I'm a woman in Europe and going alone (important context) in summer. Austria to Portugal (maybe skipping Spain by taking a cheap bus). By far not my first hitchhiking trip, but the first time that I'd have to spend multiple nights alone on the road to reach my goal.

I'm currently thinking about how I want to act when I have to stay the night at a rest stop or a petrol station.

When I was with others and got stuck we always picked one of two options:

1. Be very visible, close to the light of the station. Potentially say hi to the people working for the night, explain why we're there and that we'll be gone in the morning. Hope that they don't call the cops.
2. Get off the area if possible and hide somewhere close in the bushes to sleep, come back in the morning. Hope no one harasses us or calls the cops.

Now that I'm going alone as a woman, I feel that the risk of getting in any serious danger would be higher if I'd hide and get caught by some dude(s) in a spot with bad visibility. So I lean towards option 1.

But I only did that twice up until now. If the chances of running into unsympathetic workers who call the cops are too high, it might not be worth it.

So, anyone with more experience using Option 1 on here? How did it work out for you?

Also, any female hitchhikers specifically who got experiences and tips for staying the night alone?

Hi sorry for the bad title. Anyways, how much of a problem would I have if I hitchhiked as a minor? I'm trying to get to another family member's house. There's no doubt I'll get pulled over unless there's some place that cops won't go. I don't have a passport or drivers license and there's no reason for me to be carrying one. I assume cops would ask me for my name though and I don't want to tell them my real name.

I have some questions. 1 is it possible for me to not show up on their police database? I know police have a lot of info but I don't know if they have the info of minors and birth certificates and stuff. 2, if it's possible for a minor to not show up, would it be suspicious? Could cops detain me assuming they think Im not on their database yet?

One time when I was pulled over just walking (not hitchhiking) I gave cops a bullshit name. I thought it would've been flagged or something but either the cop genuinely didn't see something wrong or he thought there was something wrong with his database or he was pretending to not notice. Does anybody know how much info they have on their database? Like I said I don't have a passport nor do I have a drivers license.

Finally, how could I hike in a suburban area with a ton of cops? I'm near a big city and the closest freeway is a tollway that doesn't go anywhere, only parallel to the city. It does lead to an actual highway though. I already said I'm a minor. Would it be impossible? Would I encounter cops immediately? The whole area is swarming with cops and there's a police station not too far away. Thanks/

I am planning a trip to Tibet next month. I want to cross from Lhasa to Khatmandu by road, and organised tours ar way off my budget. Is there any way I can make it hitchhiking?

Thanks

Hi guys,

I'm currently living in Morocco, and this winter, I will have three week break, and I'm strongly considering hitchhiking from Agadir to Dakar. and then flying back to Morocco from there. My biggest concern, however, is time. I don't want to spend the ENTIRE trip doing nothing except hitching rides, and I'd like to have a day or two looking around certain cities like Nouakchott, Dakar, Laayoune etc.

What kind of travel times should I expect in this part of the world? I've only done a fairly limited amount of hitchhiking in the past, and nothing even remotely close to this kind of distance, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Would I be better off just aiming to end my trip at Nouakchott instead?

Also, does anybody have any general advice for hitchhiking in these countries? I've taken a little look at hitchwiki and read a few blogs, but there's not a massive amount of useful/up to date information available.

Thanks

Asking people on a gas station is morally the worst thing you can do while hitchhiking. The concept of hitchhiking is not about looking for help but for fun. The laws regarding hitchhiking are cruel. You approach drivers as a beggar which is humiliating.

Especially if you don’t speak a language of a country you’re hitchhiking around it exhausts you mentally af.

Instead of asking i only stay at the exit of the station which sometimes takes longer but i feel better.

Your opinions?

Sincerely yours.

Hello people, i have a question, do you think it's possible to hitchhike a boat from england to ireland? Has any of you done it?

Next month Im planning to have another hitchhike trip

So far plan is Poland (Krakow) - Czech Republic (Prague) - Slovenia (as much as possible) - Croatia and towards the Greece until I get tired (Montenegro, Albania)

Although Slovenia is the highlight for this trip, I don’t plan to stay there for long as I only have 2-3 weeks available

I have an EU ID card thus Montenegro and Albania should be a problem. And from what I’m read besides Austria, all countries are pretty hitchhike friendly

Anyone who took this route, please give recommendations what to see or skip. Maybe some awesome hostels or alternative culture spots like Metelkova in Ljubljana

I want to try something new this summer so Im trying to see if this is an option to go Transatlantic? Any tips or threads I can follow to make this happen?

As every year there will be the Hitchgathering in the first two weeks of August.

There are location proposals for Italy and Romania.

All info and voting is on Hitchwiki.

event info:

https://hitchwiki.org/en/Hitchgathering/2024

location voting:

https://hitchwiki.org/en/Hitchgathering/2024/vote

general info about hitchgatherings:

https://hitchwiki.org/en/Hitchgathering

Title

Hey all. What possessions do you carry when hitchhiking?

Hello! I'm pretry new to hitchhiking, just done one adventure through northern spain until now. Now i'm preparing ambicious plans for summer and i have just discovered the trustroots app, some of you has stayed somethere through that app, what can you tell me about it?

The universe is calling me to Oregon

Hello, do you think its possible to hitchhike from France to England accross the underwater tunnel? If yes, do you recommend a specific spot (from France)

I'm going to be traveling from Missouri to California 4/27 to 4/29. Looking for someone going that way to relieve to boredom and maybe some stress😉.

Hallo,I will be driving from Oslo all the way up to Kirkenes from the 30th of May. Im thinking the trip will take around 4 days. Most of the journey will be through Sweden. Im looking for people who may be interested in joining along for some parts of the journey. It would be a cheap and effective way of travelling for someone who is on a budget. Im just looking to share some costs for fuel.

Looking to hitch from Vancouver-area to Revelstoke, BC. How are people in BC about hitching, is it a reliable method to get me to Revelstoke within a few days ?

Hey y’all hope all is going well, I’ve been hitching down the length of Morocco and I’m at the end of a day stop in Casablanca. I know it’s probably a long shot but does anyone have any experience getting onto the big highway headed South to Agadir? Thanks for any help and godspeed :))

I live near San Antonio thinking about hitching down through east coast of Mexico all the way to PDC, I’ve heard it would be a bad idea to go through Tamaulipas. Thoughts, advice?

Just wondering where the present day hitchikers sleep at night? Do you just curl up in a field somewhere? As I used to do many years ago.

A week ago, I finished hitchhiking from Gibraltar (south of Spain) across the Atlantic to Trinidad (off the coast of Venezuela). It took me around 4 months - 1.5 on the ocean and 2.5 searching for boats. Hitchhiking across an ocean is definitely possible, and here is what I learned.

How to Hitchhike Across the Atlantic (or Any Other Ocean):

Why would a Captain pick up a hitchhiker? When a Captain sails across the Atlantic (or anywhere), they need someone at the cockpit of the boat at all times to watch the instruments and the ocean. This is why a comfortable crossing requires at least 3 people, where each has 8 hours of watch a day. Sometimes the captain can't find 2 friends to go with them, or a friend cancels last minute, or they have a very big boat and want to split the watches by 4 (6 hours a day). Here's where you come in. You have the opportunity to fill their need and be carried across the ocean.

Do I need to know how to sail? No, it should definitely be useful, but being on watch is fairly simple, and you can learn it pretty fast.

Is it free? Sometimes. I hitchhiked on 2 boats - Gibraltar to the Canaries and the Canaries to Trinidad - and both times the rides were free, and the captain even paid for my food. More often, however, the captain wants around €10 for food per day. If they want more, decline (unless you are rich). You will find a better boat.

How to get In contact with a captain who needs you? There are 2 ways: online and in person.

How to find a boat online? There are various platforms like Crewbay, Findacrew, and several Facebook groups where captains look for amateur sailors(Just search "sailboat" and "hitchhiking" ). This needs to be done well in advance, and there is more competition.

How to find a boat in person? This is the true vagabond way. In person, you can always negotiate a better deal and meet a lot of like-minded people.

1. Find out about the current sailing season: To make a passage, the wind needs to be right. To cross the Atlantic, that's from October to February, so do your research.

2. Find the right port: For example, you could technically start to hitchhike from any port in the Mediterranean, but every boat going out of the Mediterranean must pass through Gibraltar, and all boats have to pass the Canary Islands, in thise places you will find the most boats but also the most hitchhikers.

3. Be social with other hitchhikers: If you take a popular route like the Atlantic crossing, there will be other hitchhikers. Yes, they are technically competition, but make friends with them. My first boat was already full, but then a crew member canceled the day before leaving, and another hitchhiker I made friends with contacted me.

How to talk to captains:

• Online: My initial tactic was to wait until a captain came out of the pontoon and talk to them. This has the advantage of not getting in trouble with marina security, however, it will take a very long time, and you will miss some captains.
• In person: The other tactic is 20 times more effective. I used it only later but got a lot more maybes and finally found a boat with it. Get a notebook, hide your backpack, put on your best clothes, and wait for a captain to come out of the security door. Then just pretend that you belong there and walk in. Act like you belong there. Next, go from boat to boat and talk to anyone who is on the deck. Make a drawing of the marina and cross off any boat that you already asked. Note all maybes. If there is security, go out and try again in a few hours. If they ask you, tell them you are friends with one of the boat owners (preferably one you already met).

Important advice:

Build a network: Make friends with the captains. Ask them if they know any other boats in need of crew. Talk about their boat and their journey. You will learn about sailing, might get invited to dinner on their boats, and even be introduced to a captain who needs crew.

Get creative: There are other ways to meet captains. You could swim up to a boat at anchor in a bay, find out about sailing-related events where Captains might go, or find the closest bakery and put a flyer there.

Be careful: Once you find a Captain who wants to take you across the ocean, make sure they have experience, the boat is okay, and there are no social problems. Once you are on the ocean, you are trapped with them for maybe weeks with no contact with the outside world. I heard of a guy whose captain was in prison for 8 years because of rape. You don't want to go on his boat.

Be prepared for seasickness: The first 4 days, I threw up daily, and the first week I felt awful. Eventually, it went away, but be prepared for a tough ride if you are prone to seasickness. Also, get some medication beforehand. I didn't tolerate them, but they helped a lot of others.

Further Resources:

• There is a book called "Ocean Nomad" that deals with boathitchhiking in fair detail.

https://www.amazon.com/OCEAN-NOMAD-Complete-Contribute-Healthier/dp/9082745429

• I also recommend you read the hitchhiking wiki's entry about boathitchhiking.

https://hitchwiki.org/en/index.php?title=Hitchhiking_a_boat&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop

• If you are interested in what it might look like, I have a YouTube channel with some videos about my trip (link on my profile).

Final words: To be successful, you need patience and endurance. On average, it will take 2 weeks to find a boat, but if you have endurance and time, you will find a boat. I have never met anyone who waited longer than 2 months. There will also be a lot of people, captains included, who will tell you it is impossible. Don't listen.

I am happy to answer any questions you have.

I've been thinking about hitchhiking in Europe for almost a year and now I got this ambitious idea about hitchhiking from the northernmost point of Europe to the southernmost point. (Nordkapp to Punta de Tarifa).

Do you know if anyone has ever hitchhiked this route?

I tried googling about it but couldn't find anything.

1. Hi everyone I'm thinking about going hitchhiking and I have some questions first of all how safe it is for me to go all alone? I'm 19m but I have like 50kg (110pounds) and 170cm (5.6)... well idk if I would be able to defend myself...
2. also... many of u said that Greece Spain Italy etc is really not a good option and u should stay away haha... why tho?
3. and last one... do u have any tips for me, what should I do, and what should I be aware of thx I hope someone will notice this
4. btw im from Czechia so if someone from CZ/SK is reading this or if you have time for random questions about hitchhiking u can dm pls

Hey all, I am a soon-to-be-graduate with some savings to spend. I have a project ending in Southern Kyrgyzstan in early September and I want to make it to a friend in Kathmandu that or the following month. Obviously I could fly, but I wonder if it would be possible to travel overland on the cheap(ish), even hitchhiking? I don’t mind roughing it and have lots of backpacking experience in rough and remote areas, but I am comparatively uninformed on this religiously diverse region.

I know it’s possible to travel through Xinjiang and on through Tibet, and I think this is my primary option, however I would love to see Pakistan and Kashmir, where I have another friend I’d love to visit en route.

In advance, I appreciate concern for risks in some of these areas (notably the climate, remoteness, and violence in Kashmir and elsewhere), but frankly this is part of the appeal for me - and this is an aspect I will visit more seriously after addressing logistical feasibility (I also recognise my privilege in this regard as a fairly large bloke…).

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hello does anyone have any advice for hitchhiking from Philly to Chicago? This is my first time ever hitchhiking, should I just start on an on-ramp to I-76? What supplies should I bring? Should I expect to have to sleep outside? How long should I expect a trip like this to take? Links to any recourses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I want to hitchhike across Canada, starting from Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver,BC, my initial question is where should I start to look for rides starting from Ontario or near by area! Wanna know about a few good locations to get ride till Sudbury!

I have never hitchhiked before and need to get up from Southern California to Grants pass Oregon, any advice? Should I even bother or just take a bus? Seems like all people try to do is scare me away from that option, especially as a woman. Thanks 🙏🏻