another land border. The island is divided by two. France is sharing it with them.
The Netherlands are speaking great English and are quite tall. Probably most people know the capital Amsterdam, but this is not where this story will take place. I was visiting Groningen, a little city near the border of Germany.
Where to find hosts in the country?
Generally speaking most would say Amsterdam should be easy to find a host, due to most people living there. I personally would say that it should be harder there, due to the high amount of tourists. When you are having a great profile, that should still work.
In Rotterdam, not too far away from Amsterdam, there is one guy, who is hosting probably everyone, so it is a safe call to go. Many people, who I hosted, stayed with him and had a great experience.
The Hague, Utrecht & Eindhoven could be some options for a trip as well.
In Groningen I was actually sending just one request and got accepted, so there was not such a long waiting time. In general the people, who are writing more personalized messages tend to have it easier by finding a host, that is in the Netherlands also a thing. In my experience and the ones from others, the Dutch people are quite open and friendly, so should work finding a host somewhere in the country.
Is it easy finding a host in Groningen?
For me personally it was easy, like I mentioned I was just sending one request out and got accepted quite quickly. I was hosted by Reinout, a big Dutch traveler. He is the same as me, an ambassador from Couchsurfing.
When looking at the active hosts in the city, there are not many options to be fair. Not too many active people and less active people who are hosting. I felt lucky finding one person to host us. I was traveling there with a girl, so there was no issue with that.
Groningen is not a big city, so it makes sense that less people are using it. In places like the Netherlands in general it can also make sense to try out Trustroots, BeWelcome and Couchers.org to try to find alternative hosts. Of course on Couchsurfing there are more hosts.
What did I do with the hosts?
Reinout was sadly quite busy. We prepared food for him and us and were sharing some wine to add to the food. Listening to some music and talking a bit about his travels and life in the Netherlands. During the stay also two German girls were staying as well at the place with whom it was also nice spending some time.
Besides having some good talks, that was basically it with the things doing with the host, which was sadly less than usual.
How was the experience?
The experience in general was still nice. We had a great comfortable bed and a safe space to be at. Knowing to have a local host on your side, in any case of things going wrong, is something positive in my opinion.
We were walking around with the German Girls staying as well and explored the city together. The purpose of the trip to Groningen in general was a Rammstein concert, which was happening during the time of the stay. It ended in seeing a lot of the city and meeting three great people.
What is important to know?
The Netherlands is a really small country with not such a high population. Besides the fact that the people are friendly and speak good English there are just a lot of tourists. This makes it harder finding a host. You need to be searching in places around big cities for bigger chances and maybe writing a few more requests out. It is just due to the fact that many people probably were receiving some requests already and need to decide who to host.
Summary
Groningen, a city great for parties. It is a student city and even though it was my second trip there, I was again not partying. It is a small city, with still some things to discover and a nice park to hangout at. The country in general is super safe so you are going to don’t need to worry too much, still you should keep in mind to never forget, pickpocketing can happen everywhere.
