Hitchhiking and any other vagabond traveler-related stuff

Hey fellow wanderers of the wild Reddit roads,

I'm gearing up for an epic hitchhiking adventure starting in the magical land of theme parks and alligators (yes, Orlando) and ending in the serene, maple-syrup-soaked realms of New Hampshire. As a seasoned hitchhiker, I've thumbed my way across continents, but this will be my maiden voyage across the good ol' US of A.

I plan to kick off this grand journey in early August, armed with nothing but my trusty thumb, a quirky sense of humor, and a vintage film camera to document the whole shebang. So, I come to you, wise and witty Redditors, for advice:

1. Routes: What's the best path to take that combines scenic beauty, friendly drivers, and the occasional quirky roadside attraction? Avoiding horror movie scenarios is a bonus.
2. Must-See Spots: What are those hidden gems or iconic landmarks that I absolutely must visit? From the world's largest ball of twine to a diner that serves the best pie, I want to know it all.
3. Survival Tips: Any hitchhiking hacks for the USA? Should I carry a sign, or is the classic thumb still the way to go? Also, what's the deal with rest-stop etiquette? Are there unwritten rules I should know about?
4. Couchsurfing vs. Sleeping Under the Stars: While I'm all for the romantic notion of sleeping under the stars, a couch or a friendly local's spare room would be a nice change of pace. Any recommendations on where to find the best (and safest) hospitality?
5. Food Stops: Tell me where I can find the most mouth-watering, belly-busting meals along the way. Think greasy spoons, food trucks, and those hole-in-the-wall places only locals know about.
6. Documenting the Journey: Since I'll be capturing this adventure with film photography, any tips on places that offer jaw-dropping photo ops? Or perhaps you've got some artsy ideas for quirky photo themes?

Any and all advice, tips, and stories are welcome. And if you see a guy with a goofy grin and a camera hitching his way up the East Coast, give me a honk and a wave (or, you know, a ride). Thanks in advance for helping me make this journey unforgettable!

Safe travels and happy hitching,

I’ll be leaving from Brussels either on July 9th or 10th and travelling for a month. I’ve never hitchhiked before so it’d be nice to have some company. My route isn’t entirely determined but i plan to get to Stavanger and back within a month. I have my camping gear and would prefer to mostly stay out of cities. However I would like to visit cologne

Not really necessary, as hitchhiking is child's play here in Lithuania! Tomorrow I'll be hitting the road, appearing here sometime around 06:30, and the moment I get into the first car that stops, I will have hitched on every weekday (Mo-Su) on 6 July.

As if anyone cares... ;)

next week i’m going for 2 month long hitchhiking trip with my partner and we’ll be doing a photography project on the way. i’m looking for an map app which will: - work on macbook and iphone - work offline(!!) - have an option to mark specific points on the map which we’ll want to visit - have an option to categorize marked points (for example one list with places to sleep, one list with places to see for the project ect)

I'm meaning situations including:

• robbery

• phone gets stolen

• money gets stolen

etc.

Do you have a backup plan for that?

Google maps is telling me to take 95 damn near all the way to NYC. Feel like I could get stuck there. Is there any tips for planning a route I imagine it’s advantageous to have a route with as few turns as possible and try not get stuck in major cities.

Trying to head south and have been stuck here since 9am. I've been all over this town and briefly hit a lift on 295. In St. John's area. Can anyone help or tell me this secret with Floridians? I knew they were tough but I did get a ride from VA to here by a native.

I'm 22m. DM me

how do you experienced hitchhikers get over the fear the first time hitchking? how did you manage to get up the courage to just do it?

Hey everyone,
I posted this once already, but now I have some more details and though I will try again.

I am a 22m, and I am planning on going on a big hitchhiking dream of my: HH from the northeast to the southeast point of Europe:

I want to fly to the city Tromso in Norway and then start my journey to Malta. I want to start this journey at around 1 August. In Norway, I was thinking to first get a train journey, as someone told me that Norway is hard to HH and with the train you will also see a lot of nature (in the journey, I want to try to explore mostly nature places).

I have some places on a map I want to visit (for example, the waterfalls in Norway). But mostly my plan was to ask people in the country about what places I should see 😅😁.

From Norway, I want to go to Denmark --> Germany --> Czech Republic --> Slovakia --> Hungary --> Croatia (along the coast) --> Slovenia (along the coast) --> Italy --> Malta (This is rough my plan, but maybe I will change stuff along the way).

Then I also want to try to make Instagram Reels/TikTok about the days, maybe sometimes vlog. This to also have something to watch back when I am home 😅

So my question now, is someone maybe willing to join me on this journey? And if you have any tips, I would like to hear them too.

Anyone in the bay or in between the bay and Tahoe need a ride tomorrow July 3rd? Contact me with info about yourself and pictures and I will do the same. I’m a cool chill dude but I don’t play with people trying to mess with me so please be cool too and be clean if you’re gonna come in my car. I want a cool person to share my drive with and to enjoy talking to or not talking and just listening to good music if that’s your thing. I’m a young guy and going to Tahoe for the party baby!! Let me know I’d love to make friends for life!

I really want to get into hitchhiking. I have read a bit about it, and I was wondering how you decline rides. Say someone doesn't seem legit, maybe looks like a crackhead, how would you decline without seeming like an asshole?

I am about to come to Francfurt, I hitchhiked a lot in France before. Is there any advices about Germany specially ? I am going to the north of Germany.

So I want to go from Frankfurt to Munich. I would choose the A5 to Karlsruhe and then try to go onto the A8.

Now if the person with who I am driving with is heading further south and not onto the A8, how would you try and get there?

Ask the person if they can exit the highway and drop you off in the city so I can walk to the next spot or do you get off one truck stop before Karlsruhe and ask if someone is heading onto the A8?

In general, is it common for people to exit the highway for you so you can get to a better spot more easily?

Just a chill dude, looking to see some aliens. Don’t have a car bc of this economy (don’t talk politics, basketball, or bowling. So please don’t even try.) just hoping to get high, and meet some emo chicks down south and discover an alien/ friend. Let me know Ohio/ Michigan/Indiana area people.

Hello everyone, I would love to have the insight of people who have hitchhiked in Europe before on my hitchhiking plan.

It will be my first hitchhiking experience ever. (M23), and I am not European. I have 16 days to finish it and be in Amsterdam for my flight back to my home country.

Milan

By plane

To

Alicante By bus https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Alicante/Benidorm#trips

To

Benidorm Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#38.556148880332934,-0.12763023376464847

To

Valencia By bus https://www.rome2rio.com/fr/map/Valence-Espagne/Pu%C3%A7ol#trips

To

Pucol Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#39.62443330456849,-0.30345654487604323

To

Sagunt Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#39.6813553639895,-0.269036293029785

To

Castellon Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#40.0195956963214,-0.0261139869689941

To

Tarragonna Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#41.12255225875433,1.2571921348571926

To

Barcelona Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#41.4927637485533,2.19194412231445

To

Girona Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#42.00957748095942,2.817282915115403

To

Perpignan Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#42.730058896733,2.8784265520597

To

Montpellier Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#43.608301884528,3.913067221845

To

Nimes Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#43.813539197635,4.3428224086736

To

Lyon Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#45.77197237565965,4.790385603904622

To

Villefranche Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#45.9732774652783,4.73224282264709

To

Belleville en Beaujolais Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#46.10543568675053,4.751834869384494

To

Dijon By bus https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Dijon/Nancy#trips

To

Nancy Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#48.7051230411474,6.16281509399414

To

Metz Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#49.1476925108629,6.18839263916016

To

Luxembourg Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#49.616956206857,6.0952427387202

To

Brussels Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#50.901991031783,4.3476074098635

To

Antwerp Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#51.244096871878,4.4287058114931

To

Breda Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#51.579629807074,4.72549438476562

To

Rotterdam Hitchhiking https://hitchmap.com/#51.9293637251588,4.44786161184311

To

Amsterdam

Hey,

I'm considering hitching from South (near Cardiff) to North Wales, wondering if anyone has any experience of this? Not sure where might be a good point to start

Because one of its developers supports this bank:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/01/artists-target-wimbledons-strawberries-and-cream-image-over-link-to-barclays

Hey hey, i’m a 21 M from America and I heard hitching in France is quite easy but most perspectives seem to come from french/euro backgrounds. I have a pretty extensive experience in the US but this’ll be my first time in Europe. I’ll mostly being hitching within Paris and was wondering if my situation may be more difficult or whatnot. Thanks!

Hi! I’m (21m) planning on hitchhiking from Munich to Berlin in August, and I have a few questions.

First and most important of all, I already did this 5 times in Germany, always in small towns, and it was always pretty safe, but I'm wondering in general, is it safe to hitchhike in Germany?

Second, there's a distance of about 600km between Munich and Berlin, how easy do you think it would be to get this done in just one day?

Third, where would you say are the best spots to find a ride along the way? For example, let's say I find a car going from Munich to Frankfurt, where should I stop to get the next ride?

And last, where should I look for the rides? When I did it in small towns, we would go to the main road out of town and it would be pretty easy, but I'm not sure about what to do in big cities.

Thank you all in advance!

EDIT: Forgot to say, but I’m travelling with a large suitcase, that may make it harder.

Hey, I'm (m19) planning to meet a friend in Albania in the end of August and travel together through the country for around 1½ weeks. Now I was thinking about how to get there and was wondering about hitchhiking. I already hitchhiked a bit through Greece, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo last year (with another friend) and just finished a big solo hitchhiking trip through Japan, which worked perfectly! But I'm unsure how easy it is to do it for example in Germany or Austria, where I heard stories that it could get difficult. Also because it's a very far distance (starting from northern germany) and I don't want to spend to much time already for the way. I know that you can't plan hitchhiking, it also depends on your luck. And the way is of course part of the trip and the fun. I just would be interested if anyone of you have done a similar route like this (through germany, austria, slovenia, croatia, bosnia?, Montenegro, albania) or have any tips, recommendations? Would you think that distance is doable in 2-3 days? Any help is welcomed, thank you!

Hi guys,

Hitchwiki is older than never, is there any other equivalent nowadays? An app maybe?

I am hitchhiking from Halifax to the Canadian great lakes West.

Thanks everyone!

Hey so i wanted to hitchhike across centralamerica but everyone tells me ill get robbed day 1. But i did want to film my trip. Should i just use a cheap digital camera and a cheap phone or can i bring my good phone? What would you recommend?