Hitchhiking is one of the cheapest and yet most exciting ways to travel. You will be able to visit many places and get to know plenty of interesting people. You will be seeing places that aren’t listed anywhere in a travel guide, which makes such an experience extremely thrilling. However, hitchhiking is certainly no walk in the park. This is why I assembled a list of helpful pieces of advice to make your hitchhiking experience less stressful and much more fun.
1. Choose a good starting point. I recommend starting at a filling station on the autobahn. With the internet side Hitchwiki you can look up the best hitchhiking spots from which you can start. Always bring a map with you of course!
2. Make a nice hitchhiking sign that is readable and clear. But don’t only rely on your sign. Talk to people directly and ask whether they are on their way to some city or place near your destination. Be polite and smile. Ask truckers because they are often travel alone and are therefore fairly bored. Once inside a car, engage in small talk and conversations because useful information is always helpful.
3. Drink enough water! Bring huge bottles full of drinking water with you because you won’t be able to fill your bottle up at every rest house. In South Europe in particular, the faucet water mostly is not drinkable. However, toilets and showers often are for free at filling stations and rest houses.
4. Travelling alone can be good for your soul. But it can also be quite boring. Bring your mate with you. Ideally, the group consists of a boy and a girl because two boys will have a harder time getting a ride. Two girls on the other hand will probably face more serious problems involving pushy men.
5. Wear eye-catching and colorful clothing so that people will be able to see you from afar. Position yourself smartly so that car drivers can see you clearly in order to avoid accidents.
6. Never lose your spirit. This is probably the most important rule. Sometimes, it seems that nobody is stopping to give you a lift. But don’t worry. If you try enough, there will certainly be someone who is willing to drive you to your next destination. It’s an adventure after all and what would an adventure be without overcoming problems?
