Tips for Hitchhiking in Europe
Ive been Hitchhiking around all of Europe (and a small bit in Canada) for the last 3 years, and I think I have learned enough to be able to pass on some of that knowledge.
Being from Chile and having Hitchhiked through South, north and central America, I was used to the “find a good spot and stick your thumb out” approach, but first, What is a good spot??
Anywhere where the cars have some place to stop safely to take you or ask you where you are going, and hopefully where they will be going pretty slow. In Europe this means gas stations along the highways and highway on-ramps. Of course, hitchhiking along the smaller roads is great and you can try your luck anywhere.
After I first got here I realized my approach wasn’t really working out so well, so I started just asking people directly for a ride in gas stations.
I guess the first thing you want to do is get to a gas station on the high way, and to do that you could either take public transportation or just hitchhike there. One website thas is always really helpful is https://hitchwiki.org. They tell you which places are good and how to get there.
How?
2 ways depending on if you want to go fast or if you want to see the land:
– Get to a Gas Station on a highway and ask people to take you, don’t accept rides that will offer to drop you off BEFORE the next gas station. Using this approach, that is VERY Important, because If you leave the Highway you could lose hours sticking your thumb out to get to the next one. After a while I decided to mark the gas stations on GMaps to avoid wasting time searching them each time. This is what my Google Maps looks like, with the green flags showing the gas stations. Using this method you will basically not leave the highway until you get to your final destination.
– Stick to smaller roads and stick your thumb out basically anywhere, but most likely you will want to walk to the outskirts of the city to have better luck. This way, you will get more short rides and will be able to see the countryside better.
Signs
Im normally too lazy to make signs and believe that they mostly don’t work. Why? I think many people don’t get how hitchhiking works, so if you write lets say LYON, and you are going there from Nice, someone will decide not to take you because they are “only” going towards Avignon, which is more than half the way. Besides, Ive been mostly asking people directly at gas stations. I do believe they help sometimes. For example, in Italy we got sick and tired of asking not friendly Italians to take us, and stuck to talking to just Germans, French and Swiss, but left a sign next to the entrance of the shop for people to see anyways. We got picked up 2 times by Italians that had seen the sign and came to talk to us and they were both great.
Countries
In my experience, the worst countries to Htichhike in Europe are Spain and Italy. People are not friendly in general and will many times make up any excuse to say they wont take you without being mean about it, because they don’t like being direct much. Everywhere but specially in those countries you will hear “Im going on the other direction” or “Im getting out on the next exit” a lot, even though you are almost sure they are lying or it just makes no sense. Ohh and also Austria sucks and I also avoid it like the plague.
My experience everywhere else has been pretty good, but I think France is a great country for Hitchhiking because people take hitchhikers normally and will also offer a place to stay from time to time. In Germany or Switzerland they will just take you easily but in general wont open their doors for you as much.
Gifts
Ive learned to basically say yes to everything, because I believe that helping someone makes people happy, and knowing this, many people will try to help you out with some money, food or clothes; feeling better in the process. If I say no, I feel like Im offending them a bit and taking this happiness away from them. I don’t ever ask for stuff though, or for a place to stay. If they offer, GREAT, but if not, screw it.
Looks
Of course it helps to look good and clean, so I do my best to look OK all the time when I want to Hitchhike. I guess you want to smile and make eye contact either asking people or sticking your thumb out. Im a rock climber and skier, and I try to make sure people can see that when I hitchhike. I can hang my climbing shoes outside my backpack or have my skis next to me so people can see them.
Elevator Pitch
You only have a few seconds to get someone’s attention, so you have to try to tell your story in the best and shortest way possible. I always say something like “Excuse me, just one question, Im from Chile and Ive been travelling in Europe for the last 3 years and now Im trying to get a ride to XXX ”. If I feel they are some fellow sportsmen I might add that Ive been Climbing/Biking/Skiing this whole time.
Find a cool way to introduce yourself and try it out next time.
Hitchhiking with a Bicycle (It really works)
At some point I realized that everybody just drives alone in a big car, so I started hitchhiking with a bicycle (Road bike, fully loaded touring bike or MTB). Sticking your thumb out works but I specially stick to gas stations if Im on a bike. Most of the gas stations will have an entrance, and If not, you will just have to find an illegal way to get in.
Dumpster Diving
Ive been quite successful Dumpster Diving in gas stations, just find the trash cointainers that are close to the main shop/restaurant and go through their trash: sandwiches, pastries and drinks might be waiting for you. One time when we were hitchiking from Bosnia back to France, I lost Oriane for a while, and when I was starting to get worried about her, I saw her walking towards me with a bix cardboard box full of tasty sandwiches and pastries.
