General Information: If you're a virgin to hitchhiking, Europe is the best place to try long or short distance hitchhiking for the first time. Hitchhiking is not illegal in any of the European countries (as long as you're not in the middle of a highway, of course!), the police in most countries will not bother you, and it's quite safe, despite what people may tell you. I know, I'm a solo female traveler who's hitchhiked from France to Estonia to Romania to the UK, all alone, and sometimes even with two truckers in one truck... although I must say now that for a first-timer, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS! Please, I'm a poor starving scholar, do not sue me. People in general will know that you're hitchhiking, so that will never be an issue, and depending on who you are, it'll be easy to get a ride.
The Rules:
1. Smile! I know this can be hard sometimes if it's -10°F (-23°C), it's snowing and you've been waiting for 2+hours in the cold. Still, no driver wants to pick up a grumpy, unfriendly hitchhiker! Looking friendly and cheerful will make the driver want to pick you up more. of course, you don't need to force a grin and look like some psychopath à la Jack Nicholson in The Shining (1980).
Try to go for a natural smile/grin, just don't smirk... that's not very inviting either.
2. Look/Be Clean! OK, I do understand that it's hard to look nice and beautiful while you're on the road. I'm not saying you need to look like you're ready for an evening ball with prince or princess charming. Just look like you don't smell... and won't mess up the driver's car. I've hitchhiked in everything from an old Soviet-era manual steering truck to a Porsche... I'm sure the guy who owned a Porsche wouldn't have picked me up if I looked like I hadn't showered in weeks, had mussed up, wild hair, and dirt all over my clothes and face. Even if it's not a Porsche that picks you up, any proud car owner would prefer someone who's not smelly. If you're a man who has a shaggy beard like Hagrid, shave it off.
If you love your facial hair, at least trim it neatly... but hopefully not like the Hitler-stache.
3. Make/Have a Sign. Before embarking on your first hitch, it's best to figure out where exactly you're heading! Of course, it could be fun to hitchhike without any aim (although I've only done that once in the Balkans), but it's best to have a specific destination and know the specific route to get there. You should know the highway you should stay on and write them down. In Europe this is the best way not to get lost and to minimize time wasting. Here is an example of a sign I used to hitchhike to Luxembourg:
Note, on the top I have my destination city (Luxembourg). -> A4 is the highway name that I need to stay on and (METZ) is the town that lies between my starting point (Strasbourg, France) and my destination (Luxembourg, Luxembourg), which shows the direction in which I need to go. I also put the city name in Luxembourg in Luxembourgish to appeal to any possible locals and the polite W.E.G./S.V.P./Bitte all mean "Please" in Luxembourgish, French, and German, the three main languages of Luxembourg. The "Please" on the bottom of your sign is completely optional, but I feel it adds a nice personal touch of appreciation, so I always put it on there. This is an example of a good sign that helps both the driver and you!
4. Know the Roads. Perhaps this is not as necessary for a group of 3 strong, young men hitchhiking (haha, good luck with that!) but if you're a female and especially if you're doing this alone, you should know the roads. Google maps is your friend. Love it, use it, and never forget it. For Europe, you can get road directions to and from any city in Europe. Let's say for your first time, you're hitchhiking from Paris to Brussels. Enter it into Google maps and voilà:
It tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the route, take highways A1, A2, and E19. So on your sign you can put "BRUSSELS" or "BRUXELLES" (in French) A1 -> A2 -> E19. For a nice personal touch you can add "Please" or "SVP" (S'il vous plaît).
5. Know How to Communicate. Sometimes you might get into a car with a driver that doesn't speak your language and you don't know how to speak with your driver. As an aficionado of languages, I have been lucky in this department, communicating in a mixture of English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish, I can get by in pretty much all of Europe without too many communication difficulties. Still, even if you don't know many languages, you should at least be able to say hello, thank you, and perhaps a few key phrases in the language of your driver or one that your driver will understand. It also helps to hitchhike in a country where you know the language since instead of a silent 3-hour ride, you can have an interesting conversation or two.
6. Decline Rides. Let's say you've been waiting for 3 hours and you're desperate. Or someone has gone out of his or her way to stop for you, while it seems only polite to accept a ride from every single person that stops, that does not oblige you to take the ride. It is perfectly fine to decline rides if you feel uncomfortable. I take risks, sure. I've hitchhiked with two truck drivers in on truck from Lithuania to Latvia, but they were colleagues of another truck driver who'd picked me up in Vilnius. My initial impression of them was good. They seemed to smile genuinely AND I could communicate with them since they both spoke Russian and I could get by with that language. I am not stupid with my risk-taking, though. In Slovakia, a car with about 5 Ukrainians stopped and offered me a ride. The initial vibe I got from them was negative. They didn't seem genuinely friendly and in a car with 5 males... hm... and I was a solo female... hm... probably not smart. I declined the ride. It was OK. In Estonia, a Turkish truck driver stopped, but he spoke no English, no Russian, no French... none of the language I knew and I knew not a single word of Turkish, so I declined the ride. It was fine, he wasn't offended and nothing bad happened. He moved on I got a ride from someone else. The point is, don't feel obligated to get into every car that stops. There are countless reasons to decline rides... the ride isn't going far, it's going off of the main highway, you get a bad feeling from the driver, etc. and it's all right to say, "Thanks so much, but I think my route is a little different from yours." Of course, that is one bad thing about having a sign, since you've already listed your destination, but in Europe, this has never been a problem.
7. Hitchhike from Rest Area A to B. Rest areas, auto stops, service stations, service areas, whatever you call them, they are areas right off of the highway where you can get gas/petrol for the vehicles, a bathroom break, a bite to eat, a chair to sit on, and in some countries (like Germany) a shower! In Europe, these are the best places to hitchhike from. Once you get your initial ride out of a European city, ask your driver to drop you off at the rest area nearest the driver's destination. For example, if you're hitchhiking from Germany to Slovakia via Austria, an Austrian driver going to Linz can drop you off at the service area right before the Linz Ausgang (Linz exit). In most European countries there is a service area every 50 kilometers or so, and these are the perfect places to get off to get your next ride. From the Linz service area, you can get another ride perhaps right before Wien (Vienna) and get off at a rest stop before that city. From that pit stop, it's a quick jump to Bratislava! While hitchhiking is not illegal, it is illegal to hitchhike directly on the highway/freeway/expressway where cars cannot stop safely, so it's best to get rides from the service areas. They are easy to access and cars are slowly driving out of them to meet the speeding cars on the highway. When hitchhiking out of them, position yourself in a place where you can get the maximum number of drivers to see you, usually near the exit of the rest stop. I personally find this the best method. Other hitchhikers prefer to talk to random people and ask them for rides inside the food court or near the gas stations... but I prefer the traditional hitchhiking method, thumb out, near the exit, holding a sign with a smile on my face.
8. Better Safe than Sorry. There are obviously some risks involved in hitchhiking. Even I, as fearless as my friends think I am, do play it safely. How? As a female hitchhiker, I NEVER hitchhike past sunset. OK, I confess, there was one time I hitchhiked at night... maybe two times. Overall, though, 99% of the time, I only hitchhike during daylight hours, especially when I hitchhike alone. I recommend this not just for solo female hitchhikers, but also solo male hitchhikers, or even those traveling with partners. You can always sleep in the rest area food court or some place where you can find a seat, curl up and catch a few Z's and start bright and early, as soon as the sky begins to lighten, the next day. Also, by safe than sorry, I mean stay sober and alert at all times when hitchhiking. I don't judge people who drink or engage in trying recreational drugs, but when hitchhiking this is probably the worst thing you could possibly do. Do not drink alcohol or take anything that might affect your judgement, even in the slightest. Also, always have some food and water with you while hitchhiking, as well as some cash. It doesn't have to be an exorbitant amount, but it should be enough to buy you a meal and a big bottle of water. If you're hitchhiking to meet a deadline or catch a flight, you should always have backup cash or card in case you're not going to meet that deadline and need to take an emergency train/bus/boat/plane/horse to make it.
9. Go with Your Gut. This rule isn't just for Europe, but it's for hitchhikers in general. The gut feeling you get when the driver first stops and rolls down the window, or stops and you open the door, you get creepster vibes, don't accept the ride. Trust me, you'll be surprised how many times your gut feeling is right. I ignored it a couple times and those couple times were the only times I had "issues" with my drivers. Luckily, nothing happened and I escaped, mostly unscathed, but it was when I was ignoring that gut feeling, which I should not have waived away.
My Top 9 European Countries for First-Time Hitchhikers (in no particular order)
1. Ireland
2. France
3. Czech Republic
4. Slovakia
5. Germany
6. Lithuania*
7. Latvia*
8. Estonia*
9. Slovenia
*If you speak Russian, I highly recommend these countries for first-timers. If not... perhaps other countries where English is more prevalent like the Netherlands, Denmark, or Norway would be better picks.
My Top 9 European Countries to Avoid for First-Time Hitchhikers (in no particular order)
1. Greece
2. Italy
3. Serbia
4. Montenegro
5. Portugal
6. Ukraine
7. Croatia
8. Spain
9. Albania*
The above list doesn't signify that the countries are particularly dangerous for hitchhiking, but rather, the average wait times were longer, which could be discouraging to first-timers.
*The only reason Albania is on this list is because most people expect you to pay them for the ride. Similarly, some drivers in Romania also ask you to pay. Usually this is not a problem if you tell the driver that you have no money before getting in the car in a language the driver would understand (learning some key phrases in Albanian for Albania or surprisingly French/German/Italian/Romanian for Romania).
Wait Times (Lowest 1 -> 5 Highest)
1. One Female
2. Two Females
3. A Couple
4. Two males
5. Groups of 3 or more.
Additional Notes: Don't get discouraged if you have to wait for more than a couple hours when hitchhiking out of a city! This is perfectly normal and there's nothing wrong with you. City drivers, most of them, aren't leaving the city, that's the main reason why they don't pick you up. Getting out of the city in the hard part, everything will be a breeze after that. For instance, I once had to wait nearly 2 hours to get a ride out of Paris and likewise a ride out of Milan. Also, this should go without saying, but you should travel lightly, meaning no heavy suitcases or multiple bags. The best thing to have is one backpack, which should be visible to the driver. You should place the bag in front of you as you hold your sign and thumb out so that the driver knows exactly what he/she/they are getting into when they stop for you.
DISCLAIMER: Hitchhike at your own risk and have fun!
