9 tips for beginner hitchhikers
Hitchhiking is not only an opportunity to travel for free. It’s about getting to know the locals and a chance to explore the country from the inside. It can be scary and dangerous at times, but nothing can replace the feelings and experience I gained from hitchhiking.
Always look neat
Keep your appearance in check. This will determine whether the driver will stop. It is better for girls, especially when alone, to wear closed clothing so as not to embarrass the driver with bare knees.
I haven’t had a problem over clothing, but once a driver commented on how good my perfume smelled and offered to drive on with it. After that incident, I don’t use cosmetics, perfume or other triggers.
Important: use reflectors at night — they will help in areas where there are no streetlights.
Find a good company
A single girl has more chances to leave quickly, but it is not always safe. The best option will be a pair of a guy and a girl — such pairs cause sympathy. Both two girls and a single guy are a good match. Two guys are the hardest to get to.
I like to drive alone or with a friend. In these cases, many drivers are more caring — they treat you to food, give you a ride farther than they would drive themselves. Often they even offer money, a night’s stay or a hotel. No, that’s not what you’re thinking. Some people think the person on the side of the road is in trouble. Others say that we are very brave, not just dreaming, but doing — and so we help just like that, from the bottom of our hearts, out of parental feelings.
There are also those who offer intimacy and are even willing to pay for it. Usually they do not insist, but check the girl’s reaction. Here everything depends on your behavior. You need to be able to respond in such a way that the driver realized that except for the words «Thank you!» he has nothing to rely on.
If a girl rides with a guy, the drivers behave neutrally. It is safer to drive as a couple, but it usually takes longer to catch a car.
Research the route in advance
Memorize the names of the towns and villages you will encounter on the way to your destination. To be sure, use the maps on your phone so you always know where you are and where to get off.
Often drivers can only drive you to the nearest settlement, and if it is 5—10 km away from where you are standing, it is better to refuse, because they may drop you off in a place where it would be inconvenient for other drivers to stop. For example, a driver may drop you off in the middle of fields, turning off on his own road. In case of rain or emergencies, it is not a good idea to be there alone. Therefore, sometimes it is better to wait longer to arrive at a normal place right away.
In this photo — we are in the middle of the forest, where we were dropped off by a driver who was not interested in going further with us. We drove only a couple of kilometers and stayed in the middle of nowhere — waiting for a hero who would give us a ride.
Avoid the bumpers
Experience shows that it is useless to stop near the roadblocks — the driver will not be able to stop. It is better to find a roadside where there is plenty of space to stop the car.
If cars are whizzing by and you’ve been standing in one place for hours, it’s probably impossible or inconvenient to stop here. Then you should go ahead and find a more convenient place.
Clarify that you’re out of money
Sometimes drivers stop to make money. That’s why you have to say right away that there is no money. When I said that, some drivers closed the door and drove away, others asked for a ride at least for cigarettes, but there were also those who were not shy in expressions. Be prepared for this, and even if the driver started talking about money after you got into the car, it is better to ask him to stop.
To speak or not to speak, that is the question
A novice hitchhiker never knows how to behave in a car, and either gibberish or silence. With time, this passes: you start to feel who is worth talking to and who is better to keep quiet with.
Many times I have seen my fellow travelers trying to get the driver to talk, and his face says: «I don’t want to talk. Sit in silence. Try to catch a person’s mood — sometimes it is better to be quiet and admire the nature outside the window.
Don’t talk about these topics!
Taboo topics: politics, religion, money and, for a girl, sex. Avoid these conversations, even if the driver himself brings up such a topic. Just listen to him, but do not get involved in a conflict, fiercely proving your point of view.
Respect the person giving you a ride
If a driver stops and lets you into their space, you should respect that. Don’t smoke without permission, wear your seatbelt, don’t be pushy and behave properly. Make sure the driver has a pleasant experience — this is a mutual responsibility of hitchhikers. I have heard many stories from drivers about hitchhikers who stole things, smoked, were dirty and smelled bad. After such experiences, many people lose the desire to give rides.
I’d rather be out of town
Drivers sometimes stop in the city, but you can stand for a very long time — many people will think you are waiting for a shuttle bus. So go out to stop outside the city and choose a place without signs prohibiting stopping. A wide roadside and the absence of roadblocks will be a plus. To be seen, especially at night, do not stand on bridges, under bridges, on descents and ascents.
And tell the driver in advance where you should get off, because many people drive into town or to the bus station. This way you will lose time getting back to the highway.
Pros and cons of hitchhiking
This journey is not for everyone: leaving the usual comfort zone, the need to talk to strangers (sometimes not very nice), the impossibility of planning and booking something in advance — because you never know exactly when you will arrive at your destination. Hitchhiking is always a risk, and not only girls but also men fall under it.
But I love hitchhiking for the fact that besides traveling for free, it helps:
- to meet new people from different countries, pump up foreign languages;
- to see the country from the inside, which is impossible for the average tourist;
- keep fit: hitchhikers walk a lot;
- to temper character, overcome fears and indecision, become more courageous and talkative;
- to remain mobile: there is no fixed schedule — when you want, then you go.
Frequently asked questions about hitchhiking
There are many myths about hitchhiking, and hitchhikers are portrayed as either crazy, poor, or brave to the point of madness. If you know the basics, hitchhiking is just a normal trip: no more dangerous or strange than taking the bus.
Hitchhiking is free?
Yes and no. You do not pay with money, but with your communication, and this is not easy for everyone. If they say that they will give you a ride only for money, you should say goodbye to such drivers. After all, if you pay for the road, it is more comfortable to go by bus.
How long is the wait for a car?
You can leave right away, or you can stand for a few hours — it’s fortune. I don’t like to stand in one place for a long time, and if the highway allows it, I go and stop as I go. Once no one stopped for 4 hours, but there was also such a thing that the driver was on the move looking for someone who would take me further.
Are there any dangerous cases?
Yes, unpleasant situations do happen. I once lost the desire to hitchhike after two drivers in a row offered me intimacy, the second one looking about 60 years old. I later found out that a friend of mine had the same thing happen to her as soon as she and I parted ways. Such coincidences don’t happen often — it must have been that kind of day. Over time, I learned to take it easy and pretend I didn’t hear the proposal — it helps.
You can also be annoyed by the driver’s character or point of view, so I advise against talking about politics, religion and principles. It’s better to say nothing.
Once in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a father and his daughter picked us up. They gave us food and candy. Suddenly, the driver stopped silently, got out of the car with his daughter, closed us inside and went somewhere. We spent about 20 minutes trying to guess what happened. It turned out that they had gone to the mosque.
There were some dangerous moments. Once my friend and I had to travel at night from Tirana to Budva. A young guy picked us up and offered us a place to stay — he lived nearby. We were tired and trusted his friendliness. But at home, after we had already thrown our clothes in the wash, he told us that we would be sleeping together. It was scary — it’s night outside, unfamiliar terrain, an intrusive man doesn’t understand why «no». Pulling time until morning did not work, the situation was heating up. At the critical moment, with nerves on the limit, we played out a scene of lesbian jealousy and scandal. From surprise or out of fear that our screams would wake up the neighbors, he let us run away. The whole play was in English so he could understand us. We got into this situation out of gullibility, and one should always be vigilant.
Is it better to ride with or without a plate?
I don’t feel comfortable traveling with signs: you always need to have cardboard and a marker with you, and when you travel with one backpack, it is densely packed without cardboard. But I’ve met hitchhikers who can’t ride without signs. Try it out, experiment.
What else you should know about hitchhiking
In each country it may have its own peculiarities. For example, in many European countries you can’t stop on the autobahns — in Italy there are even signs forbidding it. In Austria, after two minutes on the autobahn, the police stopped me, took me to a secondary highway and warned me that next time there would be a fine.
But in the Czech Republic and Hungary I managed to stop on the autobahns. When encountering the police, it’s enough to say that you didn’t know about the ban and it won’t happen again — it mostly works.
When starting to hitchhike, the main thing is to suppress fear and shyness, catch the adventurousness and learn to enjoy it. This adventure is addictive, it’s hard to stop. Listen to yourself, trust your intuition and enjoy the opportunity to see the world.