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…You can hitch a ride from anywhere, if you have the confidence and time to talk to strangers.   Cafes, restaurants, parks, truck stops, supermarkets; any places there are people with vehicles, there are potential rides...

OK, hitchhiking isn’t complicated, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.  :-)

All hitchhiking is a matter of chance.   Some days are quick, some days are slow.   There doesn’t seem to be a pattern to it, but you can give yourself the best possible chance by using some simple techniques.

(Above: hitching has taken me amazing places.  This is Festa Santa Tecla, Spain.)

Always have a sheet map of the region you are traveling in your pocket.  When you talk to drivers, and ask them where they are going, you can refer to the map.   This is especially important if you do not speak the local language well.

Always have water with you.   Sometimes you can get stuck in the middle of nowhere for hours at a time.

Be prepared to be flexible about your destination.   Sometimes a ride of a few kilometers can be a big help, if it gets you to a better pitch.

Basically, there are 3 ways to hitchhike.

1. roadside
2. service station
3. chat

Roadside Hitchhiking

This is the classic way to thumb a ride.   You stand on the side of the road, with an arm extended, and thumb raised.
To get a ride quickly, you need a combination of presentation, and location.

What do I mean by good presentation?
Look clean and tidy.   You are asking people to share a small enclosed space with you.   They won’t pick you up if you look like you stink.
Display your backpack.  Most people are more likely to give rides to travelers who look like they are going somewhere.  You don’t want people mistaking you for a alcoholic going down the corner, or a prostitute.
Sometimes using a sign will get you a ride quicker.   If you use a sign, write it clearly, and make the text big enough to read from a moving vehicle through a dirty windshield.

The location part of the formula has to do with where you position yourself on the roadside: your pitch.   You need to give drivers space to stop safely.   How much space they need depends on how busy the traffic is, and how fast the vehicles are going.   Places to avoid are: merging lanes; soft, gravelly shoulders; bus and taxi zones; narrow shoulders and curves.  Put yourself in the place of the driver.   Can they see you soon enough to think about it and then stop?   Have they got enough room?   Will they create a dangerous situation by stopping for you?   A good pitch is somewhere you are clearly visible to oncoming vehicles, where they have time and space to stop safely.
It is better to find a pitch near an intersection or round-about; anywhere vehicles are traveling more slowly.  The best pitches are where vehicles stop completely, such as service stations.

Service Station Hitchhiking

The second type of pitch is the service station.  Hitching from service stations is usually quicker than roadside hitching.
The ideal spot is right outside the door to the service station shop.   While drivers are fueling their vehicles they will have plenty of time to see you, and read your sign.   When the driver heads into the shop to pay for their fuel, you make your introduction.
I usually greet drivers with a friendly “hi”, and then follow up by asking “where are you going”.   I also give them the thumbs up, to make it clear what I’m about.   In each country you visit the first thing you do is find out how to say “where are you going” in the local lingo’.  If they are confused, or what they say is unclear, show them your map, and get them to point to where they are headed.
Smile, be polite, and you will travel fast this way.
Hitchhiking from service stations is also a relatively secure way to hitch.   You get plenty of time to asses each driver, and chat with them before getting in their vehicle.

Chat Hiking

You can hitch a ride from anywhere, if you have the confidence and time to talk to strangers.   Cafes, restaurants, parks, truck stops, supermarkets; any places there are people with vehicles, there are potential rides.  A good introduction can be to ask people for directions, or local information: “how do I get to X?   Oh, you’re going there?   Can you give me a lift?”

When you talk to potential drivers, trust your instincts.   If they seem pushy, evasive, intoxicated, or just give you the creeps, wait for someone else to come along.  “Safety first” is the rule with hitching as it is with all extreme sports.

So: you were clean and friendly; you stood in the right spot; and… you got a ride.   Well done!  You are a hitchhiker!

Once you are on your way, make an effort to communicate with the driver, and establish a rapport.   Ask them about their lives, their kids, their work.   Making friends with your drivers will make your hitchhiking more enjoyable.
If you can build a relationship of trust with the people in the drivers seat, they will go out of their way to help you out.
By offering friendship you are making hitching a two way street.  As time goes by, you will accumulate a mental library of hilarious travel stories, to entertain your drivers with, too.

Once you are rolling down the road, be very clear about where you want to go.   Try to find out exactly where your driver is headed, so you can figure out the best place to be dropped.   Once again, a GPS map is a big help, but the basic thing is to make sure you don’t get dropped in a place that is hard to hitch from.   If they happen to be going somewhere you want to be, thats perfect, but if not, figure out where they can stop for you on the way.   The most common situation is that the driver is going into a town.   If that town is not somewhere you want to spend time, then you will want to be dropped at a service station, or some other good pitch on the outskirts.   Hitching from the middle of urban areas is always difficult.
Avoid the strag drop.   Many drivers think they know better than hitchhikers where the hot pitches are.  Be polite, be friendly, be respectful, but be clear about where you want to go.   Hitching is not just about getting a ride, it is just as much about getting dropped in the right spot so you can get the next one.

People are, generally speaking, a lot kinder and more helpful than we give them credit for.   The key to hitchhiking is having the confidence to ask strangers for help.   The more you hitch, the easier it gets, and the more good people you meet, the more confidence you will have.   Apart from being a great way to travel, hitchhiking is a guaranteed way to make new friends.  Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.

Bon voyage!

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