How to Hitchhike Properly

Don’t fill your backpack to the brim

Drivers are unlikely to take you with heavy and large luggage, and it will be inconvenient for you to carry it. Choose a backpack with a volume of no more than 35 liters and preferably with a waist strap – it will ease the load on your back.

You need to take with you a minimum set of things that will save you in any situation:

two sets of clothes;

a sleeping bag or tent;

soap;

toothpaste and a toothbrush;

a gadget for accessing the Internet;

a small first aid kit (cotton wool, plaster, wound healing agent, enterosorbent, painkiller).

Make sure you don’t end up without a smartphone

A smartphone is your faithful companion: it has a map, mobile communications, and even a flashlight. If it breaks down, the difficulties will immediately increase. To avoid this, take a few power banks from home or, if possible, a spare phone.

Remember: on the road you can end up in places where there is no connection at all. Therefore, do not rely on mobile Internet and download maps of the areas you are going to to your gadget in advance. Or better yet, take a paper map.

Wear bright clothes with reflective details

Go on a trip in comfortable and clean clothes. It is desirable that they be brightly colored and with reflective elements: this way you will be more visible on the road.

Choose comfortable shoes too: sneakers, Crocs, trainers. For hitchhiking, it is more effective not to sit still, but to walk in the direction of travel. And you also have a backpack on your back, remember?

Don’t take a lot of cash

Money is needed on a trip, but a bulging wallet tightly stuffed with cash can play a nasty trick on you. Flash your savings – you can get robbed.

Travel in tandem

The best option for hitchhiking is to travel in a mixed couple. It is not safe for a girl to travel alone, and drivers often refuse to pick up a guy, two guys or a group of three or four people because they themselves are afraid for their lives.

Warn that you are not prepared to pay

Perhaps the driver has not dealt with hitchhikers before. He may think that you are asking for a ride for money or are prepared to pay at least for part of the gas. It is better to say right away that you are a budget traveler and want to get to your destination for free.

Don’t sleep in the car and don’t drink someone else’s water

Safety comes first, so:

Always fasten your seatbelt and don’t forget about it, even when you’re riding in the back seat;

Don’t sleep and don’t let the driver fall asleep, your sleep could be fatal if your fellow traveler turns out to be a dishonest person;

If you feel that the driver smells of fumes, get into another car;

Don’t agree to drink someone else’s water from an open bottle – it might be poisoned;

Warn your relatives and friends about your trip and tell them about the planned route.