Hitchhiking Abroad – 6 Practical Tips for the Backpacker

Hitchhiking can be a cheap way to travel. And you can also meet some interesting people, but as any other means of transportation it has its risks. Here are 7 tips to make hitchhiking easier:

1. When you hitchhike, make sure that you pick a safe place to hitchhike from where the cars can stop safely and easily to pick you up. Avoid places where the car may risk being hit by following cars if it stops to pick you up.

2. There are different tactics you can use to hitchhike. You can hitchhike by standing by the side of the road and try to get vehicles passing by to stop and pick you up. Find a good location where the drivers can see you early.

3. Another tactic is to go to gas stations and try to get the drivers stopping there to give you a ride.

4. Wear clean and nice clothes, smile at the cars and look as normal as you can. Put yourself in their position, would you pick up someone who looks like you?

5. Hand gestures mean different things in different countries. Find out which gesture is appropriate for indicating that you want to hitchhike. The thumbs-up sign may actually be an insult. In some countries your put out your hand flat and wave it up and down to indicate that you want a ride.

6. An alternative to making a hand gesture is to draw a sign indicating where you want to go. Make the sign large and legible.

By following the above advice I hope that you get to have some great hitchhiking experiences, happy travels!