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.

I'm going to hitchhike from paris to Prague soon, and I'm wondering what's best between taking the A320 and going to Sarrebruck and Mannheim and being directly on Autobahn 6,

or going to Strasbourg with the A4 and Autobahn 5, getting back on the Autobahn 6 after Karlsruhe ?

If you already hitchhiked in this region do you know what is quicker ?

Hi everybody,

I am right now in Istanbul and want to hitchhike for the first time in my life. My plan is to go to georgia or at least to ankara.

I read the pages for turkey and Istanbul on hitchwiki, searched for similar experiences here on this subreddit and watched some videos.

As it's my first time hitchhiking I want to be safe and ask if there is any advice on start hitchhiking, what to watch out for and where some good spots are? I looked up some places on hitchmap but it seems that the people who added some places were going to Istanbul and not outside.

So far I would still go to a place on hitchmap with a cardboard on which I write georgia/ankara in english and turkish, have enough sunscreen and water with me as well as my tent, cocker and some food.

Is there anything I miss? Do you plan a route or are you just going out, let the adventure happen and then figure things out?

Is there by any chance someone who is going in my direction and wants to join me?

Was going to be travelling across Japan, and was wondering if bringing a car charger(like the ones that go in the cigarette lighter ) would be useful/morally acceptable?

Because it will be such a long trip, and will be trying to camp in tent most of the time. I was unsure if this is something that I should bring. I will hopefully try and charge at convenience stores etc. I will be bring some camera gear/batteries/ phone/ headlamp/ etc.

It seems lightweight that it wouldn't be inconvenient to bring. However, I am mostly concerned about the moral aspect - Is it okay to ask to plug into? What comes to mind is the saying"give an inch and they take a mile." I am sure that a driver will allow me to plug in after I ask. However, I want to do the right thing and am sure I might be overthinking it. Any thoughts or input from hitchhikers would be greatly appreciated.

I'm planning on hitchhiking from somewhere in the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium to easter Europe. Im planning on going for 2-3 weeks. Since its my first time im kinda anxious going alone, i was wondering is there are people that would wanna travel with me. I'm a normal guy who is a history teacher during the year, i workout quite a bit so im physically fit. I can take the train to anywhere in Belgium/ NL or Germany as a starting point. HMU if your interested.

Well, I wouldn't recommend doing the same as I did but I basically hitchhiked from Turkey to Russia with a cast on my arm. It was not smart but as I had my visa in Russia incoming I did not want to lose it so I ended up continuing my hitchhiking trip, I switched for public transportation when it was cheap and convenient.

Could not pitch the tent tho, so I had to make sure I always had a place to sleep. In Georgia it was pretty easy to find a cheap place and in Russia I wanted to meet a friend of mine in Moscow so I took the train close to Ukraine, after one night spent in a truck.

I was lucky to meet a doctor in a hostel of Vladikavkaz who next became my friend and treated me in Saint Petersburg for free, along with x-rays.

Now I have one week of rehabilitation so I still can't really use my arm for intensive things but at least I don't look dirty with the cast (it was kind of falling apart and turning brown-ish). Now I will take a train from Saint Petersburg to Astrakhan and hitchhike to Kazakhstan in a few days!

Hey, currently in Iquitos in Peru, and want to see what are the most creative/ cheapest routes to get back to the UK. I have a month until I need to go back. Open to flights, cargo ships, yacht hitchhiking etc. Also open to moving to different countries in South America if it makes logistics easier :) and cheaper.

Thank you in advance 😊

There is a festival in England I cannot skip on. An underground gem. I would love to surprise my friends, as I would probably head back to South America afterwards (hence the cheapness of myself).

VAMOS !