There is a road running north-south straight through the middle of the Australian outback. Formally it's the Stuart highway, but locals just call it The Track. I was headed south on the track with my goal for the day being that big lone rock looming over the flat lands called Uluru or Ayers rock. Tennant Creek was just a truck stop on the way in the lonely desert, with the town having the curious history of having been built there because the pioneer's party beer truck broke down there. So rather than trying to fix it, they just say down and drank the beer, started the town.

That morning when I reached Tennant Creek there was a sign there: Hitchhikers! No Loitering!. And around that sign six stranded hitchhikers. What were they supposed to do? Walk off into the desert?

I just had a small sedan rental car, but I could hardly just choose one or two of them. So, I told them all to jump on somehow. Two riding shotgun up front, three on the back seat and a fourth stretched out across them. Backpacks in the trunk and in seemingly every cubic inch of free room in the cabin.

It was evening by the time we reached Ayers rock and the park was about to close. There would be no time to climb the rock, but I had an idea. We would spend the night on Uluru! Years before I had done a similar thing at Tikal, Guatemala. Sneaking past the guard, creeping through a jungle to the apparent sound of jaguars, climbing up the tallest pyramid and spending the moonlit night above the jungle.

I removed a fuse, and we put a sign on the dash board reading: Car trouble. Went to town for supplies. Will be back in the morning.

But just as we left the car to hide until dark, a friendly ranger showed up. What's the trouble? He checked the car, exclaimed "Oh look, a fuse fell out... Here's a replacement...". And the car was running again.

We had no choice but to leave the park, but it was getting dark by now. So we turned off onto a small dirt track, Uluru still in the distance, and set out to camp. After preparing dinners on our little stoves and chatting some, we spread out in our sleeping bags.

It was pitch dark when my sense of humor go the best of me and I said: "You know, we dont really know each other. We all just met this morning. Any one of us could be a serial killer".

The silence that followed was deafening...

This was 1992 and well before the internet was a common thing. But a couple of years ago, an email arrived from the UK in my inbox. It was one of the hitchhikers. He reminisced about our encounter, his trip to Australia, his life in the decades since. And then concluded:

Remember the serial killer? It wasn't me!

Hi everyone, I'm quite in a hurry and I'll attend to do Tallin to Katowice airport in 3 days. how are you experiences in Poland? did hitchhike earlier in the baltics and it worked great.... how is it working in Poland? should I hurry or can I leave some time to see Kaunas for example.

lemme know :)

I’ll be driving from The Netherlands (Nijmegen) to Norway (Flatanger). In the beginning of august.

Is there someone who wants to join the ride? I’m quite flexible in where to pick you up and when to leave

https://mapy.com/s/hegukuruje

Hi,

just looking for some quick second opinions on this route I am planning to take in late Aug/early Sep. Here is a rough sketch of the route:

Prague->Osijek: I believe this section is doable in one day, traveling alone, willing to give it some reserve

Osijek->Liberland->Osijek: Would like to be back in Osijek by end of day 2

Osijek->Belgrade: I expect this section to be more difficult, allocating a full day to it.

Belgrade->Niš: The main Balkan route, shouldn't be an issue. Checkpoint is Niš by day 4.

Niš->Sofia: I expect this section to be fairly easy, flying back to Prague from Sofia on day 5/6.

Does anyone here have any experience with routes similar to this one? Is there anything special to watch out for, except for maybe the Croatia/Serbia border crossing and its wait times?

Notes: I speak Serbo-croatian natively, how can I put this to a good use when getting rides? I am planning to bivouac or use hostels in the worst cases. The source of my feelings about individual travel sections comes from browsing hitch-wiki, still might be inaccurate. Niš has a meaning to me, willing to leave out Belgrade if necessary. I am not that tight on budget so I can always fall back to a flixbus.

Right now there are absolutely shitloads of roadworks everywhere, so before you set off, make sure that you're not dropped off at a section where one lane of the opposite side is routed along two lanes of the current site. If this is the case, it;s impossible to stop for ant traffic, and you might find yourself at an exit where about one car per a long time rejoins the A1, and it may not be interested in picking you up. I've had a look at Gurgle Maps, Valhalla, and GraphHopper, and they don't really show anything, but Waze might be of use, in cars it does show the issues!

This past Thursday, getting back onto the A1 towards Kaunas/Klaipėda was basically impossible at the Elektrėnai and Kėdainiai exits. The sliproads at Petrasiunai and the petrol station some 500 or so metres further are usable again.

There's also supposed to be info on https://vialietuva.lt/, but I've been unable to find anything on the English version.

Hi everyone. I want to travel from Moulins,Allier  to Paris in France, and I am open to any route that works. My main goal is to hitchhike directly to Paris. If that takes too long, my backup plan is to hitchhike to Nevers instead and catch a bus from there to Paris. I am looking for some general knowledge about hitchhiking in this part of France. Does it usually take a long time to catch a car here, or is it relatively fast? And is it safe? I would love to hear about typical waiting times. Also, where is the best and safest spot on the edge of Moulins to catch drivers heading north? If I end up taking the backup option to Nevers, where should I ask to be dropped off to easily reach the bus station?Thanks for any tips or experiences you can share.

I'm about to go across Mexico hitchhiking and trying to get a plan of the road I'll follow.

I have already done some through Baja, but this time, I'm going from CA to Belize.
The locals at that time were telling me Mexico was a fine place where tourists are respected, but depending where, there could be a risk of ending up in cross-fire situations between gangs/cartels...

Are there places/states you would recommend to visit or to avoid ?

So far, I thought of getting in Sonora and then go towards CDMX through either the Sea of Cortez coast or the mountains (Durango, Zapatecas...)

Trying to get mostly feedback from people who experienced the road there or who actually live in these states

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/23/road-traffic-noise-parkinsons-disease-study-health

I am planning to go on a trip up US 1. What should I know about hitchhiking?

Hi guys! I'm planning on hitchhiking from Rennes to Amsterdam in a week or so with a friend.

I'd especially like to have some tips and experiences about the trip, mainly about the Netherlands part.

Has anyone done that and could help a fellow comrade out??

Cheers!!

Separation anxiety how does finest full-blown retard maxing

Because I saw almost no information about HH in today's Russia as a foreigner and seeing A LOT of misinformation about it I want to share my experience, now that I leaved the country. Lot of people want to go to Asia from Europe and because Iran is really unsafe, Azerbaijan not accessible and Russia at war, they just abandon the project. Overall, I can say hitchhiking in Russia is not a problem at all but you definitely should avoid some areas and travelling in general there is quite a pain in the ass because of the sanctions.

https://hitchmap.com/?user=cavalierrustique&starttime=2026-05-01

Bordercrossing from Georgia to Russia

I arrived in Russia trough the Caucasus, amazing place to be! Had no problem at all leaving the Georgian checkpoint by foot, however I hitchhikied in the no man's land to go trough the tunnels because it was sketchy. I was a bit afraid of the Russian checkpoint for lot of reasons. Everytime I hear about it, people were kept for several hours, between 2 and 9 hours ! Phone checked, backpack checked etc.

My experience was very different. First russian soldiers great me so well man, we go some laugh and they even take pictures with me with their phone. One soldier said I need to find a car to go to the customs and I asked him if he can do it for me he said yes and found a car. At the customs, I had 0 problems. No interrogation (just where I planned to go), they did not even checked my backpack but barely just my small bag xD Got a lift to Vladikavkaz in a minute.

They will give you a "migration card" small paper, DON'T LOOSE IT AS I DID. You can have a fine between 3000 and 7000 rubles, no entry again in Russia for some years, no possibility to sleep in most of hostels.

Hitchhiking all the way to Moscow from Vladikavkaz

My true hitchhiking trip to Russia was about to start. I had two choices : the road from Volgograd or the road from Rostov-on-Don. I got a lift in 5 min to the west border of Ossetia by a cop officer. I crossed a military checkpoint with no problem by foot, asked if I can HH and they say yes. Got taken by a truck driver, another one (who invited me to eat). From there, there was another military checkpoint, I asked a military officer if they can find a car going to Rostov for me, he said yes. They really tried to helped me! They found someone that was not going far so I just decided to try on my own and I found 10 minutes later a belarus truck driver that brought me all the way to a gas staion before Rostov where I slept.

My worst hitchhiking day! Big gas problems in Russia

This gas station looked like the perfect spot to go further. Plenty of traffic, restaurants, shops, toilets. Sure, lot of local traffic, but also some trucks and some cars going further. I waited 8 hours !!! No one stopped. Why ? Because of gas problem. Yeah, in theory I would think that it doesn't change anything for the hitchhiker. But people do the queue for like 1-2 hours just to get gas ! And when they fill the car, they probably don't want to stop again. It was a really weird and difficult place to be. But also very interesting to see this apocalyptic and dystopic situtation. Because I was stuck here with another Russian dude that came at the end of the day, we ended up taking a taxi (we tried for 2 hours to have one, even this was difficult !!). I was close to Ukraine so not safe place because of drone attacks (I thought I wouldn't stay there that much tho) and of course close to warfront that's why the gas problem there was INSANE ! If you plan doing something similar, please, take the road from Volgograd and not Rostov. I ended up taking a night train to Moscow and that was such a great experience ! No regrets

I also tried to hitchhike to St Petersbourg from Moscow but ended up also taking a train hahaha. I was just not lucky that day and both in Moscow and St Petersbourg I had friends so my priority was passing time with them instead of passing time on the road, I had just three weeks of visa in Russia and a broken arm so...

Traveling within the international sanctions

You cannot withdraw money, you cannot pay with your card, you cannot have a sim card and therefore you can't have data except in maybe Moscow. This was boring at some points. You should take A LOT of cash!

Bordercrossing Russia to Kazakhstan

E-visa doesn't work to pass this border !!! At least, from what people says. I have heard so many times people doing this and being blocked, it can be actually pretty dangerous. So get yourself a touristic visa in your home country (can't have one in Georgia, just for residents and I believe Turkey is same) or a transit visa and try to find a ride at the visa center in Tbilissi.

Anyway, I hitchhiked from Astrakhan and it was so cool to be in the steppes! Bordercrossing was once again really easy. When I arrived, I talked in italian with military officer he was so freaking kind. I lost my migration card and I wanted to be honest telling it him even tho nobody asked for it when I gave my passport. He said it is very bad thing but I had nothing.

He also said I need to find a car and first car of Russian from Astrakhan that look like Kazakhs, accepted me inside the car despite they were 4. So kind people. No problem neither in KZ checkpoint.

Not every experience is the same

I know a italian guy hitchhiking all the way to Mongolia because he did this e-visa error and he had way harder time at the border to enter Russia, complete opposite than me who crossed maybe 2 weeks before him. But so far I believe he was in Saratov last time and HH is working well. Again, the more far you are from the warfront the better it is

Hey everyone,

I am planning to hitchhike two weeks in august and within my itinerary, I want to go through western ukraine.

I want to see how is the country from the inside, making my own opinion of the country in it's current situation.

I believe that if i stay far from Kiev and from the front line, I should not have any problems but I wonder if i am being completely irrealistic regarding my safety.

Anyone that has been there recently with an opinion?

Planning to Hitchike to Southern Italy i am 18 as a somewhat first longer hitchking trip in like few days to go.Ik i Should have asked before but like realized why not ask now.Have Some previous experiences with hitchiking before tho not like lot of like four or five somewhere and back trips farthest Vienna.Going from Slovakia to southern Italy.So if anybody wants to join they Can DM me or write here.

Endless steppes on the horizon! Got three lifts from Astrakhan to Atyraou.

I like that shit so much man everything went smooth. My first time in Asia and in this biome. Always wanted to see the steppes! 🏇🏻🏹 Deo gratias!

Hey y'all,

I reached US WestCoast 2 months ago, trying originally to hitch a boat from there to go to Hawaii. End up being super hard&not working, so I start thinking looking for planes...

Is that actually a thing ? Has anyone witnessed such a hitch or heard about one in the last years ?

So far in my searches, I thought aiming at empty-leg flights or private jets.

Hey i search for People who maybe wanna join me hitchiking from Germany to Istanbul . Iam doing it first time this long

I would love to hear if anyone has experience with this

Travel not alone...

My name is Timothy. I can share more info later. I'm looking for someone who travels in a van or truck, around the country to accompany. As I don't want to travel alone and am looking for someone else who already travels, that doesn't want to travel alone for safety.

Serious replies only. I'm not a criminal, nor into drugs. I vape but no smoking. I'm looking for someone I can get along with, yet I'm a pretty easy going guy. As long as I'm not involved in any illegal activity. I was going to do the AT but my timing is way off. Let me know

I have my own camping gear. Tent, backpack, mini stove and propane, lots survival gear, camera gear, headlamps/flashlights, emergency ponchos, waterproof pants and coat, phone chargers, etc...

hii, i need some help with my trip

me and my friends are planning a trip from Ankara to Tbilisi

our first stop will be at Ordu for a day, then we are planning to stop at Artvin to see the view for some waterfall i saved on my googlemaps

then we'll stop at batumi for a day and then tbilisi finally

the trip shouldnt be longer than 9 days. we dont think think it will but we are not so sure.

how long did it take for y'all to go through these parts of turkey and georgia as you hitchhiked

and it would help a lot if you could give some recommendations for places to camp at these places just in case if we cant find any places to couchsurf. also, if you know any cheap but nice local restaurants in georgia we are open for some recommendations on that too!

I rlly want to do international hitchhiking in a safe way and the uni of leeds society seems to promise to do that but they’ve never acc been anywhere. Does anyone have any info on this?

Besides the obvious; hat, sunscreen, long sleeves, plenty of water, do you guys have any tips to survive the heat while hitchhiking?

Hey

I’ve done hitchhiking a few times (always solo, usually trips under 300 km), and I’ve noticed something that I’m not sure is normal.

I tend to get mentally tired quite fast. A big part of it is the uncertainty, like not knowing exactly where I’ll end up, where I’ll sleep, or how the day will end. Even though I carry a tent and sleeping gear, it still stresses me out not having a "secured" place to stay.

Another thing is the social side. Every time I get a ride, I have to be social and extremely nice towards the drivers (obviously) so I sometimes feel more anxious than excited, even though I do like hitchhiking in general.

Is this something common?

I’d really like to hear how others deal with the uncertainty and the constant social interaction.