When comparing Tripadvisor vs Couchsurfing.com, the Slant community recommends Tripadvisor for most people. In the question“What are the best sites for discovering attractions in your travel destination?” Tripadvisor is ranked 1st while Couchsurfing.com is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Tripadvisor is:
Tripadvisor lists tour options for many of the available attractions. Many of the individual tours have lots of recent reviews so you can get a better idea of what the experience will be like.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro High quantity of reviews
Tripadvisor lists tour options for many of the available attractions. Many of the individual tours have lots of recent reviews so you can get a better idea of what the experience will be like.
Pro Good for food/restaurants
Tripadvisor will usually have the not-to-miss restaurants, even if they can end up being touristy. A good yelp equivalent in non-US countries.
Pro Gives you a chance to talk to locals
Group members are made up of both locals and travelers. Participating in the groups gives you a chance to ask locals questions and get insider information about the best spots.
Pro Very friendly, welcoming community
Most people on couchsurfing are very friendly and love to chat with others. Members are often very happy to help out with suggestions.
Cons
Con Not usually easy to compare
Con Reviews can be outdated
Con Lack of trust in reviews
There is a lot of incentive for companies to post fake reviews in order to increase their ranking/visibility. Tripadvisor does very little to catch the false reviews, so it's hard to know what's authentic and what isn't.
Con Lots of sponsored content
Sponsored content such as sightseeing tours and hotels can clutter up the content users are actually searching for.
Con No feature specifically for finding attractions
Couchsurfing does not provide a list of available attractions in various locations. The only way to discover things to do on your trip is by chatting in the groups or by sending messages.
Con Recent move to subscriptions has greatly decreased its appeal and thus community size
