Apparently a diverse range of people. In my 24 country hitchhike, I was picked up by 227 different vehicles. All people I had never met before. Before I started, I wondered how many people that picked me up would speak English. For me, almost half; 111 out of 227 rides had at least one person in the vehicle who spoke a level of English that I could understand.
Below is a summary of who I have been driven by on my journey which started and finished in Norfolk, UK. I still refrain from using names on my website because it is rude to talk about people without their permission. The table shows my nickname for each person, where they drove me to, where they were from, the language they spoke that I best understood (if at all), and where appropriate, a little note.
Because I love spreadsheets, I made some hitchhiking statistics from my journey. Here is one statistic; of the 227 rides I got, 172 vehicles were all male, 22 were all female, and 33 were a combination of the both.
Lift | Name | Nationality | Language | Destination |
1 | Mr prejudice | British | English | Newmarket |
2 | National Express Bus | British | English | London |
3 | An English gentleman | British | English | Brussels |
4 | Play equipment builder man | Belgian | English | Antwerpen |
5 | A man | Moroccan | English | Delft |
6 | A Dutch family | Dutch | English | Rotterdam |
7 | Travelling businessman | Dutch | English | Gent |
8 | A cool lady | Belgian | English | Brussels |
9 | A strange man | Belgian | French | Grimbergen |
10 | Pleasant elderly couple | Belgian | English | Berchem |
11 | Friendly shaved man | Belgian | English | Tienen |
12 | Young laughing guy | Belgian | English | Liège |
13 | The balloon maker | Dutch | English | Maastricht |
14 | Judo man | French | English | A6 entrance |
15 | Smoking chef | French | French | L— |
16 | The Senegalese Enforcer | Senegalese | French | Dijon |
17 | Mr weed and iPad | French | English | Aix– (Lyon) |
18 | Camera Man | Spanish | Spanglish | Genova |
19 | Beardy man | Italian | Italian | Milano |
20 | Doctor man | Italian | Italian | Como |
21 | Young Italian | Italian | Italian | Swiss border |
22 | Golf teacher | Italian | English | 25km on |
23 | Cello van man | Swiss | English | Mountains |
24 | My notebook hero | Swiss | English | Red cross’ |
25 | Party man | Swiss | English | Zurich |
26 | Fertiliser man | Swiss | English | Rheinfall |
27 | Funky man | German | English | –Stuttgart |
28 | Young policeman | German | English | Stuttgart |
29 | The salesman | German | English | Köln / Cologne |
30 | Happy lorry man | German | English | D– |
31 | Young beardy man | German | English | Münster |
32 | Kazakh-Van | Kazakh | Kazakh?? | Osnabrück |
33 | A button maker | German | English | Lohne |
34 | My date friend | Algerian | French | Hamburg |
35 | Rammstein man | German | English | Kiel |
36 | Daring lady | German | English | Flensburg |
37 | Danish couple | Danish | English | O– |
38 | Bulgarian trucker | Bulgarian | Russian | Odense |
39 | Blond party man | Danish | English | Stor– |
40 | Thai boxer and her mum | Danish | English | Copenhagen |
41 | An unlikely ride | Danish | English | Odense |
42 | Straight edged G | Danish | English | Kolding |
43 | Mr amazing | Polish | Poglish | Osnabrück |
44 | Amazing part II | Polish | English | French border |
45 | Mother and Daughter | German | English | Saarlouis |
46 | A friendly man | French | French | Crz– |
47 | Mr quiet | French | French | Saint Avold |
48 | A man | French | French | Gas station |
49 | White van man | British | English | Vitry-le-François |
50 | Bright Eyes | French | French | Saint Diziers |
51 | Marriage Man | French | French | Nancy |
52 | Moroccan Roots | French | French | Lyon Airport |
53 | Curly Hair | French | French | Lyon Metro |
54 | Light Man | French | English | Peage somewhere |
55 | Mr Trucker | French | French | A forest |
56 | French guy and girlfriend | French | English | Nowhere (Modene) |
57 | Lip Ring Girl | French | English | Autoroute |
58 | Man and ?Mum? | French | French | Quiet lorry park in Italy |
59 | Miss Apprehensive | Italian | Itglish | Torino |
60 | Origins Unknown | Moldovan | None | Verona |
61 | Cricket Man | Sri Lankan | Itglish | A road |
62 | Oktoberfest Trucker | Italian | English | Padova |
63 | High energy father-son | Indian | English | Autostrada |
64 | Cool young man | Italian | English | Venice |
65 | Eco Man | Italian | English | Padova |
66 | The Funny Accent Man | South African | English | Autostrade |
67 | Mr 2-seater Mercedes | Italian | English | Mestre |
68 | Motorway Security | Italian | Itglish | A garage |
69 | I Like Milan | Italian | English | A4 |
70 | 20 Year Old Girl | Italian | English | Udine |
71 | Hungarian Chef | Hungarian | Hunglish | Leintz |
72 | “You Drive, I Smoke” | Italian | English | Graz |
73 | Theatre Man | Austrian | English | South Vienna |
74 | The Pianist | Austrian | English | North Vienna |
75 | Mr Erotic | Czech | Czech | Near Prague |
76 | Hunting Crew | Czech | English | Prague |
77 | The Quiet Man | Czech | None | Liberec |
78 | The ‘Fun’ Van | Polish | Polish | Zawidów |
79 | Mum and daughter | Polish | English | Z– |
80 | Subaru Couple | Polish | English | Wrocław |
81 | Auschwitz Man | Polish | German | Auschwitz |
82 | Crazy driver | Polish | English | Kraków |
83 | Vegan pastry man | Polish | English | Słomniki |
84 | Microscope man | Polish | English | Grojec |
85 | Happy Businessman | Polish | Polish | Mińsk Mazowiecki |
86 | Bread delivery man | Polish | Polish | ? |
87 | Marseille weed man | Polish | French | ? |
88 | Lorry test brothers | Polish | English | Ostrów |
89 | Dad and daughter | Polish | English | ? |
90 | Mercedes Man | Kazakh | Russian | Kaunas |
91 | Jazz baby | Lithuanian | English | Vilnius |
92 | Army man | Lithuanian | Litglish | Panevėžys |
93 | IBM sandwich man | Latvian | English | Riga |
94 | Lake couple | Latvian | English | -50km Riga |
95 | Trucker | Russian | Russian | -Tallin |
96 | Fair trade girl | Estonian | English | Tallin |
97 | Trucker couple | Estonian | English | Pärnu |
98 | Mr coincidence | Estonian | English | 20 km |
99 | Miss Amazing | Estonian | English | 60 km |
100 | Child Translator | Estonian | English | 20 km |
101 | Dinosaur, gun fight | Estonian | English | Tartu |
102 | Mr Truck | Estonian | Russian | 20 km |
103 | Outdoorsy guy | Estonian | English | Valga |
104 | Sad Doctor Lady | Estonian | English | Valmieras |
105 | Mr No Speak | Latvian | None | Sigulda |
106 | Mustache man | Latvian | English | Riga |
107 | Pink Shirt Lady | Latvian | Latvian | A roundabout |
108 | Mullet man | Latvian | Latvian | Bauska |
109 | Black current boy | Lithuanian | English | Panevezys |
110 | Mr Cool | Estonian | English | -38 km Molėtai |
111 | Summer house family | Lithuanian | English | Hitch Gathering 2012 |
112 | Scout camp girls | Lithuanian | English | Ambraziškiai |
113 | Tennis children | Lithuanian | English | Molėtai |
114 | A man | Lithuanian | Lithuanian | A junction |
115 | Two children | Lithuanian | English | Campsite |
116 | Hitch wagon | Lithuanian | English | Hitch Gathering 2012 |
117 | Van man | Lithuanian | Lithuanian | 3 km |
118 | A couple | Lithuanian | Lithuanian | Molėtai |
119 | A businessman | Lithuanian | English | Vilnius |
120 | Attractive girls | Lithuanian | English | Kaunas |
121 | A couple | Lithuanian | English | 20 km |
122 | Linkin Park | Polish | None | Suvalki |
123 | Mr apprehensive | Polish | Polish | A gas station |
124 | Map man | Polish | Polish | Augustów |
125 | Mustache man | Polish | Polish | ? |
126 | Car buying bridge engineer | Polish | English | Białystok |
127 | Sports fashion courier | Polish | Polish | Ostrów |
128 | Happy apples | Polish | Polish | Mińsk Mazowiecki |
129 | A new baby | Polish | English | 20 km |
130 | Borat doctor | Polish | English | ? |
131 | Same shirts | Polish | Polish | ? |
132 | Two climbers | Polish | English | ? |
133 | Good van man | Polish | Polish | Kraków |
134 | Tile salesman | Polish | Polish | Kielce |
135 | Card playing kid | Polish | Polish | Warszawa |
136 | Pregnant mum and son | Polish | English | 20km |
137 | Museum Man | Polish | Poglish | -Radom |
138 | Three stoners | Polish | English | Radom / Kielce |
139 | A quiet trucker | Polish | Poglish | Radom |
140 | Stripy shirt man | Polish | English | 25km |
141 | Dad and son | Polish | Polish | Kraków |
142 | Heavy metal man | Slovakian | Slovakian | Bratislava |
143 | Mr Kind | Slovakian | English | Hungarian Border |
144 | Ice cream man | Hungarian | Hungarian | Budapest |
145 | Bakery man | Hungarian | Hungarian | 30km |
146 | Mr Friendly | Hungarian | Hungarian | 50km |
147 | Bobble dog | Hungarian | Hunglish | Zamárdi |
148 | A family | Hungarian | Hungarian | Balatonlelle |
149 | Helpful man | Hungarian | German | 3km |
150 | Van man | Hungarian | Hungarian | 3km |
151 | Smart couple | Hungarian | English | 20km |
152 | Psychedelic Rock Band | Russian | English | Budapest |
153 | Quiet couple | Hungarian | English | 20km |
154 | Holiday couple | Hungarian | Hunglish | ? |
155 | A man | Hungarian | Hungarian | 15km |
156 | Beardy man | Hungarian | German | Malacky |
157 | UPS man | Hungarian | English | 20km |
158 | Weed guys | Czech | English | 80km |
159 | A trucker | Czech | Czech | Brno |
160 | A man | Czech | German | Prague |
161 | Badass hippy van | Hungarian | English | Berlin |
162 | Leather man | German | English | 20km |
163 | Mini truck man | German | German | Tropical Island’ |
164 | Mercedes couple | German | German | Lübbenau |
165 | Shy man | German | None | 20km |
166 | Turbine man | German | German | Ruhland |
167 | Cool lady | German | English | Dresden |
168 | Event man | German | English | ? |
169 | Young man | German | English | German border |
170 | The mathematician | Czech | English | Prague |
171 | Mushroom picker | Czech | English | Brno |
172 | Landfill Man | Czech | English | 15 km |
173 | Hide from the police | Slovakian | None | Malacky |
174 | Gypsy warning | Romanian | English | Budapest |
175 | Eat with us | Hungarian | Hunglish | K– |
176 | Cafe people | Serbian | English | Szeged |
177 | Old man | Hungarian | Hungarian | 30 km |
178 | BMW haulers | Romanian | Romanian | Border |
179 | Haulers part 2 | Romanian | English | – 5 km Bulgarus |
180 | Helpful man | Romanian | Spanish | Bulgarus |
181 | Petrol Burns | Romanian | Romanian | 5 km to main road |
182 | A man | Romanian | Romanian | Timisoara |
183 | Dislikeables | Romanian | Romanian | Bulgarus |
184 | Friendly trucker | Romanian | Romanian | Timisoara |
185 | Fridge guys | Romanian | Romanian | Moravita |
186 | Old moustache man | Romanian | Romanian | Border |
187 | Car park trucker | Serbian | Serbian | Pancevo |
188 | Open back truck | Serbian | Serbian | Toll booth |
189 | Coke man | Turkish | Turkish | Sofia |
190 | Drunk driver | Bulgarian | English | Plovdiv |
191 | ROSPA inspectors | Bulgarian | English | – 20 km Svilengrad |
192 | Scar head, peroxide wife | Bulgarian | None | Svilengrad |
193 | Smiley trucker | Turkish | Turkish | – 5 km border |
194 | Border man | Bulgarian | English | Edirne |
195 | Racist engineer | Turkish | English | 20 km |
196 | Lucky trucker | Turkish | Turkish | 100 km |
197 | Squeeze in man | Turkish | Turkish | 20 km |
198 | Young engineer | Turkish | English | Istanbul |
199 | Little truck man | Turkish | Turkish | 10 km |
200 | Weed guys | Turkish | Turklish | 5 km to main road |
201 | No speak English | Turkish | Turkish | 15 km |
202 | Cruisers | Turkish | Turklish | 150 km |
203 | 600 guests | Turkish | English | Mal– |
204 | Stop and search | Turkish | Turkish | Thessaloniki |
205 | I see you | Greek | English | 10 km backwards |
206 | Motorway stop | Bulgarian | Bulgarian | 150 km |
207 | I love football | Bulgarian | English | 30 km |
208 | Mr Twitchy | Bulgarian | Bulglish | Sofia |
209 | I love dogs | Bulgarian | English | 30 km |
210 | Yellow van man | Bulgarian | Bulgarian | 20 km |
211 | Garage owner | Bulgarian | English | Border |
212 | Audi man | Turkish | Turkish | Nis |
213 | Motorway truck | Turkish | Turkish | Belgrade |
214 | Porn good, gay bad | Turkish | Turkish | Maribor |
215 | Rocker saviour | Hungarian | Hungarian | Ljubljana |
216 | Young climber | Slovenian | English | 20 km |
217 | Dr Mack | Slovenian | English | 10 km |
218 | Truck crew | Macedonian | English | Stuttgart |
219 | Dreadlocks and family | Romanian | English | 150 km |
220 | Rest stop worker and dad | German | English | Kehl |
221 | Discotheque man | French | French | 10 km |
222 | Brussels couple | Russian | English | Brussels |
223 | Acting teacher | Belgian | English | 20 km |
224 | Ukrainian lady | Ukrainian | English | Dover |
225 | A lucky trucker | Romanian | English | Newmarket |
226 | A worker | British | English | 5 ways roundabout |
227 | “Thank-you” | British | English | Castle Acre |
Some places in the world are probably safer for hitchhiking than others. The United States, due to its being so huge and impersonal, overall, has never been a particularly safe place to hitchhike
Hey this blog is awesome! I loved reading your stories! I have just started a blog over at http://www.georgeforaday.co I am going to link this site in a page about travelling Europe. Safe travels!
How do you find people in one country who will take you to another one?! How long did you usually have to wait for someone to stop for you? This is great!
Just stand on the road that goes towards the border. Most people don’t mind taking you through the border if they are friendly, but if it takes a while to approve your passport, they might just leave you there and you simply catch a ride with a new person on the other side. When you’re in the Schengen area, this isn’t an issue as borders don’t exist anymore. I rarely waited more than thirty minutes for a ride and getting a ride could sometimes be instant – people pulling over before you even put your thumb up. If you’ve waited in one place for more than thirty minutes / an hour, it probably isn’t a good place and you should try to find somewhere else. It’s not an exact science, but that’s a general rule that I followed.