Cover photograph: Roger McLassus · CC BY-SA 3.0 — Hitchhiker in Luxembourg, August 1977 — also used on hitchhiking.org

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hitchhiking

Compiled from Hitchwiki, a collaborative guide for hitchhikers. Hitchwiki was originally named Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hitchhiking. This book is not related to Douglas Adams or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

More than 1,300 named hitchhikers have edited the pages collected here, plus anonymous edits. That is an estimate from Hitchwiki’s contributor lists for this edition’s chapters, not a headcount of every account on the wiki.

License: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Credit the Hitchwiki community and link to https://hitchwiki.org/.

This edition starts with practice (how to hitch anywhere), then a geographic half (each country, with a few cities under the country they belong to), then websites and networks still worth knowing, and ends by sending you out onto the road and back to the wiki. It does not reprint roadside pin lists. Those go stale; use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live wiki.

Hitchhiking is legally grey in some places. Trust your judgement; this book republishes community guides, it is not legal advice.

Part I — Practice

Hitchhiking is the same motion everywhere: stand where a car can stop, look like you want a ride, wait. The pages that follow are that motion in detail — spots, signs, weather, packing, safety, waiting, the first time.

Place-specific notes come after this. If you only read one section before you stick out your thumb, read this one.

Part II — Places

Laws, habits, and roads change at borders. These country chapters are orientation, not a promise that last year’s ramp still works.

A few city chapters sit under the country they belong to, capital and main cities first. Named on-ramps and GPS pins stay on maps.hitchwiki.org. Use the live map when you are actually going.

The order is geographic, not A–Z: Europe first, then North America, the rest of the Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania.

Part III — Resources

The practice pages are how to stand. The country pages are where. This section is the rest of the network: Hitchwiki, maps, hospitality, the sites that were current when this edition was compiled.

URLs rot. If a link here is a husk, the live Hitchwiki page at the end of the chapter is current.

Part IV — Your turn

You have enough. The first ride is not a round-the-world expedition. It is a stretch of road, a place a car can stop, and a hand in the air.

The practice pages exist so you waste less time on a bad shoulder. The country and city pages exist so a border or a ring road does not surprise you. The resource pages exist so you can find the live map and the rest of the network. None of that replaces the five minutes of standing there looking slightly ridiculous.

People will pass. That is the job. Someone will stop. That is also the job. You get in, say where you are going, and the day turns into a conversation you could not have bought.

If you were waiting for permission, this is it. Water, a spot from this book or from maps.hitchwiki.org, the next town. Then you decide whether you want the one after that.

You do not have to call yourself a hitchhiker. You have to stand where the cars are.

Your appearance is important when hitchhiking!

Putting together an excellent outfit doesn't just change the means by which that other people perceive you, it changes the means by which we experience ourselves. Think for a minute about just how you're feeling when you place on your favorite shirt, as well as exactly that pair of jeans for just right. It changes your entire personality.

Clothes

The first and most important details are the clothes you wear. Try to wear bright colored, well visible clothes. This is extremely important during the night or in bad weather, but also during sunshine. A yellow or orange shirt, pullover or jacket works best. If you don't want to spend much money on new gear, a reflective warning vest pulled over your jacket will perfectly do the job. This is also extremely important while walking on a dangerous road trying to find a good spot.

To limit the amount of clothes you take with you; use layers. In the morning you start with several layers, as it gets warmer you take them off and at night you can wear them again. It's great if you can adapt to your driver's air conditioning, or the sudden rain or 4 km tunnel when you're in the back of a pick up truck.

Obviously there is a difference between hitching in Spain in the summer and in Scandinavia during wintertime. Nevertheless, it is often smart to buy some good outdoor stuff. It is light and dries very fast. There is nothing worse than wet jeans or cotton-shirt if it's below 10 °C. Plus, you can wash it and it dries fast. Outdoor wear differs a lot in the degree it adopts smelliness. You can wear some for days without smelling, others stink after two hours hiking.

Hitchhiking is an outdoor sport and it pays off to wear good shoes. They might not be best for dancing when you reach your destination, but it is important while walking along the road. At times you might need to cross rocky areas, puddles, mud, snow etc. Sometimes you have to be quick and step off the road due to big trucks etc.

Avoid dark or military clothes, they do not create a lot of trustfulness. Looking too much like a colorful hippie will possibly scare other drivers off. Take off your hat (unless it's a really funny one), don't wear gloves, open your jacket, even though you might freeze. Also helpful are t-shirts that identify you with something, be it a country, a football team or a band - Zenit has been picked up because of his "Switzerland" t-shirt more than once.

Sometimes, your clothes give away that you're a traveller/tourist, because the people on the street where you are usually wearing something else than what you wear. As mentioned above, it might scare people off if it is too extreme, but on the other hand it might also get people interested to look like you've stories to tell.

Looks

Show both your hands and, if possible, forearms. Don't wear a hat or sunglasses. However, is if it is just too hot and sunny to stand it with no protection choose a hat over sunglasses, as the latter hide your eyes and this makes most people suspicious. Wear a short-brimmed straw hat or a light coloured cap as long as it doesn't hide your face too much. If it is raining, it's better to use an umbrella than a hood.

Your mood is very relevant. So always be happy, or at least pretend to and keep smiling. This will get you a ride much faster, than if you're looking tired and unmotivated.

When hitchhiking in foreign countries it might pay off to look like a foreigner.

Hygiene

You are more likely to be picked up when you look somewhat decent and clean. Wear fast drying, easy to wash clothes, avoid cotton.

Avoid stinking! This might not be the easiest thing while hitchhiking long distance, but remember: You are not the last hitchhiker this driver might pass! Having a stinky passenger in the car will make the driver think twice before picking up someone again. This will make it easier for the whole hitchhiking community! Carry a second set of gear with you, wash your clothes regularly, use fast-drying gear. Some outdoor gear picks up odours faster than others, ask in the store or inform yourself before buying.

Use deodorants. Clean any mud off your shoes before hitchhiking (not in front of the eyes of the driver).

Most service stations on the highway have showers. Use them in the morning if you start your journey after you camped at a service station.

Hygiene can save your health and your life; it can prevent many sicknesses.

Behavior

Look the approaching driver in the eyes! Smile!

If you're likely to be perceived as a woman, don't behave and look too salacious. This might give the wrong impression.

If you've been waiting a long time it might be good to do something funny, like waving at random cars or play some small musical instrument. Hitchhiking a bike or a motorbike will also cheer you up easily—they always look so funny showing that they would love to take you but don't have the space.

Source: Appearance License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

AVP Free Encyclopedia - Russia's largest electronic book for travelers. It is a collection of practical information for independent travelers on different places of the planet Earth, largely gather by Russian hitchhikers. The FE is a project of the Academy of Free Travel (Академия Вольных Путешествий, AVP). As of October 2008 there are 1215 articles, 249 comments and 317 categories, 293 authors and 1770 registered users.

"Free Encyclopedia" - a special book.

First, only here can be found all under one cover Russia (and all CIS countries - under another). And secondly - and most importantly - the book answers the many questions of "How much?", "Where?" and "How?". How to get to a city (region), with money, and without? Where to eat? Where to spend the night - not only with full, but also with an empty purse? Where to find fellow human beings? How to get out of the city as a hitchhiker? How to go by rail or passing locomotive, aircraft, the motorboat? How much costs a loaf of bread or a lunch in the cafeteria? We have tried to respond to many of these questions.

A. Krotov, from the preface to 4th "VE" edition

Links

• http://ve.free-travels.ru/

Source: AVP Free Encyclopedia License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Border crossings can be good for hitchhiking. Cars have to stop and if you successfully make it to the next country you can easily hitch a ride going far towards your destination. Generally people are much more likely to pick you up after you crossed the border yourself.

In some places, such as some crossings in Turkey and New York State, they don't like people walking across the border. It's mostly better to get a ride across the border and get out there if humanly possible (if there are e.g. money exchange offices).

At all times keep your bag with you when leaving your car. You might be sent back to the country you came for, or other bad scenarios could happen.

If you are entering a country you need a visa for and just plan to transit, it could be wise not to tell your plans to the border guards, but instead tell them you are visiting a city in the country itself.

2010 or before: n0id and M. did tell the border guard when leaving Moldova and entering Ukraine that they were headed for Poland. When asked at which border crossing they would enter Poland they unknowingly told the first which crossed their mind - the one they had taken before. Unfortunately, the border guard put a transit stamp with the name of the border crossing in their passports which later determined which way they had to take.

Phones and other digital devices

It can be a good idea to turn off your phone and other digital devices before crossing borders.

Source: Border crossing License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Street performance or '''''' is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is practiced all over the world and dates back to antiquity. People engaging in this practice are called street performers or buskers. Buskers is not a term generally used in American English.

See also: Musical instruments

Source: Busking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Cab can refer to:

• Taxi
• Truck cabin

Source: Cab License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Competitive Autostop is a (new) form of the orienteering sport, combining hiking, orienteering and exploration with autostop as a means of transport. Competitions and varying expeditions are organized on a regular base by clubs in Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Germany. Elements of sport orienteering & navigation in (un)known territory off and on the road are an inherent part in such competitions, establishing a more adventurous form of autostop.

Next to that, research and lectures are conducted regarding a broad range of topics, including e.g. training for giving first-aid on the road, survival training in specific conditions, perfecting night hitchhiking or strategical autostop. In 2014, the second qualification round for the World Championships is planned, covering a route through all of Europe (~16 days). While competitive autostop is mainly based in Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics, there are attempts to establish competitive autostop in Western Europe. A first German club has been founded in November 2011.

Regulations

In the past PASL created a set of competitive autostop rules & regulations with regard of the TransGlobal Race. The competition rules can be found here. An adapted version is in use of the German club.

Competitive Autostop Union

In order to organize and connect the various international competitive autostop clubs and sports enthousiasts, there are ongoing efforts to form a Union of Competitive Autostop Clubs.

Regional Clubs

• CAT, Клуб Спортивного Автостопа (Competitive Autostop Team)
• PASL, Петербургская Лига Автостопа (St. Petersburg Autostop League, Russia)
• VHHC, Vilnius Hitch-Hiking Club (Lithuania)
• DTSG, Deutsche Trampsport Gemeinschaft (German Competitive Autostop Community, Germany)
• MKCA - Московская Команда Спортивного Автостопа (Moscow Team of Competitive Autostop, Russia)
• (Name unknown) - Minsk (Belarus) has competitive autostop community, too

Events

• 5 November, 2016 - Transglobal 2nd Qualification Round (Europe, approx. 2-3 weeks)
• 25 - 27 November 2016 - DTSG race in the Black Forest, Germany as well as their 5 year anniversary celebration

Links

• TransGlobal Race, Website of the World Championships,
• DTSG, German competitive autostop club
• Alexey Vorov explains the idea of the TransGlobal Austostop Race
• German TV about competitive autostop
• TransGlobal Qualification Round 2012 in Ukraine, a short video summary by a participating team.
• VK group page for announcements of events in Russia
• MKCA group page
• PASL group page
• Minsk Sport Hitchhiking Event for Belarus

Source: Competitive autostop License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Here is some information about dogs hitchhiking with humans and humans hitchhiking with dogs. A couple consisting of a dog and a human isn't necessarily hitchhiking slower than a human couple.

Drivers' reactions, though, are more definitive: either a strict "No, never!", or very passionate "YES!". People who like dogs do not hesitate - they just stop. Even when otherwise they won't be picking up a human hitchhiker traveling without animal companion.

Some religions say that dogs are dirty, some countries ban certain breeds, and in some cultures dogs aren't pets but livestock. Take into consideration these cultural differences and learn about animal issues in particular location before hitting the road and crossing borders.

Most countries have laws about what is required from you to enter with a pet. If you check these in advance, you can make the necessary arrangements and avoid quarantine in most cases. Since January 2012, the EU's laws made it easier to travel within the EU as long as you have a valid EU Pet Passport. But even then it's important to check each country's rules in advance - some of them have extra requirements like tick, flea or tapeworm treatment (e.g. UK, Ireland, Finland, Malta).

Advice for Humans

• try to make your dog accustomed with hitchhiking when he/she is still young
• make sure your dog is not afraid of cars before you hitch with him/her for the first time
• don't forget your dog's passport and papers
• make sure your dog feels comfortable and safe in every moment of your journey, for example, don't forget he/she also wants to pee after sitting a while in a car;)
• flea and heartworm preventative is important also
• keep in mind that dogs cannot go as long as humans without water - take more water than you think you will need as you might need to pour it on them if they get too hot.
• putting your dog on a feeding schedule may be difficult on the road but is worth it and helps prevent 'accidents'
• take a towel or an old jumper for your dog to sit / lie on. On hot days this can protect them from hot pavements when you are waiting and it can also protect the car of whoever gives you a lift.
• if hitchhiking in hot weather take some Vaseline to help protect your companions paw's from hot Tarmac (or baby socks, but your companion may not find this dignified) and sun cream if your dog has thin light hair - especially their nose.
• practice lifting your dog above your head, and make sure they are comfortable with this so that you can get them into a lorry quickly and safely.
• if your dog is normally happy to get into a car, and they make it clear that something bothers them about this particular lift, trust their judgement, make an excuse, and wait for another lift.
• make sure your dog isn't too close to the road as gravel may hit them, and their eyes are much nearer the ground than yours, so at higher risk of being hit.
• take tweezers(for ticks), a bandage and if you can get them, some butterfly stitches or staples if you are travelling long distances.
• if your dog is clearly tired and has had enough, call it a day if possible. You are a team!

• add more info?:)

Advices for Dogs

• do not drink too much before traveling
• if your fellow human is somewhat stressed, try to be nice and do not annoy him/her too much
• do not run over the road, this can be dangerous
• always look nicely at the driver
• insist on a ride in a dog's own, specific way:

http://alamedalearning.com/reality/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/begging-dog.jpg

• do not bark at cyclists and other traffic, it can contribute in worsening of the hitchhiking image
• as humans world is weird and sometimes incomprehensible, listen to your fellow human to be safe
• always be polite to other humans and dogs that are already in a car
• inform your fellow human you are hitchhiking with about your intentions to flirt with a dog that happens to be in the same car
• make sure not to get motion sickness!
• add more info?:)

Source: Dog Hitchhiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

An Embassy is the representation of a country at the seat of government of another country. The page embassy-finder claims to show a very reliable 'list of embassies and consulates' all over the world.

Hitchhiking at an embassy

You can of course use Embassies for hitchhiking. As you need visa to enter some countries, you have to go to the embassy of the country you want a visa for and make a request for it. Other people also have to. It's your chance to talk to people waiting whether they want to go to the country of your choice and when and arrange a lift there. This seems to be good advice if you try to hitch from Morocco to Mauritania - you can ask at the Mauritanian embassy in Rabat (6, Rue Thami Lamdawar, B.P 207, Souissi/Rabat)

Source: Embassy License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

There are lots of different theories and practices around hitchhiking etiquette and courtesy for your driver. Also, there is some general rules about treating other hitchhikers on the road.

Etiquette on the road

Be courteous: Hollaring at drivers, standing in the road, or just generally being a nuisance can be dangerous and will not only deter drivers from picking you up, it may affect that driver's perception toward hitchhikers in the future.

Keep your cool: It's easy to get frustrated when thumbing, especially when there are plenty of passing drivers going your direction. It is important that you keep rude gestures in your head and objects away from the car. There have been stories of hitchhikers purposefully putting objects in the road to intercept drivers that pass by. For all of us, don't do it.

Etiquette with drivers

Introductions: Some hitchhikers leave it to drivers to offer their names first. Many times they never do. Leading to the situation in which you can occasionally (especially on long rides) hear detailed intimate experiences of someone who you never learn the name of. Other hitchers offer their name when they get into the car as a means to establish a personal relationship between hitchhiker and driver quickly.

Be good conversation: If you share a language with the driver, it often makes sense to try to engage them in casual conversation. Drivers often pick people up to make their rides more interesting. They are doing you a favor picking you up, you can return the favor in part by keeping them engaged. You can ask simple classic conversational questions to get things rolling:

• What kind of work do you do?
• What do you like to do when you are not working?
• Have you ever hitchhiked yourself?
• Why do you pick up hitchhikers?
• Where are you going?
• What are you going to do when you arrive at your destination?

For these answers, it is often useful to ask follow-up questions which are dependent on their answers to these initial questions. It is important to read the attention and mood of your driver. If they are giving short answers or appear disinterested in conversation (especially if it is in a language which is challenging for them) then you don't want to drop your good faith efforts to make conversation.

Tricky conversations

Here are some suggestions for snappy answers to tricky questions.

"I have been convicted of 19 felonies, aren't you concerned?"
— "Not at all, I've been convicted of 22"

Going out of their way: Sometimes, a hitchhiker will think about asking the driver to go out of their way to drop them off in a better place for a ride or to take you closer to your destination. Again there is no universal answer. If your driver seems hurried and rushed then your request to go out of the their way will likely get turned down. If the driver seems friendly and relaxed then your request has a better chance. Usually, you will have better luck asking them to go out of their way to drop you somewhere IF you have been good company of the ride and they feel like they have some connection to you.

Advice from Drivers: Many times a hitchhiker has spent hours cursing the helpful driver who told them "Oh, I know a great place to hitchhike!" In fact, most drivers don't understand the basics of hitchhiking, that a careful mix of enough traffic, but not too much traffic is desirable. That a place which might look great because it has a good place for cars to stop or for a hiker to ask drivers for a ride, could in fact be a terrible place if it is just before a complex intersection which sends cars off into lots of directions which are not the one you are interested in. Weather, darkness, local friendliness, traffic patterns, good places for cars to stop and more need to be factored into weighing which location is the best. Do not be afraid to tell your driver that they don't know what they are talking about when it comes to good places for rides. You should attempt to do this in as polite a fashion as possible. But since they are dropping you, if you fail to correct them in their mock understanding of a good hitchhiking place, you could spend a lot of time regretting their mistake. While they annoyingly are off to drop another hitcher in a poor place. Alternatively, by asking them all sorts of details about the spot you're about to dropped at, you can minimize the risk of ending up at a dead-end.

Etiquette with hitchhikers

There are some fairly basic rules that are mostly dictated by common sense about how to treat other hitchhikers such as, when you come to a place where there already is a hitchhiker, to stand down the road behind him and not in front of him.

Source: Etiquette License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

An '''''' is usually a road with a standard less than a motorway. This can be narrower lanes, a missing emergency lane or single level crossings. But always on expressways the access for pedestrians and bicycles is forbidden. This include the ramps like the ramps of motorways. Mostly the roads are signed with a blue or green background with a white car on it.

But these roads need not to be a national road, they can be long distance roads, but they can also only short pieces like bypasses.

Source: Expressway License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

If you've never hitchhiked before, you have to get over your first time hitchhiking fear. Every hitchhiker went through this. The first time, standing on the side of the road, heart pounding.

To get over this, just do it!

This is, of course, more easily said than done, but you can prepare yourself by buying a map, checking out the Top Tips, other pages on this wiki, and other hitchhiking websites, making sure you know what a good spot means, and that you know some good spots on the trip you're making and taking a look at your appearance to make sure you look like a hitchhiker. You will most often find yourself hitchhiking on highways and from gas stations. Also check What to pack for your trip. Familiarize yourself with the Etiquette.

First time hitchhiking doesn't necessarily mean a short trip -- but starting with a short trip might help you get used to the motions and what to expect. Take a day trip to the next town! This said, don't prepare too much. Decide where you're going, the best road to get there, walk a distance, and at a good spot face the traffic and stick up your thumb. You'll feel like the center of attention at first, but after a while you'll get used to it, and will become more concerned with trying to win a ride than your worries about what you're doing.

It might be nice and less intimidating to do it with a mate for the first time preferably someone who have already done it at least once. That way you will feel safer and you will have someone to pass the time with waiting.

Sometimes it happens that you can wait for quite a long time, due to a variety of possible reasons: Is it a bad spot? Can the driver see you clearly for long enough to make a decision? Can cars stop easily and safely without blocking the traffic? Are the cars going too fast to react? Is it a holiday and all cars are filled up with families? The list of possible reasons is long, but to calm you down there's one universal rule for every hitchhiker out there:

Somewhere out there there is someone who will pick you up. Always!

A Step-by-Step Approach

You want to try hitchhiking but never find the courage to do so? Here is an attempt at providing a step-by-step method to overcoming your fears and gaining enough self-confidence to adventure yourself out of your comfort zone.

Mental preparation

1. Have you ever hitchhiked at all? What experience do you have that resembles hitchhiking most?
2. If not, what prevented you from not doing it?
3. What makes you want to hitchhike?
4. How do you imagine you first hitchhiking day? What distance would it be? Between where and where? Where would you try to start from? Who would pick you up? Let your imagination run!

Join (more or less) organized events

It can be a good idea to participate in charity hitchhiking events or hitchhiking races. Hitchgathering is a great way to meet other more seasoned hitchhikers.

My first time Hitching

• Till's First time hitchhiking/Till
• Farshnuke's First time hitchhiking/Farshnuke
• Zoe's First time Hitchhiking
• Guaka's First time hitchhiking/Stories#Guaka
• First time hitchhiking/Quarim
• Pnadapand's You Can Do It Too!
• Brackers's First time hitchhiking/Brackers

External Links

• Hitchhikers' guide; a tutorial by Christof Middeke

Source: First time hitchhiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A four-ramp interchange is the most common interchange in the United States where a non controlled access highway intersects a controlled access highway: commonly an interstate/turnpike or other type of freeway. Four-ramp interchanges are desirable for hitchikers because they require all traffic attempting to head a given direction on a freeway to enter the freeway on a single ramp. The hitchhiker stands on this ramp and is then exposed to all possible traffic entering the freeway. This is in contrast to a split-traffic interchange which splits traffic entering the freeway into multiple ramps.

Source: Four-ramp interchange License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchwiki uses some terms, that need to be explained. Feel free to add words, you did not know.

• on-ramp - highway entrance
• off-ramp - highway exit
• shoulder - emergency land on highways
• interchange - highway junction
• slip road - connector road on a highway junction

See also Phrasebook

Source: Glossary License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

There are good times and less good times to hitchhike. Naturally hitchhiking at night should be discouraged to anyone new to hitchhiking. But there is more to say.

Time of day

Data from over 43,000 logged rides on maps.hitchwiki.org shows that early morning (5–8 AM) has the shortest median wait times — about 15 minutes, versus 20 minutes during the middle of the day. The difference is modest (5 minutes), but starting early also means more daylight hours ahead and less competition from other hitchhikers at popular spots.

Late afternoon (around 3 PM / 15:00) shows a similar dip to the early morning, likely because commuters are heading home.

In short: start early if you can, but don't let the time stop you — the median wait is 15–20 minutes regardless of when you go.

Days of the week

Friday afternoon is definitely the best time for hitchhiking in most western countries. So many people are rushing to visit friends or family for the weekend. Also, everyone is in a great mood, leaving their work behind and looking forward for the weekend, which makes them more likely to pick you up.

Sunday morning until noon seems the worst time to hitchhike in Europe, and many other parts of the "developed" world influenced by Christianity (the US, Oz, Kiwiland and Canadialand come to mind). Cars are full of families, with possibly one grumpy person on the side and not too many working people on the road. It usually gets better in the afternoon, when people are driving back from their weekend trip alone. Sundays during extended weekends due to religious holidays (e.g. Easter) are even worse; make sure to start early enough and reach your destination way before the evening hours, or you'll be stuck by extremely low traffic, esp. along German highways.

On the other hand, on Sunday afternoon and early evening it is possible to catch fast & long lifts since many people visit their family, wife, husband boy/girlfriend who live far away during the weekend and have to return for work on Monday morning.

In Israel people work on Sundays so you'll be fine, but Shabbath is a horrible day for hitchhiking there since religious people are not driving at all (and they're usually quite skilled at picking up hitchhikers).

In many Muslim countries people also work on Sundays, and Friday is the day of the mosque, with considerably less traffic in countries like Jordan.

In a lot of European countries, most of the trucks are not allowed on the highways on Sundays until 22:00. They too are a hitchhiker-fond crowd. Sometimes. However, they all leaving their places at exactly 22:00. So, if you stuck late on a big service area, you can see them as a get-home-insurance. It's surely not a problem to find a truck to any destination if you start asking around at around 21:30.

Time of the year

In general, because of the length of the days and the cold Winter is bad, Autumn is also not that great, especially late Autumn. Spring and Summer are best, especially around the longest day, 21st of June (in the Northern hemisphere of course).

Source: Good times to hitchhike License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

When hitchhiking specific health issues can occur. The most dangerous thing is when your driver is involved in an car accident. Therefore it is a good idea to find a driver who is not drunk, not sleepy and is not going too fast. Also read the safety article.

Immunizations

Depending on the country you are travelling in, specific immunizations can be required. Inform yourself before heading to foreign countries. Some immunizations can make sense anyway (even if you are not hitchhiking).

Hygiene

Most sicknesses, especially diarrhoea, can be prevented with a good hygiene.

If you are not sure about the water situation in a foreign (especially in a poor) country, then don't drink water from the tap. Only drink bottled water or cook, disinfect or filter the water before use. Also for brushing teeth and doing the dishes use only drinking water.

It is important to cook, peal or disinfect food. Don't let flies or insects come to your food. Before eating, wash your hands with soap. Wash your hands as often as possible, but always after the use of a toilet. Try to use disposable towels.

As it is an unwritten law for the honourable hitchhiker: Avoid stinking! It's obvious that you won't be able to take full showers every morning when travelling on an extreme budget (i.e., hitchhiking coupled with wild camping for the night), but even just wetting and rinsing your underarms with soapy water at every opportunity you can get (a fountain with no one around) is surprisingly refreshing and considerably cuts body odour.

Insurance

A health insurance for foreign countries can safe you a lot of trouble. Consider a health insurance which includes a transport back home in an emergency case.

Drugs and Alcohol

Don't drink alcohol or consume drugs while hitchhiking.

Other issues

• Diesel fumes and other vapors from fuel, especially at gas stations.
• Dust, in desert areas and alongside many roads.
• Smoke from the cigarettes your drivers smoke. This is negligible if you smoke yourself of course, though it's also harder to quit smoking when you hitchhike a lot.
• Sunstrokes can occur if one can't take shelter in the shades.
• Through sweating your body looses water and minerals. It's a good idea to drink a lot of water to compensate for dehydration. Don't forget to restore your mineral levels, too. Always keep in mind to obtain some water while in town centres in summers and especially when traversing arid territory, though, as good hitchhiking spots usually tend to be in the middle of nowhere and you really cannot know how long it will take that sweet, air-conditioned car to arrive.

Also don't overestimate these issues. Truck drivers have to deal with diesel fumes most of the time.

Source: Health License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Smartphones have become such an integral part of most peoples lifes that they can also be very helpful for your hitchhiking -- if you want that.

Apart from smartphones there are a bunch of other niche gadgets that are useful for hitchhiking.

Smartphones

Smartphones can be a very useful tool for hitchhiking. The main specific uses are: maps, hitchhiking spots and communication.

As this is a fast paced market consider other sources apart from this wiki.

Map apps

For hitchhiking offline availability can be crucial for travelling abroad or in places without reception. Public transport navigation is also very useful.

Examples of free offline map apps are (as of 2025):

• CoMaps - free, no ads, privacy-focused, fully open-source, run by a community of volunteers, offline maps navigation and search, outdoor map layer, simple snappy interface (created by ex Organic Maps (OM) volunteers due to issues with governance, transparency and some closed sources in OM; OM is based on Maps.ME)
• OsmAnd - free, offline maps for only 10 countries/states, many features, but very complex and slow interface
• Google maps - detailed maps, satellite pictures, public transport navigation, offline maps possible.
• Apple maps - detailed maps, satellite pictures, public transport navigation, offline maps possible.
• Regional apps - e.g. Yandex or 2gis for central asia

Offline Hitchwiki Maps and Hitchwiki

For offline Hitchhiking Map you can download the information of the spots into a small GPX file and load it into your preferred maps app:

• Hitchhiking Map has a built-in feature to download spots in multiple formats.
• Hitchspots.me generates.kml files for e.g. CoMaps / Organic Maps / Maps.ME. Note: As of 2025 Hitchspots.me doesnt get you the recently added spots.

For an offline version of Hitchwiki.org see:

Dedicated hitchhiking apps

These are apps specifically created for the purposes of hitchhiking:

• Hitchwiki Maps helps you remember and track your hitchhiking rides and trips and shows you hitchhiking spots and routes. It runs as a website and also has a
  • [Android Play Store App]

• Hitchr helps you record your rides, keep notes and review your lifetime stats. You can also use it to find good hitchhiking spots (data from Hitchwiki and Hitchmap.com). It can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play.

Communication

Apps for translation can be immensely useful -- consider downloading needed languages for offline use.

Other things to have on your phone

• Entertainment (audiobooks, ebooks, music)
• Maybe things such as survival books
• Safety-related apps and information

Mobile data abroad

Using internet abroad will be much more expensive than in your home country. It might make sense to get a cheap local sim card, if you stay in a country for a while.

Other devices

Computers

A subnotebook, netbook or ultraportable is a class of laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than typical notebooks. Usually approximately 1 kg / 2 lb - so they are easy to carry along.

Here you can find a comparison of different Web Map Services for your device: Wikipedia

GPS

All smartphones have built-in GPS these days. For more information see GPS devices.

Satellite communicators

For hitchhiking alone through desolate regions satellite communicators (such as the Garmin inReach) can be a an option for an emergency communication/SOS device.

As of 2025 flagship smartphones start to have inbuilt satellite communicators.

E-readers

E-book readers can be useful for killing boredom, especially for long-term or slow-going hitchhiking. Depending on the model can be possible to "hack" the device and use various applications (including map software) with restrictions of slow display.

External links

• SECRET GADGETS for HITCHHIKING (Tutorial 5: #hitchhiking apps and accessories)

Source: High-tech hitchhiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Highways are essential for hitchhiking longer distances.

If you need to travel over long distances, taking the highway will most likely shorten your travel time, and in some places highway hitchhiking might be even inevitable. This can be done either by thumbing at on-ramps (entrances) to the highways, or by a practice of hopping from one petrol station (or service area in general) to another. The latter one is usually rather recommended, since the first one can be unpleasant, expose you to the dangers of over-speeding drivers, and appear being a hopeless position during the night hitchhiking; sometimes legality issues can be brought up if you hitchhike after the sign that marks the beginning of the motorway; however, waiting times, compared to waiting times at the exit of a highway rest area (but not to a practice of asking a driver directly), can arguably be lower. Be aware of highway interchanges where it can be difficult to switch between crossing highways.

So, the best choice, many hitchers would agree, is to hop from one rest area to another where one can ask for a ride talking to people directly while they refuel their cars, of wandering around the area. Some hitchers might find it difficult because it requires some ability of being brave and firm when directly contacting an unknown person; some other travelers appear to love this way of hitchhiking probably because it helps to develop a closer contact with a person while socializing (and because it shortens waiting times, of course).

In most Western countries thumbing directly on the highway is forbidden. In rare occasions, however, you might be forced to. Keep in mind then that it is very unsafe for the driver to stop on a highway, and that your own safety is also in danger. The police might force you to leave the area (or even fine you) although in some very rare cases they might have better things to do and leave you alone.

Exceptions (in following locations to stand on a highway is not a crime):

• most highways in Eastern Europe and in countries of former Soviet Union (like Lithuania, Latvia, etc.)
• China
• Oregon, US
• Morocco and Ireland tolerate hitchhiking on motorways to a certain degree. The risk is yours. (Grégoire was once arrested/offered a lift out of the highway by the Irish police close to Dublin but they were nice to him.)
• add more?

Links

Routing on Hitchwiki Maps can recommend you good spots to get on the highway as well as good rest stations to switch rides.

Source: Highway License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitch Team USA is the first competitive hitchhiking organization in the United States. It was founded by Keith in the summer of 2014, in hopes of one day competing in the world championships. As of October, 2015, it has three members, spread out over the country.

Are you an American hitchhiker interested in sport hitchhiking? Feel free to join the Facebook group below, or ask Keith for more info.

External links

• Facebook page

Source: Hitch Team USA License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

With persistence and a little bit of luck, almost any type of vehicle can be hitchhiked. They, however, vary in difficulty, comfort, and availability.

Personal Cars

These are very basic road based transports. These are very prevalent in the first and second worlds, not so much in the third. The only obstacles to getting a ride on them are them being full (definitions of full may vary) or the driver not wanting/being afraid to take you.

Sedan

SUV

Pickup Truck

Motorcycles

It seems possible for one person to hitchhike a motorcycle by sitting behind the driver. This likely requires a helmet for safety reasons.

Trucks

This is another road-based transport, significantly slower than cars. They exist anywhere cargo needs to be moved and only have a few empty seats, although the driver rarely has company. An obstacle that applies to trucks is insurance.

See Hitchhiking a truck

Busses, Minibusses, Commercial Vans, Marshrutkas (CIS)

Not easy to hitchhike, as the whole point of these road-based transports is to make money. If they took people for free, they could not do that. This is not to say it is not possible, if you look miserable enough the driver may pity you. It may be possible to sneak into large busses through a rear door if there is one.

See Hitchhiking a bus

Freight Train

While freight hopping is generally illegal and universally dangerous, it may be possible that the operator takes you. Crossing borders complicates things.

See Train hopping

Passenger Train

Similar to bus+, but with more possibilities to bend the rules for creative people.

See Train

Boats

See Hitchhiking a boat

Planes

See Hitchhiking a plane

Air-Based Transports

These are rarely used to go very far, but hitchhiking them will surely make for an interesting story later.

Helicopter

Frequently used for short trips instead of airplanes as they are easier to maneuver but are not effective for going far.

Zeppelin/Blimp

Largely a thing of the past, please share any hitchhiking experience if you have it.

Hot Air Baloon

The most basic of all air transports, these are used by hobbyists around the world but rarely as transports.

See Hitchhiking a plane

Animal Transports

The slowest of all transports, people have been using animals to get around for hundreds of thousands of years. The animal you encounter is most likely to be determined by your climate zone.

Horse

The most popular animal transport around the world.

Donkey

Especially popular in Central and South Asia, and to a lesser degree Greater Persia and the Caucasus. Possible to find elsewhere, though much harder than the horse.

Mule

The Offspring of a horse and a donkey. See above.

Dog

Popular in the Arctic, these animals are resistant to the cold and very energetic, but comparatively weak, so large amounts of them are needed.

Camel

Popular throughout Asia and North Africa, this animal can survive on the little water available in the desert.

Yak

Wild yaks roam Tibet, Nepal, and India. Domesticated yaks also exist in Central Asia, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. Yaks cannot survive in low altitudes due to their thick coats.

Elephant

Popular throughout South and Southeast Asia.

Cow

Can it be ridden? It is big and strong, sure, but not generally known to drive people Let us know.

Dolphin

While they are glad to please you when you visit them at an aquarium, please do not ride dolphins in the wild, both for their sake and yours.

Personal Experiences

Please share what transports you have had with hitchhiking various transports.

Source: Hitchable vehicles License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking is usually very safe. The most encountered feelings of unsafety are probably concerning the driver's driving style.

Summary

Here are four quick tips which will make you safer:

• Ask for rides at petrol stations instead of signaling at the roadside.
• Trust your instincts.
• Refuse rides from impaired drivers.
• Know that hitchhiking at night is more dangerous than during the daytime.
• It is good to be insured.

Please read on for many more important tips.

Road Safety

You should make sure you are standing along a safe portion of the road, as far back from the travelled portion of the road as possible (on the unimproved portion of the road shoulder). Make sure that you are visible to drivers from a good distance (100 meters or more is ideal) to allow them time to 1) decide if they want to pick you up and 2) safely pull to the side of the road.

Wear bright, visible clothes, especially while walking on the road! Consider wearing a bright reflecting safety vest. At night time use reflectors and carry a small torch. You can purchase these often at petrol stations and supermarkets. Carry these in your backpack at all times: even if you are not planning to hitchhike during the darkness. Make sure you are visible from both sides. Attach reflectors to your backpack for example.

Sometimes, especially but not exclusively at night, drivers will pick up a hitchhiker because they are tired and sleepy, but must get to their destination on time. Make sure you never fall asleep in someone's car if you are suspecting this might be the case. Even if you can't find a conversation topic, stay alert. If you have a driving licence; you might indicate this to your driver; he or she may be happy to let you drive. See Driving for your driver

Hitchhikers should see themselves as agents of road safety. Only one study has ever been made on the subject of hitchhiking's impact on road safety, and it appears that it has no negative impact, if not positive. It implies that the hitchhiker should stay safe; be sure they can be seen, especially at night; remind the driver of the speed limits; and be willing to cooperate with all professionals of the road.

Awareness

Awareness on the part of a hitchhiker will keep him or her from accepting dangerous rides- for example, a driver travelling under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Examine the driver and vehicle. If there are signs of intoxication (slurred or erratic speech, no eye contact, open alcohol containers) do NOT get in the vehicle. Refuse the ride.

Talk to the driver before getting in the car! This way you make sure the ride offered is one that you would like to take, and that it will end at a safe spot to stop. Ask the driver before getting in their car: Where are you going? Can you drop me off at a service area or other safe place near your destination? A rhetoric question like "Are you going north" and the driver's reaction can give you some information about him or her. Dropping humour into your brief conversation is a good way of gauging a person's personality as well. Trust your instincts! If you do not feel comfortable accepting the ride, thank the driver and say no. Walk away.

Women hitchhiking

For women, hitchhiking seems to be riskier. But it is not really. Many men are reporting the same degree of violation as women. If most reported cases of murder or rape of hitchhikers involve women hitchhiking alone, it is because men are less likely to report rapes, and murders are not getting the label of "hitch-hiking-murders" as often with male victims.

Hitchhiking as a woman can be easier though. Often, women stop for other women or girls. Even families (or other usual-not-hitch-hiker-friendly car owners) stop to "save" women from a situation in which they think she could be in "danger".

Read more at the Hitchwiki page on Female Hitchhikers.

Top tips for safety

• Hitchhiking at night is more dangerous than at daytime.

(Anti) Social tips

• Think positive and you will attract positive.
• If you doubt about the ride offered, turn it down.
• You can also check if the doors open from the inside by pretending not to have closed the door properly.
• Note the vehicle's registration number, or at least the make, model, and colour, etc. You could then SMS this to a friend. You can pretend calling your mum and saying car type, color and licence number aloud. This makes driver believe he is under surveillance.
• It's probably safest to not go with more than one guy in the car.
• It's better to sit in the front of the vehicle.
• If getting in a truck or car driving long-distance, maybe to where you want to go, including sleeping in the truck with the driver. Never tell yes to go all way from the beginning. Say you are going to visit a friend in a city on the way and then when you get a feeling of safety with the driver tell him that you will visit your friend some other time and go all the way now.
• If there are other houses or people in sight, you can wave to them or pretend to say goodbye to a friend. The driver will think that somebody has seen you getting into their car.
• Always trust your instincts. Don't panic!
• Keep up a good conversation with the driver. See etiquette.
• Hitchhike with someone you know. On hitchhike forums such as at you can find other hitchhikers.

• It might a good idea to get yourself some pepper spray, just in case. But it can be illegal to carry in some parts of the world so be aware. Also, it might not be a good idea to use in a closed space as you'd get a good dose of pepper yourself. There are also canisters of pepper gel which emit a stream of gel instead of a spray mist, which could save you in enclosed spaces.

Don't use pepper spray while the car is in motion. Blinding the driver will probably result in a crash.

Stuff safety

• Wear your most valuable small stuff on your body: passport, wallet, money, mobile phone. This way you will keep these items in case you should abandon your bag.
• Remember that your backpack is the last one to enter the car and the first one to leave it. Also avoid putting it into the trunk if you are hiking alone, or if the driver has an opportunity to drive away with your luggage - though sometimes this is simply not an option. It's a good idea to keep the door open while you get your bag from the trunk. It's actually much more likely a hitchhiker forgetting their own bag or other objects than theft. Better take it with you when you go to the rest room as when you come back the car might be gone, even just due to the driver getting told to park somewhere else and now you can't find him anymore, etc.
• Keep your backpack close to you (i.e. on your lap), so you can grab it if you need to get out quickly.

Road safety

• Wear well visible clothes, stand at a safe spot, be careful while walking on the road.
• Aim to leave the vehicle at a safe spot.
• Do not hitchhike on the highways in western countries. People will not notice you, thus they will not pick you up and there have been accidents. It is very dangerous and often illegal, too.

Choose your drivers

It is preferable to choose your drivers. Ask for rides at petrol stations or truck stops. Briefly profile people by their appearance and talk to folks that seem safe/interesting. Appearances do not guarantee safety.

By seeking rides at petrol stations instead of at the roadside, you have more time to talk with drivers and evaluate their character.

It may be unwise to accept rides from drivers who are stressed, angry, or demanding.1 Do not accept rides from drivers who are impaired by alcohol or drugs.

One of the safest ones to get a lift from is the truck drivers. You sit far away from the driver. You are always able to open the door if needed (just don't jump while the truck is moving if you like your life moving again). Big trucks in Western Europe anyway also have a sensor on their trucks that let their boss know exactly where they are. Going off the road or stopping for some minutes and the boss will be all over the case, calling on the phone...

This is not always the case, however. In Australia, truck drivers drive long distances on one lane highways and are often overworked. This can lead to dangerous driving conditions and bad experiences.

Leaving the vehicle early

When you are on the road, if the situation gets bad for whatever reason and you don't want to be in the vehicle, then find a way to leave. Get the driver to leave you at the next good hitchhiking spot (choose it yourself, don't rely on the driver to choose it for you), or in another safe area such as a city where you can contact people you know, use hospitality exchange organisations, or take public transport. Remember that if for whatever reason you are not wearing your seatbelt and the car is moving, the driver can distract or injure you by braking so that you hit your head.

If you feel uncomfortable, remember that you don't have to stay in the vehicle, and you don't owe it to the driver to travel the full distance agreed upon. Good get-out tactics include faking travel sickness, or stating that you've changed your mind and want to do something else. Stay calm and be polite but direct, and most drivers will respect your wishes.

Emergency exit

First of all, don't panic. Still, a situation might occur that you want to get out of the car and the driver does not want to stop. ... Need more info...

• Never use the handbrake. Using it will almost certainly lead to a car crash.
• Cause a (small) accident
• Call emergency number (112 in EU, 911 in US, 000 in Australia, 111

In New Zealand ) Note: it is now possible to text/SMS 911 in the US, and doing so may lower your chances of arousing suspicion.

• Prepare to loosen your seatbelt, and wait until the driver has to stop at a red light or stop sign. When the driver stops the car slide your belt off and open the door in one motion and get you and your pack out before they have any idea what you're doing.
• As an emergency safety precaution, carry a roll of toilet paper and a lighter. In the event that you feel uncomfortable and the driver refuses to stop, light the toilet paper and throw it into the back seat. The smoke and fire will encourage the driver to stop and/or alert other cars on the road.
• A helpful trick if you just have a bad feeling about a ride, but not really a reason to scream for help (yet): Pretend to feel sick and tell your ride to stop immediately because otherwise you might ruin his car... when they stop, jump out of the car with your backpack, tell them not to wait and head away from the road until they're gone.

• • From personal experience: Causing a small accident may do more damage than good, since the driver will most likely just speed off, anyway, rather than trying to wait around and get caught by the police. Plus, that gives you a much greater chance of being injured. Remember that no matter where you get taken, you will still have the opportunity to hitchhike out of, and thus get rescued by someone else. Plus, vehicles do require fuel, and eventually run out of it. So, you can at some point find yourself in a (very useful!) petrol station, from where you can: have contact with other people, make phone calls, lock yourself in the bathroom to avoid confrontations, and hitchhike a new ride. Your best bet is to stay calm and confident, no matter the situation.

Hitching in Extreme Climates

The climate poses an entirely separate danger to hitchhikers. As a hitchhiker you may find yourself in the situation of being stuck in an extremely hot or cold place, both of which are potentially fatal if not dealt with appropriately.

Extreme Cold

: See Winter for more information.

Driving in the cold can be particularly risky, let alone hitchhiking. If travelling a long distance, it is advisable to have a backup plan, to avoid being stuck outside at night. If there is a significant chance of being stuck outdoors for a long time, then you must take precautions. Having plenty of warm clothes, hat, gloves and thick boots are a must for the daytime. If there is a risk of being stuck outside at night, try finding a host, either on the internet prior to leaving, or else at a hostel if there is one. You should bring money with you for emergencies. If you absolutely must sleep outside, then you will need to acquire a heavy sleeping bag - a 5 season sleeping bag is not too expensive. Be sure to set up camp in a covered area - such as in a forest or under a shelter, and make sure it is sheltered from the wind. A gas lamp will also assist in heating you up. You might want to learn how to start a fire

Extreme Heat

The extreme heat poses a great risk of dehydration and sunstroke in the summer months in many countries in the world. You absolutely must bring plenty of drinking water. Try to have no less than 4L of water with you per day. If there is a risk of being stuck in direct sunlight for a long time, bring sunscreen, and perhaps also an umbrella, particularly if there are not many trees around.

War zones and former war zones

Obviously, zones with active conflict are not safe places to hitchhike. But also consider former war zones, and land mines. At times, as a hitchhiker you go to areas that aren't often used by normal travelers or locals, in which case it's important to know if there's any chance of land mines. Especially at night, when looking for a place to camp.

See also Wikivoyage about war zone safety

See also

Even more info

• Bad hitchhiking - Sharing stories? in CouchSurfing group about hitchhiking.

Source: Hitchhiker’s safety License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhikers are people who hitchhike. They have their own informal classification:

• Hippie: the most numerous, the people of free opinion, romantic mood, for which the trail – a way of life, often moving with a certain goal, the movement to movement.
• Tourists: the people dealing with the budget as a very automatic way to discovering the world.
• Athletes: people dealing with hitch-hiking as a sport: faster, farther, harder.
• Bichi: homeless drunkards released zeki, and other antisocial elements, dealing with hitch-hiking as a free way to get from point A to point B.

Seldom any particular person belongs to any particular group. Typically, it is a combination of, for example, hippies, tourists, or tourists, athletes.

Source: Hitchhikers License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Covid 2019 pandemic and the public reaction to it that as of April 2021 are ongoing and don't show any concrete signs of ever ending have affected many parts of public and private life. It could be expected that they would also render hitchhiking a much more difficult and precarious way of travelling, however this is not necessarily the case. In this article we gather some information about hitchhiking in the times of Corona.

Apart from the fact that there are currently numerous rules in place to keep people from travelling, it is fairly difficult to get any reliable information about how the pandemic has affected hitchhiking itself. Only anecdotal evidence is available, and that can be quite contradictory.

Legal Problems

Do you have any information about any laws that have been passed that specifically impact hitchhiking? Post them here.

Possible issues are the obligation to wear masks in public space which exists in multiple areas, and conditions that are imposed on crossing borders. However the extent to which these regulations are enforced vary, eg. in Spain and France there is little control and negotiation is often possible. When crossing borders, hitchhiking can work to your advantage if you catch a ride in a car that has the right license plates.

It's safe to say that rules are changing constantly and every country has their own rules. You may have to show a negative corona test and/or vaccination status at borders. You may be forced to quarantine for any number of days. Wearing a face mask may be compulsory inside and even outside. It's probably good to have some idea of the current rules when going from one country to another.

Respect and Safety

Of course it is everybody's own choice if they feel comfortable hitchhiking or travelling at all in the context of a global pandemic, even if the severity of this pandemic is debated by some people. When hitchhiking in this context, in can be respectful to ask the driver who stops for you if they would prefer you wearing a mask, sitting in the back, driving with the windows open -- the great thing about hitchhiking is that it is possible to personally negotiate the level of comfort and safety needed by everybody involved.

Considering the amount of people you come in contact with during a typical hitchhiking trip, hitchhiking can actually be a safer way of travelling than taking a train or especially a bus. It's possible to focus this fact even more by avoiding short rides and aiming for less, but longer rides.

Personal Experiences

Countries

Europe

updated 23.5.21

EU Agreed on a common certificate that should allow free movement within EU-States starting 1st of June. Everyone that has been vaccinated, recovered or has a negative test should be able to move freely within most of Europe(link).

EU and Schengen-States highly restrict entry from non member countries. Within the EU travel to some extent is still possible. You can find info about most entry rules and local measures here:

https://reopen.europa.eu/en

Germany

There will be no more free testing starting from the 11th of October, 2021.

Citizens are able to get free tests (result should be available within 15-30 mins). You get a certificate via email that you can use for border crossing, going into some venues, etc. The procedures vary a lot from place to place, sometimes you have to register online for an appointment with a German address (so it's better bring an ID without an address, like passport, if you don't have a German address). There are a lot of centres, so if one refuses to test you for free, simply try another one. Just ask for "kostenloser Corona-Test" or "free citizen test". Better make sure it is in English as well if you want to use it for entering another country.

Germany requires vaccinations or negative tests for most venues and restaurants. Registration is usually done with either the CovPass app (scanning your EU-GreenPass QR Code) or the Luca app, which anonymously collects contact information but doesn't check for testing or vaccination.

Updated 04.09.2021

Check the Corona-Einreiseverordnung for the latest information.

Upon entering from any foreign country, travellers need to provide either a negative test, proof of recovery or vaccination record. Germany differentiates between high-risk and virus variant regions as follows:

• If entering from a high-risk region, you need to quarantine for ten days. This quarantine can be ended by providing either a vaccination record or proof of recovery before entering.
• If entering from a virus variant region, you need to quarantine for fourteen days. This quarantine is mandatory even if vaccinated.

You need to register online before entering, otherwise you can be sent into quarantine until you've provided the necessary documents.

Germany is a federal republic, so every federal state can have its own rules and even cities can decide on their own rules. As of Sept. 2021, most of the rules are out of effect for you if you're vaccinated.

Sweden

updated 30.4.21

negative test required for:

• every foreign national aged >= 18

accepted test:

Antigen, TMA, PCR and LAMP; max 48h old; language: Swedish, English, Norwegian, Danish or French

quarantine:

• recommended for 7 days, NOT MANDATORY

contact rules:

• "The police has the right to cancel or dissolve an event that has more than eight attendees."

accomodation:

• no restrictions

curfew:

• no

misc info:

• Entry via Denmark (bridge or ferry) should be ok(transit). Probably better find a direct ride from Germany to Sweden. It should be rather easy from Puttgarden (ferry) as the ferry runs pretty much non stop every 30min and is one of the main routes from Germany to Sweden. The ferry goes to Denmark so make sure the car goes further to Sweden afterwards!

Official information

https://visitsweden.com/about-sweden/information-for-travellers-corona-virus/

France

updated 10.6.21

entry requirement:

• vaccinated
• recovered
• tested (PCR or antigen; max 72h; sworn statement about contacts and symptoms; free testing in Germany!)

curfew (23.00-06.00): will be lifted by 30.6.

gatherings/contact: max 6 people

Official information

coronavirus-covid-19-the-situation-in-france

coronavirus-advice-for-foreign-nationals-in-france

Spain

Land borders between Spain and Portugal are supposed to be closed until some point in May 2021. Coming in from France, you need a PCR test in most all cases.

Netherlands

As of some point in May the Netherlands will be forcing people to quarantine for 10 days. This is on top of the requirement of showing a negative test.

Belgium

Quarantine unless you're staying less than 48 hours.

Switzerland

updated May 2021

Switzerland requires testing if a) you arrive by plane, or b) you have spent time in one of the risk countries in the ten days before arriving. In the latter case, you also need to quarantine for ten days. Switzerland does not ban anybody from entering. You are required to fill in a form prior to arrival, but only if you're coming from further than from a border area. It might not be required to fill in the form if you're not travelling by public transport, but this is a bit unclear. More info on the official website.

South America

Uruguay

Update: August 6, 2021

All borders by land to Argentina and Brazil are closed, inbound airline traffic exists. There's a Buquebus ferry to Buenos Aires twice per week, with infrequent schedule and short-notice changes which tend to be not announced. Entry to the country is only permitted for Uruguayan citizens, residents or for travellers with special permits which must be applied for beforehand (family reunion, business).

Update: december 27, 2021

Borders with Brazil are open. You need vaccination and PCR.

Source: Hitchhiking and Pandemia License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

For organizations who are dedicated to races see Races. For lobbying organizations who promote hitchhiking see Lobby

Hitch-hiking clubs bring hitchhikers together, organize various competitions, meetings, etc. They are especially popular in countries of former Soviet Union.

Argentina

• Facebook group Autostop Argentinia
• [inactive] Autostop Argentinia

Belgium

• Facebook group Hitchhiking in Belgium and the Netherlands

Brazil

• Facebook group Caroneiros de beira de estrada - hitchhikers since June 2011.

Bulgaria

• [inactive] http://www.stopbg.com

Czech Republic

• Facebook group

Denmark

• Facebook groups: Dansk Blaffer Laug and Hitchhiking in Denmark

Finland

• Active Facebook group: Liftarit
• Peukalomatkat - Tumresor Ry — active registered accosiation in 1970s. (See discussion on FB)
• [inactive] Hitchball 4000, an annual hitchhiking race organized by the Finnish hitchhiking association HitchPro since 2013.

France

• Hitchhiking France FB group
• [inactive] ViveLeStop they provide stickers and material for municipalities
• [inactive] L'Auto-Stop Participatif

Germany

• Abgefahren e.V - The first German Autostop Society founded in 2006.
• Tramprennen - an annual hitchhiking race organized by the Club of Roam - Autostop! e.V. since 2008.
• [inactive] DTSG - Deutsche Trampsport Gemeinschaft - German competitive autostop club.
• [inactive] Expedition Tomorrow - Adventure club that is organizing the annual Backseat Rally.

Greece

• Facebook groop for ride-sharing since 2009
• facebook groop for ride-sharing, but it's used only for the island Crete

Hungary

• Hungarian hitchhikers Facebook group

Italy

• Facebook group to unite Italian Hitchhikers

Japan

• [inactive] Japanese Hitchhikers association, on Facebook

Lithuania

• Countrywide hitchhiking group on FB
• Kaunas Hitch-Hiking Club "KELIAIvis" is the second largest hitchhiking community in Lithuania. Facebook group.
  • [inactive] Blog and Yahoo group.
• Vilnius Hitch-hiking Club is over 15 years old and used to be one of the leading hitchhiking organizations in Europe. In 90's and early 2000s they often organized the International Hitch-hiking Conference. Facebook page

Netherlands

• Facebook group Hitchhiking in Belgium and the Netherlands
• Duimenrace (Thumbs race) a one day hitchhiking race around the IJsselmeer. Usually at the beginning of September
• [inactive] Bratislava Overleg Commissie - The one and only Utrecht Hitchhiking Club founded in 2005.

Norway

• Facebook group Haikere i Norge.

Poland

• Polish Hitchhikers Association NGO focused on hitchhiking community and organising events for hitchhikers
• Facebook group "Autostopowicze czyli MY"

Portugal

• Facebook group

Russia

• Academy of Free Travel (Moscow)
• Hitch-hikers of Ural
• Hitch-Hiking School of Moscow
• Saint Petersburg Autostop Guild
• Saint Petersburg Autostop League
• CAT - Competitive Autostop Team, St. Petersburg

Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro

• Klub putnika organizes yearly hitchhiking events

Slovakia

• Facebook group

Spain

• Facebook group

Sweden

• Facebook group: Svenska liftare

Ukraine

• Studcouch (The most popular travel group in Ukraine, mainly for couchsurfing and hitchhiking. Doesn't have FB page, only Vkontakte)
• Let's go fest (Annual festival with special stage for hitchhikers)

Source: Hitchhiking clubs License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Although there aren't many disabled hitchers, the truth is that they do exist. In fact, hitchhiking is an activity so influenced by social/psychological prejudices that the mere picture of the lone hitcher in a wheelchair, thumbs up and as helpless as possible, will usually allow him to hitchhike at a speed that not even the most innocent-looking teenager could dream off.

Besides, unlike many other social or cultural conditionants, the instinct to help and trust those with a physical handicap is so inherent to the human being that it can be found in absolutely every country across the globe. No matter if you're hitching out of Amsterdam, in the middle of the Hajj muslin pilgrimage or in the most remote village of China: you will be helped. Always.

With that said, here comes some advice for any handicapped hitchhiker-to-be. Keep in mind that this page focuses almost exclusively on those disabilities that force you to travel on a wheelchair; of course, there are things like people's eagerness to help which are general to any kind of physical disability (or even cognitive disabilities like blindness or deafness), but many others are not, so feel free to expand this page with any additional info you have!;)

Beginner's guide for hitchhiking in a wheelchair

Before hitching

First and foremost, it is highly recommended to have a minimum level of autonomy and mobility before attempting to hitchhike, especially if you're not traveling with a partner. Assuming that you're traveling in a manual wheelchair and have average arm mobility (the most common setup for those who got into the whole disability business after the usual road crash), it is a really good idea to be comfortable with some basic skills like folding away your wheelchair, transferring from the wheelchair to a car seat (or even truck seat, but we'll cover that later), and using regular WC's instead of handicapped ones. Appearing confident or even energetic will help a lot to mitigate the natural uneasiness that many drivers face when they take a disabled hitchhiker into their car - which is good, unless you're planning to make an extensive visit throughout the country's police stations courtesy of all your good-willing but anxious drivers.

Aside from that, don't forget to bring the basic repair kit for your wheelchair as well as any other specifics you might require... and you're set to go!

Choosing the wheelchair

That's probably the one inquiry that everyone makes sooner or later, especially in European countries where getting funds from the government to purchase a good wheelchair is not really an issue. You can afford many kinds of wheelchair, so the only question is... what's best for hitchhiking?

Well, on contrary off what our common sense would tell us, the best hitchhiker wheelchair's are actually some of the cheapest you can acquire. This has a very reasonable explanation: in the current wheelchair market, the top-notch, expensive wheelchairs are mostly designed for athletes or just regular people living quiet lives in their cities (which are like 99% of the handicapped population anyway), and thus they aim for qualities that are quite the opposite of what the hitchhiker seeks: they're extremely light, fast and precisely-crafted wheelchairs, whereas what you'll need is a sturdy, simple and foldable wheelchair that can be easily repaired anywhere in case it gets broken. So forget about those sophisticated wheelchairs made of aluminium or carbon fibers, and get the smallest iron totally foldable wheelchair that you can fit into (some car boots are really small, and it's a shame when you can't get into the car because of that... although most drivers will be willing to put the wheelchair in an empty seat if that happens, anyway). It shouldn't cost most than 500 euros in most European countries, so you will probably manage to get it for free with little or no effort.

On the road

So you've made up your mind, you have your travel wheelchair and your bag, and you've finally hit the road. Most of the advices for regular hitchhikers fit here as well (good spots, clothes, aspect, attitude, the little tricks like staring at the driver's eyes...) so I won't repeat them, but there are some remarkable differences (advantages, one would say) that you ought to keep in mind.

First of all, don't forget that here your wheelchair is, before anything else, a blessing. It will melt away any trace of fear or suspicion the driver could have hold against you, and you'll see soon enough that your average waiting time rarely surpasses the ten minutes mark. The only problem is that some drivers (especially, and I mean it, especially truck drivers) may be afraid of the alleged delays or troubles they will get into if they take a disabled person in their car, and sometimes they may not stop for that sole reason. That's why, in order to truly unlock your wheelchair's potential, you should always try to find a way to speak personally with the drivers, so that you can reassure them with your self-confidence and your traveling experience when you ask for the ride. Petrol stations are the best place for this, so much that you will seldom need to ask twice for a ride if you manage to get there. Even if you don't speak a single word in the country's language (hell, even if the driver is traveling in the total opposite direction) just repeat the name of the place where you want to go and you'll eventually get there; such is the magic of your pretty little chair.

So just remember: always try to get to a place where you can speak to someone (anyone, anywhere!), and as long as you look even slightly friendly and helpless you will arrive your destination as fast as if you'd taken the first bus of the morning.

Advanced skills and tips

The amount of little skills, tricks and tactics that you'll end up mastering if you really decide to travel and hitchhike regularly (specially if you do it alone) is huge, and it's hard to list them all, but here are some:

• Learn how to go upstairs and downstairs alone, and learn to do it with your wheelchair. Eventually you'll find yourself in front of a set of stairs with no one in sight to help, and you'll wonder why you didn't invest some little time into it. Besides, it's just plain cool.
• Learn how to get off from your wheelchair, learn how to get back into it when you fall, learn how to crawl when you're on the floor. There's always someone to help you in a city, but not on the road.
• Once you've learned to crawl, learn to do it with only your feet touching the floor. Outside Europe there are toilets that you won't dare to use without that skill.
• Not trying to get all scatological here, but really, learn how to do all your basic needs in the field with no WC at all and without needing to change clothes afterwards. You're gonna be grateful for that one, too.
• Don't be afraid to break your wheelchair. As long as you're carrying one made of iron, any motorcycle or car garage in the world will be able to fix it somehow, no matter what you did to it. Still, try to wash it with water as soon as possible if it ever falls in the sea, cause the salt is deadly.
• One of the many advantages of traveling in a wheelchair is that weight isn't really a matter for you. Unlike hitchhikers who travel on foot, you can carry a heavy bag with anything you need and you will still be able to rely on traveling long distances just by yourself to get to that pesky petrol station or hitching spot.
• Use all the social and psychological advantages that your disability grants you to their full extent with no remorse at all, and don't ever dare to question yourself for it. Hitchhiker Dargeron used to stowaway into ferries by pretending to fall from his wheelchair at the entrance of the ship, to take advantage of the worker's ensuing commotion and attempts to help him in order to enter the ship with no one remembering to demand him the ticket (and it worked). Seriously, you will have to put up with all the handicaps of being in a wheelchair whether you want it or not, so at least take the advantages too!
• Add more info?:)

Hitchhiking in a wheelchair outside of western countries

Hitchhiking outside of western countries in a wheelchair shouldn't be too hard unless your particular disability presents some specific need that can't be met there for some reason.

Of course, almost all the aforementioned skills become twice as necessary once you leave the so-called first world. The number of truck rides will drastically increase, and truck drivers are not always prone to waiting or wasting effort for you, so you'd better train your truck-climbing a little bit. Learning to jump steps is mandatory, and you should really, really consider learning to come up/descend entire stairs too. Aside from that, there isn't really much difference to be noticed for disabled people, except for the fact that a lone western handicapped hitchhiker in a country like Somalia will probably create such a wave of admiration and solidarity that he'll find it practically impossible to avoid being constantly followed, congratulated and helped in any conceivable way by some dozens of locals wherever he goes.

Source: Hitchhiking in a wheelchair License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

There are a lot of hitchhiking races, mostly in Summer. There is a Signal Group for exchange across organizers of all hitchhiking races and to get help if you want to set up a new race.

Active

Europe

• Tramprennen is an annual, two week long hitchhiking race across Europe, which takes place at the end of August since 2006. The race lasts usually two weeks and is divided into different stages. Step by step the participating teams (2 or 3 people) are getting closer to the common final destination. It also supports different charity organizations.

Czech Republic

• Mistrovství ČR v autostopu is an annual race in Czech Republic organized since 2014 by travel agency jedu.cz situated in Prague and particularly by Pavel Zika. 12 teams from Czech Republic are chosen by the quality of video application and qualification round. Each year special direction is selected; in 2014 it was Prague - Gibraltar - Prague, in 2015 Prague - Athens - Prague, in 2016 Prague - Primorska - Prague. This year (2017) the route lies from Prague to Odessa through Kiev, Warsaw or Kosice and back to Prague through Sarajevo. There are several tasks which should be fulfilled during the race. For instance, this year tasks were: to participate in the housework of locals, to teach locals to sing traditional Czech song and to learn a traditional local song, to make a video report from one of the objects of Winter Olympic games in Sarajevo, to take a photo from 12 floor of some high building in Kiev and to take photo in clothes of firemen, policemen or doctors. Mistroství ČR v autostopu is also a charity race. Everyone (with Czech phone number) can vote for teams by sending sms. Money from this sms goes to support of handicapped people who are not able to travel. To win a couple has to be as fast as it can and collect as much money as possible during the race. There are also points for fair play and extraordinary vehicles. Race does not have a time limit, but usually it is less than a week - pretty fast as couples can hitchhike for 19 hours per day (sleeping is obligatory, but it is only 5 hours a day). In general, it is amazing, fast and furious race and all hitchhikers from Czech Republic are welcomed!!!

France

• The Mad Jacques gathers up to 1500 participants on a hitch hiking race to a mysterious destination in France. At the arrival, the racers find big stages for concerts and a festival of adventure and journalism on the Sunday. This is a paid race.
• Village Express is a race that runs yearly since 2025 with small groups. This is a paid race.

Germany

• Tramprally does 2 day races every year.

Hungary

• The HungaroHitch is an annual hitchhiking race over a weekend in the middle of July. First event in 2015. The two person teams have to find points in Hungary and in the neighbour countries. They have to give good answers to questions, solve tasks and collect points. The winning team collects the most points and reach the final point before the deadline. ColdHitch is their winter race in December.

Lithuania

• Hitchin' to the Sea 2026 had its first hitchhiking race in summer 2026 as a Baltics alternative to Tramprennen.

Netherlands

• Duimenrace is a yearly one day hitchhiking race around the IJsselmeer, the big lake in the centre of the Netherlands.

• Hitchhiking Challenge Delft planning their first race in June 2026.

Poland

Hitchhiking races become popular thing among university students, especially in 2010s, but the oldest recored one took place in 1998. Most of them take place during the long May weekend, which includes 1st and 3rd of May, which are bank & school holidays. Usually teams of two people are starting, there's finish line somewhere south from Poland and a camping with parties/activities. Last year pre-Covid up to 3500 students took place in these events simultaneously.

• Students from BIT The Travelers Club of the Wrocław University of Economics organize the biggest hitchhiking race Auto Stop Race with around 500-550 pairs. Since 2009 the race takes place every single year at the beginning of May (during Polish long weekend 01-03.05). The race starts in Wrocław, participants have to hitchhike to one of the European countries. After crossing the finish line – which is a camping entrance, all hitchhikers can expect great parties, lots of good music, sport's games, animations, and other events prepared by the organizing team – members of BIT Travellers Club. Auto Stop Race being the largest hitchhiking event in the world is intended for students and aims to promote an active lifestyle, building courage and passion for traveling.

• Autostop Challenge does a race every year.

• Międzynarodowe Mistrzostwa Autostopowe are the oldest one, organised since 1998 and starts form Gdańsk

• Kortostop one of the shortest ones, finish line is usually somewhere in Poland, organised by students from Olsztyn

• Krakostop organised by students from Kraków

• Pyrkostop is race starting in Poznań, first edition was 2026

Russia

• Academy of Free Travel frequently organizes gatherings, House for everyone and House of Free Travelers

Switzerland

• Swiss Hitchhiking Championship is a one day race taking place in Switzerland since 2014. It's based in the German speaking part of the country.

United Kingdom

• Bummit is a charity hitchhiking society that has been independently run & managed by students from the University of Sheffield since 2003. It is part of the Sheffield RAG (Raising & Giving) society, which falls under the jurisdiction of the University of Sheffield's Students Union. Every year it organizes a hitchhiking race.

• The Big Hitch is a charity fundraising society at the University of Manchester. Every year it organizes a hitchhiking race.

• Thumb It is a charity fundraising society at the University of Leeds. Every year it organizes a hitchhiking race.

Inactive

Europe

• Eurizons was a hitchhiking race through Europe with about 50 participants, which took place in 2006 and 2007. It was organized by GLEN (Global Education Network) and included some workshops about the Millennium Development Goals.
• Race to Riga was a race from Faro, Portugal, to Riga.

Belgium

• Route du Soleil is an annual one week race for Belgian students organized since 2010, from Belgium to "one of the sunniest destination in Europe". In the summer of 2011 they will even try to break the world record of biggest hitchhiking race with 900 participants. To deal with the number of participants, the different routes have a one day shift so they don't all leave and arrive on the same date. The final winner is decided between the winners of each route during a later race. Several prizes are to be won and the organization also provides some entertainment, food and camping facilities along the way, but this all has go be paid for, the registration fee (for 2014) was a mindblowing EUR 290.
• The Big Belgian Hitchhiking Contest was an annually event, starting in Ghent. The race is 300 to 500 km long and lasts one day. The third edition took place in October 2008 and doesn't seem to have been repeated since.

Czech Republic

• LowCost Race is a 10day hitchhiking race across Europe starting in Prague. The race was founded by Milan 'Miky' Škoda, leader of LeapMakers, an organization dedicated to personal and societal development through travel. In teams of 2, the participants have to manage to visit as many checkpoints (25 in 2014-16, 40 in 2017) while spending as little money as possible. They start with 2 500 CZK per head and lose points for spending it. Teams can collect additional points for fulfilling various challenges such as: hitch a ride in an airplane, Yes Man (you have to say yes to everything for 24 hours), find a way to get to another continent etc. There are two categories teams can compete in, the Racepackers and the Joypackers. Racepackers category, where only 10 teams get to compete, are the main stars of the race and people can watch them online thanks to GPS trackers on the LowCost Race website, where there are also photos, videos and reports that teams produce. A selection of the best moments is published on the internet television Stream.cz as well as on the race's Facebook page. Each day one team did an Instagram stories takeover, so the viewers could spend a day with them. Joypackers category is open to everyone who just wants to participate and enjoy the race for fun. The competition runs annually each August and is open to all nationalities as long as you are able to start and finish the race in Prague.

Denmark

• BLAF was a yearly hitchhiking competition around Denmark

Finland

• Hitchball 4000 is an annual hitchhiking race over a weekend around the beginning of June. It was first organized in 2013. It's based in Helsinki and so far teams have visited countries in northern and eastern Europe. The winning team is determined by the amount of kilometers they hitchhike and the distance to the farthest point they reach. Also a Spirit of Hitchball award is given to the most deserving team according to varying criteria.

France

• The Pouce d’Or is a yearly race over a week-end in the beginning of autumn (usually the first week-end of October). The winner is the one who manages to reach the furthest point and come back before the race is over. It is organized by "Ecole Centrale de Nantes" since 2003 and gathers up to 120 people. In 2012, 3 others schools joined in (Centrale Lille, Télécom Brest and Agro Montpellier). Note: it seems other French schools/universities organize similar races but without advertising or communicating publicly. In 2015, 23 schools in total participated to the 13nd edition of this contest (including Centrale Nantes, Centrale Lille, Centrale Marseille, Audencia, EM Normandie, ESTP, Mines Saint-Etienne). More than 400 students were on the roads during this week-end.
• The Hitchhiking Contest was an unofficial event, from Paris to Dakar in 2011.
• The Jack Kerouac trophy first organized in 2012 by the 'Binouze Hikers'. A one day race from Paris to a bar in Normandy, in which around 300 people took part. Another edition took place in 2014 from Paris to a bar in Morbihan (Bretagne) and another in 2015 in the Morvan (Burgundy). It may be replicated in the coming years.
• The Mines Télécom Express or MTE is a yearly race over a week-end in the beginning of autumn. The race is open to binoms formed by students attending an engineering school belonging to the Institut Mines Telecom network. Students start from their respective schools and are given an objective by the organizers, usally 100 to 200 km away. When they reach that objective, they are to send a proof to the organisers (usally a selfie in front of a city sign) so that they can be communicated the next objective. The objectives are following a set route for each school, with the last one being common to all. A party is held at arrival, wich is always an IMT network school. It was organized by "Mines Douai" sudents, and since the 2017 edition by "IMT Lille Douai" students as Mines Douai merged with Telecom Lille to give IMT Lille Douai.

Germany

• The German hitchhiking society Abgefahren e.V. was organizing the annual German Hitchhiking Championship end of May/beginning of June from 2008 until 2016. It was a one day race taking place in Germany with 80 to 100 participants. In 2012, teams had to choose 3 intermediate checkpoints among the proposed ones. It was to avoid having to many people following the same route at the same time.
  • Tramperrennen is the unofficial/partly unauthorized successor of the Abgefahren race that took place in 2019 and 2020.
• BackSeatRally had their first race in 2023 and another one in 2024, since then it is discontinued.
  • https://www.instagram.com/backseatrally/
  • In the news: https://www.maz-online.de/lokales/potsdam/potsdam-abenteuer-trampen-potsdamer-student-entwickelt-neues-youtube-format-backseat-rally-7C4YTKZERJDZFHTGP2XK5ZGODI.html
  • https://www.youtube.com/@BackseatRally/videos

Lithuania

• The Vilnius Hitchhiking Club has been organizing the annual Baltics competition since 1997. The competition itself pre-dates the foundation of the VHHC by two years. It takes place at the end of April, usually over a distance of around 1,000km, the last edition, Baltics 2012 attracted 33 pairs. (The record was set in 2010, when 44 pairs took part)

Netherlands

• AEGEE Groningen organises every year hitchhiking races to several cities in Europe, with a cultural program and a lot of going out in the night being there. Also other student associations organise or organised yearly hitchhiking contests with their (student) members.
• The BOC organized 11 occasional races just for fun, usually starting from Utrecht, Netherlands. Club inactive since 2009.
• Some Dutch people from Uden in the Netherlands were organizing a hitchhiking competition once a year, known in Dutch as the Liftwedstrijd.
• There was a yearly hitchhiking race in Wommels, Friesland, starting on January 1st of a New Year.

Poland

• Wyścig Autostopem was organised by students from Poznań till 2022, seams dead now

• PoliRajd was held from Gliwice up to 2024.

Spain

• Ruta Madrid - Lisboa is event for any backpacker around the world. This race is based on Pekin Express where you can travel doing different challenges.

Switzerland

• Somewhere express is a multiple-day who-gets-there-first race to different destinations in Europe and based in the French speaking part of the country.

United Kingdom

• The Hitch 2016 - Link Community Development organizes an annual charity hitchhiking event from the UK to Morocco and Croatia, according to a spokesperson it is not a race.

Oceania

Australia

• The Big Green Hitch first took place in march 2013. It supports the Friends of the Earth NGO by raising funds. This edition was a one week 1000 km hitch hiking race from Melbourne to the Mouth of the Murray River (near Adelaide) along the Great Ocean Road. 14 participants took part.

See also hitchhiking for charity

Source: Hitchhiking races License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Introduction

Please pay attention to this fact – these are (mostly) not officially proven records, but claims of hitchhikers regarding their extremes. This list of records is for us – hitchhikers (we should be happy for our colleagues, not to be envious!), for novices who do not know anything about hitching, but they are proud of their only travel abroad.

Note that this page is a near copy of the Rekordai / Records of Vilniaus Autostopo Klubas. Some of the records, those marked (HGE), were originally published in Ken Welsh' "Hitchhikers Guide to Europe".

Feel free to add your own record(s), but please do not make list longer than five records. If you still want to add a record when there are already five entries, and your record is not in the top-5, you can create a sub-page for the particular record.

The longest distances passed on land during the 24 hours period

• 2777 km (1736 miles), according to Pavel Trcala, from Czech Republic. Time 28 November 1998 07:30 - 29 November 1998 06:30. The route: Miami to Chicago via Jacksonville (Florida), Savannah (Georgia), Columbia (South Carolina), Asheville (North Carolina), Knoxville (Tennessee), Lexington (Kentucky), Toledo (Ohio), South Bend (Indiana), and Harvey (Illinois). The route was done in five lifts.
• 2750 km, according to Vladas Sapranavicius, member of Vilnius Hitch-hiking Club. Time: 21 August 1996 22:00 – 22 August 1996 22:00 ViaMichelin gives as expected travel time for Almeria - Potsdam: 24 hours and 51 minutes. The route: Almeria (E) – Murcia (E) – Barcelona (E) – Montpellier (F) – Lyon (F) – Frankfurt (D) – Potsdam (D). 4 lifts (Almeria – Montpellier; Montpellier – Lyon; Lyon – Salzgitter; Salzgitter – Potsdam). The average speed (including waiting for the ride + a cup of beer in the restaurant): 115 km/h. The maximum speed: 170 km/h. - 2318.4 km, according to Robert Prins, hitchhiker from, at the time, the Netherlands. It was done in 4 lifts through Yugoslavia, Austria and Germany during 20.47 hours. The record was included on page 179 of the UK 1991 edition of the Guinness Book of Records. Full details of the four rides that led to this record can be found here.
• 1700 km[ Julian Hanowski](User:JulianSaarland ” Julian Hanowski”){.wikilink} in august 2023 lost his Airplane in Madrid Barajas and wanted go get back home to Saarland as fast as possible because it was his grandpas 50 wedding. He walked out of the Barajas Airport going North and arrived in Losheim am See /Saarland near Luxemburg border arround afternoon one day later. He passed some hours from 1 am to 7 am in a random house in the middle of a france village where he got picked up. Unfortunatelly he came latefor the wedding.

Lifetime hitchhiking

• Alexey Vorov, president of the St. Petersburg Autostop League. He has covered about 1,973,650 km (updated: 14th September 2015) by hitchhiking. Hitching experience – from 1977 on. He is still hitchhiking, so it is not the final number.
• Benoit Grieu, French hitchhiker. Started his trip in 1979 and since then all the time on the road. During this trip he has covered about 1,500,000 km. For some years, he hitchhiked more than 100,000 km/year. His current whereabouts are sadly unknown.
• Stephan Schlei. He claims 1,000,000 km.

The longest rides with one car

• In 2015 Aliosha Yazylets, a Belorussian hitchhiker, together with one other person, hitchhiked over 12,000 km in one lift from Tadjikistan, via China, Mongolia, Irkutsk and Moscow in Russia, all the way to Lvov in western Ukraine.
• L.J. Gordon from Western Australia. He started from Whitepark Bay Youth Hostel in Northern Ireland, where four Americans in a Combi Van gave him a lift through Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, France, Andorra and into Spain. They covered an astonishing 7107 km before parting company. (HGE) Note: This record was copied from Ken Welsh' "Hitchhikers Guide to Europe". L.J. may have recorded the distance as miles in a car with a KM odometer, as the distance seems far too great to be in kilometres.
• Alexey Anofriev from Vladivostok (Russia) hitchhiked from Vladivostok (23 May, 2001) to Shimanovsk (the end of the road) and got a lift to Samara there. From Shimanovsk to Shilka on the railroad platform together with the car and from Shilka to Samara by car (Toyota Celica). Totally it was about 6800 km long lift from 28 May until 4 June! Afterwards, the drivers went to Krasnodar and Alexey hitchhiked on to St. Petersburg. He arrived to St. Petersburg on 7 June, 2001.
• Benoit Grieu, French hitchhiker who hitchhiked about 6000 km in one lift from Anchorage (Alaska) to San Diego (California).

Most rides taken in 24 hours

• The CAT (Competitive Autostop Team) members Dmitrii Ivanov and Anastasia Belka had 57 rides during a CAT-Competition on 17-18 March 2018 in Germany (between 8:05:00 and 1:47:00). It's common for competition to have more than 40 rides in day.
• The DTSG members Koen de Jong and Stefan Korn had 32 rides during a DTSG-Competition on 2 May 2014 in Germany (between 08:00 and 23:30).

One year hitchhiking record

• Benoit Grieu, French hitchhiker during 4 or 5 years (for example 1989, 1993, 1995, 1997) hitchhiked more than 100,000 km per year (in 1995 - 113,000 km).
• Alexey Vorov - 78,800 km in 1991.
• Vilmantas Trumpickas from Vilnius Hitch-hiking Club has covered 56,000 km during the year 2010.

The longest journey

• Benoit Grieu has been hitch-hiking since 1979 and still hitchhiked every day until he disappeared, 1, on his way to Nepal in 2011. During these years he covered about 1,500,000 km not staying more than 3 months in one place.
• Expedition “Autocolumbus” by PASL in 17 February 1992 – July 1993. The trip started 4 hitchhikers: Alexey Vorov, Mikhail Dutkevich, Kiril Baranov and Victor Grigor’ev, but only Alexey and Mikhail finished the complete journey. The route was around the world through 25 countries in Europe, Asia, South and North America. The length of the route ~83,000 km.
• In 2014 Stefan Korn started a circumnavigation expedition. The trip took him 22 months, passing through 58 countries in 5 continents and covering a total distance of 108.895 km. His expedition was documented in his travel blog warmroads.de.

Longest waiting time

• Alexey Vorov. He waited for a lift 3 days in Chucotka, Far North, Russia to move 50km and then waited another 3 days for the second lift in the Komsomol'skij county till got a lift to Majskij (50 km). The minimum temperature on this travel was -55°C in Tyoplyj Kluch county (Chucotka).

Visited Countries

• Benoit Grieu, French hitch-hiker, has hitchhiked in about 170 countries.
• Vladimir Nesin is famous for barefoot walking, and has been in 138 countries. In all of them he hitchhiked at least one time, excepting Mongolia, which he traversed completely on foot. This means he has hitchhiked in 137 countries, although in many of them only a little bit.
• Vladimir Sharlaev from St. Petersburg has hitchhiked in 138 countries, if counting "not officially recognized territories". We are not sure how many officially recognized nation-states that amounts to exactly, but it must be somewhere "'between 120 and 135"' countries.

The largest deviation done by a driver

• Neringa Raulusonyte and Kristina Zukaite from the Vilnius Hitch-hiking Club. They got a ride from a 55 years old German driver with a Toyota Corolla, which was going just 50 km. However, later he offered them to prolong the lift according to their wishes. The driver gave them a ride using the route Berlin - Frankfurt/M - Koblenz - Luxembourg - Paris - Bruxelles - The Netherlands - Hamburg - Berlin - Torun - Kalvarija - Vilnius. From 2001-08-29 until 2001-09-04 the girls covered 4000 km in the same car. The total deviation from driver's route was - 3950 km (drivers way back is not included).
• 600 km (at least) to one side. It was for three hitch-hikers from the VGTU Tourist Club, Lithuania. The lift was given on the Lithuanian – Polish border. The driver should go to Czech Republic, but after he spoke to one of the hitchhikers, he took them until the German border (Szczecin). After the crossing the German border he went back to Poland and after to Czech Republic. Also he gave them 150 EEK (~11 USD). These hitchhikers were: Vladas Sapranavicius, Jovita Garnyte and Asta Ruzgyte.

Most picked up hitchhikers

• Dieter Wesch, the self-styled 'King of Hitchers', who was spending his Sundays patrolling the Autobahn between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, giving lifts to hitchers stranded at petrol stations. Every hitcher should sign in his guest-book. There was given a number from the guest-book - 9528. It's probably not a final number.
• Jim Sanderson ('Angel'). He has about 5000 photos with the hitchhikers he gave a lift to (mostly in pairs), so he has taken around 7500 people. Mr. Sanderson lives in New Zealand. He has in the 9 years since 1988 filled 7 guest books, 27 address books and dozens of photo albums.

Reaching the farthest point north

• Island of Dunay, north of Tiksi, North Russia, 73°56'. It was done by Konstantin Savva from Moscow Hitchhiking School (Russia) and his girlfriend Polina Kuleshova in September 2002.
• Urung-Haia, North Russia, 73°. It was done by Konstantin Savva from Moscow Hitchhiking School (Russia) on May 2002.
• Tiksi, North Russia, 71° 36'. It was done by Andrey Sapunov and Alexandr Dmitrievskyi from Ukrainian hitchhiking club "Mainroad" (Ukraine) on autumn 2002.
• Phillips Petroleum drilling operations near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, 71° N was done by Ilmar Island from Pompano Beach, FL as the starting point for a Guinness World Record run from Prudhoe Bay, AK to Key West, FL which was accomplished in 6-days, 17-hours and 22-minutes. However since the route included trespassing for 510-miles on oil company owned roads the record was not honoured and instead Guinness recognized Mr. Island's run from Key West, FL to Fairbanks, AK in 5-days, 20-hours and 52-minutes that he accomplished a few days earlier in June of 1979.

Reaching the farthest point south

• Scott Base, Antarctica, 77° 51'. Hitchhiker from USA Benjaman Bachelder hitched 5 km from McMurdo Station to Scott Base in December 2005. The same month he even held a seminar on hitchhiking in Antarctica and got a ride in a snowmobile.
• Ukrainian research base "Academic Vernadsky" in Antarctica, 65° 15' - reached by Argentinian hitchhikers Juan Villarino and Laura Lazzarino in 16 November 2010. They got a free ride to this base from cruiser "Ushuaia", belonging to cruise company "Antarrply Expeditions" 20 km South from Ushuaia, Argentine, 54° 48'.
• Arndt Writzel from Germany cut a record of the farthest point in the South. He reached Ushuaia town in southern Argentina in 2001 02 03.

The highest point on land

• Kala Patthar in Nepal - 5,644 meters. It was done by Portuguese hitchhiker Luís Terra Pinto as part of a round the world hitchhiking trip leaving from home without any money and only surviving busking with his mandolin. He hitchhiked all the way until the end of the road in Jiri, Nepal and then mostly walked but also got a few rides until base camp, conquering Kala Patthar's peak the following day on the 1st of January 2013.
• Mount Everest base camp in Nepal - 5,400 meters. It was done by Czech hitchhiker Pavel Trcala. He got the ride from Everest base camp two days after climbing Everest on his return to Kathmandu on 1 June 2005. Later the same place was also conquered by several other hitchhikers: Nuutti Palonen (Finland), Radha Krishnan (India) and Tai Häring (Germany). They also hitchhiked to Mt Everest base camp from Shigatse in August 2005 and then hitchhiked to Nepal from Mt Everest.
• Gyatso-La mountain pass in Tibet, on the way from Lhasa to Nepalese border - 5,220 meters. It was done by two Polish hitchhikers Kinga and Chopin on 11 May 2003.
• The mountain pass in the Andes, South Peru – 5,100 meters. It was done bye Alexey Vorov and Mikhail Dutkevich (PASL) in May 1993.

The highest temperature

• +55°C experienced Alexey Vorov, Andrey Kuritsin, Ol’ga Bandurko, Andrey Leipi and Nadezhda Makarova in summer 1981 near Ashchabad, Turkmenistan.
• +52°C. Bertrand hitchhiked from Abu Dhabi airport to the city center. 19th August 2015.
• +50°C according to farben.rausch experienced Stefan Korn and Noah Essl in August 2016 as they entered the Lut Desert in Iran to cross it. They waited 3 hours before they got a ride all the way through.

The lowest temperature

• –63°C. It was for hitchhiker Elena Saturova, member of PASL in January 1992 between Ust’-Nera and Sasuman in East Yakutya, Russia.
• During their expedition to the Nordkapp in January 2018, hitchhikers of the DTSG encountered temperatures down to –30 °C in Finnish Lapland. The hitchhiking nomad Sven Kopf even slept outside during those temperatures.

The highest speed

• 310 km/h, according to Andrius Papickas and Viktorija Aksionova from Lithuania. It has happened on April 14, 2004 in Germany, between Fulda and Dresden, when travellers were returning home from Spain. The car was "BMW 550" ("Alpina").
• 300 km/h, according to Prino, on 25 May 2016 around 20:30, during a ride from MOP Nowostawy on the Polish A2 to a petrol station on the exit Poznan Komorniki (the driver missed MOP Tulce). The car was a Mercedes E63 AMG. The driver made an attempt to break the 310 km/h record mentioned above, but lack of free road made this impossible.
• 300 km/h, according to Linas Migonis from Lithuania. On June 1, 2007, on the route Berlin - Leipzig he had a lift with 4 seated "Maserati". The drive has attended a driving lessons of Formula-1 racer.
• 294 km/h, according to Rebew, on 30 June 2022 on the A9 in a BMW. After a few compliments for the car, the driver made a few attempts to break 300 km/h but got stopped by traffic each time.
• 292 km/h, according to Veit Kuehne from Dresden, Germany. He got a ride with a young driver (car "Audi") on a highway between Dresden and Chemnitz in July 2008.
• At least 280 and more than likely exceeding 290 km per hour, according to Prino on 27 May 2015 from Raststätte Fränkische Schweiz/Pegnitz Ost (departure @ 06:05) to Raststätte Fläming Ost (arrival @ 07:49). The odometer'ed distance was 304.0 km (both Google Maps and Bing Maps give the distance as 308 km) and the ride included a refuelling stop of 11 minutes (06:58 - 07:09). The driver used a Cougar system and didn't pay any attention to speed restrictions, other than slightly slowing down in roadworks. The car was an Audi RS6 Quattro.

Fastest round the world hitchhike trip

15 days +7h21m19s – Cor Goethals (Belgium) hitchhiked from Brussels, Belgium, to Vladivostok, Russia; from Seattle, USA, to Boston, USA; and from Lisbon, Portugal, back to Brussels, Belgium. - Start: 13 September 2025, 09:00:00 - Finish: 28 September 2025, 16:21:19 - Countries crossed: Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, United States, Portugal, Spain, France.

20 days +1h31m17s - Alexej Vorov (Russia) hitchhiked from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok; from Seattle to Boston; and from Madrid back to St. Petersburg. - Start: 1 October 2014, 00:00:00 - Finish: 21 October 2014, 01:31:17 - Countries crossed: Russia, United States, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia.

Rules for the Round-the-World Hitchhiking Record

1. Land Travel by Hitchhiking Only – All overland segments must be completed exclusively by hitchhiking. Use of buses, trains, taxis, rideshares are allowed when the hitchhiker does not perform a payment.

2. Ocean Crossings by Plane or Ship – Oceans may be crossed by airplane or ship. The entire duration of such crossings, including waiting times, layovers, and flight time, is counted in the record. For these ocean crossings payments are allowed.

3. No Payment for Transport – Payment for rides is not allowed. Voluntary offers from drivers (e.g., fuel or meals) may be accepted but cannot be solicited.

4. No Pre-Arranged Rides – Rides must be obtained spontaneously (e.g., at roadsides, gas stations, or rest areas). Pre-booked or pre-negotiated transport is not permitted. This rule is based on trust and transparency.

5. Ride Documentation – Each ride should be documented with the following information: - Driver’s first name - Start and end time - Start and end coordinates (or nearest identifiable location) - Preferably, a photo of the driver and/or vehicle with the hitchhiker (with consent)

6. Verification of Route – Continuous GPS tracking, timestamped photos, or publicly available check-ins (e.g., social media, blogs, or live trackers) are recommended for transparency and verification.

7. Legal Border Crossings – All borders must be crossed legally with valid documents. Visa arrangements must be made in advance and may not involve paid transport for overland sections.

8. Ethical Conduct – Hitchhikers must respect local laws, customs, and drivers. Unsafe, coercive, or dishonest practices invalidate an attempt.

9. Solo Achievement – Records are held individually. Companions may join parts of the journey, but each participant must complete the full route independently to qualify.

10. Independent Verification – Where possible, significant stages of the journey should be verified by independent third parties such as observers, journalists, or other travelers.

Highest number of countries within 24 hours

• 10, according to Miran Ipavec from Slovenia. Miran hitched this in 23 hours and 15 minutes, starting on 2018-03-14. In this order he passed these countries: Serbia, Croatia*, Bosnia and Herzegovina**, Slovenia*, Italy**, Austria*, Germany**, Hungary*, Slovakia, Czech Republic. Countries marked * were passed twice and at those marked ** Ipavec retunred into the previous country at the border.

Highest number of countries within 10 days

• 30, according to Miran Ipavec from Slovenia. Miran hitched this in 9 days, 20 hours and 25 minutes, starting on 2015-04-01. In this order he passed these countries: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania*, Ukraine, Serbia, Macedonia*, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia*, Slovenia*, Italy, Austria*, Czech Republic, Germany*, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Countries marked * were passed twice. Kosovo, not recognised by the UN, is excluded from this list.

Longest "driving the driver" ride

• Stefan Korn hitchhiked from Fairbanks down to British Colombia and got a 2676km long ride from Tok Alaska to Cache Creek in British Columbia (2014-01-13T). Around 1.600 km he drove by himself.
• 1,179.6 km, by Cor Goethals from Belgium, during a 2000km ride from Billings, USA to Chicago, USA. Cor drove through the night while driver Ramsey was sleeping. Cor started driving in Chamberlain (43.7682598,-99.3128964) around 9pm and drove to Chicago, USA (41.5704109,-87.4765589), arriving around 7am the next morning. This drive happened on his round the world adventure with which he broke the world record for fastest hitchhike around the world.
• 1,113.6 km, by Prino from the Netherlands, a ride from service station Deersels on the A67 near Sevenum, The Netherlands (2018-09-04T14:13) to service station Brwinów on the A2 near Brwinów, Poland (2018-09-05T12:24) - Prino drove the entire distance, driver even paid for a hotel room at night. Possibly around 1,100 km, also by Prino. During his longest ride, a 2,502.9 km monster from a petrol station near Platamonas (1990-08-13T16:32) in Greece to Driebergen (1990-08-15T12:54) in the Netherlands, he drove during five periods, for a total time of 10:06 out of a total driving time of 22:41. The distance is based on the average speed of the ride, and the sections driven.
• 781 km, according to Frank Verhart from the Netherlands. Frank drove from service station Gralla Ost on the A9 near Graz, Austria (2015-05-26T22:19) to service station Medenbach Ost on the A3 near Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2015-05-27T10:28).

Slowest hitchhiking between two points

• William Innes from Scotland, UK. He got a ride on a milk float on 'collection' day and it took 4.5 hours to travel 2 miles from North London to the start of the M1. (HGE) Note: It would take a reasonably fit person about 30 minutes to cover this distance on foot...
• Ruth Cleece from UK. She got a half-mile ride taking 45 minutes on a steam-roller. (HGE)

Youngest driver hitchhiked

• Andrey Sapunov from Kiev, Ukraine and Konstantin Grishin from Tver, Russia. On 21 October 2020 they got a ride on Kaninë - Vlorë road, Vlorë County in Albania from a 10-year-old boy. It was a 4 km ride. His other passenger was an even younger girl.
• Jan Vržina and Zoe Šarlija from Zagreb, Croatia. On 18 July 2024 they got a ride from the edge of Ulcinj to the Sigal Uniqa - Pika Kufitare Muriqan border crossing from a 13-year-old girl. It was a 24 km ride. The other passenger was her mother who said her daughter had been driving for years.
• Robertas Pogorelis from Vilnius, Lithuania. On 23 August 2016 he got a ride from Long Island, Palau, to Koror, Palau (about 2 km) from a 14-year-old girl who was driving to school. Everything was legal: the driver held a temporary licence and was sitting next to her 16-year-old sister who had a full licence.

Oldest driver hitchhiked

In 2022 Julian Hanowski and his friend was picked up by an 94 year old farmer in his 1973, first and only Pickup he had in his life. He took us about 15 kilometers between Cordoba and San Luis Argentina.

Largest hitch-hiking events

• Traditional SOBER hitch-hikers' gathering in Moscow region,150 km from Moscow, organized by Free Travel Academy (hitch-hiking club in Moscow, Russian Federation) on 4-8 June 2021, atracted at least 660 participants (some more arrived after closing of official registration). There were 40 free lectures. 98% of participants were citizens of Russian Federation because of closed borders.
• Traditional SOBER hitch-hikers' gathering in Moscow region on river Dubna, organized by Free Travel Academy (hitch-hiking club in Moscow, Russian Federation) on 4-6 September 2020, atracted at least 640 participants (some more arrived after closing of official registration). They stayed in 350 tents. There were 40 free lectures by famous hitchhikers. Manager of the event was Alexey Kuleshov. This time there were only few foreign participants because of closed borders.

Hitchhiking lap records of famous racing circuits

From a standing start (standing on the start/finish line), thumb a vehicle down, get in it, and complete 1 lap of the circuit in the correct direction. The clock starts when you put your thumb out, and the clock stops when you cross the finish line 1 lap later.

Circuit de Monaco

• 9 minutes, 12 seconds (approx): Sanne and Tom, hitchhiking as a pair, on 10 May 2009.

Guiness Book of Records Hitchhiking Entries

Until the early 1990'ies the UK edition of the Guinness Book of Records (GBOR) used to list a number of hitch-hike world records. They were

• The greatest distance hitched during a hitchhiking career
• The fastest time to get from Land's End to John o'Groats (and the round trip)
• The greatest distance hitched in a 24-hour period

The fastest time to get from Land's End to John o'Groats (and back)

Land's End to John o'Groats is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities.

Land's End to John o'Groats

• Martin Clark and Graham Beynon. Last hitchhikers recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for the Land's End to John O'Groats trip. (17 hours 8 minutes, 1987)

Round-trip

• Alan Carter. Last hitchhiker recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for the Land's End to John O'Groats to Land's End round-trip. (39 hours 28 minutes)

Earlier entries, according to Bernd Wechner

Single

• 1959-63  39 hrs        - Anthony Shepherd
• 1965-69  29 hrs 30 min - Ian Crawford
• 1973-74  29 hrs        - Bernard Atkins (1966) and J.F. Hornsey (1971) independently
• 1975-77  23 hrs 50 min - Pam Vere and Georgina Astley (1974)
• 1978     23 hrs 24 min - Miranda Brooks and Margaret Allinson (1977)
• 1980     21 hrs 55 min - John Repton and Rosemary Grounds (1978)
• 1981-88  17 hrs 50 min - Andrew Markham (1979)

Round trip

• 1967-68  100 hrs 30 min - John Stubbs
• 1973-75   77 hrs 20 min - Christine Elvery and Gwendolen Sherwin (1969)
• 1976      57 hrs  8 min - Peter W. Ford (1974)
• 1976      56 hrs        - John Frederik Hornsey (1974)
• 1977-78   54 hrs 40 min - Peter W. Ford (1976)
• 1980-83   45 hrs 34 min - Guy Hobbs (1978)
• 1984-85   42 hrs 15 min - Charlotte Allard and Fay Gillanders (1982)
• 1986-91   41 hrs 42 min - Anthony D. Sproson (1984)

The greatest distance hitched in a 24-hour period

This record was only included in the 1991 edition of the GBOR. It was held by Prino. The actual entry on page 179 read:

"The greatest distance in 24 hours is 2318.4 km 1440.7 miles, from Southern Yugoslavia to Hamburg, West Germany on 5 July 1989 by Robert Prins of De Bilt, The Netherlands. He achieved this with just four lifts."

Full details of the four rides that led to this record can be found here.

The US edition of the Guinness Book of Records

Furthermore, the US edition also seemed to have contained a record for the fastest time to hitchhike through the 48 contiguous states (i.e. all excluding Alaska and Hawaii) and in 1979 it has published a record for a trip from Key West in Florida to Fairbanks in Alaska. Details of that trip can be found in Key West to Alaska: not without a hitch - the particular page talks about a distance of about 5,200 mile. Based on the data in said article, this might have been

From Key West, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska

"A young man named Ilmar Island of Pompano Beach, Florida, Hitchhiked from Key West, Florida, to Fairbanks, Alaska, a distance of about 5200 miles, setting out on June 2, 1979, and arriving at his destination on June 7, just 5 days 20 hours and 52 minutes later."

A few days later after completing his Key West, Florida, to Fairbanks, Alaska run, Mr. Island hitched from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska back to Key West, Florida in 6-days, 17-hours and 22-minutes. However since this route included trespassing for 510-miles on oil company owned roads that record was not honored and instead Guinness recognized Mr. Island's run from Key West, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska as mentioned above.

Further references to hitchhiking records

Additional articles on hitchhiking records were written in the late 1990's by Bernd Wechner for Suite101:

• World Records: Musings on what makes a record breaking hitch.
• More Records: Record breaking hitches in summary
• Me Hitch-hiker, You Hitch-hikee: Turning the tables

Suggestions for other possible records

If you want to do something that (probably) hasn't been done before, you can try your thumb at any of these. Don't expect to end up in the Guinness Book of Records for it, they no longer seem to have a section with hitchhiking records.

• North Cape to Gibraltar
• Prudhoe Bay (Alaska) to Ushuaia (Argentina)
• Cabo da Roca (Portugal) to Cape Dezhnev (Russia)

It would be great to add additional existing records:

• The biggest hitch-hiking gathering
• The biggest hitch-hiking race by number of participants
• The biggest hitch-hiking event in general
• The longest hitch-hiking race by kilometres
• The largest hitch-hiking club (number of members during some certain year. There should be a clear rules, how a club define membership, for example, yearly membership fee or visiting club's meetings at least once per month)
• The longest boat ride
• The longest train ride
• The longest plane ride

Source: Hitchhiking Records License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

General care

Food

Babies are very open to the experience, in the sense that they don't even notice anything. They sleep through it or just play with you the way they'd do at home. They get hungry just as often, which is fine if you're exclusively breastfeeding. If he needs extra yummies, think you might have to feed him on the back seat of someone else's car. Plan your food accordingly. Bananas work wonders.

Diapers

If you're on reuseable diapers, you'll need to wash them as they get used and dry them on your backpack or something like that. That cuts down significantly on how many you bring with you. Access to water for cleaning is normally not problematic. If all your absorbant fabric is wet, you can use a handful of toilet paper instead.

If you're on throwaway diapers, then you'll need a freaking huge backpack for when you run out and need to get a new box. If you get the small boxes, you're likely to run out before finding a shop that sells more.

Sleep

When it's time to sleep, the baby will just do that. It's useful to have something to strap her to your body, so you can get out of the car or walk around without waking her up. You can keep hitching through the night, but that will make for a cranky baby in the morning. If you can set up camp somewhere, she'll be thankful.

Health

Breastfed babies are incredibly tough. You don't have to worry about her catching a bug. Even if you're in India and she's touching everything and sucking her hands. You'll be sick way more often than her. And she'll heal faster too.

Security and regulations

Drivers love babies. Moreover, most of them don't care if you aren't carrying a car-accessory approved by the authorities. If you have your baby strapped to your body and wear the seatbelt under it, as in "between the baby and you", it provides pretty good security in case of crash. If you wear the seat-belt over the baby and there is a crash, you'll just squish it with your own weight so please don't do that.

In addition to that, many drivers drive around with an empty baby seat. Those will feel compeled to pick you up.

More information

• Bibi on the road, blog by dad from baby's perspective, during hitching trip around the world
• C'est comment voyager à la dure avec un bébe by Bibi's dad
• Viajando con un bébé - preguntas frecuentes, by Bibi's mother

Source: Hitchhiking with a baby License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking with children seems a big challenge. But in reality it is a big advantage, espacially if you look like mum/dad hitching with their child. Drivers are maybe also willing to drive detours for you and your child because they really want to help.

Law

In many Western countries children have to be in special children car seats until a certain age (e.g. 7 in Australia). It's certainly a drag to carry these seats around while hitchhiking. If it is law to have such a seat, it is a good practice to show to the potential drivers, that you have such a seat in yor hitchhiking inventory.

About your hitchhiking partner

When hitchhiking with your child, your child will become your hitchhiking partner with all the needs a child will have. "I am hungry, I am thursty, I need a toilet, It is boring, ...". Especially when on the road, the needs of the child shall be your priority one. That means also, that you will probably not as fast as you may imagine, even if the willing to stop from the drivers is much higher. So, you should not focus that. Even this should be clear, it should be just mentioned, don't hitch with a child only to get the "hitching with a child bonus". Most parents, and for a good reason, teach their kids to not enter cars with people they don't know. It is important to explain to your child why in this special case it is okay to do it. In any case, your child should feel comfortable to hitchhike with you. If not: Just don't do it.

For teenage hitchhiking kids it might be a good idea to make their first hitchhiking experiences with a mature, hitchhiking experienced partner.

Safety

The road and especially the highway can be very dangerous. Make sure your child stays safe at all times. Good idea might me to let your child take a seat on your backpack and you are the one with the thumb up. Never leave your child alone or unobserved. Further, don't let your child enter a car first. Always together or you first.

History

Apparently, in Poland there were TV advertisements saying it was perfectly safe for children to hitchhike on their own until sometime in the 1970s.

A Polish driver told Fverhart that his father used to hitch-hike with him when he was a child (era of Polish People's Republic). His father would put him clearly visible and drivers, certainly female drivers, would almost guaranteedly stop.

In 2021 Quarim hitchhiked with his three years old daughter (because of a special situation he was in) and almost everyone stopped.

Links

• FB group discussion: Hitchhiking with child, 2015

Source: Hitchhiking with children License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking (also called lifting or thumbing or, universally in several Languages around the world, auto-stop with different pronunciations) is a form of transport, in which the traveller tries to get a lift (a ride) from another traveller, usually a car or truck driver, for free.

Hitchhiking is a very common means of transport in most less affluent countries (although often a form of payment is expected). Hitchhiking is probably as old as the wheel and will probably exist as long as people need to move from one place to another.

There has been surprisingly little scientific research on hitchhiking, so it's really hard to say come up with any hard statements on the rise or demise of hitchhiking. There is a nice community of hitchhikers in Europe, and it seems to be growing. It's sort of going hand in hand with the hospitality exchange movement. Some try to link this to the much larger (and economically highly influential) movement of free software and free information (think GNU/Linux and Wikipedia), and there is huge potential in this sense. If we want it or not, internet will be in people's pockets and most of our locations are already easily tracked. Link this to the potential trust available in online social networks (friends of friends), the rising prices of petrol and the lower need to be in one location and hitchhiking could be just at the start of a global come-back.

People will participate because it's ecological, others because of the economical aspects. Numerous people pick up hitchhikers is means of getting a bit of excitement in their life. For some hitchhiking starts as a form of extremely cheap transport and then it turns into a lifestyle that allows to do amazing and useful things without being trapped in an office 5 days a week. Some people have this idea that hitchhikers are stinky bums. Of course, at (rare) times hitchhikers can be on the road for more than 24 hours and feel the need for a shower, but others are traveling equipped with laptops, mobile phones, a fresh shave and shower and GPS devices.

There are several types of hitchhiking.

• traveling by road motor vehicles: cars, trucks, buses.

• traveling by train, either the risky act of train hopping or, as is sometimes possible, with the permission of the engineer or conductor.

• traveling by ocean vessel, often called boathitching

• traveling by air: planes and helicopters, also called airhitching

Please check Wikipedia's article for more encyclopaedic information about hitchhiking.

Source: Hitchhiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

There are different types of insurance people can have for their vehicle. Often drivers refuse a ride because of insurance reasons. This article should picture the insurance situation in different countries. Also some forwarding agencies do not allow their truckers to pick up hitchhikers because of insurance reasons.

Situation in Germany

The German Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung which means liability insurance for vehicles is obligatory in Germany. Every person in the vehicle is insured by this. If the passenger hurts somebody (for example a cycling grandmother) by opening the door, the passenger (or his insurance) is responsible for the damage.

Situation in Spain

In Spain trucks cannot pick up hitchhikers any more as of February 2011, presumably for insurance reasons. Insurance reasons are also the favourite excuse for people who are driving company cars.

Situation in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, truckers and generally people driving in company cars very often decline lifts with the reason that they wouldn't be insured in case an accident happens.

Travel insurance

It can be a good idea to get a travel insurance that covers theft and other inconveniences. Some travel insurances totally cover medical issues, others can be combined with a usual medical insurance e.g. to cover transport back home.

Personal experiences

Other useful websites

• worldnomads.com - quite expensive

Source: Insurance License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

An on a highway is where multiple highways cross. They are useful to change directions but might be difficult to manage as a hitchhiker.

The so-called highway interchanges are usually poorly designed, and in most cases (e.g., in Germany), pedestrians are generally prohibited from lingering there. It sometimes requires a bit of attention and situational awareness—or even adequate communication (sometimes there are language barriers, for example) with the driver—to ensure you aren’t dropped off there by mistake because other options were overlooked.

When are dropped of at a highway rest area before an interchange it might be difficult to find rides that change the direction of the highway you are currently on. Switching rides on a rest area that is not the last before an interchange or choosing a route that avoids interchanges are possible strategies to avoid long waiting times. All which directions of the interchange are favorable can change though depending on how close important cities are places around the interchange.

Interchanges where this phenomenon might be in place are:

• Schönefelder Kreuz, Berlin
• Hermsdorfer Kreuz, Jena
• Kreuz Feuchtwangen/Crailsheim

Source: Interchange License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

In most parts of the world there are no laws against hitchhiking.

However, in some parts in this world it's officially illegal to hitchhike. Practically, in many of these, such as Pennsylvania, it's de facto allowed and no one will be fined. Be cooperative with the police though, since even if you think it's legal, they might fine you for anything they can think of, such as loitering, vagrancy, or just standing in the wrong spot.

See also the list of places in where you have to be more careful.

Source: Laws License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The term lay-by is used in the United Kingdom and Ireland to describe a roadside parking or rest area for drivers (equivalent terms in the United States are "turnout" or "pullout"). Lay-bys can be used for hitchhiking purposes, although due to a very few cars actually driving in there, do not expect very fast hitchhiking.

Lay-bys can vary in size from a simple parking bay alongside the carriageway sufficient for one or two cars only, to substantial areas that are separated from the carriageway by verges and can accommodate dozens of vehicles.

They are marked by a rectangular blue sign bearing a white letter P.

At some larger lay-bys mobile catering is provided by vendors operating from converted caravans, trailers or coaches. These facilities generally offer much better value for money than roadside restaurants and therefore tend to be popular with truckers.

Source: Lay-by License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

There are some finnish-speaking hitchhikers in the IRC-channel #liftari (IRCnet). If you have anything to ask about hitchhiking in Finland, these are the people.

English channel is #hitchhiking on Libera.chat

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irc

Source: Liftari @ IRCnet License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Long distance hitchhiking can be a lot of fun as well as exhausting. You should probably not embark on a long distance hitching trip if you haven't hitchhiked at least a couple of times before, especially if you're planning to go on your own. If you're with someone else who has plenty of experience: go for it.

With long distance hitchhikers probably mean more than 1 day of traveling. 1000 km in Western Europe doesn't really count as you can probably arrive at night if you're leaving early morning. More trips like from Amsterdam to Istanbul or something.

There are several ways of doing it:

1. As fast as possible - in which case you probably want to bring a tent to sleep somewhere close to the road or don't sleep at all - this is very well possible by jumping from service station to service station, under the midnight sun or if you're slightly crazy and equipped with a reflecting vest.
2. As convenient as possible - in which case you want to contact friends on the way or find places to stay with through hospitality exchange - or if you have a budget: get a hotel (which can be quite cheap in countries like Syria or China).

Some more tips before leaving:

• check online maps (e.g. Google Maps) for which way traffic goes
• make sure you have some food to start with, at least for the first days
• if you plan on hitchhiking at night, be prepared - and don't do this if it doesn't feel safe

: See also some of the routes that have been documented on Hitchwiki.

Source: Long distance hitchhiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Here is the Map of Hitchhiking spots

Maps are essential to hitchhiking. Make sure you always have a good map with you, either on your smartphone of in paper.

In Western Europe and a few other countries it is very important to have a map that shows petrol stations, service areas, toll gates and other important places on the motorways.

Hitchhiking maps

2024

Originally published here by Till Wenke.

Online maps

Hitchhiking

Our's

• maps.hitchwiki.org Hitchwiki's map to find hitchhiking spots and routes - collecting rides since 2006. Can be downloaded as.gpx file for offline use.

Unaffiliated

• Hitchmap.com - Wordwide map of hitchhiking spots with waiting times and comments. Can be downloaded as.gpx file for offline use.

!Smartphone running OsmAnd with offline map data and imported location markers from Hitchwiki Maps and campwild. Supermarkets = dumpsters...

Standard maps

• OpenStreetMap Free and open map that is created by volunteers. Can be used online or offline via apps:
  • OsmAnd Free, open-source map and navigation app with a huge ammount of settings/funktions, could be used both online and offline. The open-source version is available via f-droid.
• Google Maps StreetView can be good to check for hitchhiking spots. Very limited offlince capability.
• Yahoo Maps
• Bing (Microsoft).
• map24 Map for South America.

Shelters, (Wild)camping

Various free map data sources are available which are useful for the modern hitchhiker. Here is a list of website which provide such data:

• hipipl.com - A convenient interactive map with camping and hitchhiking spots
• refuges.info - wilderness huts database, mostly in France and Alps region
• pyrenees-refuges.com - wilderness huts in Pyrenees mountain range
• sydsverige.dk - shelters in Sweden
• 1 - campsites/shelters/fireplaces in Sweden
• - campsites/shelters/fireplaces in Sweden
• laavu.org - wilderness huts in Finland
• freecampsites.net - worldwide free campsites database
• boudy.info - czech republic and slovakia (mostly) shelters
• tourenwelt.info - worldwide hut data (in german)
• mountain-huts.net - mountain huts in the balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria)
• bivakzone.be - campsites in belgium
• udinaturen.dk - campsites in denmark
• rmk.ee - campsites and huts in estonia
• - free camping in Japan
• hatinosu.net - free camping & hot springs in Japan
• doc.govt.nz - government huts in new zealand
• ifreecamp.com Free campsites in Israel.
• 1nitetent.com People offering a free camping spot. Most ask to be contacted (mail, phone, whatsapp) ahead.
• Shelters in Norway

Hospitality Exchange/Couchsurfing

Nice people offering their home or a spot in the garden. The ones listed here provide a map search that let's you easily for more remote spots or to search e.g. for spots near onramps/highways/etc.

• trustroots.org
• BeWelcome.org
• couchers.org
• warmshowers.org Intended for cyclists, so maybe more for the hitchbikers out there.
• 1nitetent.com People offering a free camping spot. Most ask to be contacted (mail, phone, whatsapp) ahead.
• HiPipl.com

Offline maps

The following maps can be used (at least) partially offline.

Hitchwiki Maps All spots can be downloaded as a.gpx file and imported/viewed in many map apps.

Hitchmap.com All spots can be downloaded as a.gpx file and imported/viewed in many map apps

OpenStreetMap based offline apps allow to pre-download necessary regions and then use for browsing / routing / search without internet connection.

• CoMaps / Organic Maps / Maps.ME - general offline-focused maps great for traveling, fast, compact map files, don't have all the many functions of OSMAnd but are easy to use and suitable for 90% of uses
  • all of three are based (forked) off Maps.ME which became commercialized and not open-source any more
  • CoMaps is the latest addition which is fully open-source, transparent and community-based
  • there are Wikipedia articles included for POIs
  • there is an optional "outdoor" map layer better suitable for hiking
  • its possible to make minor additions and edits to OSM (e.g. add a shop, adjust opening hours, etc.) from within an app even being offline (edits will be uploaded when you're online)
• OSMAnd has a lot of functionality but also a very complicated user interface and is on a slower side with big map files:
  • complete map or road-only map for a city/region/country
  • geocoded wikipedia articles (great as a travel guide) for a city/region/country
  • wiki voyage data, a non-commercial wiki-style travel guide
  • satellite view (selected as overlay map) can't be directly downloaded but will be cached and available for offline use

campwild.com All spots for the selected countries can be downloaded as.gpx or.kml files for use in your map app.

There are a few ways to use Hitchwiki maps and spots offline.

Paper maps and Atlas

Try and find a map that you don't have to open out to one large sheet of paper every time you want to use it; you will be using it often. Book-style maps are best. A lot of times, you'll be okay without owning a map, though, if you use your chances well to have a look at one - petrol and service stations and lifts - and keep in mind all you need to know. It's recommended you have a map that is at least 1:1,000,000 ratio, 1:750,000 is usually good enough. A map with a scale of 1:250.000 will still allow you to recognize enough details to walk somewhere if you get lost. It also helps if petrol stations are marked, and you don't need city maps.

Local Maps

Remember that petrol stations often have maps for sale, including very local ones. If you need to find out the geography of the local area, simply walk into the shop, pick up a local map, study it, get the information you need, then put it back and walk out. Many service stations also have large maps on walls or notice boards. Other local maps can often be found on public transportation stations and on the backside of free-standing advertisements in bigger cities. You can just take a picture of them with a digital camera or smartphone if you need to look something up later; check if the picture is sharp enough.

The following section contains maps for whole continents, series of country maps for a continent and maps that only exist for particular countries.

Europe complete

Recommended

• The Shell Euroatlas is good for Europe, however, it's difficult to find.
• Collins Road Atlas: Europe 200 (1: 1 000 000) is nice and has most petrol stations, even though it is a bit large (A3).
• The Berlitz Europe atlas includes petrol stations and has a ratio of 1:800 000, though many important cities are in the crease of the book and are difficult to read (e.g., Paris, Berlin, etc.).
• A good map I've found (it has petrol/service stations marked and it's really small and handy! just a little bit bigger than a lonely planet guide) is the 1:1.250.000 Atlante Stradale Europa edited by Istituto Geografico De Agostini (ISBN 88-511-0968-0), it's sold in italian book shops but can be found on amazon as well.
• For Western, Northern and Southern Europe: one specific edition of the Marco Polo car map of Europe is great, it doesn't contain too much useless stuff like indices or city maps, and shows petrol stations on highways! Unfortunately guaka^site, wikitalk^ only found this one in Slovakia. This map could also be found in Germany, Czech Republic and Poland - Tom has a copy of both Czech and Polish editions (both editions exactly the same but with different front cover), and he bought these in 2006. They are still the best hitchhiking maps he's seen - hopefully the more modern editions are still as good. The cost was around 10 euro.
• Philip's compact atlas Europe shows service stations in some countries, is pretty compact and was available for 7 euro at the New English Book Store in Amsterdam, in June 2008.
• Falk Europa Transportatlas (2006, ISBN 9789028723115 - sample), European countries at 1: 800 000 in an A4 ring binder. Features service stations. Legend in all European languages and traffic glossary in Europe's main languages. Be advised the atlas weighs significantly more than average: 1,5 kg. You could save about 300 gr if you remove the NL pages Landendocumentatie.

Europe country map series

Recommended

• The Falk Länderkarte series (in German, but can be understood by everyone) is brilliant for individual European countries, with a useful, clever and compact fold-out page system. It is easy to find but only inside of Germany and neighbouring countries. The Falk Reiseatlas Europa 1: 800 000 / 1: 4 500 000 (ISBN 978-3-8279-0434-8) covers the whole Europe for a low price and includes the petrol stations indicated on seperate sides of the road. Falk.de shop
• The Dutch ANWB has quite good European country maps for free (for its members, just ask in the shop some people at the cashpoint if they can take it for you), they also include the motorways to the country from and to the Netherlands.
• The maps by Marco Polo are excellent for Europe. The 1:800,000 ratio version is the best (the name of this map changes in different countries). It is printed in Germany but is available across the continent. Pay attention, the 1:2.000.000 version (ISBN 978-3-8297-3704-3) has no petrol/service stations marked!
  There is an italian version of this map edit by Studio F.M.B Bologna and the 1:2.000.000 version has the same problem (ISBN 978-88-7775-232-1).

Not recommended

• Michelin Individual Country maps are not the best to use, they do not list the service areas and lots of useful information are absent, the scale ratio is often not good enough.

Europe: particular countries

Belgium

Recommended

• Blay Foldex: France, Atlas routier & touristique 2012: also includes Belgium and Luxemburg, see France.

Not recommended

• Michelin Belgique, Luxembourg 2011: No fuel stations shown. Scale 1:350 000, ISBN 978-2-06-715604-3, paid 7,50 Euro.

France

Recommended

• Grands Itinéraire by Michelin. 1:1,000,000, but featuring all the autoroutes, service areas and Péages plus lots of other roads. You should be able to buy it in most service areas for about EUR 5.50 (July 2009)
• Blay Foldex: France, Atlas routier & touristique 2012 (ISBN 978-2-309-02015-6): France, Belgium and Luxemburg in scale 1:250 000. Fuel stations at the highway are shown including the names. Red cover, format A4, bought at a French fuel station for 9.50 Euro. There is a QR code on the back of this you can scan with Android Smartphone or iDevices to get city maps. if you just want the city maps just scan the code off the atlas in the store.

Germany

Recommended

Luxemburg

Recommended

• Blay Foldex: France, Atlas routier & touristique 2012: also includes Belgium and Luxemburg, see France.

Not recommended

• Michelin Belgique, Luxembourg 2011: No fuel stations shown. Scale 1:350 000, ISBN 978-2-06-715604-3, paid 7,50 Euro.

Netherlands

Recommended

• Falk Nederland Autokaart: scale 1:300 000, lists all service stations with name, good detail. Paid 4,95 Euro at the Netherlands tourist service (marked with VVV in every major city).

Scandinavia

Recommended

• In Finland check for free "roads under construction" maps from gas stations. They cover the whole country.

UK and Ireland

Recommended

• For the United Kingdom and Ireland AA maps are good but can get a bit too large.

Asia

In Taiwan one can navigate by power pole, using the Taiwan Power Company grid. Paper end e-maps incorporating it are available, or one can add it to an existing map.

Mobile phones

On all smartphones, there are mapping applications. Check High-tech hitchhiking for information about using your mobile phone and other devices on the road.

For maps regarding dumpster diving etc. see:.

Source: Maps License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

There are several hitchhikers meetings around the world every year.

These meetings are often created by one of the different hitchhiking clubs, but also by the community of the hitchhikers themself. It also happens that there are a lot of other events not actually specified as hitchhiker's meetings, but where you for sure can meet lots of them!

Annual Meetings

• The German autostop society Abgefahren e.V. is organizing an annual members meeting. The meetings in 2007 and 2008 took place in September, so expect this to be so also in 2009.

Projects

• In 2008, two French hitchhikers organized a big meeting in Paris, called the 888-Project. More than 150 hitchhikers met there on 8 august 2008. This project will be continued in 2009, ending up in the European hitchhiking week, called 789.

Source: Meetings License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Mentostop (Russian милиция (police) =>менты + автостоп) is a funny and extreme way of hitchhiking. Mentostop is effective in some poor countries with very strong police and military aspect. Could be extremely effective after terrorist attack and less effective after peaceful period. In fact people in unstable countries tended to help or save another crazy foreigner crossing their land from another terrorist attack. Why should you refuse them? Let the people feel them as a part of helping process.

Dangers

Before ask a policeman be sure that your documents are completely OK.

Former Soviet Countries with effective Mentostop

Better to know at least elementary Russian language.

Uzbekistan

Police in Uzbekistan are most kind and helpful among all Central Asia (2010). After checking your ID always trying to get a comfortable bus for you. Distances up to across all country just wait for proper bus.

Tajikistan

Every policeman is ready to help you on the road. Sometimes they just carry you to the next checkpoint and ask local policemen to get a car for you. Also could offer some food or give some money (up to 5 USD:)).

Kazakhstan

Since campaign against corruption was started policemen became friendly and helpful. Usually trying to get a bus for you. Lifts across the country available. 1000+ km is not a limit. Best way to get a ride for a nighttime.

Other countries

Mauritania

In Mauritania, there's a police checkpoint every 20 kilometers or so. Most policemen are very helpful and very surprised to see hitchhikers, sometimes even too much so. For more information, see the article.

Argentina

There are many police checkpoints (often, but not always in use) at the entrance to major cities. The officers were always helpful, and amongst food and mate, every truck driver passing through was queried on their destination to assist hitch-hikers.

Source: Mentostop License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking and Money

Hitchhiking usually implies that no money changes hands, no monetary transactions for the ride.

How to deal with requests for money beforehand

In Western Europe and the United States it's rare that people ask for money. It can happen though, especially in Germany, where carpooling is quite popular. To not shift the perception and demands posed on hitchhiker on society, it can be wise to reject these requests in general. Though in tough circumstances there might not be a better option.

In some countries payment for rides is quite normal, especially for locals. In Romania for example you probably want to ask if the ride is free (E gratis?). In Turkey it's rare, but it happens that drivers want money, just say "yok parra" in such a case.

What to do if a driver requests money unexpectedly

Well then seemingly the only solution is to tell them you have none. Not asking for money beforehand is rude in case there is no social contract in the region that money is expected for hitchhiking. As above, you can decide based on your situation, keeping in mind to not shift the perception and demands posed on hitchhiker on society

What to do if a driver offers money

This happens rather frequently in Europe. Some hitchhikers (such as guaka or quarim) refuse any offers for money from the drivers. Sometimes drivers are insisting, but if you have enough money to go by and you think it's inappropriate to receive money, you could tell them you actually have plenty of work (and income), that you mainly hitchhike for fun, social contact, and ecological reasons. Instead of money drivers very often offer you material things such as food and drinks or will give you a CD, flowers, clothes...you can decide if you want to take it or not, in some countries it is impolite not to take it.

Travelling without Money

There are some people out there who hitch hike LONG distances with no money such as the infamous Tom Thumb, who hitched from England to India with just his rucksack, a clarinet, 2 loafs of bread and GBP 0.00. There are also not so famous hitchers like Aaronishappy who hitched from Norway to Morocco, with just EUR 2 arriving in Norway and his rucksack (and coming back with NKR 20, EUR 5, CHF 4 and GBP 2, which is NKR 20, EUR 5, CHF 4 and GBP 2 more than he had when he left!).

While completely crazy it is certainly possible, but not necessarily fun. You will ask yourself several times a day "what am I going to eat" or "where am I going to sleep", you will regret ever leaving your house, but knowing that no matter how bad things get they can only get better is a certain comfort. Don't forget, though, that while you see all these fancy backpackers with their expensive train tickets and those posh tourists stuffing themselves with cakes at the hotel restaurant, they're only seeing the plastic, fake, tourist side of a country. You in your desperate efforts to survive get to see the entirety of a country, "warts and all"!

How to get stuff when hitchhiking

How do you do it then? The easiest answer is that you don't think about it and just do it. The most comfortable way of survival is to come into contact with people, which works especially well when hitchhiking. The trick here is to score food, money (if you want to accept that), a place to sleep, a map, a joint or whatever else. Often you can get things without resorting to the pity game, but if you really need to, tell them you have no money, but not so bluntly. Be "covert" about it and ask questions such as where you can eat for free, use the internet for free, or "hey, do they have homeless shelters here?" Even if they don't ask why, it will strongly smell like pennylessness. They'll usually be surprised that you really are skint and will be happy to give a hand to the weary poor traveller, usually in the form of money or food. Don't expect a treat every time you hop your jolly arse into that car, however. The trick is to be genuine in expecting nothing, because when you expect nothing, the smallest thing you get will make you happy.

When stuck somewhere, your best bet (better than just keeping on walking...) is talking to people in the street. Talk about travel related things and expand on them (i.e. directions, where to hitch, etc, use your imagination!); be friendly and genuine, and incredible things will happen. If you're travelling in a Muslim country, you can basically disregard all of this, as Muslim hospitality will clothe and feed you without you ever saying a word!

Transportation

Well, as this is a wiki about hitchhiking, we don't really need to elaborate on this.

Food

There are numerous ways of feeding yourself when penniless and travelling. Next to benefiting from people's friendliness, there's dumpster diving (or skipping, in the UK), waiting opposite of outdoor pizzerias and preying on leftover pizza slices.

Accommodation

As for sleeping when you're not invited back, best bring a nice thick sleeping bag and find yourself a good spot to sleep in. In cities, the best spots are industrial zones (although usually a long distance from the centre), upper class neighbourhoods, and of course train stations and airports! Train stations however will often close in the middle of the night to clear the place out of bums like you. Big stations that stay open all night such as Paris and Berlin and airports will often have security walking about to wake you up. If you're stuck in the city centre with no station or access to an industrial zone/posh neighbourhood, your best bet is to keep walking until you reach a quiet area and find a nice alleyway or empty park; but don't sleep bang on in the city centre in clear light as it increases your odds of being robbed by... a lot. You could also go to a homeless shelter, they always provide a bed and usually food. They are everywhere in London and Germany, and quite common elsewhere in the first world. Whether you're inside our outside of cities, motorway bridges provide great shelter, and so does having a tent. A tent can also be useful when you're in a city, because walking around and asking people if you can pitch your tent in their front yard is an amazing pre-stage for being invited back for dinners, showers or even beds, especially if it's rainy out.

More information

• Nomadwiki
• Trashwiki
• Moneyless.org contains some tips about living and traveling without money (or with much less money).

Source: Money License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Musical instruments can be fun to carry along when hitchhiking and if you're busking it's quite good to have at least one instrument.

Guitar

A guitar is nice but bulky. It can also easily break. Take a 3/4 guitar it's less heavy. Take a solid case. You can attach a guitar to your backpack by using bungee cords.

Jaw harp

The jaw harp is a very simple instrument that you play with your mouth and your hand. You can buy them in many musical instruments shops across the globe, for about 5 euro. It's usually made from metal.

Harmonica

A quite easy to learn instrument that doesn't use up much space. Often called a harp, though that is actually a different instrument. There are mainly two different kinds of harmonicas, chromatic and diatonic. Diatonic harmonicas are more common, a bit smaller and often quite a bit cheaper. A free page where you can get tabs is from harptabs.com1.

Diatonic

The basic idea is to breath in and out of the holes, sometimes in chords and other times in single notes. When you get used to this it's possible to get more notes out of the harmonica by bending, that means to regulate the air flow in your mouth. In the holes 1 to 6 you can do this on the draw (inhaling) and blowing in the holes 7 to 10. One way to try and learn this is to put your mouth on lets say the 4th hole (only!), put your tongue almost by your upper front teeth, draw in through that hole and slowly pull your tongue backwards along the palate.

Usual notation

• 3 = three blow
• -3 = three draw
• -3' = three draw bent a half step
• -3´´ = three draw bent a whole step

Penny whistle

..

Kalimba

..

Source: Musical instruments License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

This is the collaborative wiki for the 2010 North America Hitch Gathering taking place in Boulder, CO on August 21st. If you were redirected here from http://na.hitchgathering.org then the website is still not functional. For now, we are using this wiki to organize, create content, discuss and publish all information needed for the Hitch Gathering. The first section is the working content for the website, the second is the active discussions for organizing. Please feel free to contribute and participate. If you would like to be added to the mailing list where the current discussions are taking place, subscribe here

Website

The text below will be available on the forthcoming website. Do edit the text if you see things that can be changed or added.

Home

A Hitch Gathering is a non-commercial, volunteer based, self-organized project that supports the promotion of Hitchhiking. The idea is simple: Once a year a place is chosen and everyone (hitchhikers or non-hitchhikers) gather together to celebrate, to share, to learn and to discover! It's a time to get together and be happy, to help one another, to talk and meet, and to develop our ideas and then pursue them further.

The next North America Hitch Gathering is set to take place August 9th, 2014. Details are on the 2014_North_American_Hitchgathering page

Our Goals

• To promote the concept of hitchhiking in North American society and build goodwill toward hitchhikers
• To stimulate the community of hitchhikers
• To have a good time doing the above, while travelling and meeting old and new friends.
• To skillshare any knowledge through playshops in relation to travel, foraging, camping and safety

Where

The North American Hitch Gathering is taking place in Boulder, Colorado this year on August 21st! The exact location is still being determined, though it will most likely be an open area with basic services, possibly a good place in Nature (but still close enough to the city) where we can gather together, camp and live for a few days, a place where we can be free and well.

There will also be a pre-meeting in Denver on the 20th of August. Again, the exact location has yet to be determined, though it will most likely be a city park inside the city. The pre-day gathering is for those that arrive early, those that are interested in meeting hitchhikers and travelers in an accessible location in Denver, and for anyone interested. The afternoon will most likely be spend at a park; then the evening resting with friends (Couchsurfers, Hospitality Club, possible community centre), or other arrangements (to come). The next day there will be a gathering around noon in Denver where everyone can join together, and then all Hitch together to Boulder (20 kilometers away). We're envisioning a great group of people all leaving together, maybe with media involved, and off to Boulder we go!

When

August 21st, 2010 and it should last a couple days. There will be a pre-meeting in Denver on the 20th.

What

At Hitch Gatherings all around the world, hitchhikers gather to promote hitchhiking. The first (recent, to my knowledge) European gathering met in Paris in 2008, participants camped for three days in front of the Eiffel Tower. Then in Odesa in 2009 at Shevchenko Park, where they camped at a beach. 2010 was in Portugal, and a group brought it to North America, with a sister gathering in the Boulder/Denver area.

How it started

A small group of enthusiastic travelers had decided early 2008 to organize the first European Hitch-hiking Week. It started as an art-project but moved quickly into something bigger, something wider as more people joined in.

The aim was now to give one location and time for a rally, and broadcast it to all the hitch-hikers of the world. The place was decided to be the "Champs de Mars" in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France; and the time 8pm on the 08/08/08, hence the name of "Project 888". See "Paris 888 hitch hiking trailer" on YouTube.

150 people showed up from all around Europe and stayed for the 3 days week-end. It was a very intense time of exchange, smiles, and french wine. We held playshops on urban camping, safety issues, sustainable travel and many other things travel related.

Odesa 2009

It was so good that we decided to do it again. The community had grown and more people wanted to join. This time though we wanted to meet up somewhere more east, where we could also meet up with hitchhikers from Russia (less visa-issues for everyone). The place chosen was Odesa on the Black Sea in the Ukraine. The challenge was much harder this time. Paris was an easy go for most of us, but the Ukraine was a lot further. Many people embarked on a multiple day hitchhiking trip, traveled non-stop or met up at the pre-meetings that were organized along the way.

In the end we gathered with a bit over a hundred hitchhikers from all over Europe, mostly experienced hitchhikers. A few didn't even make it though, it was too far for them. We spent three days together talking, partying and sharing our skills.

2010

The North American Hitch Gathering took place in Denver, Boulder, Nederland, and the forests around Nederland (on a lake, near a trail, next to Moffat Tunnel), Colorado on August 21st, 2010. It is a beautiful, open area with basic services at the trail head, in Nature (but still close enough to the city) where we gathered together, camped and lived for a few days, a place where we could be free and well.

There was also be a pre-meeting in Denver on the 20th of August, at a park in the middle of the city, with dinner at the SAME cafe (So All May Eat - a pay as you can place, where people can also volunteer). The pre-day gathering was for those that arrived early, those that were interested in meeting hitchhikers and travelers in an accessible location in Denver, and for anyone interested. The afternoon was spent at the park; then the evening resting with friends (Couchsurfers, Hospitality Club, possible community centre), etc. The next day we all hitched together to Boulder (20 kilometers away).

Participate

Everyone is invited to contribute to the event with stories, pictures and videos. The event lives from it's participants, and of course everybody is invited to help along, may it be organizing a (pre-) meeting, translating text into other languages or just by telling the world about this project! If you have an idea, you're the one who makes it happen! Leave an idea at the forum and find people to join you.

How

Hitchhiking is our way of going around! We love to hitchhike for various reasons. Some of us do it for the adventure, others to meet people, and again others see it as the best way of going to places and meet locals.

Are you new to hitchhiking or you want more information? There are many guides. Hitchwiki is by far the most complete as it is edited by many hitchhikers around the world.

Check for example:

• * Top Tips
• First time
• Safety
• Signs
• Where to hitchhike
• Picking up hitchhikers

Discussion

Things to do

• Find suitable location in Boulder for gathering! Nature, beautiful, basic services and free for us to use for a few days. Camping friendly! (everyone)
• Finish An Overview of the Vision paper. (jeremie)
• Promote like crazy, Couchsurfing, Hospitality club, facebook, etc
• Organize afternoon and evening event in Denver, the 20th.

-Have one person with computer, pen&paper, or charcoal&cave wall to get all participants to leave contact information for future notices, NOT Big Brother.

• Official Spokesperson to interact with media. Not that any hitch hiker can say it any better or worse, but an "Agreed-Upon" public statement to promote our ideology. This could involve a senior citizen hitch hiker, gutter punk, and/or college student.
• Enable participants to be a positive influence on Boulder/Denver
• Organize with all participants to record audio/video/still images/spoken word/interviews with any and all by-standers or hitch hikers in the hopes ov creating a documentary about this event.

- Boulder Creek trail trash cleanup

- library volunteering (george talking to Boulder libraries) (because locals suggested it in the comments http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15099272)

- a Volunteer Connection or Zero-waste education @ farmer's market(your name here?)

- Request competent, understanding, communication-savvy volunteers for ON-site(Denver and Boulder) mediators between Us and Them. Us being- any traveler there for the gathering. Them being- Authority figures, Media, other Groups (church,4-H, political rally, gang-bangers, etc)who may be occupying the same space. In Paris, there was a delegated group to explain to the Police Who we were, Why we were there and generally to smooth things over. Ended up, they didnt mind us assembling, as long as we kept our backpacks piled centrally instead ov spread out the grass and informed us ov NO tents the second morning. Ovcourse, by the 3rd morning, some ov our group did NOT hear that part and when the SAME police arrived that 3rd morning, they were NOT HAPPY!! In Odessa, somehow the authorities already knew. Whether through the radio, TV or somehow, they didn't mind us congregating in the park. It was pretty unsafe to sleep there(my personal testimony), but the days were fine. The Tourist Bureau also offered a FREE guided tour ov the harbor area WITH translation for us. BUT, by the 3rd afternoon, the police told us we had to leave, the park was not cleaned by some volunteers. We tried to keep tidy, but with many people and not enough direction, things tend to fizzle out.

-Meal Time!-What better way to get to know your fellow traveler than over cup ov Joe? Organize with Food Rescue operations already in place in Denver and Boulder to see if they would be interested in lending a helping hand. Having an approximate time(within a couple hours) for breakfast and dinner feedings will take the stress from individuals foraging for themselves. Allowing more time for stories and skillsharing. People can switch off food duties in order to participate in group discussions. Once again,... In Paris, a kind man(who shall remain anonymous) walked around with a hat and people donated what money they could. Then off to the market we went! Upon returning, there was a smorgasbord ov food available to any who wished. In Odessa, dumpster-diving was not possible(im told) and for the majority ov westerners, restaurants/markets were affordable(but ruined any communal feedings).

- your suggestions here!

Goal date for these tasks: June 1st

• Find location in both Denver and Boulder for the gatherings. (Jeremie speaking with contacts in Denver and Boulder, May 17th) (George also looking for more CouchSurfing and DigiHitch contacts)

: Can we set a vote for destinations? It seems we are leaning towards Denver "somewhere" and Boulder Chautauqua park. To set a place in stone, i think people will be able to make plans, by leaving it up in the air, we may lose a few. And if no one shows up, who cares?

• Website (Your Name, Jeremie, George, Robin, ... content for north american hitch gathering website)
• E-mail list (Robin? Northamericahitchgathering@lists.freeactive.net? na.hitch@...? Might as well set it up now, as long as that won't make it harder to integrate later?)
• Poster, web poster (your name) Amylin!:)
• Video media, ie. shorts, promotion stuff, etc (your name) Lily?
• Catch lines, phrases: The Road is Zen, The Road is True, etc. Possible idea is gather near Naropa university, the first buddhist accredited university in america, and place the Buddhist/Zen theme on the promotion.

: im begging to differ on the theme. Why mix spirituality with travel?-r3353

Goal date for these tasks: June 4th

• Have promotional package ready
• Have flyer done

: Yes, a flyer is a handy gift for all participants to give to the drivers. Making them feel as if they have made a great difference in others lives.-If you tell me where to send the image, i can get one drawn up from a VERY talented artist friend ov mine. i was thinking along the lines ov Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. You know, the planet with goofy eyes and tongue sticking out, but holding a yellow(color ov peace, also color ov jumpsuit offered by Russian Hitch Hiking School(yes, one DOES exist!) also there is an electronic music festival in Ukraine called Kazantip, where if you arrive with a yellow suitcase, the admission is free, supposedly. also the Free State 'Christiania' in Denmark uses 3 yellow dots on a red flag for is symbol) suitcase(international symbol for 'traveler') in one hand and a 'thumbs up' on the other.

• Have a linked website, www.na.hitchgathering.org

Goal dates for these tasks: June 15th

• Find on site organizer for Denver Day gathering, then on site organizer for Boulder day and night gathering.
• Highlight good angles to approach Media, ie. Promotion packages with manifesto type work, at least some sort of written work on the event in our own words.
• Have set website team to deal with daily motion and postings. (George volunteers after June 19, but his drupal-fu is weak. other volunteers?)
• Start posting on digihitch.com, Couchsurfing.org (Your Name, Jeremie, r3353(im starting with contacting groups on CS. Does anyone know a way to promote in all US states, Canadian provinces and Mexican states? i certainly dont want to SPAM them all.), George - digihitch forums seem broken, no response from admin)
  • I partly fixed the forum, it's readable again. Not sure how to make it possible for people to post again. Any phpBB experts around? guaka 21:42, 10 June 2010 (UTC)

In and above all these tasks, the active participation of everyone involved to Promote and Educate each other about both the event and the safety issues involved. Since this is going to take place in America, it's going to be different then what's been going on in Europe. Let it be considered.

Possible Locations

Any suggestions for Boulder or Denver? Add below.

Criteria:

• Jeremie says I would recommend trying to locate a place where people could camp and be outside for a couple days.
• For Denver, Jeremie says ''The gathering could happen in a public park (and probably should be for media) and then the evenings could be CSed or hosted somewhere in the city.
• For Boulder, somewhere everyone could gather for a few days without too much worry. Close enough to services, yet still far enough from bother.''

Boulder

Ariana says: Are you looking for someplace to camp or just to gather close to town? A great place to gather that's public and close to town is Chautauqua park. In most parts of Boulder, you'll be able to find great open space, public parks, and great open cafes. As for camping, just head west from wherever and within half an hour, you'll be able to find great camping places.

Another vote for Chautauqua park from my friend, who also says that a group camping there for one evening would likely not be disturbed. I (George) will check it out around June 10 and maybe try camping there:).

''I (Mike L. from Denver) recommend Boulder Central Park, where the bandshell is, at Broadway and Canyon. HOWEVER, an all-nighter in Boulder might be a problem. In fact there was a civil disobedience occurring in Boulder over their prohibitions of camping:

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15099272

It ended at least a couple weeks before June 15.

I imagine that the definition of "camping" is probably a bit loose and at the discretion of the arresting officer:(''

Denver

Civic Center Park in Denver. ([http://www.yelp.com/biz/civic-center-park-denver| some interesting reviews]) I George like the sound of it from those reviews!

Alternately, Chatfield Reservoir (chatfield is ~15 miles south of the city center)

Aowin suggests Washington "Wash" Park (+always lots of people, +right in the middle by I-25, -[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park,_Denver| big park], 165 acres, might be hard to find gathering, lakes, +playground, rich neighborhood (might get more complaints?)). Also says there is also a good park (City Park) next to the zoo, but likelihood of being bothered by police is higher?

r3353 recommends- for the meeting in Denver, if the goal is media attention, to make it a very busy yet spacious location. But as the hikers trickle in on the 20th, there could be On-site people to receive all new-comers. Keeping things visible for news with Flashmobs and 'playshops' whereby we actively draw in people to spread awareness, making ov statues with the cardboard signs, etc. Then when that evening ends, people can fend for themselves(as it had been in Paris and Odessa. Most banded together in the Champs de Mars(for Paris) or hiking 30 minutes to the nudist beach on the Black Sea(for Odessa). Both were rightous parties independant ov promoting HH(more ov a relaxing "We FINALLY made it-type party). As for the idea ov everyone leaving one point in the morning for the Boulder destination(as a Grand Send-Off) MAY be possible, but imagine how many days everyone has already traveled. Many may be staying with friends 'out' ov the area, so the quickest route may be a southern exit to Boulder(if my directions are right, please correct) With at least one person in the Denver locale holding a very BIG sign to guide any late arrivals(if they dont know they way). For the Boulder location(if media is NOT the point) Chautauqua park sounds possible(never been there). Besides the sharing ov stories from around, and other playshops, the final destination is NOT a place to sit around and pat ourselves on the back for making it. Once there THAT is when the actual fun begins. Spreading the concept, Promoting awareness, interacting with locals should be a higher priority than resting on our laurels with our proverbial HH thumb up our arse. So im curious how Barcelona-Portugal and Denver-Boulder will turn out. It is a new idea this year to have main gathering in a city and then ONE day to dance our way to camping area.

Another idea is in regards to weather. What happens if it rains? Any shelter for a group ov people should be taken into consideration. Its not much fun if everyone is trapped in a tent because ov torrential storms. Sure, rain gear is usually included in all backpacks. But what about make-shift structures? Is there an amphitheater where we can get together?

Above all- let everyone voice an opinion, discuss it and then decide. But for Paris, the destination(Eiffel Tower) was known from the start, in Odessa (statue ov poet Shevchenko) was determined sometime just before hand. And at the moment Portugal is still floating, yes? The flyers may help sway those undecided.

-----CONCENTRIC CIRCLES outside Denver. i recently posted messages in some major cities that surround Colorado asking for assistance in organizing a meet-up point for any participants on the way in the days preceding the event. In '08 we met in Hamburg and Utrecht prior to Paris. There were other cities coming from different directions on the same days. That is was made it originally called "International Hitch Hiking WEEK', the event itself was 60% and getting there was the rest. In '09, it was more a straight shot once you entered Central and Eastern Europe(some chose the southern route through Poland, Moldova, to Odessa. Where as some took L'viv, Kiev, Odessa. For me personally, these meetings made a HUGE difference in my experience ov the event. Having never traveled there before, the people i met at the pubs and host-houses were invaluable in assisting my novice thumb. Can someone help me looking at a map to determine other cities farther out(but within approximately 1-day hitch) and post more message??

Quotes

Possible quotes and phrases for the event to be used on web posters, hand-outs, websites and such. Add what you think would be good!! Don't be shy!

Poster Quotes

• The Road is True!
• The Road is Zen!
• Random Roads Lead NowHere

Notes

The active development of this project is open to anyone. Edit and update this page as you wish, link it to anyone you believe may be interested. Art-work, media, documents and such can be linked here or anywhere you think is proper. If you really have a question, email me: elephantson@gmail.com and we'll learn to inspire and empower ourselves. Love and light!

Source: North America Hitch Gathering License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Off-ramp is a segment of roadway that directs vehicular traffic onto ordinary roads from a freeway (equivalent term in the UK and Ireland is off-slip).

Source: Off-ramp License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

On-ramp is a segment of roadway that directs vehicular traffic from ordinary roads onto a highway (equivalent term in the UK and Ireland is on-slip). On-ramps are very common place to get a ride. However, to avoid legal troubles it is advised to thumb before the motorway sign.

Source: On-ramp License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Usually you don't have anything to fear from the police when hitchhiking.

Though there are some areas in the world where it's forbidden to hitchhike, such as a couple of states in the USA and according to some cops in Australia it's forbidden in that country as well (but possibly only in their jurisdiction, and only because they say so).

In China the police generally acts really confused but extremely friendly. Sometimes they even offer free bus rides (which are usually shittier than hitchhiking cars though).

In countries with an elaborated system of motorways you should avoid walking on the motorway. If you do, be prepared with some kind of excuse. On the other hand, you can use the police as a means of getting out of shitty spots - if you're stuck on a bad on-ramp, just walk onto the highway and keep walking until the cops show up. In countries like France, this isn't going to take very long while in Sweden you might wait (and try to hitchhike?) several hours. The cops will usually tell you off and take you to the next on-ramp. It's not recommended using this kind of strategy more than once per day/area.

In France it's mostly a bad idea to be on the motorway, but standing close to the Peages is mostly tolerated - unlike in many other countries such as Italy and Spain. However, at times, one can be completely barred from hitching at a péage. When in France, if the Gendarmie are at a péage doing random identification checks, do not get out, continue to the next possible stop and hitch back if necessary. You will not be ticketed but often you will be limited to hitching out of the péage parking lot where not too many cars stop.

Some hitchhikers complain that their identifications are asked by the police while hitchhiking. It can be useful to keep a form of identification in your pocket for the police so as not to aggravate them. Fabzgy blogged about his experiences here and some others added their experiences in the comments. (feel free to submit your experiences)

Source: Police License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Péage is a French word for toll road in France and other countries where French is spoken, such as Morocco. Don't mix up the word with autoroute which means "motorway" in French and is not necessarily a toll road. Hitchhikers usually use this word as refering to toll stations.

In France, most of the motorways are toll roads which are the fastest way to hitch across the country. There are two types of toll stations on péages. First, there are big ones where all traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket) – these are barrières de péage and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations (the first type) can be a difficult place to hitch from, too, as drivers have to pay a lot of attention to not cause any accidents. Then again, the more cars, the more possible rides, if you manage to show your sign to as many people as possible. Often they will not stop in the péage, but indicate that they are going to pull over just after it.

To reach the barrière de péage, you may need to walk along the motorway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be walked is not too long. It is actually illegal to walk on a side lane of the motorway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (voie express) in France); if police sees you, you will be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for ~90€. Péage toll stations are considered a part of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there. You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each barrière de péage. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you're not endangering yourself or others. Having a sign with your destination (or the next city) is recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant.

The fastest way to travel on a péage is from one barrière de péage to another. Hitchhiking options are:

• You can thumb immediately after the barrière de péage
• If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you're at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the toll machines but it is generally tolerated).
• You can wait before the barrière de péage, just where the drivers choose their lane - there is often enough of space for cars to pull over to stop for you
• You can wait in the beginning of the barrière with a sign as many barrières start with a concrete block on which you can stand to show your sign to cars in other lanes or queueing further away if the station is busy as well as the cars just passing you.

Some barrière de péage are really good, some are not. If you've been waiting for a while using a destination sign, drop it, make a new one or try thumbing.

While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one petrol station to another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers.

Source: Péage License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A rest area (or service area (RSA), service station) is a public facility located next to a motorway at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting on to secondary roads. It can be a great place for hitchhiking: you can ask for a ride when drivers re-fill or wander around the area, or you can stand by its exit (that leads to a motorway) and hitchhike there.

Rest areas often serve one direction of a motorway, but often rest areas in both directions of the motorway are situated opposite each other or within a short distance of each other. However, in some countries rest areas serve both sides of the motorway, as the drivers from one side are facilitated with connecting roads. Such rest areas are quite common in the United Kingdom and in Austria and are somewhat less suitable for hitchhiking as the rest areas which are only accessible from one side. There are even some situations, for example in Austria, where rest areas are situated on the junction of two motorways, which are therefore used by traffic going into four directions. This in general is certainly not an advantage when looking for rides on these stations.

Facilities of the rest area may include park-like areas, fuel stations, toilets, and restaurants. Rest areas are common in the United States, Canada, Australia and parts of Europe and Asia.

• Austria: Autobahnstation
• China: Fúwù qū (服务区), Tíngchē qū (停车区)
• Czech Republic: Benzínka
• Denmark: Serviceanlæg, Info-teria, The Danish Road Directorate
• France: Aire de service
• Germany: Raststätte (directly on the Autobahn) and Autohof (somewhat off the Autobahn)
• Hungary: Pihenohely
• Italy: Area Servizio
• Japan: Sābisu eria (サービスエリア), Pākingu eria (パーキングエリア), michi no eki (道の駅)
• Korea: Hyugeso (휴게소)
• Malaysia: R&R (Rest and Recreation)
• Netherlands: verzorgingsplaats - complete list (Both in Dutch)
• Poland: MOP (for Miejsce Obsługi Podróżnych Travellers service centre)
• Slovenia: Počivališče
• United Kingdom: Motorway services or Motorway Services Online

Not all rest areas include petrol stations - this means that the traffic on such rest areas will, in general, be much lower, and one can expect more difficulties when looking for a ride there. For service areas with petrol stations see information here.

Food and Drink

Depending on the country, food at rest areas can be highly overpriced and, in case of pre-prepared food, pretty abysmal. However, many German Raststättes now prepare food (mostly pasta) on the spot and, although still overpriced, it is actually pretty good. In Japan, Korea, and Malaysia the prices might not be much higher and the quality not much poorer than in a city.

Get out of a rest area

It might be necessary to get out of a rest station because it's empty and you think it will be easier to try to hitch on the local roads, because you are really close to your destination, you are on the wrong side of the motorway or you want to camp (see below). Many rest areas are fenced but it is usually possible to get out even in those cases. Many times there are breaks in the fence, you can try to see if there is a way to get out via the entrance or the exit, and of course see whether it's possible to jump over the fence. You can even ask the staff to open the door for you, keeping in mind that in this case you may not be able to re-enter.

Rest areas allowing cross-overs

Although the traffic in both motorway directions remains separated, some rest areas, typically restaurants, serve both sides of a motorway. In those cases both sides of the motorway are connected by a pedestrian-only tunnel, a pedestrian-only bridge or a bridge restaurant, like the huge Dammer Berge bridge restaurant on the A1 in Germany, and on those it's obviously easy to cross the motorway should you need to do so. On others there are sometimes crossings for (official) vehicles that can also be used by pedestrians. On occasion you may have to walk a fair distance to get to the other side of a motorway. Crossing the motorway using a bridge or tunnel is not always possible. In Germany passing to the opposite rest area is often, but not always, possible through so-called "service roads".

Here's a list of links to crossable rest-areas per country:

• Crossable Raststations in Austria
• Crossable Petrol stations and aires de service in Belgium
• Crossable Odmorištes in Croatia
• Crossable Odpočívkas in the Czech Republic
• Crossable Serviceanlægs in Denmark
• Crossable Aires de service in France
• Crossable Raststättes in Germany
• Crossable Area Servizios in Italy
• Crossable aires de service in Luxembourg
• Crossable petrol stations in the Netherlands
• Crossable MOPs in Poland
• Crossable Počivališče's in Slovakia
• Crossable Odpočívadlo's in Slovenia
• Crossable Rastplatser (with petrol station) in Sweden
• Crossable Raststättes in Switzerland

Sleeping

It is possible to sleep at rest areas, but you are advised to keep a low profile, as it may not always be legal to do so. Be aware that those areas that lend themselves to sleeping might also used as public toilets, so a light is a good idea when it's dark.

Also, be aware that rest areas may not be the safest places due to petty crime.

United States

In most states of the United States there are no petrol stations at rest areas. In these states the rest areas are a relatively good option for hitchhiking. In some of them (Ohio?) you will even find free wireless internet. In New Hampshire you can try to hitchhike at the state liquor stores that are very popular because of the state's low (non-existing?) tax on alcohol.

Personal experiences

Source: Rest areas License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A shoulder (or a hard shoulder) is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of all traffic. In the event of an emergency or breakdown, a motorist can pull into the hard shoulder to get out of the flow of traffic and obtain an element of safety. A hard shoulder also allows some extra flexibility should a motorist need to take evasive action, as it is a buffer area between the main thoroughfare and the edge of the road. Emergency vehicles such as ambulances and police cars may also use the shoulder to bypass traffic congestion. These uses lead to the alternative names breakdown lane and emergency lane.

In some parts of the world, standing on the shoulder of a motorway is forbidden. A list of countries where it is allowed can be found in the article highway. If it is a shoulder where it is legal to stand on, it can be a good spot to hitch a ride. These places can often be found along on-ramps.

See also:

• On-ramp
• Rest area

Gallery

Image:Ramp_os_nahne.jpg|Hard shoulder along an on-ramp in Germany Image:Oldenzaal_ramp.jpg|Hard shoulder along an on-ramp in the Netherlands Image:Trud bulgaria.jpg|Shoulder along a road in Bulgaria

“wikipedia:Shoulder (road)”){.wikilink}

Source: Shoulder License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A sign is a tool used by a Hitchhiker to communicate information to drivers. Signs typically - but do not always - directly inform the driver of the hitchhiker's desired destination. Hitchhikers often debate about whether and how to use a sign. This article is meant to compile many of the best tips so you can develop your own technique.

When to not use a sign or not

To use or not to use signs is one of the main points of debate among hitchhikers. There are a lot of factors to consider in whether a sign is a good idea.

• Do you have time and materials to make a good one?
• Are people going to be able to read it?
• Is it going to be easier to just talk to drivers?

Consider this: the driver must read the sign; then he's got to work out if goes in the same direction and finally he's got to decide if he likes your face and if he can stop somewhere... but then he realises that he's already passed you and that he is now 500m away from you... so he will decide to drive on! If you just use your thumb, the driver only has to decide if he likes you and if he can decide to stop sooner.

At petrol stations and rest stops

Some hitchhikers rely on gas stations and rest areas and advise talking directly to people rather than using signs. This can be more effective at big crowded petrol stations, like at petrol stations on motorways in the United Kingdom and Germany. This obviously won't work if you don't have some mastery of the language (perhaps with an intriguing accent). Some hitchhikers think that it's not very likely that holding a sign will help if you can already clearly state where you want to go (and even show it on a map) and that you are hitchhiking.

Others use these stops with signs, for example, by hold up a sign near the entrance instead of approaching people. This can be less intrusive and reduce the likelihood of being kicked off property. When using a sign at stops, the techniques from this articl on what to write generally also apply. For more info, see the articles on gas stations and rest areas.

Easier to decline rides

One reason not to take a sign is if you want to have additional leverage in declining offered rides, especially as a woman hitchhiking alone. If someone stops you ask first "where are you going?" Even if they are going exactly where you want to go, if you are not comfortable with them, tell them the ride is not going to work, but thanks anyway. Ditch the sign, they will stop without it. A good compromise is to have a sign with the road name rather than your destination, this allows you to ask which direction the driver will be going.

Packing space

If you are an adept of the ultra light packing philosophy, you might not want to drag along a few extra square feet of cardboard. But then again, you're likely to find discarded cardboard anywhere you go.

With significant local traffic

Sometimes local traffic won't stop for someone travelling a long distance, because they don't realize that every little bit helps. Many hitchhikers abandon signs in these situations. There are, however, various techniques for different types traffic (see What to write).

What to write

What you write on the sign should depend a lot on what kind of traffic you're seeing. Generally, a good idea is to use the shortest abbreviation for a place that is well known by the most traffic. You can often determine where vehicles are registered by reading license plates.

Your destination

The most obvious thing to write is the place you're going. This is most effective if you're already on a major route there with little local traffic (more drivers traveling long-distance). The place or abbreviation needs to be well-known to the drivers at your location.

A route to your destination

From a branching road, writing the name and possibly direction of the major highway to your destination can be more effective. Sometimes getting to the motorway can be half the battle, but once there, you'll have access to the long-distance traffic you need.

For example, to get to San Francisco from Los Angeles, you first need to get to I-5, which is on the far western side of the city. If you can't find public transportation, hitching with a sign saying "I-5" will be most effective because it will signal to people going to the western side of L.A. as well as long-distance drivers going to San Fran, Sacramento, or San Diego.

A town closer than your destination

This technique is useful for distance travel on highways with lots of local traffic^[1]. If you see lots of local license plates for local traffic, with little traffic going all the way to your destination, this is a good technique.

Consider that the drivers are also thinking, "Oh, I'm not going to <destination>. I'm only going to <locality>. I'll let someone else pick him up." The trick here is to write the next locality on the sign. This encourages the local traffic to stop. Even people who are going a few towns further than the place on the sign will now also stop, because they know they can drop you off on the way. Once you mention you are actually going to your destination, drivers typically take you as far as they're going. Since locals are going to be more familiar with how well-known place names are, it's a good idea to ask your driver what's a good town to put on the next sign. Since you'll be making many signs rapidly with this technique, it's a good idea to carry lots of cardboard or a reusable sign.

A city farther than your destination

A similar but less common technique is to put a major, better known city, even though you aren't travelling that far. The conditions required for this to be effective are rare, but not impossible: you must be going to a local place, but going there on a major long-distance thoroughfare. If you become reasonably certain that the traffic is mostly distance and may not be familiar with the town you're going to, switching to a sign for a distant city can be the right move.

Distance

If your direction is clear and you are just seeking to get somewhat further on that road, a sign telling rough (and short) distance is very helpful. "20 km" works the best from User:Duffajfka's experience, you often don't need to write another sign for your next ride and it can get you to surprising places while keeping the confidence aspect in comparison to not having any sign at all. Be aware about the local perception though, for example "KM" means the currency in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a mile is understood as 10 km in the Nordic countries, and around Moscow the number of kilometers is generally understood as one from the centre of Moscow, not from your own location.

Misc stuff

You don't have to write a place on your sign to use a sign effectively.

Your nationality

If you're hitching in a foreign country, it might be a good thing to express your nationality on your sign^[2]. Drivers will think you're more interesting, or will feel sorry that someone who lives that far off has to stand by the road in his country. Also, compatriots will be more likely to pick you up.

Funny stuff

You can always put something funny, like "I don't stink" on you're sign, if you're feeling silly. A sign saying "ANYWHERE!" might get people laughing, but might not get you picked up. Sometimes, goofy things you write on your sign can discourage stopping, for example if you're perceived as a drifter or mentally ill.

Nice stuff

Often a big sign just saying please works wonders. People fall for the politeness if you can't get them to stop with a destination sign.

How to write

Visibility is important, because you want the sign to be read from far away. That way, drivers have time to make decisions. Faster traffic requires bigger signs. Keep these things in mind:

Abbreviations

Often, you might use shortcuts because they need way less space on your sign. The sense of this depends on what kinds of shortcuts you use. If you just shorten a long name to a shorter, but still logically understandable one (like "Amsterdam" to "A'dam", for example), this is certainly a good idea. In some countries, you could also use the license plate shortcuts to put on a sign, e.g. Germany or Switzerland. This can also be a disadvantage - sometimes only regional+local people know them, especially if they don't really seem to make sense on the first look (like "HH" for Hamburg).

Airports

Airport abbreviations can also be used in some circumstances. "PHL" makes a great sign to get to Philadelphia, but if you're near the city, people will think you want a lift to the airport. Some airport abbreviations are not widely understood, such as MSY in New Orleans.

Design

• Use contrasting colors: black on brown cardboard is not very good readable for passing drivers, black on white is far more readable
• Use the same font as the route directions for clarity. Orderly signs suggest orderly people - but epic rides won't depend on that!
• Write only the initial letter in capital. The human brain detects a word not only by combining a few letters, but also by recognizing the different ascenders and descenders (the heights of the different words). When writing only in capital letters you lose this advantage. That's why street signs respect the upper and lower case.
• If you're bad in handwriting (like EliasExplores), ask people if they can write signs for you. Workers at petrol stations are often surprisingly good artists.

Sign-making

Reusable signs

Make a sign of a large sheet of brightly colored paper glued to a sheet of cardboard. Cover this with self adhesive transparent book wrap. Now you have a re-usable sign which you can use with a whiteboard marker and clean again with a small towel.

If you have a chance to plan a long hitchhiking trip in advance, some find using an erasable white board as a sign to be very useful for making big, clear and reusable signs. This sign can be used a lot of times without being cleaned with alcohol, and is resistant to wind and water.

Another possibility is to make a sign out of two small white boards that children use at school. Just join them with enough string so that you can fold those boards like you would close a book. The benefits compared to a single white board are that this sign takes a smaller place when folded (so it fits better in your bag), and that you can write your destination in advance without it rubs out in your bag.

Reusable sign combined with map

If you're hitch-hiking long routes (e.g. Europe), you can make a reusable sign on bad side (white) of the map. Cover the map with self adhesive tape, and you will have: a waterproof map and reusable sign. For easier cleaning use whiteboard markers.

Waterproof, dust-proof document bags

Make use of waterproof, dust-proof document bags. There you can store many sheets of paper and signs you can reuse. Nothing falls out, you could hang them somewhere and you can use both sides of the folder to have two signs at once. Ortlieb is one company that produces good ones.

Pad of plain A4 paper

Buy a pad of plain A4 paper, and use it inside a waterproof, dust-proof transparent plastic folder that you can find in most stationary shops. When writing, insert something under the page to stop the pen ink (or India ink) running through to the page underneath (a document bag is good for this). With a pad of paper, you can quickly flip through pages to find the sign you need. Also, the pad can be a great souvenir of your journey.

Print your sign

If you have access to a computer with a printer, you can make a quality hitch sign easily then. Since most languages read horizontally, set the page orientation to be landscape but with a size twice long as a normal A4 sheet. For a place name no longer than 9 letters, you can set the font size from 200 to 500 points to fully utilise the page size in one line; longer place names can be wrapped into two lines. Using a tiled printing software, you can print the long page to two sheets. Cut off the short tiling margin of one sheet and glue two sheets together, find a cardboard of same size and use four paper clips to pin the paper onto it, a lightweight wind-resistant hitch sign is ready to use. You don't need a waterproof sign, if you don't hitch in the rain or underwater. The plastic bag idea in previous tips will reduce contrast and introduce reflectivity. In case of that it rains, just wrap your hitch sign with the cling film from kitchen and it will work fine.

Use scavenged materials

If you already have a lot of baggage you probably don't want to carry around another square meter of waterproofed cardboard in your backpack. Use what you find and what you can put in the next garbage can!

Sign use by country/region

Europe

Germany

The one-, two- or three- letter code on the first part of license plates represents the region where the vehicle is registered... and also widely understood by the average German and used frequently by German hitchhikers on signs. Not every German knows the abbreviation for every locality, but it would be fair to say that the typical German knows all the major German cities as well as the abbreviations in the local region.

For destinations with many foreign drivers it's probably better to write out the full name. For example, there are always plenty of Polish drivers on the way from the Netherlands or Belgium that pass through Berlin, but might not understand what "B" is.

Here are some examples:

HH for Hamburg (the first H means Hansestadt)

B for Berlin

M for Munich

H for Hannover

For more cities and districts check the list at Wikipedia. For more information, see Germany#License_plates.

Ireland

Flying signs for Irish placenames (appears alongside their English placenames on road signs) may net you some success, though this may lead to drivers expecting you to converse in Irish.

Derry/Londonderry

If hitchhiking into Derry/Londonderry, stick with your thumbs. The naming dispute may lead to some tension among you and drivers if you write what they view to be the wrong one.

North America

United States

The two-letter state abbreviations are widely understood across the country. However:

• Some Americans might confuse the the M-states that aren't nearby (MS,ME,MO,MT,MN,MI... it can be confusing.)
• Oklahoma, abbreviated as OK, might be perceived as just saying "OK" if you aren't near it.
• Hawaii is abbreviated as HI, but if you're hitching there you probably don't need a sign. See Hitchhiking a boat.
• "LA", Louisiana can be easily confused with "L.A.", Los Angeles.

Many states are also less-frequently referred-to by a three-, four-, or five-letter abbreviation. They're widely understood too.

• Mass.
• Miss.
• Colo.
• Conn.
• Wyo.
• Cali. or Calif.
• Mich.
• Fla.
• Wash.
• Mont.
• Wisc.
• Ala. or 'Bama

Some long city name abbreviations:

• New York can be "NYC"
• Los Angeles can be "L.A.", but don't get confused with LA, which is ]]Louisiana]]!
• Philadelphia can be "Philly" or "PHL", but don't get confused with the airport. (See the section on Airport abbreviations.)
• Oklahoma City is "OKC".
• Kansas City is "KC".
• San Francisco is "SF".
• New Orleans is "NO" or "NOLA", though these aren't always understood outside the southeast.

The state of Louisiana is "LA" and the city of Los Angeles goes by "L.A.". You can probably see why there are situations where these two should be avoided.

Other tips

Don't leave your sign lying around

Some people argue that leaving your sign lying around on the street gives hitchhiking a bad impression. Make sure to take your sign with you and only dispose it in a garbage can (ideally one for paper and cardboard).

On the other hand side, some hitchhikers make sure to leave their signs behind for following hitchhikers to use or at least to see that they're not alone in the world...

Fixed signs

Also referred to as mobility furniture are used to indicate a official hitchhiking spot and sometimes the destination.

Vive Le Stop and Halt-o-stop build such signs.

File:IMG 5336.jpg | Description of the sign File:Vivelestop movable sign.png | Vive Le Stop movable sign File:Halt-o-stop.png | Halt-o-stop sign

Gallery

***Photos needed***

References

ref 1

I, Dr.Keith developed the technique for using signs with local traffic (I'm probably not the only one) while tramping from Folkestone to Brighton in August 2011. After having no luck with a "Brighton" sign, I started using smaller, more local place names, to great success.

ref 2

Nathan and Bob, who hitched through France had great help writing '2 belges' on their sign. guaka was successful with a sign "from Holland" in both New Zealand and in several parts of the United States, once by a Dutch girl living in Santa Cruz, most people were happy to pick him up just because they thought Holland was cool (oh and one guy was smoking weed in the car).

Source: Signs License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Slip road is a segment of roadway that joins a motorway to ordinary roads (in either direction) on an interchange.

Source: Slip road License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

It's definitely possible to hitch a taxi. In most of Europe taxi drivers recognize hitchhikers and in rare cases also pick them up. Just make sure they are taking you for free before you get in. Albania is an exception, almost every driver tries to convince you he's taxi driver and that you should pay.

In some African or Asian countries taxi drivers are often annoying and it's hard to get rid of them. But even there you can sometimes get a free lift with a taxi.

Shared taxi / bush taxi / marshrutka

Common mode of public transportation in many countries both within and between the cities. It can be the cheapest alternative to hitchhiking. More information at wikipedia

Source: Taxi License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking is a "concept album" by English musician Roger Waters, former Pink Floyd musician. Apart from that we might also be able to say something sensible that's actually related to hitchhiking.

Pros of hitchhiking

• Adventure
• Free as in free beer
• Free as in free speech
• It lets to get more in touch with the local culture
• Environmentally friendly. While public transportation is okay, they still put in service more vehicles as more and more passengers show up, on the other hand, travelling by hitchhiking results (almost) no more carbon emission than the car you are getting into will release anyway.

Cons of hitchhiking

• Hard to be sure when you're getting somewhere, although after a couple of years of hitchhiking in a country you'll get a fair good idea about when you can be somewhere.
• It might seem dangerous, although with some precautions hitchhiking is fairly safe.
• Best hitchhiking spots are usually fairly out of city centres, which may require some long walks or gaining a little bit of knowledge about local urban transportation.
• Hitchhiking exposes you more to the extremities of local climate. When you attract a lift at last, you can very well end up cold, thirsty, completely soaked up—either by rain or by your own sweat—or anywhere in between.
• Waiting for a lift can sometimes be quite boring.
• Some drivers are far more talkative than what you would feel yourself comfortable.
• Some drivers are far less talkative than what you would feel yourself comfortable.
• Traveling at night saves a lot of time, but it can be difficult to hitchhike at night.

Source: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) was made at Geneva on 14 November 1975 to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international road transport.

Source: TIR License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A toll road ( tollway, turnpike, pike, or toll highway) is a road for which a driver pays a fee for use.

The building or facility in which a fee is collected is called a toll station (toll plaza, toll booth, or toll gate). Toll stations can be a good option for hitchhikers to get a ride.

In France and French-speaking countries toll roads are called péage.

Source: Toll road License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A toll station (toll booth, toll plaza, or toll gate) is a building or facility on a toll road in which a fee for using a road is collected. Toll stations can be a good option for hitchhikers to get a ride.

For more tips on toll station hitchhiking see article on péage (French word for toll road in France and other French speaking countries).

Source: Toll station License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking can become slightly less ephemeral by leaving traces.

Hitchhiking is short time action, usually not leaving anything for future than few nice memories. What will remain after something as ephemeral as a ride? How can we communicate with other people passing by the same place but in different time?

What Traces can we leave?

• Postcards we send to drivers
• Notes we can find on road signs left by other hikers
• Cardboard sign found at a spot with the same direction as yours

Projects/DIYs:

• Hitchhikers Bars
• graffiti and stencils announcing Official Hitchhiking Spot approved by Hitchwiki Community - though this is probably illegal and not a great way to create wider acceptance of hitchhiking
• one driver said that he wants to get a sticker saying that he is HitchhikerFriendly! Let's do it!

What's already happening

• All over Germany and at some spots in the north of France, Hungary Netherlands, Romania and Bulgaria, you can actually already find some "Hitchhikers will never die" stickers printed by the German Autostop Society. Maybe it would be fun to make a list of places where you maybe could find some of those. Other hitchers can then leave a message there, too;) For the sticker, see the image to the right. You can get them here.

Source: Traces License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Standing near the train track with a thumb up to hitchhike a train? Not really but there are other ways to get free ride on a train...

Train hitchhiking

Before you board a train one option is to go to the conductor and simply ask them if you can travel without a ticket. It works surprisingly often. You can make up a story why you need to take the train and why can't you pay. One option is to simply say that you got stuck hitchhiking (which might be even true). You could also invent better stories but they should be trustworthy enough. Some people had also success saying that they are part of a hitchhiking competition. It depends on the kind of train, on your appearance and on the kindness of the conductor if they take you with. You'll be surprised how often they say yes. In that case you can just enter the train and relax. But well if they say no you can't take the train anymore since they already know that you have no ticket.

Train hopping

In the United States, train hopping is still quite popular. In many states it's easier than hitchhiking. This is advanced jump style. But be careful on this type of train. It is really dangerous and failure can caused death and of course, you can get high penalty too (Pounds 1000 in United Kingdom). Threat is not only penalty like inside train for passengers.

Tricks for avoiding the ticket control

There are different aproaches for blackriding. Some people just sit and when conductor comes give their ID and get a fine. If you are a foreigner the fine might never get you but it is not always the case. Also in some countries (for example Germany) you can go to prison for not paying train fines. So it might be wise to trick the conductors somehow and simply not get controled. Oncce you get into it you can have great success with crossing whole countries without any problems. Most important is to keep in mind that each train and each situation is unique and that you need to adapt and use different tactics accordingly.

Hiding on a toilet

The most obvious trick is to hide on a toilet. The conductors of course know this classical trick but it still works surprisingly well. You can decide if you lock the door or not. If the door is locked the conductor can see it and might wait until you get out. If you don't lock the door they are likely to pass you but other passengers might want to go to toilet as well. For that reason you might want to sit there with your pants down like if you'd be shitting. It might be wise to just go to toilet when they are controling and then get out of the toilet again. IF you stay for an hour on a toilet it might raise suspicion.

Hiding in a luggage compartment

It depends on a train but often fast trains have shelves for luggage. What you can do is to look for a shelve which is partly filled but still offers enough space for you to hide in there behind your backpack. It is of course not the most comfortable but it is not too bad either. It is actually quite fine. After you hear the conductor walking by and asking people for tickets you can get out again and take a seat.

Dancing around

The finest art of blackriding is to dance around the conductors. There are different dance styles and you can invent your own. You can pretend having a phone call and just pass the conductor while talking to a phone. You might also pass them with asking for a direction to a train restaurant. If the train has two floors well the conductor is in one and you dance through the other one...

Running around the train

When you see a conductor controling get out of the train and run around on the outside and enter the train again in the part which was already controled. In some trains conductors don't even look out of the train when it stops in a station. In other trains they do which can make it impossible or at least tricky to do this trick without them noticing. This trick is suitabe especially for regional trains with short distances between stops.

Short distance ticket

In some countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania...) conductor usually checks everyone in the begining and then just ask for new passengers. So what you can do is to buy only a cheap ticket to one of the first stations and then stay in. They will remember that they controled you but not what was your final destination on a ticket. This trick would not work everywhere since in many other countries (France, Germany...) they control everyone not in the begining of a journey but at some random point during the trip.

Getting caught

If you get caught you can try to invent a story (oh no where is my ticket? I had it right in my pocket.) or you can also just admit to them that you have none. IF they ask you for ID you can say you have none and most of the time they just kick you out on the next stop and you'll take the next train. Sometimes they might want to call the cops to get your ID. Generally some people think that when you get caught it is better to speak with conductors in English even if you speak their language. They might think that you are just a random hobo passing by and they are less likely to bother giving you a fine. If it happens that you get a fine it is likely that it will never get to your home country since it is not so easy for them to get the money from you if you live abroad. Often times it is like that but there is no guarantee. Sometimes the fines actually get to you.

Searching for train connection and stops during journey

In some countries the local websites for searching train connections don 't show you all the stops or are otherwise stupid. The website of Deutsche bahn is easy to use and knows most train connections all over Europe. It is also in English. www.bahn.com

PeterOB tried to write some schedules for trains in Nordic countries, where trains does not go so often. But the schedule can change and some countries (Sweden) has difficult schedule. Important is to find stops during journey, where you can be kicked out

Every country has their own web for searching connection (Buses, Trains, City public transport), or more web pages. The web pages for searching train connection are vr.fi in Finland, sj.se in Sweden nsb.no in Norway dsb.dk in Denmark, jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlaky/spojeni/ and cd.cz in Czech-Slovakia (you are welcome to add more pages). But these web pages can be with lot of JavaScript and difficult can be even switching to English. It is possible to find stops during journey there usually, but it can be quite difficult find, how to do. PeterOB tried to find stops at sj.se without success, but there is way, how wind stops during journey.

There are some web pages for whole Europe, where you can find train connection for example eurail.com But there are not regional or commuter trains so good (if any in some regions). And you can not find stops during journey.

There is another page, where you can find all train connections include stops during journey for all Europe. It is Czech web for searching connections is Czech-Slovakia (all city transport, buses, trains, planes). But there is trains connection for whole Europe on this web. The link for searching train connections is here jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlaky/spojeni/ But there is no English. It is possible to find stops during journey on this web But it is not possible to find, if station has waiting room, or when waiting room will be closed. Buses are there for Czech and Slovakia only, except few buses in Europe (these buses are usually connected with train company). There are distances in km for every stops Czech and Slovakian buses and trains that go through Czech-Slovakia.

Translation for searching connection (Vlaky = Trains Autobusy = Buses, MHD Vsechna = all city public transport, MHD = city public transport, Odkud = from, Kam = to, Datum a cas = date and time - two edit fields, Pouze přímá spojení = without train (or bus) change during journey, Pouze vlaky bez povinné rezervace = only trains without seat reservation obligatory, but it usually does not show many trains, especially long-journey ones).

Errors during request for searching Zadání není jednoznačné, upřesněte prosím zadání - the station or city - town - village is not specified exactly (more stations with this name), write it more exactly. Objekt nebyl nalezen = this station or town or city or village is not in database

If you click for complete train, you get list of stops and schedule Translating: Stanice = station Příj = arrival Odj = departure Pozn = notes for this stop Km = distance in kilometers from begin of train journey to this station (Distances in km are aviable only for trains that goes through Czech Republic and Slovakia). (zastavuje jen pro nastup = only for boarding, zastavuje jen pro vystup only for getting off, but it is only for ticket-reservation possibility, you can get in-off or be kicked out anywhere).

Buttons under connections Zmenit zadani = Changing searching request Nove zadani = new searching request Trvaly odkaz =permanent link to connection, Hledat spatecni spojeni = searching for connection back, in another direction (from destination to start station). And buttons down-left Predchozi = three connections before, nasledujici = (three) connections after. At first request idos.cz will find three earliest connections after selected date and time.

Translation for connections that has been found And then you find connection, some notes are - Příští stanice = Next Station, Vlak se prave nachazi ve stanici = Train is now in this station, povinná rezervace = seat reservation obligatory, moznost rezervace = seat reservation is possible, jede = train goes at this dates, jede do = train goes until this date, jede od train goes since this date, od = since do = until, globální cena = global ticket price, not interesting for us, vozy 1. a 2. třídy = wagons with first and second class, pouze vozy 2. třídy = wagons only with second class.

And there are some symbols, what is in train - like beds, restaurant, bar or bistro, car transporting, etc

Error 1 Spojení nebylo nalezeno = Connection was not found Možné příčiny = It can be caused by

   spojení v příslušném časovém období neexistuje = no connection exist in this time
  mezi výchozím a cílovým objektem neexistuje přímé spojení = there can be not direct connection (without changes), (if you have selected direct connections only for searching).
  spojení nelze realizovat povolenými dopravními prostředky = connection is not possible with selected type of vehicles due to our database status (if you have selected only trains, buses etc.)

This application usually marks most of regional-commuter trains like blue R some commuter trains are missing (commuter trains by Stockholm, P train in Helsinki), and it marks green all IC, EC or high-speed trains with seat reservation obligatory. it shows seat reservation obligatory in all IC-EC trains. Only few international trainss are red like EN and INT

The semi-regional trains for longer journey are usually marked like blue too, but the letters are various, some are still like blue R (for example in Sweden OTU - Oresundstaag, in Norway REG trains are regional, not local trains). The long journey trains are usually green with letters EC, IC or specific letters (TGV in France, X2 is SJ Snabbstaag in Sweden, S2 is Pendolino in Finland, Green AE or Red INT is Allegro train between Helsinki and St. Pettersburk, FR or FA is high-speed train in Italy - Treno Alta Velocita, FB is something like IC train in Italy - FB FRECCIABIANCA). Some Night trains are marked ICN (green) and some night Trains like green NZ (Moscow-Helsinki), some night trains are red EN - Euronight. Many night trains (in Finland, in Sweden are marked like green IC or even blue REG in Norway)

But some Long Journey IC trains are still blue like regional (ICs in Norway are marked like blue REG, long journey trains from Stockholm to Narvik or (Goteborg) Stockholm-Lulea or Lulea-Narvik are marked sometimes like blue R Arcitic circle train)

Sometimes - one trains is marked like two another trains (R train Helsinki-Tampere, trains between Oslo and Goteborg), and some trains has two symbols (for example train between Helsinki and St. Peterburg is red INT or Green AE ). Even some high speed trains can be missing there (probably purple Treno Italio - AV train in Italy).

The most important for this Czech database is that you can find stops during journey Unfortunately - you can not find in this Czech application, which stations has waiting room, or when waiting room is closed.

jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlaky/spojeni/ is only for trains, it is part of idos.cz, where you can find all buses and trains and city public transport in Czech Republic and Slovakia (not in Europe, you can find only trains and few buses in whole Europe). You can find all stops, time table (arrival and departure) and for Czech republic and Slovakia only - you can find length of journey between stations in km. Unfortunately - this page is not in English.

This application is created by CHAPS (software for transport schedules) and there is possible to download database of schedules and trips from chaps.cz like complete database, only trains (in Europe) or only buses (Czech and Slovakia) or city public transport for selected city in Czech-Slovakia. And there should be database of planes too. Unfortunately, English is missing.

Austria

Freeriding trains in Austria works fairly good.

In long distance trains they usually check tickets of everyone only once or twice during a journey. Usually in beginning of the journey. So if you manage to hide during the initial checking (toilet, luggage compartment, walking around the conductor pretending to be calling on phone…) you can then just sit down and pretend to be checked already. After the initial checking they will just ask for new passengers so you just read your book and don’t react. Also if you enter the train not in the first station you can just pretend to be already checked. Most long distance trains start either in Wien or Graz or somewhere in neighboring countries. So if you for example wanna go from Salzburg to Innsbruck the train comes from Wien and was most likely controlled already so they will ask just for new passengers. If the train comes from other country they change the crew on the border so then the Austrian crew is likely to check everyone. With the long distance trains you can cross whole Austria without having any problem. Usually it is mostly about avoiding the one time they control everyone and then just ignoring them when they ask for newcomers.

Don't pretend to be sleeping. It is better to just read o book or look in phone and ignore them when they ask for new passengers. If you pretend to sleep (or if you sleep) they are likely to wake you up and ask for your ticket.

Sometimes you are unlucky and they think you are new in train and ask you for a ticket. The best think is to stay calm and tell them that you already showed the ticket and that you come from... (Graz, Wien, whatever big city that the train is coming from). After saying this just look back to your book or phone so that the conversation is finished. It often works and they let you be.

Some of the long distance trains are the new fancy once (similar style as ICE or TGV) but some are bit more oldschool. For freeriding it does not make much difference. Unless you like to hide in a luggage compartment. The new fancy trains have usually shelves for luggage where you can hide behind your backpack. The older once often don't have those shelves and have just a shelve above the seats. So forexample the trains from Wien to Innsbruck and Switzerland are the new ones and trains from Graz to Salzburg or Innsbruck are the older ones without luggage shelves.

It seems liket that there is a clear pattern on when they control everyone. So if you ride regularly you can kind of figure it out.

From Graz to Salzburg (and oposite direction as well) they check everyone in the begining and then they ask just for new passengers.

From Graz to Innsbruck they check in the very begining and then ask for new passengerrs but as the train ride is very long it is possible that the conductor will change and new conductor might control everyone again.

From switzerland (or Bregenz) to Wien they control between the begining and Innsbruck. Then it is chill again. Then they control between Kufstein (or Worgl) and Salzburg. Between Salzburg and Wien they usually just ask for new passengers.

From Wien to Switzerland (or Bregenz) They control somewhere between Wien and Salzburg. From Salzburg to Innsbruck they just ask for new passengers. Between Innsbruck and Switzerland they might control again.

Between Wien and Graz (in each direction) they often control in begining and then just ask for newcommers but it seems to be not so sure as sometimes they control bit later. So keep attentive.

All those information is just from observation so there is no guarantee that it works always like this but it seems to be usually like that. It is experiences from 2023 so in future it might change.

Regional trains are often without any control. But often they do control. Maybe 50% of time there is a conductor and 50% of time not. But that is very not precise estimation. If you are lucky there is no conductor and you can just relax and enjoy your ride. If there is conductor there is not much you can do because the regional trains are quite small so it is easy for conductor to have overview about who they already checked and who not. You can buy a ticket just for few stations and stay in the train for longer. Regional trains often have a ticket machine inside of a train. You are supposed to buy a ticket before boarding the train but in some little stations there is no ticket machine so you shall buy it inside of the train after entering. That can be very useful because you can just go into the train without ticket and if you see that there is a conductor you can go to the machine and buy a ticket. They might be unhappy about that because you are supposed to have ticket before but you can just say that you were super much in hurry to catch the train so you could not buy it before. They might be bit grumpy but nothing more.

If you get caught without a ticket they will probably ask you to pay and if you refuse they might ask for your ID or kick you out. The penalty is about 140 euros. IF you get fined and you don’t pay it you might get debts but you can not be put in prison for that. It is a debt to a private company (even though state owned) but not to state directly so nothing more than having debts can happen to you. If you are foreigner chances that something happens are even smaller. If you are not aggressive or anything like that and you say you have no money and no ID they will most likely just ask you to get out on the next station. The chances that they will call cops to get your ID are very low. The few conductors that have kicked me out until now where quite chilled and polite. It is really not a big deal to get caught. They just kick you out and you wait an hour or two for the next train.

There is a lot of police controls while entering Austria from south and while leaving to Germany. So if you are crossing the border you maybe don’t want to be hiding in a toilet. Cops usually walk through and look for people with darker skin to ask them for papers. They are not interesting in tickets. But maybe if they find you hiding behind your backpack they might tell it to the conductor.

There are no gates to get into trains so you can always just get in. Same applies for public transport in cities. In cities you can also freeride trams, subway and most buses. Most of the time it will be relaxed. But of course you can be unlucky and get controlled but the controls are rather rare.

here is the old article with a lot of useless information:

Austria is not so big country in the middle of Europe and big part of this country is with mountains – Alps. There is big motorway A1 from Germany to Hungary (Munchen – Salzburg – Linz – Wien – Budapest). You can easily hitchhike there at exit of fuel stations. Another motorway goes to south – not so far from Rosenheim (Germany), the A1 motorway split to Munchen and south branch to Insbruck and Kufstein. And around Insbruck – the motorway spilts too – one direction to west (Switzerland) and one direction to Italy (Brenero, Bolzano, Verona). Insburck is big crossroad with beauty-full mountains around (up to 3300 m.n.m.). One hitchhiking place is fuel station before Insbruck. Many cars go to Italy (Sea, Skying), but there are only few cars in this fuel station, few cars go to Italy, and many hitchhikers waited there very long (few hours or even two days). Another possibility is hitchhiking with sign (Italy, Switzerland, Salzburg, Germany) before entrance to motorway in east Insbruck. Hitchhiking to Italy or Switzerland can be really bad here. If hitchhiking does not work, you just go to train station. Is it easy to jump on city bus inside Insbruck and taking it for free. (or another city in Austria) (penalty in city public transport can be for example in Wien 103 Eur) and you can go to train station or big road at the end of city.

If you want escape from cold to Italy. You try to get to Insbruck and from Insbruck to Brennero and Italy. But hitchhiking does not work so good from Insbruck to Italy. Brennero-Brenner is border Austria-Italy. It is around 1200 m above sea, it is narrow valley between mountains. There is motorway and rail road. It is highest and coldest point of journey. There is snow usually from November-December to March-April. Mountains around are high – up to 3300-3700 m above sea. And there is already snow in July in some places up in mountains. There is a lot of police checking in Brennero because of migration (on direction from Italy to Austria). Train track goes not so fast downhill to Insbruck (around 38km long by road). And train track goes quite fast downhill to Bolzano with a lot of tunnels. There are EC trains wit few stops and Italian local train (Treno Regionale) with lot of stops, but there s almost ticket checking. There is warmer in Bolzano than in Isbruck or Brennero, but Alps are there still, mountains and hills continue to Tremto, Rovento. Just around 30 km before Verona is tunnel for train, it means end of hills and warm low-land with palms. And south from Verona to Sicily – temperature rises, but quite slowly. It is long journey and around 5-10 degrees difference between Verona and Sicily.

   Train stations in Austria are quite good. You can find on the station all trains (arrivals and departures) with all stops for every train and time for arrive and departure in every stop during trip. It is important. Some small stations for local trains can be without waiting room, But big stations are open during night (just some sitting places are closed), because of night trains. But it can be quite cold in the stations too, not so good heating system can be there.

   There is no ticket control during entering into station or entering into train. But if your appearance is like homeless or backpacker, conductor can ask you for a  ticket while entering into night train. There are not so many passengers in night trains.

   Conductor usually does not check toilets. You can try to hide there and does not lock the door. But do not stay in toilet too long, because another passengers can go there too. Stay there just when conductor is passing around. Or you can just play like you were already checked or you just hide between many passengers, especially close to bigger town. You tan try short distance ticket trick in regional trains R and REX. You buy ticket for 15-40 km (around 5-8 Eur), you let be checked and you continue much further after. But it is quite expensive in EC and RailJet trains with not so many stops. If you are captured, you can be simply kicked out, especially from regional train. There is bigger probability, that conductor write fine for you in EC, RailJet or night train. Or he just kick you out. Some Peter's friends was captured in Austria (Austrian residents too), and they sometimes got fine, which will be never paid, or they has been kicked out. Penalty is around Eur 103, but you don't need to pay, if you are not from Austria, or you can give fake address.

   There are really a lot of police checking in trains from Italy to Austria and Germany'' (especially direction to Germany), and maybe in trains from Wien to Munchen can be police too. They control everything on platforms and many times in train (especially close to Italy-Austria border), because of Immigrants. Police checks toilets, space under seats too. But they are searching for immigrants, they do not check usually European people. And they checks ID, not tickets. But they can check some drug smuggling too.

   First type is regional train R. This train have a lot of stops, every 3-10 km. Interval to next train is usually 1-2 hours. PeterOB have not tried this train. There can be a lot of people inside close to big city and conductor can go only one time, or not so often. But it is dubious.
   The REX train is similar to R train. But distance between stops is bigger, around 15-30 km and interval to next train can be around 2 hour (include R trains shorter).
   You can try short distance ticket trick – you buy ticket only for short distance (around 15-30 km, it cost 6-8 Eur), you will show ticket and you will continue longer than destination in you ticket. Or you can try to hide between passengers close to big town or toilet tactic (you just sit on toilet when conductor goes around and you don't lock the door). You can play that you were already checked after first control too, when conductor goes around.

   If you want to go to Italy, stops for REX train are: (Innsbruck Hbf, Matrei am Brenner, Steinach in Tirol, Brennero/Brenner – border with Italy, few stations to Bolzano (3 or 7)). Between Brennero to Bolzano is easy to jump – Italian regional train goes there, usually without checking. From Italy to North – there is regional train (treno regionale) from Bolzano to Brenero once a hour. Conductor usually do not check tickets but police is searching for immigrants. There is truck stop with wingette selling for Austria and fuel station in Brenero. Really Lot of trucks are there. But you have to cross motorway with not so many cars. You have to be careful during this action.  Or you can take EC train from Verona to Germany, it is one stop from Brennero to Insbruck, and conductor goes there (and police too). Then you take for free city bus to east Insbruck and there is entrance to motorway.

   Night trains are good, because they have not so many stops. But there are only beds with reservation and it is possible that you can't get inside coupe and you stay at corridor with backpack and conductor will see you. These trains are international, with police, and  conductors too, of course. And conductor might ask you for a ticket during boarding. But these trains are quite long and you just get in as in shade as possible.

If you want to go to Italy, from Insbruck – stops for EC and night trains are Munchen or Wien…...... Insbruck HBF, Brennero (border), Brixeno, Bolzano, Tremto, Verona…….. Rome, Bolonga or Milano or Venezia.

R 409 (red at idos.cz) is best night-day train from Moscow to France, it is the best, with fewest stops:

Moskva Belorusskaja 11:18, Wjasma 14:10-14:36, Smolensk 16:33-16:38, Orscha Central 17:49-18:05, Minsk(BY) 20:22-20:37, Brest Central 0:24-0:50, Terespol 1:08-1:58, Warszawa Wschodnia 3:49, Warszawa Centralna 4:25, Warszawa Zachodnia 4:35, Katowice 7:13-7:18, Zebrzydowice 8:22-8:23, Bohumín 8:43-9:07, Břeclav 10:50-11:18, Wien Hbf 12:27-12:41, Linz Hbf 14:19-14:26, Bischofshofen 17:37-17:41, Innsbruck Hbf 20:44-21:21, Brennero/Brenner 22:00, Bolzano/Bozen 23:53-23:55, Verona Porta Nuova 1:16, Milano Rogoredo 2:55, Genova Piazza Principe 4:34, San Remo 6:44-6:46, Bordighera 6:58-7:00, Ventimiglia 7:10-7:58, Menton 8:08-8:10, Monaco-Monte-Carlo 8:19-8:21,Nice Ville 8:34

But long journey train R409 does not go every day.

   Next type is EC train. EC train goes usually once a 1 hour or once a 2 hour. Distance between stops are usually 30-80 km, conductor goes usually every stops. PeterOB tried only two EC trains for one stop only, he was hiding in toilet with unlocked doors when conductor pass around. But you can just play that you were already checked. Ticket for shorter distance than you go is possible, but not so cheap. And some EC trains (from-to Italy) are only with few passengers, these trains are quite empty. There are lot of coops in direction from Italy to Germany and they look everywhere (toilets, under seats), because they check immigrants.

   There are EC trains between Munchen (DE) and Verona (IT) once a two hours, in both directions. Some trains continue from-to Venecia or Bolonga. Stops are: (München Hbf, München Ost, Rosenheim, Kufstein, Wörgl Hbf, Jenbach, Innsbruck Hbf, Brennero/Brenner, Fortezza/Franzensfeste, Bressanone/Brixen, Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Rovereto, Verona Porta Nuova, Bologna Centrale, or erona Porta Nuova, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia Santa Lucia). There are Italian conductors in Italy and probably German conductors in Germany.

Situation between Insbruck and Rosenheim is better, because there goes RailJet train to Wien once a hour.

   Next and best type of train is blue Railjet, because of fewest stops. The distance between stops is around 40-100 km or even longer. There are usually two conductors and a lot of passengers. You can hide in toilet and play shitting when conductor is passing around, PeterOB already tried it successfully. Or you can try just be between passengers and play that you were already checked.

   Railjet or EC train between Munchen (DE) – Wien (- Budapest) goes once a two hours, but between Salzburg and Wien more than once a hour: Journey Munchen-Wien takes only 4 hours and it is 2:40 hours from Wien to Budapest, stops are (München Hbf, Salzburg Hbf, Linz Hbf, St.Pölten Hbf, Wien Meidling, Wien Hbf ) and some Railjet trains from Munchen  continues to Hungary with stops ( Wien Hbf, Hegyeshalom, Mosonmagyarovar, Györ, Tatabanya, Budapest-Kelenföld, Budapest-Keleti pu). The Night train EN 463 Kalman Imre has the same stops (München Hbf 23:35 …... Wien Hbf 6:35-6:39 …... Budapest-Keleti pu (9:24).

   Wien – Budapest: The journey is around 2:40 hours, RailJet train goes every hour, stops are (München Hbf, Salzburg Hbf, Linz Hbf, St.Pölten Hbf, Wien Meidling, Wien Hbf ). Railjet or EC trains usually begins at Munchen Hbf. Some EC trains continues behind Budapest, for example 4 hours more to Nyiregyhaza , stops are:  (Budapest-Keleti pu, Szolnok, Törökszentmiklos, Kisujszallas, Karcag, Püspökladany, Hajduszoboszlo, Debrecen, Nyiregyhaza).

   (Zürich HB - Switzerland) - Insbruck-Wien: It is around 4:15 hod long journey, RailJet trains goes every hour (from Zürich HB to Insbruck Hbf once a two hours). Some RailJets begin in Switzerland (Zürich HB) and some RailJet trains does not stops between Salzburg and Insbruck. Stops are: (Zürich HB, Sargans, Buchs SG, Feldkirch, Bludenz, St. Anton am Arlberg, Landeck-Zams, Imst-Pitztal, Ötztal, Innsbruck Hbf, Wörgl Hbf, Kufstein, Salzburg Hbf, Linz Hbf, St.Pölten Hbf, Wien Meidling, Wien Hbf, Flughafen Wien).

Wien – Bratislava SK: There are local trains from Slovakian train company, train runs once a 30-60 min from 4am to midnight. It is 66 km and 66 minutes and 7 stops. You can try just hide between passengers or in toilet. Short distance ticket trick can be more difficult. Stops are: (Wien Hbf, Wien Simmering, Wien Stadlau, Wien Hausfeldstrass, Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf, Marchegg, Devínska N.Ves, Bratislava hl.st.).

From Graz to Wien and Czech Republic: There is RailJet train once a 2 hours (Graz – Wien - Prague), and few EC trains goes from Wien to Czech Republic. It is 90 km and 54 minutes from Wien Hbf to first Czech station Breclav. Most of trains are RailJet and they continue to Brno, Prague. Stops are (Graz Hbf, Bruck/Mur, Kapfenberg, Mürzzuschlag, Semmering, Wiener Neustadt Hbf, Wien Meidling, Wien Hbf, Breclav, Brno hl.n., Ceska Trebova, Pardubice hl.n. Praha hl.n.). RJ from Wien 19:02 has four more stops in Czech – Blansko, Letovice, Svitavy, Kolin.

There are EC trains, which goesfrom Wien to Breclav and Ostrava, Bohumin, Poland. EC 104 Sobieski 8:10 from Wien continue to Breclav, Hodonin, Ostravava hl.n. 10:59-11:01, Warszawa Centralna 15:04-15:20, Gdansk Glowny 11:11-18:14, Gdynia Glowna 18:36. From Wien 14:10 EC 102 Polonia continue to Warszawa, the same EC 406 Chopin from Wien 22:50 to Warszawa and D 100 Moravia (with beds too) from Wien 18:10 to Bohumin 21:08. But it os much more stops on the journey. It is only one stop from Wien to Breclav (CZ), 8 stops from Breclav to Bohumin (last CZ station), 9 stops from Bohumin to Warszawa Centralna, 6 stops from Warszawa Centralna to Gdansk Glowny and from Gdansk Glowny last 5 stops to Gdynia Glowna (18:36). Only train from Wien 8:10 continue behind Warszawa to Baltic sea (Gdansk).

There are local trains from Wien to Breclav too, they runs once a two hours, it is from Wien Hbf 1:29 hour and 9 stops in Wien, 14 more stops after Wien to Breclav. This train can be with a lot of passengers close to Wien and conductor can go only 1-2 times. But it is much more better to take EC or RailJet train without stop between Wien and Breclav, than local train R or REX with lot of stops.

There are trains from Linz to CZ (Ceske Budejovice and Prague). It can be only 5 stops from Linz to Summerau (last stop in Austria), next stop is Horni Dvoriste (CZ) and 10 more stops to Ceske Budejovice. But some local trains from Linz hbf has 14 stops to Summerau and more 12 stops from Horni Dvoriste to Ceske Budejovice. Many stops are Request only. REX trains has from Linz 5 stops to Summerau usually and stops in Czech: (Rubnik, Kaplice, Velesin mesto, Ceske Budejovice, Tabor, Praha hl.n., Praha Holesovice) – not so many stops in Czech Republic. There is usually one local train from Linz to Ceske Budejovice once a 2 hours and REX train from Linz directly to Prague only once 4-6 hours, these trains are best with fewest stops in Czech.

Last type is ICE train. ICE trains goes usually in Germany and only few ICE goes to Austria. One ICE goes from Wien to Munchen and Hamburg. Another ICE goes from Insbruck to Munchen and more further (Berlin, Hamburg). ICE has in Austria the same stops like RailJet or IC trains, but in Germany – ICE are faster (up to 300 kph) and with not so many stops. Distance between stops can be 100-500 km. Conductor check it in Germany very hard and you can get fine or conductor call the police. 'Germany is not recommended for BlackRiding. PeterOB's friend was two times captured in Germany (train and tram) and he was 14 days in prison. But it is probably not so hard now, it was few years back. Usually only one or two ICE a day gets from-to Wien or Insbruck.

Belgium

In Belgium you can get fined for not having a ticket, or not using the one that you have correctly. Taking a train from Charleroi to Brussels, a conductor issued a fine of 72 euros for a 12 euro journey, all because the details of the trip (a 10 journey pass) where written in pencil and not in pen. Be careful.

Regional trains are very bad, sometimes they're checked quite heavily, and, since they have so many stops you are unlikely to make it anywhere. There are non-Thalys TGV trains going to France from Brussels, although it may not be that obvious at first.

Much to their own annoyance, Belgian railway staff do not have any legal right to ask for your ID, so under no circumstances show it when they ask for it! Prino 09:58, 3 May 2011 (CEST)

Czech Republic and Slovakia

There are many types of train in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This two countries are very similar about free riding in trains.

The local trains (OS) have many stops, distances between stops are usually 3-10 km. These trains have only few carriages and one conductor. But there are often small amount of people in this type of train. Faster local train is (SP - spesny vlak). This type is similar to local train (OS) but average distance between stops is about 10 mm. Local trains have many stops and relative short journey usually less than 100 km. The interval to next train is usually 1 to 2 hour.

The R-trains (and some ex trains) have stop usually once a 10-35 km, about 5-8 carriages and usually two conductors or only one conductor. The interval between trains s 1 or 2 hours but in the most frequent area (Prague-Olomouc) is the interval between trains 30-60 min.

The long-journey trains EC, IC, Ex (often international trains) have about 7-11 wagons, restaurant wagon and first class wagon.This type of train have large number of passengers and two conductors. The distance between stops is 40-70 km (25-50 km for EX trains) and especially in overcrowded trains conductor check tickets and the time interval to next control is long (30-60 min and more). But if you are captured, you will bee challenged to pay penalty or the conductor ask for your ID card. The time to next stop is long and conductor have enough time to write the penalty.

In Czech is the ticket price equal for all trains belongs CD (Ceske drahy). The speed train EX, EC, IC and R have the same price like OS. You have to buy seat reservation only in SC/Pendolino - PeterOB does not recommend it. But some EC/IC trains (Black Leo Express and yellow Regiojet, this trains belongs private company) have another special tickets and this trains are very difficult. In Slovakia R-trains are little bit more expensive than OS-trains and EC,IC trains are more expensive (difference is about Eur 2-4). Regiojet have yellow OS train in Slovakia and this type is OK.

Important: Do not use the speed long-journey train SC (Pendolino). It is expensive a you have to buy seat reservation. There are small number of passengers and big probability for get penalty. Be careful on the journey between Prague and Ostrava. The most of trains in Czech and Slovakia belongs to state company and trains that belongs CD are OK. But some IC trains (yellow Regiojet and black Leo Express) belongs private companies. Problems is that you have to seat reservation and the conductor have all reserved seats in computer and conductor do not ask for tickets. But if you are on the seat and the conductor's computer signalize free seat, but you are on the seat - this is problem. This is reason that you can use short-journey ticket trick or similar tricks. And black IC "Leo Express" is worst - you have to show ticket before boarding. Regiojet have some local trains in Slovakia. In yellow local trains is all OK. You can use the short distance ticket trick (see bellow). Unfortunately many stops and small amount of passengers is reason that travel complete free is very difficult.

Important: Conducter is in the train always except some local trains, but the inspector (reviser) randomly enter in trains, check the tickets (like in public transport), but he check too conductor's work and if the inspector find some person without ticket, he can give a penalty for conductor. The inspector check all - passengers, toilets, conductor's work. Some Person travelled from Prague to Ostrava and had ticked only for short distance (to Pardubice). But the ticket inspector came and gave them penalty for every stop (6 stops without ticket = 6 fines), the passenger showed the short distance ticket which end far away. Fortunately, the inspector in train is quite rare, once a 10 000 km. PeterOB has travelled more than 70 000 km and meet inspector 5 times and paid only one penalty. The inspectors do not wear a uniform, conductors usually wear a uniform (blue suit, pink in region and black in Leo express). You can detect conductor relative easily.

Generally -there are few trick how to travel in train without ticket. I travel in Czech Republic in trains during years 2009-2014 more than 70 000 km and this contains 50 000 km without ticket. Because his appearance is not average, PeterOB does not travel without ticket complete, but usually uses short journey ticket trick. He paid penalty CZK 400 (USD 20) only once a time (the inspector came) but he had to leave the train about 10-15 times and had to buy ticket about 15 times (more expensive ticket, difference is CZK 40 CZK about USD 2, in Slovakia about Eur 2). He has met a train inspector 5 times.

The very successful method in not complete free but very cheap travel. PeterOB used it for more than 70 000 km in last 5 years. For extreme case - he traveled 346 km and paid only CZK 26 / EUR 1. New record for one ticket is 447 km from Prague main station to Zilina (390 km without ticket). PeterOB have ticket only from Prague-Liben to Kolin - one station behind Prague (57 km / about Eur 2.2), he showed this ticket (before Kolin) and continued behind Kolin (Sleep, read a book, look out of window). In Horni Lidec (Czech-Slovakian border) conductors crew changed but Slovakian conductor went only one time to Zilina and PeterOB walked around the conductor. Important is that the conductor check only new passengers in the next control, usually ask who is new (Pristoupili?) You buy ticket only to short journey, conductor check you and you do not leave train in stop, where your ticket end, and continue the journey. Conductor do not remember terminal stations on passenger's tickets and look for new passengers. You can look out of window, "sleep" or read a book. If the conductor remember your terminal station, you tell that you do not know where is or tell that you asleep. Important is that the conducter must come before terminal station, which is written on the ticket. PeterOB usually looks where the conductor is and the direction of inspection and goes near him. The optional distance is 10-20 km or 3-5 stops in local train OS (SP is similar), 1-2 stops or 20-40 km in R train and 1-2 stops or 50-80 km in speed long-journey train with restaurant (EX, EI, IC). The long-distance trains with restaurants have many carriages and two conductors. Because there are many passengers and you do not know the direction of ticket control, the situation is sometimes difficult. If you travel long journey, especially though big city - you can be surprised with conductors change. New conductor check ticket in all passengers (NOT only new passengers). You must have second ticket from the city where conductors changed to near stop.

The next tactic is for travel complete without ticket. PeterOB has told that conductor check only new passengers and he ask, who is new (Pristoupili?) and you are new but do not respond. If the train have a lot of passengers, the conductor do not remember who is new (but if your appearance is not usual, there is big chance that conductor ask you for ticket). But many of local trains and sometimes too R-trains have small amount of passengers, especially in the night. In the long-journey trains with restaurant (EX,IC, EC) is this method very successful because there are a lot of carriages and passengers and too long time intervals between ticket inspection. Problem is starting the journey in first stop or conductor change. All passengers have to show ticket during first control (or new conductor). You can try go around conductor during ticket inspection and stay in area, where tickets have been already checked. You can go into this already checked area in a stop (get of board an boarding into optional area). In local trains near big city is too a lot of passengers and you can there use another trick. The train with name City Elephant have two floors. If the conductor walk though first floor through carriage, you can go though second floor and get behind the conductor in the zone where tickets were checked. You have to look when conductor is coming into your carriage. You can use similar in one floor long local train with many passengers near big city. Look which part of train is occupied with conductor and you can get off and boarding into opposite part of train in the stop. For example conductor is near first carriage and you go near last carriage.

If you are captured, you can buy the ticket (for short journey of course) in the train. This ticket is often more expensive (difference is CZK 40 or about USD 2, in Slovakia Eur 1.5), but if you remember the stations without ticket selling - the ticket that you buy in train is for the same price like in station. But if you are captured that you have been hidden and try travel without ticket, you will be kicked out of train in the most cases (in OS or R train) or you have to buy the ticket. PeterOB recommends to look for interval to next train or time of last train before traveling (for example web page www.idos.cz - choose trains (Vlaky)). The local trains have often long interval and the last train arrive quite early. The R-trains, EE, EC, IC is usually more often (1 hour) and last train is just during night.

Sometimes, you can get fine (penalty). The fine is CZK 400 or USD 20 (and CZK 1000 or USD 50 if you pay the fine it later than 14 days after you have been captured). You can get the fine especially in the long-distance train with restaurant. In OS or SP and usually R-train you are often only kicked out of the train.

PeterOB does not recommend hiding in toilet, it is very wrong tactic in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Conductor has to check the toilet (it is rule for a conductor) and conductor have special key to open locked door. If you do not lock the door, the conductor sometimes check toilet too and look into toilet. You can try choose relative invisible position in toilet (and other passengers can open the door and see you). Hidden in the toilet is worst in long-journey trains - conductor usually check toilets there. But it is very bad in all type of train.

You can try walk around the conductor during ticket inspection and go in the area where tickets have been checked. It is much better than stay in the toilet. It is good especially in long-journey EC,IC,EX trains with many carriages and too in local train near city.

And one more trick in trains between Bratislava and Kosice, which go through Zilina. This trains have a lot of carriages, and still sometimes crowded. Number of carriages is 10-13 during day with 2-3 conductors and 5-7 carriages during night time with 1-2 conductors. The key is that conductor do not go so often, usually once a 2-5 stations, especially in night trains. You can walk around conductor to area where tickets have been already checked. You can use outside way in some stops or walk around conductor inside train (wait when conductor finish your wagon and return for backpack). Interval to next check is quite long and conductor check new passengers only. You do not answer for new passenger checking (Sleep, look out of window, read a book). But be carefull in station Zilina - this is place for change conductors crew and new conductors checked all passengers. Similar situation is for EC from Prague to Budapest in Slovakian area (From Kuty to Sturovo). Conductor go only one or two times and you can walk around conductor. The similar situation is fror IC and EX trains from Prague to Zilina through Vsetin and Puchov. Conductor go only one or two times and you can change trains in Puchov (train from Bratislava go few minutes after) in Slovakian part. Ticket between last czech and first slovakian stop is quite expensive, and price in train (buy from conductor) can be cheaper than normal. Conductor usually do not go in border Kuty-Breclav but yes in border Horni Lidec - Puchov. If you are captured without ticket, you can be kicked out or conductor ask for paying penalty or your ID in EC train. Because of immigrats and druck, there are usually cops or security in international EC trains and sometimes might check your backpack and pockets (in Czech Area sometimes, especially in trains from Poland). More coops an be in international trains now because of immigrants. Trains between Kosice and Bratislava though Zilina, Trains between Czech Republic and Budapest through Bratislava and trains from Czech to Zilina through Puchov go once a two hours during day time.

Jumping in Arctic Circle

   There are four train lines, which goes through Arctic Circle, one in Norway, in Norland between Trondheim and Bodoe, one in Sweden-Norway from Stockholm, Umea to Kiruna, Narvik and two in Finland, first line is from Oulu and Kemi to Rovaniemi and Kemjarvi, second line is from Oulu and Kemi to Kolari.

There are at least four more train lines in Rusia, that goes behind Arctic Circle. It is Nikel Murmansk linerailway to Murmansk and close to Norwegiad border, with most north stop 69.408 norh. Second line is from Novyj Urengoj to Arctic coast, already est from Ob river. Last station is small tovn by coast 67.910 north. Another railroad behind Arctic circle is by Vorkuta city. Most north stop is village 67.603 north and town 67.599 north. Most north railway in the world is close to island Nova Zemia. It is Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line that goes from Obskaya (close to Salekhard) north-east to Bovanenkovo region, last stop is Most north station is in small town 70.320 north, last station is Karskaya 70.3168 north. Probably most north railway in America is railway in Alaska from Anchrange to Fairbanks. But Fairbanks station is only 64.851 north, Arctic circle 66.55 north.

   The train line in Norway is by coast and fjords, it is realized by NSB train company. There is a lot of snow in winter and days are short, light is just 1-3 hours long in December. There is quite lot of mountains around and sea too. Summer is with a lot of rain and temperature 10-20. Winter temperature is around zero, from -10 to +5 usually, frost -15 or -20 degrees is rare, sometimes, winter can be colder in Spain or in Greece in mountains.

   From Oslo, Trondheim to Bodoe, you always have to change train in Trondheim. Lets search for trains from Trondheim to Bodoe. Blue-Black train here can be pretty difficult. You have only one train during day and one train at night. Daily train R or IC (REG 471 at idos.cz) goes from Trondheim S 7:38 and arrives to Bodoe 17:28, so it takes 9:50, almost 10 hours. It is 26 stops and 11 stops are with request only. There are high probability for changing conductors during journey. But conductor all check tickets probably after Trondheim resp. Bodoe and probably not or just few times more far behind Trondheim or Bodoe, but you can try just pretend sleep, conductor do not remember after long time and he does not care so much, who is new.

   This is most north Norwegian train line by NSB, and it goes through Arctic Circle (66.55 degrees or 66 degrees 33 minutes) Arctic circle is between Mo i Rana and Bodoe (60 km north from Mo i Rana), more exactly between Mo i Rana (66.3905 north) and Loensdal (66.7432 north), northest stations are Valnesfjord (67.2995), Tverlandet (67.3019), Moerkved (67.2838), Bodoe (67.2864), northest point of track looks to be by fjord coast (67.3305 north, 15.1567 east).

Stops Trondheim-Bodoe REG 471 are: (Trondheim S 7:38,Vaernes 8:10-8:11,Stjoerdal 8:16-8:17,Levanger 9:06-9:07,Verdal 9:18-9:19,Steinkjer 9:44-9:46,Joerstad 10:16-10:17 R,Snaasa 10:23-10:24,Grong 10:50-10:53,Harran 11:04-11:05 R,Lassemoen 11:17-11:18 R,Namsskogan 11:41-11:42 R,Majvatn 12:03-12:04 R,Trofors 12:36-12:37,Mosjoeen 13:06-13:09,Drevvatn 13:34-13:35 R,Bjerka 13:55-13:56,Mo i Rana 14:17-14:20,Loensdal 15:39-15:40 R,Roekland 16:00-16:01 R,Rognan 16:14-16:15,Fauske 16:37-16:46,Valnesfjord 16:53-16:54 R,Tverlandet 17:10-17:11 R,Moerkved 17:17-17:18 R,Bodoe 17:28) R means request stop.

Daily train has a lot of stops and regular checking is probably not so often, there are probably not so many passengers. You can try to hide between passengers or in toilet. You do not need reservation for daily train.

Night train goes 23:40 from Trondheim S to Bodoe 9:15. Type of train is IC or R-Regional (REG 475 at idos.cz). It is 20 stops and 8 stops are request only. Journey takes 9:35. Train stops only for 1-4 minutes at station. There are beds inside and seat reservation obligatory.

Stops are REG 475: (Trondheim S 23:40,Vaernes 0:05-0:06,Stjoerdal 0:10-0:11,Levanger 0:50-0:51,Verdal 1:03-1:04,Steinkjer 1:27-1:29,Snaasa 2:06-2:07 R,Grong 2:37-2:40,Namsskogan 3:27-3:28 R,Trofors 4:24-4:25,Mosjoeen 4:54-4:58,Bjerka 5:42-5:43 R,Mo i Rana 6:05-6:08,Loensdal 7:26-7:27 R,Roekland 7:47-7:48 R,Rognan 8:01-8:02,Fauske 8:25-8:30,Valnesfjord 8:37-8:38 R,Tverlandet 8:56-8:57 R,Moerkved 9:03-9:04 R,Bodoe 9:15)

Back from Bodoe to Trondheim – situation is the same. One daily train REG 472 and one night train REG 476 only (IC or R at departure board and REG at www.idos.cz). The daily train goes from Bodoe 12:27 to Trondheim S 22:05. Duration is 9:38. It is 26 stops with 11 request stops. There are probably not so many people in train and there is probability of conductor changing during journey.

REG 472: (Bodoe 12:27, Moerkved 12:32-12:33 R, TVERLANDET 12:40-12:41 R, Valnesfjord 12:56-12:57 R, Fauske 13:08-13:11, Rognan 13:31-13:32, Roekland 13:39-13:40 R, Loensdal 14:06-14:07 R, Dunderland 14:48-14:56, Mo i Rana 15:28-15:31, Bjerka 15:51-15:52, Drevvatn 16:11-16:12 R, Mosjoeen 16:38-16:41, Trofors 17:11-17:12, Majvatn 17:45-17:46 R, Namsskogan 18:07-18:08 R, Lassemoen 18:31-18:32 R, Harran 18:43-18:44 R, Grong 18:58-19:07, Snaasa 19:33-19:34, Joerstad 19:37-19:38 R, Steinkjer 20:13-20:16, Verdal 20:37-20:38, Levanger 20:53-20:54, Stjoerdal 21:32-21:33, Vaernes 21:34-21:35, Trondheim S 22:05) R means request stop.

Night train from Bodoe to Trondheim – situation is the same. There are beds and seat reservation obligatory, probably not so many passengers. You can try to hide in the dark coupe and pretended sleeping, but chance of success is dubious (or more persons inside one sleeping bag or one blanket can go with one ticket). Night train goes from Bodoe 21:10 to Trondheim S 7:47. It is REG 476 at idos.cz. Duration is 10:30 and it is 20 stops, 8 request stops include. Train wait at stops from 1 to 13 minutes.

REG 476: (Bodoe 21:10, Moerkved 21:15-21:16 R, TVERLANDET 21:23-21:24 R, Valnesfjord 21:40-21:41 R, Fauske 21:54-21:58, Rognan 22:18-22:19, Roekland 22:26-22:27 R, Loensdal 22:57-22:58 R, Mo i Rana 0:13-0:20, Bjerka 0:40-0:41 R, Mosjoeen 1:30-1:40, Trofors 2:09-2:10, Namsskogan 3:15-3:28, Grong 4:23-4:26, Snaasa 4:53-4:54 R, Steinkjer 5:37-5:40, Verdal 6:02-6:03, Levanger 6:14-6:15, Stjoerdal 7:04-7:05, Vaernes 7:06-7:07, Trondheim S 7:47) R is request stop.

   The second line is in Sweden, from Boden to Kiruna, Narvik. It goes throught Stockhlm, Gavle, Hudiksvall, Sundsvall, Umea, Boden-Lulea, Kiruna, Narvik. This is most north train line in Shenghen or European Union. There are plenty trains from Stockholm to Gavle, Hudiksvall, Sundsvall, a lot of high-speed trains SJ SnabbTaag and long journey trains (SJ IC, SJ Nattaget, Arctic circle train). Some SJ SnabbTaag goes more north to Umea and there are SJ IC, SJ Orviga ,SJ Nattaget (night train) and local Norrtaag from Umea to Boden and Lulea.

   It is 6 stops between Sundsvall and Umea with SJ Snabbtaag or night trains NZ 91, NZ 92 (NZ 91 and NZ 92 goes between Goteborg, Stockholm and Lulea – SJ Nattaget at departure board). Stops are: (Sundsvall, Timraa, Härnösand, Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik C, Umeaa Östra, Umeaa Central). From Stockholm-Sundsvall to Umea goes one SJ Snabbstaag in morning and 2-3 trains SJ Snabbtaag in afternoon-evening. From Umea goes one SJ Snabbstaag at early morning, one at morning and one at afternoon.  NZ 92 goes at early morning 2:58 from Sundsvall and NZ 91 at evening 22:26 from Umea. NZ 91 and NZ 92 can be marked like R 91 and R 91 between Sundsvall and Luleaa at idos.cz and SJ Orviga at departure board.

There is once a 1-3 hours local train Norrtaag between Sundsvall and Umea, but it is 11 stops and many stops can be without waiting room. Temperature -30C is possible already there. Stops with Norrtaag are: (Umeaa Central, Umeaa Östra, Hörnefors, Nordmaling, Husum(S), Örnsköldsvik Norra, Örnsköldsvik C, Kramfors, Härnösand, Timraa, Sundsvall Västra, Sundsvall Central ). There is SJ Nattaget night train Arctic circle train (NZ 94 to Narvik and NZ 93 to Stockholm only with 4 stops (Sundsvall Central, Härnösand station, Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik C, Umeaa Central). NZ 94 goes at evening 22:34 from Sundsvall and NZ 93 goes at early morning (1:19) from Umea.

   train from Umeaa to Boden is more difficult, because there are not so many trains. There are only two night trains quite early morning and one train during day. One is  NZ 92 from from Umea 6:30 to Boden and Lulea, which can be marked at idos cz too like blue regional R 92 from Sundsvall, Umeaa to Boden, Lulea.  This train has 5 stops (Umeaa Central, Vindeln, Bastuträsk, Jörn, Älvsbyn, Boden, Sunderby sjukhus, Luleaa Central). And there is of course night train NZ 94 Arctic Circle train with 4 stops only (Umeaa Central, Bastuträsk, Jörn, Älvsbyn, Boden). There is once a day regional train R 7108 Norrtaag Umea C 16:11 – Boden C 19:27 with 8 stops from Umeaa to Boden, 3 more  stops to Lulea central 20:05. Stops are (Umeaa Central, Vannasby, Tvaralund, Vindeln, Hällnäs, Bastuträsk, Jörn, Älvsbyn, Boden, Sunderby sjukhus, Luleaa Notviken, Luleaa Central) So there is only one train per day in some stops and many stations can be without waiting room. Death during exam is possible here. In winter can be -30 degrees often here. All stops extra are between Umea and first stop (Vindeln) Bastuträsk, except Hällnäs. Hällnäs is strange too, only one train Norrtaag to direction Boden, Lulea stops here.
   From Boden to Umeaa goes at night NZ 93 Arctic Circle train with 4 stops from Boden 21:55 (Boden, Älvsbyn, Jörn, Bastuträsk, Umeaa) and R 91 (SJ Orviga) from Boden 18:25 with 5 stops (Boden, Älvsbyn, Jörn, Bastuträsk, Vindeln, Umeaa). R 91(NZ 91 or NZ 3291) continues to Kramfors and Härnösand (Sundsvall, Stockholm, Goteborg). There is only once a day in early morning one local train R 7103 Norrtaag with 7 stops. Two more stops are between Vindeln and Umeaa. All stops: (Boden, Älvsbyn, Jörn, Bastuträsk, Vindeln,Tvaralund, Vannasby, Umeaa). All extra-stops are close to Umeaa too.

   Boden is big crossroad of train lines. One direction by train and road is to Lulea. It is 1-3 stops and trains goes quite often, in morning and afternoon-evening every 1-2 hours, but no train 11-14 h. There are Long journeySJ ICtrains (IC at idos.cz), night trainsSJ Nattaget(NZ at idos.cz) and trainsSJ Orviga' (R at idos.cz) in Boden.

   Between Boden and Kiruna. SJ IC trains goes between Lulea-Boden-Kirina-Narvik (IC 95 from Kiruna, Narvik and IC 96 to Kiruna, Narvik) with four stops and there are long journey trains between Stockholm and Narvik (NZ 94 Arctic Circle train in early morning to Kiruna, Narvik and NZ 93 Arctic Circle train in afternoon-evening from Narvik, Kiruna to Boden, Stockholm) with the same four stops between Boden and Kiruna.
   Stops for SJ IC and SJ Nattaget (IC and NZ at idos.cz) are: (Boden, Murjek, Nattavaara, Gällivare, Kiruna), journey takes about 3:05-3:40 hours. There are during day 3 regional trains in each direction (one in morning and two in afternoon) Norrtaag train company. Norrtaag train has usually only 4 same stops too, like with long journey trains, BUT one Norrtaag train per day has 3 extra stops (R 7154 Norrtaag Lulea 16:30 Boden 17:03 Kiruna 20:07 and R 7151 Norrtaag Kiruna 6:20 Boden 9:27-9:29 Lulea 9:52) R 7154 and R 7151 has three more stops between Gällivare and Kiruna -  (Fjällaasen, Kaitum, Sjisjka). How many stations are with waiting room is dubious, but waiting room can be closed at night. And there are three stations, where is easy to stack whole night or day. Especially in these dangerous stations with only one train per day in one direction - Death during exam is possible here, in case, that you fail. Temperature in winter can be there easily -30 and rarely -40.

   Between Kiruna and Narvik. This is area with mountains and lakes and many small villages and resorts. Narvik has quite mild winter with temperature from -10 to -15, sometimes -15, but rarely -20 and mountains divide warm Atlantic air and cold continental air. There are big temperature differences in small distances or between valley and hill.

There are two trains per day in one direction between Kiruna and Narvik. It is 7 or 8 or 11 stops between Kiruna and Narvik. train NZ 94 Arctic circle train (SJ Nattaget) from Stocholm to Narvik (Stockholm 17:29, Kiruna 9:36-9:54, Narvik 12:29, 7 stops) and from Narvik to Stockholm (NZ 93 Arctic circle train Narvik 15:15, Kiruna 17:58-18:25, Sockholm 9:15, 8 stops). Second train is with 11 stops, IC 96 from Lulea-Boden-Kiruna to Narvik (IC 96 Kiruna 14:19-14:45 and Narvik 17:45, 11 stops) and IC 95 from Narvik to Kiruna-Boden-Lulea (IC 95 Narvk 11:00, Kiruna 13:43-14:02).

Many stations should be with waiting room, but some stations have waiting room open nonstop. Some stations has only one train per day in one direction. There are few skiing centers, like Abisko. Oceanic side of mountains is warmer, but there still can be -15 or even -20. Valleys in mountains and area around Kiruna can be very cold, sometimes -30 or even -40 degrees and death during exam is possible here.

Riksgränsen station (68.4266 north) is station by SE-NO border (in Sweden, 1 km from border). Bjoernfjell is first station in Norway, about 1.5 km from border. This train line is most north at all in Europe, except Russia. Another three train lines goes about 67 degrees only. But train line between Kiruna and Narvik crosses 68 degrees north.

Searching for most north position by GoogleMaps: One of most north point E10 (68.443 north, 18.609 east) and railway (68.43405 north,18.5986 east) is close to big lakes, north-west from tornehamn and Björklidens Golfklubb in Sweden (there is hotel and maybe some good dumpsters too). The second northest possibility is E10 (68.4343, 18.2513) and railway (68.4305, 18.2482) is close to Vassijaure station (68.4290, 18.2603). In Norway is far north station Haugfjell (68.4405, 18.0180) and nordest rail point close to this station (68.4441,18.0481) and Narvik (68.4416, 17.4414). And by fjourd and Atlantic coast, most north place of train line was found. Most north railway (68.4516,17.483) resp. (68.4502,17.5420) and northern E10 is on another place before coast (68.5163,17.8727). NO-SE border on the track is (68.4300, 18.1057) and by E10 (68.4352, 18.1068).

Position of Stations Kiruna-Narvik by openstreetmaps.org: Kiruna station (67.8677, 20.2000), Abisko Östra Station (68.3490, 18.8288), Abisko Turiststation (68.3574, 18.7825), Björkliden station (68.4065, 18.6858), Laaktatjaakka station (68.4237, 18.3242), Vassijaure station (68.4296, 18.2577), Katterjaakk station (68.4198, 18.1613), Riksgränsen station (68.4266, 18.1207), Bjoernfjell ( 68.4318, 18.0739), Katterat (68.3975, 17.9658), Rombakk (68.4038, 17.7914), Straumsnes unused station (68.4340, 17.6566), Narvik (68.4417, 17.4414). Nordest point of train line close to Narvik (68.4517, 17.4986) and (68.4517, 17.4808), and second nordesr point is between Katterat and Rombakk - (68.4441, 18.0484), SE-NO border rail is (68.4301, 18.1057).

NZ 94 Arctic Circle Train (Stockholm Central 17:29 BO, Arlanda Central 17:50 17:53 BO, Uppsala Central 18:14 18:21 BO, Gävle Central 19:23 19:26, Söderhamn station 20:23, Hudiksvall station 21:16 21:21, Sundsvall Central 22:19 22:34, Härnösand station 23:23, Kramfors 23:52, Örnsköldsvik C 0:44, Umeaa Central 1:40 1:50, Bastuträsk station 3:23, Jörn station 3:46, Älvsbyn station 4:45 4:46, Boden Centralstation 5:24 5:51, Murjek station 7:23, Nattavaara station 7:50, Gällivare station 8:24, KIRUNA STATION 9:36 9:54, Abisko Östra Station 10:57, Abisko Turiststation 11:02, Björkliden station 11:12, Katterjaakk station 11:36, Riksgränsen station 11:41, Katterat 11:59 12:00, Narvik 12:29 GO)

NZ 93 Arctic Circle Train (Narvik 15:15 BO, Katterat 15:42 15:43, Bjoernfjell 15:59 16:00, Riksgränsen station 16:04, Katterjaakk station 16:10, Björkliden station 16:31, Abisko Turiststation 16:41, Abisko Östra Station 16:47, KIRUNA STATION 17:58 18:25, Gällivare station 19:34, Nattavaara station 20:08, Murjek station 20:41 20:42, Boden Centralstation 21:38 21:55, Älvsbyn station 22:24, Jörn station 23:25, Bastuträsk station 23:48, Umeaa Central 1:15 1:19, Örnsköldsvik C 2:17, Kramfors 3:03, Härnösand station 3:31, Sundsvall Central 4:24 4:35, Hudiksvall station 5:39, Söderhamn station 6:18 6:29, Gävle Central 7:25 7:27, Uppsala Central 8:26 8:33 GO, Arlanda Central 8:51 8:54 GO, Stockholm Central 9:15 GO)

IC 96 (Luleaa Central 10:00 BO, Sunderby sjukhus station 10:11 BO, Boden Centralstation 10:26 10:35, Murjek station 11:50, Nattavaara station 12:14, Gällivare station 12:46, KIRUNA STATION 14:19 14:45, Abisko Östra Station 15:54, Abisko Turiststation 15:59, Björkliden station 16:08, Laaktatjaakka station 16:31, Vassijaure station 16:36 16:41, Katterjaakk station 16:47, Riksgränsen station 16:52, Bjoernfjell 16:57 16:58, Katterat 17:13 17:14, Rombakk 17:25 17:26, Narvik 17:45 GO)

IC 95 (Narvik 11:00 BO, Rombakk 11:19, Katterat 11:30, Bjoernfjell 11:44 11:45, Riksgränsen station 11:49, Katterjaakk station 11:55, Vassijaure station 12:02, Laaktatjaakka station 12:06, Björkliden station 12:20, Abisko Turiststation 12:29, Abisko Östra Station 12:35, KIRUNA STATION 13:43 14:02, Gällivare station 15:20, Nattavaara station 16:02, Murjek station 16:30, Boden Centralstation 17:42, Sunderby sjukhus station 18:12 18:13 GO, Luleaa Central 18:22 GO)

   Third journey through Arctic circle is in Finland. It goes from Oulu to Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi. There are three daily IC trains and two night IC trains. Daily ICs are one from-to Helsinki, one from-to Kuopio and one just from-to Oulu. Night trains are from-to Helsinki. Rovaniemi is last big city with quite good train connection. Rovaniemi station is still not behind Arctic Circle, it is 66.4980 north, Arctic circle is 66.55 north, a 7.0 km walking distance from the Rovaniemi train station. The train line continues east-east-north with two stops Misi and  Kemijärvi. These stops are behind Arctic circle already. But only one train per day goes in one direction from-to Misi (66.6179 north) and Kemijärvi (66.7243 north),. It is night train between Helsinki and Kemijärvi. train line continues from Kemijärvi to east-east-north to Murmansk in Russia, without trains. Some HOBO (Freight train) can go there with wood. But Russia is with hard passports and visa checking and it is really violent country. Trains that goes from-to Kemijärvi, has only one stop between Oulu and Rovaniemi, it is Kemi (Crossroad). All other trains stops: (Oulu (Uleaborg), Kemi, Tervola, Muurola, Rovaniemi).

IC 265 Night train From Helsinki (Oulu (Uleaborg) 4:50 4:57, Kemi 6:03 6:07, Rovaniemi 7:28 7:40, Misi 8:16 8:17, Kemijärvi 8:45) IC 273 Night train from Helsinki (Oulu (Uleaborg) 7:19 7:43, Kemi 8:47 8:51, Tervola 9:32 9:33, Muurola 10:19 10:20, Rovaniemi 10:40) IC 711 from Kuopio (Oulu (Uleaborg) 12:24 12:27, Rovaniemi 17:17) IC 415 from Oulu (Oulu (Uleaborg) 18:30, Rovaniemi 20:44) IC 27 from Helsinki (Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:52 20:56, Rovaniemi 23:34) IC 22 to Helsinki (Rovaniemi 5:55, Oulu (Uleaborg) 8:15 8:33) IC 414 to Oulu (Rovaniemi 9:27, Oulu (Uleaborg) 11:50) IC 416 to Oulu (Rovaniemi 12:09, Oulu (Uleaborg) 14:23) IC 710 to Kuopio (Rovaniemi 15:18, Oulu (Uleaborg) 17:37 17:42) IC 266 Night train to Helsinki (Rovaniemi 18:03,, Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:55 21:23) IC 274 Night train to Helsinki (Kemijärvi 19:45, Misi 20:11 20:12, Rovaniemi 20:50 21:15, Kemi 22:30 22:33, Oulu (Uleaborg) 23:36 23:42)

The last journey is from Oulu, Kemi to Kolari. Kolari is most north Finish station. Kemi is crossroad for roads and trains to direction Kolari, Rovaniemi and Oulu. It is only one stop between Oulu and Kemi and 3 or 1 stops between Kemi and Rovaniemi. There is road-highway between Oulu (FI) – Kemi (FI) and Luleaa (SE), Boden (SE) around Baltic Sea. First Swedish train station is Luleaa. There is no train line through SE-FI border, only buses and cars goes there.

By idos.cz - From Kolari to south (to Helsinki) goes only few trains, like Ex 270 and Ex 272. Ex 270 goes only 29-30th April and 17th June and Ex 272 goes only 1st May and 15th, 18th June. Both are night trains with beds and wagon for cars.

Trains between Oulu and Kolari travels a couple of times per week. There can be some HOBO (freight train) with wood, but it is possible only in Summer, of course. Stops are: (Oulu, Kemi, Tornio Itäinen, Ylitornio, Pello, Kolari). Tornio Itäinen is station by Baltic coast and SE-FI border. But there are almost no trains, so closest good station is Kemi. train line between and Kolari is by Sweden-Finland border and river.

Position of stations by openstreetmaps.org: Oulu (65.0114, 25.4842), Kemi (65.7368, 24.5745), Tornio Itäinen (65.8508, 24.18293), Ylitornio ( 66.3244, 23.6825), Pello (66.7843, 23.9928), Kolari (67.3488, 23.8360). Arctic circle (66.55) is between Ylitornio and Pello.

Finland is the easternmost Nordic country too, and mountains blocked warm air from Atlantic, but cold an in Russia is not so far. That's why in north-Finland (Lapland) it is sometimes extreme cold. If Siberian high spread, then is in Finland clear and super cold. There can e like winter extreme around -35 or -40 in few days, -30 is quite often behind Arctic circle. It can be bellow -40 rarely. Ussual winter temperature in north Finland is 0C to -25C. Day length is in winter just 2-5 hours close to Arctic Circle (icluding twillight, Sun is still bellow horizon), but there is never-ended light in June. Summer is with plenty of mosquitoes. Many stations in Finland have not waiting room, only big stations have waiting room (and waiting room is closed at night).

Then Death during exam is possible in case, that you fail and waiting room is not in your stop (or waiting room is closed at night). You can tell that you have no place to sleep and if you are polite, conductor can let you travel, or he can give you fine, which you don't need to pay (Sweden SEK 1200, Finland Eur 80, Norway NOK 1150). Or conductor can call police, if you refuse to leave train, and police will let you be at their station during night.

There is really short, but northernmost Scandinavian railway in Norway, by Kirkenes too, it is only from Bjornevatn mine (69.6565,30.0075) to harbour-coast, 8.484 long. By harbour is most north point of this railway, (69.7258,30.0299) Kirkenes statio (69.7220, 30.0326), Bjornevatn station in the mine (69.6683. 29.9979).

Other train lines behind Arctic Circle are not in Scandinavian countries, but in Russia. One of northernmost train lines is close to Finland. You need visa to Russia and it can be hard to get visa. Trains in Russia are relative cheap, iit can be difficult to take it for free. However, the ticket for smaller distance, than you travel can work until conductor change. Trains with reservation obligatory are dubious.

Far north train line is from St. Pettersburg to Murmansk. Murmansk is harbour for cargo at the fjord from Barent sea and lot of freight trains go to Murmask too, cargo from ships to trains is taken there. Position of Murmansk station is (68.972,33.068). Harbour for ships is next to train station. Railway continues more north by Fjord, there are two stops behind Murmansk. Names are in Asbuka, but coordinates are: first stop is north of Murmansk (69.020,33.097) and second stop is north-east from Murmansk, at the end of main railway (69.056,33.377). Railway splits by this place to three branches to town and to military area. Most north point before last stop by some town is (69.064,33.353), by road (47K-079). Most north point after last stop is by the town and fjord, at the end of north branch of railway (69.079,33.402).

However, the most north station and railway in this region is not by Murmansk, but railway close to Norwegian border Nikel Murmansk line. About 10 km before Murmansk, in station 1437 KM railway splits to Murmansk and to north-west. Railway continues first south-west to first station (68.8200,32.8179). Next stop is small village (68.969,32.454). At (68.989,32.419) railway split to north to military area and to north-west. Next stops are small villages (69.078,32.123), (69.189,31.694), (69.268,31.245). Next stop is by some mine, and town (69.400,31.106). In this station railway splits to west - to mine, military area, and more far to west with two stops (69.408,30.795) and (69.420,30.257). Main route continues to north-north-west.

Main branch of Murmansk Nikel Line continues to north, to last and northernmost stop (69.5095,31.1630). Railway continues from last stop about 7-10km little bit more north by road P21 and it ends close to swamp, military area and hospital. The railway (with no stops anymore) ends at (69.5695,31.2294), next to road 47K-081. It is not so far from Norwegian border, about 10 km directly. Road P21 continues to border and to Norway, it continue like E105 in Norway, E105 meets with E6 close to Kirkenes. E6 is main Norwegian road from Kirkenes to Oslo and Malmo (SE). There is plan tho connect this railway in Russia with 8.5 log railway from mine to Kirkenes. It means to build 25 km of new railway and it can cost about EUR 1 billion.

Russia is not so free country and traveling by train for free can me more dangerous than in Europe, like everything. You can get into trouble much more easily than in Scandinavia or Finland. However many people in Russia try to taking train for free, including train hoping. Railway to Murmansk and close to Norway is more far from sea with more continental climate, and temperature in winter here is ussually -10 to -25, sometimes bellow -30, seldomly -40 or even -45 degrees. And some stations are without waiting room. Probability of being kicked out is bigger than in European countries and it is more dangerous than in Scandinavia, like everything in Russia.

There is another railway in Russia, which goes behind Arctic circle. It is south from Nova Zemia island, on the way Konosa - Kotlas - Vorkuta - Salechard There is some circle from main railroad by Vorkuta, and there is most north place. Two most north stations are some villages (67.603,63.911) and (67.597,64.107) Vorkuta station is by OSM (67.470,64.027). Most north point of railway is (67.609,64.076) by some cargo place and depo with most north point of depo (67.612,64.083). The crossroad with nord ring and main railway Konosa-Kotlas-Sachelad is (67.112,63.302), already behind Arctic circle.

Northernmost railway in the world is Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line, from Obskaya to Yamal peninsula, to Bovanenkovo and Karskaya, behind 70 degrees north en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obskaya%E2%80%93Bovanenkovo_Line It is connected to main railway Konosa - Kotlas - Vorkuta - Salechard in Obskaya. The end of railway (70.3211,68.3715) is south from town Bovanenkovo, northernmost point is between third last and second last stop (70.3265,68.8329). Last three stops are: Small village (70.2942,68.938), some stop by small road (70.320,68.754), and Karskaya station (70.3168, 68.3909)- south from Bovanenkovo town and close to airport. This railway was built first Obskaya–Bovanenkovo area (to mine) 525 km long, it was extended to Karskaya after, railway is 572 km long. There is plan for extend it to Kharasavey, it will be 678 km long railway. Railway contains 3.8929 km long Yuribey Bridge - longest bridge behind Arctic circle (68.919,69.840 by Wiki). Most north point of railway is by Wiki (70.3750 68.6700) - quite different from OSM.

Yamal peninsula is even much colder in Winter, than Lappland. Many stations are just small villages without any house and trains don't go so often here, it can be less often than from-to Kolari or Kemjarvi. Winter temperature is here usually from -20 to -35 and -40 is still quite common. Sometimes can be here -45 or even -50.

There is another railway, that goes behind Arctic circle - north from Novyj Urengoj. Main railway is in west siberia, Tjumen - Surgut - Novyj Urengoj - Nadym. This main railway has most north point in Novyj Urengoj city (66.097,76.752). Station Novyj Urengoj (66.090,76.691) is with quite big depo, there is crossroad to north,west-south. However it is not behind Arctic circle, Arctic circle is 66.55. From Novyj Urengoj goes railway north, towards fjord of Arctic Ocean. Most north point of railway is close to end (67.9124,74.9148), end is (67.9051,74.8245), most north point of branch in depo at the end is (67.9136,74.8986) resp. (67.9136,74.8643).

The last station is in town by Arctic coast, it is located (67.9103,74.901). Second last station is just behind this town (67.9015,75.058), third last station is small place (67.797,75.326). 4th last station is small village quite far, but with bigger platform (66.898,75.982), 5th last station is just some depo-platform by Novyj Urengoj (66.154,76.700). It is only 5 stations from Novyj Urengoj to end. Stations are small. Here is already west-central Siberia and here is temperature in winter usually -20 to -40, but sometimes during cold vawe bellow -50 can be in this region. It is much colder than Scandinavia.

Second most north railway in Russia is Norilsk railway in central Siberia, south Taymyr region en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norilsk_railway. It begins in Dudinka town by huge Yensey river. Begin of Railway is (69.4155,86.158) - Morskyy port - harbour by river. First station is Dudinka (69.408,86.249) and it continuse from Dudinka Station to Norilsk Station 88 km. Norilsk station is located (69.3569,88.1364). From Norilsk station railway continues to north, to Talnakh station (69.4832, 88.3989, 27 km from Norilsk) and last 11 km to Taymyr mine. But there is no more stop after Talnahk, just most north point of main rail (69.510,88.363) and most north point of railway to mine (69.5424,88.3070) resp. (69.5382,88.4677). Railway is just isolated around Norilsk area (it is not connected to other railways), it have more branches and total length is 253 km by Wiki.

Norilsk area and Taymir is located in north-central Siberia. It means that there is quite short Summer, with only around 5-20 degrees. It is huge lowland with big rivers (Yenisey and Ob more west) with lakes and swamps everywhere around. There are plenty of mosquitoes everywhere in Summer, much worse than in Lapland. It is here central Siberia and winter here is totally different than in Scandinavia. It is not so much windy, but ussual winter temperature is here from -20 to -45 and sometimes, during cold vawe can be bellow -50. Taymyr is northernmost region, with most north point in Asia and Eurasia - Nordkapp of Russia and Eurasia is much more north than northernmost point of Alaska or Scandinavia. It is edge of Taymyr (77.7233,104.2540). Only small villages and small roads are in Taymyr peninsula, probably not in northernmost parts. It is not toursit place, like nordkapp in Norway.

Most north rail road in North America is in Alaska - The Alaska Railroad Between Anchorange (south coast) to Fairbanks (middle of Alaska). However this rail road never goes behind Arctic circle. Most north point of railway is (64.9261,-148.0758) and most north station is Fairbanks at the end (64.8511,-147.7403). But it is not heated by Gulf stream, like Scandinavia. Temperature around Fairbanks is usually -15 to -35, but sometimes bellow -40. Railway to Fairbaks is northernmost railway in America. Northernmost railway in Canada is to Churchill, by big lake and Hay river freight station (60.8434,-115.7607), railway ends (60.8577,-115.7343) But it is not rail for people, only for freight trains (It means that HOBO is possible). Churchill Railway station is (58.7678,-94.1743), railway ends (58.7815,-94.1970).

The Railway with coldest Winter is not so north, it is quite far south from Arctic Circle (66.55). Railway with Coldest winters is in East Siberia, around Baikal, Mongolia, and towards Vladivostok. It is part of Trans-Siberian Railway Moscow-Vladivostok. Trans-baikal railway until Yurty station (56.041,97.636) and East Siberian Railway after. Railway goes Krasnojarsk-Bratsk-Uts-Kurt-Nizneangarsk (by North of Baikal lake)-Tynda-Urgal (BAM from Yurty station). There is some short branch before Krasnojarsk to Lesosibirsk (8.2290,92.4709) and before Ust-Kurt shor branch to Ust-Limsk (58.369,97.090). This Area around Yurty is very cold. Winter tempereature here is usually -30 to -45 and sometimes bellow -50, especially in Yurty. Yurty is small town with about 6000 inhabitants. Most north point of main Trans-Siberian Railway is more east (57.0885,118.938), before station Tynda (55.1393,124.7391). From Tynda to Urgal railway goes already more close to Pacific ocean and winter are not so cold. Tynda is more east and north, it but not so high. There is usually during winter from -25 to -45, sometomes bellow -50. The coldest region in Siberia is around Verchojansk-Ojmjakon, from Tynda north-east few hundersts of kilometers. There is January temperature usually around -35 to -55. From Tynda goes railway north quite far to Tommot ( 58.9675, 126.2267) and Nizhny Bestyakh. Railway station (61.8675,129.9574) is south from town Nizhny Bestyakh (61.96,129.92). Most north point of line in depo is (61.8825,129.981). This station Nizhny Bestyakh is most north railway in East Siberia probably and it should be coldest railway station in the world. Temperature here is in winter from -30 to -50, sometimes even bellow -55. Yurty is one of coldest place too. However coldest average during winter is in Ojmjakon north-east from Nizhny Bestyakh. (There is in winter usually from -35 to -55, sometimes -60). But there is no railway station in Ojmjakon (63.462,142.786) or anywhere around. There is more south railway Yurty-Irkustk (South of Baikal lake)-Ulan-Ude (Line to Ulanbaatar in MOngolia and Being in China)-Cita (line to Being, China)-Never-Tynda. This railway is more south, but more in mountains. Coldest railway in the world should be line to Nizhny Bestyakh and around Yurty too. It is far south from Arctic Cirle (66.55), but East Siberia is very cold.

Denmark

Denmark is very flat country with a lot of sea around. There are very good hitchbility and trains going in Denmark too co course. But there is a lot of rain in Denmark (quite expectable for coastal places), not so ideal for sleeping outside and hitchhiking. So if you want to jump, it is possible. There are no information about stops during journey or map with trains in railway station, so it is quite difficult to find good journey and orientation for non-local people is difficult. Only information about departure and final destination and type of trains are availaible.

   Regional trains have distance between stops about 5-15 km and interval to next train is about one hour. These trains have few carriages and number of passengers is medium or not so much. IC trains have distance between stops about 15-40 km (EC trains have longer distances between stops). IC trains go usually once per hour and there are about 3-8 wagons and a lot of passengers.

   Conductor (blue jumper) go after every station and he checks only new passengers quite quickly. There are about two wagons per conductor and ticket inspection is quite fast after station. He usually do not think so much about who is new passenger. So if your appearance is not so unusual, you only stay or sit somewhere and be reading a book or be looking out of window and do not do anything during control. But it do not work after first stop – at the  begin of journey, of course.

   You can very easily use short distance ticket trick (favourite jump style in central Europe). You just buy ticket only for one or two station and you show it to conductor, but do not get of at the end of ticket and you continue journey. Standard ticket price is about 1 danish crown per 1 km, it is Eur 3 per 30 km or 6-8 Eur per 100 km, so it is quite expensive for poor people, but not for local residents.

   Conductor usually do not check toilets. So when you see that conductor is coming, you go to toilet, lock or do not lock the door and play shitting, hold toilet paper etc. You just go out of toilet after control. But in EC and IC trains are a lot of passengers and passengers go to toilet quite often and you can not hide there because somebody already use it. So it is standard situation – you want to hide during ticket inspection and toilets are with somebody. You can try to walk around conductor or just sit or stay and be looking out of window. Because of conductor have only two carriages usually and check new passengers every stops, walking around conductor to area, where tickets have been already checked do not work correctly.

   If black jumprs (travelers without ticket) have not so good train skills and they are captured, they usually have not been kicked out of train without penalty. Conductor ask them for ID (Passport, Driving licence or identity card). If you refuse to give ID, conductor probably want to call cops. You can try to get more and more time to next stop and you go out of train in next stop, but if you are in EC or IC train, conductor have enough time for writing penalty or calling cops. The fine is Danish Crown 750 (about Eur 100) and it is written in all stops and railways. If you are not Danish, just show identity card. Conductor probably takes only your name and surname and your country, probably not your address or birth date. This is not exact identification of course.

   If you loose on the train -  the penalty is your ticket and you can continue with penalty until final station (penalty price do not depend to distance, just tell to conductor your final destination). But you can not use the penalty or classic ticket to next train (You have to change trains sometimes during journey and penalty is not transfer ticket. Ticket are sold by automatic machines, these machines work with coins and credit cards. But you usually can buy ticket only for one train, strange). Good journey is for example from Flensburg (German-Danish border) to Alborg (North Denmark). Through Frederica and Arhaus. There are about 5-7 stops between Frederica and Arhaus and only 3 stops from Arhaus to Alborg for IC trains. But it means too, that conductor have enough time for writing penalty. If you get penalty, you can take with this penalty whole journey for example from Flensburg to Alborg. It is you ticket.

   PeterOB travelled in Denmark in August 2015 and he use train too, because it was windy and rain whole day – not so good weather for hitchhiking. PeterOB was train from Kolding to Alborg  in North  trough Frederica. He was hiding in toilet (he did not lock door, sit and hold toilet paper) or he just stay and look out of window. He do not met conductor in train from Kolding to Frederica. 7 stops from Frederica to Arhaus was more difficult. PeterOB combined toilet tactic and just looking out of window. But only two carriages go from Arhaus to Alborg and PeterOB have to change place in train. New conductor start checking tickets, PeterOB want to go to toilet but there was already somebody. So PeterOB walked around conductor and when conductor went back, he asked for a ticket and wrote penalty for PeterOB. There is a lot of time from Arhaus to first station Randers. So this jump action was not succesfull and PeterOB went with penalty to final destination. But he will never pay the penalty DKK 750  (About Eur 100).

   As you know, Denmark is very rich country and supermarkets waste a lot of food. Trash bins are easily accessible and there are a lot of fruits, vegetables, bread, some sweets and milk product. You can easily eat a lot of food from trash-bins everywhere in Denmark. So if you have  not enough jump skills and you are kicked out of train, just find some meal in trash.

Finland

   Finland is country in or close to Scandinavia, on the another side of Baltic Sea. People in Finland are one of most peaceful and kind in Europe and it is really hippie area. It is easy to live without money there.

HERE ARE TRAIN SCHEDULES FOR LONG_JOURNEY TRAINS IN FINLAND From year to year, train schedules may change by minutes or even hours, but number of train, stops during journey, type of train and gear, and how often trains goes to target per day - it stay. For example, IC 27 starts in afternoon in Helsinki (after 3pm) and it is in Rovanimemi at night (before midnight). But exact time of departures can be changed in the yearly timetable updates.

   When the ferry comes to Turku harbour at evening, there are waiting two IC trains close to Ferry. One to Tampere and One to Helsinki. Second floor is pretty empty and you can hide there in toilet (PeterOB was sitting like during shitting without locked door almost all time). Conductors check tickets  sometimes just one time after Turku (evening train is wuite empty, but somethimes, they checks after every station until Kirkonumi). First stop is just behind Tampere, they check usually after this stop. Trains after evening ferry arriving are last, if you will be kicked out, next train goes tomorrow. But if you already get to Kirkkonumi, there is commuter train to Helsinki without regular checking. Karjaa-Karis and Salo are stations without waiting room. If you go towards Tampere, Toitala station is already on main route Helsinki-Tampere with plenty of trains during day (but night is dubious).

   Third journey to Finland is around Baltic see, the Nordic Journey There are plenty trains from Stockholm to Gavle, Hudiksvall, Sundsvall, a lot of high-speed trains SJ Snabbstaag and long journey trains (SJ IC, SJ Nattaget, Arctic circle train). Some SJ Snabbstaag goes more north to Umea and there are SJ IC, SJ Orviga,SJ Nattaget (night train) and local Norrtaag from Umea to Boden and Lulea. The trains from Sundsvall to Umea are not so often (local trains have more stops). From Umea to Boden goes Norrtaag local train and SJ IC (Arctic circle train) and night train SJ Nattaget. It is only one or two stops from Boden to Lulea (some trains with three stops ?).

   There is road around Baltic sea from Lulea (SE) to Tornio (FI), Kemi (FI), Oulu (FI). It is motorway at least in some parts, like from border to Kemi and around-through Oulu. There is no train from Lulea (SE) to Finland, but there is one to Haparanda, which is right at the border, with a 6 km walk to a station on the Finnish side, Tornio-Itäinen with a train going a few times per week. Maybe, some feright trains can go there. First good train station is Kemi (Trains in Tornio (border) are pretty rare during Summer half-year and one train per day in one direction in Winter half-year - it is Ex between Helsinki-Tampere-Oulu-Kolari). It is one stop and 58 min between Kemi to Oulu by all IC or Ex trains. There is once a 3-4 hours train from Kemi to north-east (Rovaniemi) with only 3 stops, stops are (Oulu (Uleaborg) – Kemi – Tervola - Muurola – Rovaniemi). Night train IC 265 is with fewest stops and it goes even further (Oulu (Uleaborg) 4:50-4:57, Kemi 6:03-6:07, Rovaniemi 7:28-7:40, Misi 8:16-8:17, Kemijärvi 8:45), by idos.cz - only one train per day – IC265 goes from Rovaniemi to Misi and Kemijärvi. There is most north train line in Finland by border with Sweden to Kolari. But trains there are quite rare, if any. Another train line, which cross Arctic Circle, is from Kemi to  Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi. Arctic circle is in north part of Rovaniemi. Once a 1-2 hours runs quite fast IC or Pendolino train between Helsinki – Tampere – Oulu. Some IC has two floors (easy to hide is second floor toilet) and some faster IC and Pendolinos has only one floor. Pendolinos are marked like green S2 at idos.cz and S at departure board.

   The north journey by train and hitchhiking is nice in Summer with never-ending daylight. But there are a lot of Mosquitoes. The situation in winter is terrible. The Swedish train line Stockholm-Lulea is better, most of stations has waiting room, but waiting room is closed during night (no waiting room in some small stations with local trains). Most stations in Finland are without waiting room. You can wait few hours for next train or longer during night (and next train can get echo from previous one). On the road from Sweden to Finland can be  traffic low, almost no cars in some ramps. The winter temperature is here usually -5 to -20, sometimes bellow -30. Here – the death during exam in case that you fail is real treat in winter time.

   Blue-Black train (taking trains for free) is relative easy in Finland, it is super easy in region around Helsinki. There are a lot of commuter city trains around Helsinki. These trains goes every 10-30 minutes usually. Commuter city trains around Helsinki are marked as blue R-trains at idos.cz resp. jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlaky/spojeni/, and they are marked many letters (K,P,R,D and many others) by vr.fi or in Helsinki map, departure table. Commuter trains are little faster and it does not stops in all stops (R train and D or Z train is with fewest stop).

You can find some info about train connections and pricing at vr.fi The map of train lines in Finland an information about trains, locomotives, stops are at English Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR_Group it is quite big portal at Wikipedia. And you can find train connections with all stops in Finland and whole Europe at jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlaky/spojeni/

   Commuter trains around Helsinki are pretty easy.  You can not buy ticket inside train. You can see conductors inside train easily - they have usually green VR uniforms. They are standing somewhere in train usually. But sometimes - they starts checking ticket in train (not every ride). However, VR workers do not have a right to see your ID if you refuse to actively show it, so the only thing they can really do is ask you to show your ID and then give you a fine, and if you refuse, remove you fromt he train at the next stop. If you see conductors, do not panic and watch, if they start to check tickets. Sometimes - conductors board on train in stations, or they suddenly come from crew place at begin or end of train.

   The Helsinki central station can be more difficult after 10pm of Friday and Saturday evenings. There is only one entrance and they check tickets on this entrance in night, before getting to train. But the near station (it is possible to get there by tram) is Pasila. All trains goes through Pasila and stops there.

   There are a lot of good train network of commuter city trains on train line (Helsinki - Pasila Böle – Leppävaara – Kirkkonummi), it is relative far to Kirkkonummi for city commuter trains. IC trains or Pendolinos (with three numbers) from-to Turku has not so many stops - (Helsinki - Pasila Böle – Leppävaara - (Kirkkonummi) – Karjaa Karis – Salo - Kupittaa – Turku Abo) and some IC trains begins-ends one more stop in Turku Abo Hamm, harbour for ferry (from Turku Abo Hamn 8:10 and 20:20). If you travel from Turku to Helsinki, you need to survive in IC train until Kirkkonummi or Leppävaara, ICs almost do not stop in Kirkkonummi, only IC from Turku 20:20 and 17:17, IC from Helsinki 5:17 and 6:27 stops there.

   There are lot of commuter trains in direction (Helsinki - Pasila Böle – Tikkurila – Kerava (Kervo) – Jokela - Riihimäki) It is direction to Tampere – second largest city in Finland. A lot of commuter trains goes to this direction, but the stops are various. Some commuter trains stops in all stops, come commuter  trains stops Helsinki - Pasila Böle – Tikkurila – Kerava (Kervo), and every stop between Kerava and Riihimäki. Z, R and D are the ones with fewest stops. The region Helsinki - Kerava (Kervo) is more like violet city region on map with really plenty of trains, and Kerava (Kervo) - Riihimäki is green region close to city on the map. Pretty many people travel between Helsinki and Kerava (Kervo) and not so many people between Kerava (Kervo) and  Riihimäki (it is green region in map). It is more far zone and probability of ticket inspection is bigger here. Still quite a lot commuter trains goes between between Kerava (Kervo) and  Riihimäki. There are no waiting rooms in most of the stations. Commuter trains around Helsinki can go up to 120kph.

   There are commuter trains on journey Helsinki - Pasila Böle – Tikkurila - Kerava (Kervo) - Lahti (Lahtis) once a 60 min between and Kerava (Kervo) - Lahti (Lahtis) and every 10 min between Helsinki and Kerava (Kervo). Commuter train to Lahti does not stop so much, stops are (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Kerava (Kervo) - Haarajoki - Mäntsälä - Lahti (Lahtis)) It is 61 minutes from Helsinki to Lahti with commuter train. IC trains and Pendolinos does not stop between Tikkurila and Lahti.

   The R train in platform departure table (all commuter trains are R at idos.cz) consist of three trains together for lot of people and it goes to Riihimäki and  R-train stops in all stations after Kerava (Kervo). But the first part of this R-train continue like city train from Riihimäki to Tampere after 5 min waiting in  Riihimäki. This commuter train stops at all stops between  Riihimäki and Tampere and interval to next R commuter train train is 2 hours. This commuter R train is like two R trains with different numbers at idos.cz (from Helsinki to Riihimäki and from Riihimäki to Tampere). The ticket selling area is in the middle of train and sometimes conductor walk through whole train. And there was in monitor one time that ticket for area range will be checked and conductor just came and he checked only people with zone ticket – only few people in the wagon. Peter just sat calmly, like he ticket has, it works usually here. Conductor checks and sells tickets just for people that want check or buy one, it look. But the inspetion can be here too.  PeterOB was searching for toilet in this train, but he did not find WC in this train (no possible to hide there ?). (edit. there are toilets in commuter trains, but conductors probably check them)

   Between Riihimäki and Tampere, the commuter R trains goes once a 2 hour and IC trains (IC with three numbers) goes usually 1-2 hours between Helsinki and Tampere. Most of the stations are without waiting room, even stations for IC trains (three-numbers IC). And winter temperature can be even bellow -20.  Stops for R commuter train Helsinky-Tampere are:  (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Kerava (Kervo) - Kyröla - Järvenpää - Saunakallio - Jokela - Hyvinkää (Hyvinge) – Riihimäki - Ryttylä - Turenki - Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) - Parola - Iittala - Toijala - Viiala - Lempäälä - Tampere (Tammerfors)).

   Local commuter city trains are in dense area around Helsinki and between Helsinki and Tampere only. PeterOB does not know any other place with commuter trains.

   Conductor does not go usually after every station, but mostly one or few stations after bigger city (Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti, Pori, Turku , Jyväskylä, Pieksämäki). They check ticket with some scanner quite fast. But conductor usually does not check toilets. After one checking, there is usually few stations pause, but sometimes not. If you are captured (out of WC in wrong time), you can buy ticket for short distance (around Eur 15 per 100 km) or just being kicked out. Penalty is Eur 80 + ticket price in all type of trains or city public transport. But if you are not Finish, they can just kick you out.

   Most of passengers are in first floor and second floor is relative empty, especially more far after big city in begin. There are  passengers going in first-floor toilet, but they go rarely on second-floor toilet. So you can hide there quite easily (just sit like shitting and don't lock the door).

   The two-number IC trains (green IC with two numbers at idos.cz and IC with two numbers at vr.fi) runs long journeys with not so many stops (less stops than three-number IC, especially between Helsinki and Tampere). The journey is often from Helsinki to north or back from north to Helsinki. These trains have sometimes two floors with restaurant and conductors in the middle (lower wagon). The situation is the same, like in three-number IC trains. Most of passengers are at first floor and second floor is quite empty, and second floor toilet is calm. Conductor goes usually after bigger city, usually after last station, that is close to bigger city. Two-numbers IC have much less stops – few stops in Helsinki region (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Tampere (Tammerfors) - ….. far north). As you can see – there are three stops in Helsinki region with plenty of city trains and there is no stop between  Tikkurila – Tampere. But conductors have a lot of time and they check tickets after bigger city.

   Two-floors IC trains (two or three numbers) has maximum speed 200 kmh. There are IC trains with two numbers and one floor only. But IC trains with one floor only can not run 200 kph, but only 140-160 kph. Pendolinos can run 220 kph with tilting. and they go for long journey. This type of train is at idos.cz or vr.fi marked the same like two-floors IC and you probably can not recognize it. One floor IC trains goes even far north behind Oulu, like IC27 to Rovaniemi.

   Some trains are Pendolinos. Pendolino is high-speed train from Italy and it has difficulties sometimes during Finish winter. Pendolinos are marked like green S2 at idos.cz and like Pendolino at wr.fi and S or S2 at departures table. Pendolino looks the same like one-floor IC.  Some Pendolinos are with three numbers and they stops in the same stops, like three number IC and tey are usually with the same speed, like three-number IC. Two-number Pendolinos stops in the same stops, like two-number IC. But the Pendolinos are more quick. Maximum speed for two-floor IC is 200 kph, but Pendolino with tilting can go faster, up to 220 kph. Commuter trains around Helsinki can go up to 120kph.

   The price is usually the same for IC or Pendolino, but of course, it is much easier to hide in second floor.  Quite a lot of passengers goes to toilet at first floor.  And Pendolino has only one floor, not empty toilets in second floor. More passengers are going to toilet. And you can run so easily around conductor in another floor and go to area, where tickets was already checked.

   One-Number IC and S2 Pendolino trains (No. 1-12) are on journey Helsinki – Tikkurila – Lahti (Lahtis) – Kouvola – Simpele – Joensuu. Theese IC (and Pendolinos) has lower numbers from 1 to 12 (1,3,6,9,11 from Helsinki to Joensuu and 2,4,8,12 from Joensuu to Helsinki). But there is plenty of stops, like with three-number or ICs. PetterOB does not know, why only one-number trains are there. Pendolinos and IC 7 is with one floor, other Trains PetterOB does not know. One Number can be maybe because of speed, or because Joensuu is close to Russia. It is dubious.

   Express trains Ex – it is only few trains marked like green Ex at idos.cz , like Ex 447 (Pori 6:03- Tampere 7:48), Ex 701 ((Kouvola 16:49 - Kuopio 19:27), and all rare night trains between Helsinki and Kolari. But these night trains are probably the same, like other night trains and Express from Pori to Tampere has the same stops and speed like ICs. PetterOB does not know, how Express look like (one or two floors). Maybe, rare trains can be marked like Express.

   Night trains ICs are marked like IC with three numbers, they are marked like ICs during day, but they usually go pretty far. Night ICs has relative the same ammount of stops at begin in evening and close to end in morning, but night ICs has only few stops during night, most of the journey. Night ICs has wagons with beds and probably wagons with seats too. There is restaurand in night ICs (and in most of day ICs and Pendolinos too). Night IC trains has wagon for car transportion for long distance, but transportion of car is pretty expensive. Night ICs has probably one floor only. PetterOB does not try night IC yet. But it is question, how easy is to hide there. It can be possible that more people goes to one bed with one ticket or ticket checking is not so often, so the Toilet Style is possible. Or somewhere behind seat. Probably – conductor has on tablet, which seat or bed should be empty and wich is reserved. And it can be possible to hide in the someone's car or on the car wagon. But it is definitly imposible during winter. Frost with wind is too strong.

   Night ICs go either between [Kemijärvi], Rovaniemi, Kemi, Oulu, Seinäjoki, Tampere, Helsinki, or Kolari, Tornio, Kemi, Oulu, Seinäjoki, Tampere, Helsinkiin both directions. Buth some night IC routes from north end in Tampere or Turku.

   Night trains:  IC 273 (Helsinki 21:52 - Rovaniemi 10:40), IC 265 (Helsinki 18:52 - Kemijärvi 8:45), IC 266 (Rovaniemi 18:53 – Helsinki 7:06), IC 274 (Kemijärvi 19:45 – Helsinki 9:00), IC 933 (Turku 21:25 – Tampere 23:22), IC 904 (Tampere 5:56 – Turku7:50). Night IC 933 and 904 are probably connected with long-journey night trains.

   Kolari-Helsinki: Ex 269 (Helsinki 20:52 - Kolari 10:48), Ex 270 (Kolari 18:20 - Helsinki 8:32), Ex 272 (Kolari 18:20 – Helsinki 9:37). Both these routes run normally daily.

Turku-Helsinki Turku is city on Baltic coast, the ferry arrives there. There are IC trains with three numbers and two floors. Conductor goes often just one time, after Turku or Helsinki aglomeration. More far from the start of journey- the train is relative empty. IC trains between Turku and Helsinki goes every 1-2 hours. Stops are: (Helsinki - Pasila Böle – Leppävaara - [Kirkkonummi] – Karjaa (Karis) – Salo - Kupittaa – Turku Åbo - [Turku satama (Åbo hamn)]). Between Kirkkonummi and Helsinki already go lot of commuter trains with random checking only.

From Turku to Helsinki trains goes:

   IC 942 5:32-7:25, IC 944 6:22-8:15, S2 976 Pendolino 7:08-8:46 (stops only Turku Abo - Kupittaa - Pasila Böle – Helsinki), IC 946 7:30-9:23, IC 948 8:30-10:23, starts 8:10 in harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) after ferry arrival, IC 950 9:30-11:23, IC 954 11:30-13:23, S2 958 Pendolino 13:30-15:23, same stops like ICs,  IC 960 14:30-16:23, IC 982 15:21-17:23, IC 984 16:21-18:23, IC 986 17:17-19:26, stops in Kirkkonummi, IC 968 18:30-20:23, IC 972 20:30-22:26,  stops in Kirkkonummi, starts 20:20 in harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) after ferry arrival, the last one.

From Helsinki to Turku:

   IC 941 5:17-7:39,  stops in Kirkkonummi, continue to harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) 7:48, IC 943 6:27-8:30,  stops in Kirkkonummi, IC 979 7:30-9:30, IC 945 8:37-10:30, S2 947 Pendolino 9:37-11:30, the same stops like ICs, IC 951 11:37-13:30, IC 955 13:37-15:30, IC 957 14:37-16:30, IC 989 15:32-17:26, S2 975 Pendolino 16:10-17:48 stops only Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) – Kupittaa - Turku Abo, IC 961 16:37-18:30, IC 963 17:37-19:30, continue to harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) 19:39,  IC 965 18:37-20:30, IC 977 20:37-22:30.

Turku – Tampere

   As you know, ferry from Sweden arrives to Turku. From Turku to Tampere goes three-number IC train with two floors. It takes 1 hour 42 minutes or similar time and it is only 4 stops. Trains goes once a two hours usually. Stops are ([Turku satama (Abo hamn)] - Turku Abo – Loimaa – Humppila – Toijala – Tampere (Tammerfors)).  Toijala is station between Helsinki and Tampere, where all three-number IC between Helsinki and Tampere stops and Commuter City R train between Helsinki and Tampere stops in  Toijala too. It is always the same three stops between Tampere and Turku Abo, and Toijala is station with plenty other trains.

From Turku to Tammpere:

   IC 905 7:00-8:42, IC 909 9:05-10:47, after 4 hours IC 917 13:05-14:47, IC 921 15:05-16:47, IC 923 16:05-17:47, IC 927 18:05-19:47, IC 931 20:05-21:47,  starts in harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) 19:45 after ferry arrival, IC 933 21:25-23:22. IC 933 is night train with beds and wagon for cars transporting, probably only with one floor, but idos.cz shows that IC 933 goes only from Turku to Tampere.

From Tampere to Turku:

   IC 904 5:56-7:50, It is night IC with beds and wagon for cars and if goes only from Tampere to Turku and IC 904 continue to harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) 8:09. IC 910 9:11-10:50, IC 916 12:11-13:55, IC 922 15:11-16:55, IC 924 16:11-17:50, continues to harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) 18:19, IC 928 18:11-19:55, continues to harbour Turku satama (Abo hamn) 20:09, IC 934 21:11-22:50.

Turku-Pori

   Pori is in Baltic coast, more north than Turku (the same level like Tampere). There is not train or train line directly between Turku to Pori. One possibility is train from Turku to Tampere and by another IC train from Tampere to Pori, but it is more stops and quite long. The same with journey from Pori to Turku.
   But there is quite big road E8 between Turku-Rauma-Pori and E8 continue by Baltic coast to Vaasa, Oulu, Kemi, Tornio (North Baltic point, SE-FI border). So it is possible to hitchhike between Turku and Pori. Probability of getting to bus for free is dubious. There is train line Tampere-Rauma too, but probably no trains goes today there.

Tampere-Pori

   Three-number IC trains goes there, usually once a 3 hours. These trains should have two floors, not so many passengers and empty toilets, especially in second floor. Conductor probably check just one time after Tampere or Pori and only rarely again during journey. There is big road between Tampere, Nokia, Pori too for hitchiking. train line is out of this road after Nokia. Stops are: (Tampere(Tammerfors) – Nokia – Karkku – Vammala – Kokemäki (Kumo) – Harjavalta – Pori (Björneborg)). Stops all always the same and train always starts and ends in Tampere-Pori, except morning IC 164 – it continue from Tampere to Helsinki. Journey between Pori and Tampere takes about 1.5 hour.

From Tampere to Pori:

   Ex 447 6:03-7:48, the same stops like ICs, maybe different train from ICs (only one floor ?), it  does not go at Saturday, IC 461 8:07-9:37, IC 465 12:15-13:47, IC 467 14:15-15:47, IC 469 16:15-17:47, IC 471 18:15-19:47, IC 473 20:07-21:37, IC 475 21:07-23:37.

From Pori to Tampere:

   IC 164 5:20-6:50 continue to Helsinki 8:52 with all IC stops, IC 462 6:15-7:45, IC 466 7:15-8:50, IC 464 10:10-11:40, Ex 478 12:05-13:51, the same stops like ICs, maybe different train from ICs (only one floor ?), IC 468 14:15-15:45, IC 470 16:15-17:47, IC 472 18:15-19:47.

Helsinki – Tampere.

   There are plenty of trains between Tampere and Helsinki. The commuter city trains goes with lot of people from Helsinki to Riihimäki, there is plenty of commuter trains without real checking. Conductors only sell tickets. First part of R-train (R at idos.cz, R at vr.fi or departure table) continues with not so many people from Riihimäki to Tampere (it is like another train from Riihimäki to Tampere). The R commuter train goes from Tampere to Riihimäki and Helsinki too, and stops in all stops between Tampere and Kerava (Kervo). There is more stops and plenty of city trains between Kerava (Kervo) and Helsinki. R commuter city train goes once a two hours between  Tampere and Riihimäki, but there are much more trains between  Riihimäki and Helsinki. R train has lot of stops and almost all stops are without waiting room, even stops with IC.

   Stops with R train (R at Helsinki map, R at idos.cz – all commuter trains are marked R at idos.cz ) are:  (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Kerava (Kervo) - Kyröla - Järvenpää - Saunakallio - Jokela - Hyvinkää (Hyvinge) – Riihimäki - Ryttylä - Turenki - Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) - Parola - Iittala - Toijala - Viiala - Lempäälä - Tampere (Tammerfors)).

   The IC trains with three numbers and two floors goes quite often, usually once a hour between Helsinki and Tampere. These IC trains can continue from-to more far north, like Jämsä, Jyväskylä, Pieksämäki or another place.

   Stops are: (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Riihimäki - Hämeenlinna/Tavastia - Toijala - [Lempäälä] - Tampere(Tammerfors) - Orivesi - Jämsä - Jyväskylä - Hankasalmi – Pieksämäki).

   Two-number IC can have one or two floors, the IC with one floor is almost the same like Pendolino (S2 at idos.cz). Two-number IC or Pendolinos goes between Tampere and Helsinki usually once a hour, sometimes once a two hours. Last stop in Helsinki is Tikkurila (still with plenty of city trains) and next stop is Tampere. The same situation is in direction from Tampere to Helsinki. These two-number IC and Pendolinos has not so many stops, because they continue from-to far north, like Jyväskylä, Vaasa, Oulu, or even more far north.
   Many three number ICs and some three number Pendolinos goes only from Helsinki to Tampere with all stops (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Riihimäki - Hämeenlinna/Tavastia - Toijala - [Lempäälä] – Tampere(Tammerfors)).

   Some two number ICs and three number Pendolinos goes to Jyväskylä and  Pieksämäki With less stops between Helsinki and Tampere: (Helsinki - Pasila (Böle) - Tikkurila - Tampere(Tammerfors) - Orivesi - Jämsä - Jyväskylä - Hankasalmi – Pieksämäki).

Helsinki – Tampere - Jyväskylä - Pieksämäki

   There are three-number Pendolinos and three-number ICs with two floor or some two-number ICs with less stops. There are some local trains from Tampere to  Hankasalmi and from  Hankasalmi to Jyväskylä too, but with more stops and it looks only one a day.

IC 81 (Helsinki 5:27, Pasila (Böle) 5:32-5:33, Tikkurila 5:42-5:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 6:56-7:09, Orivesi 7:33-7:34, Jämsä 8:14-8:15, Jyväskylä 8:45)

IC 141 (Helsinki 7:06, Pasila (Böle) 7:11-7:12, Tikkurila 7:21-7:22, Riihimäki 7:50-7:52, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 8:09-8:11, Toijala 8:30-8:31, Lempäälä 8:40-8:41, Tampere (Tammerfors) 8:52-9:05, Orivesi 9:29-9:30, Jämsä 10:04-10:05, Jyväskylä 10:35-10:39, Hankasalmi 11:03-11:04, Pieksämäki 11:25)

S2 143 (Helsinki 10:06, Pasila (Böle) 10:11-10:12, Tikkurila 10:21-10:22, Riihimäki 10:50-10:52, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 11:09-11:11, Toijala 11:30-11:31, Lempäälä 11:40-11:41, Tampere (Tammerfors) 11:52-12:05, Orivesi 12:29-12:30, Jämsä 13:04-13:05, Jyväskylä 13:35-13:39, Hankasalmi 14:03-14:04, Pieksämäki 14:25)

S2 145 (Helsinki 13:27, Pasila (Böle) 13:32-13:33, Tikkurila 13:42-13:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 14:56-15:05, Orivesi 15:29-15:30, Jämsä 16:09-16:10, Jyväskylä 16:40-16:44, Hankasalmi 17:08-17:09, Pieksämäki 17:30)

S2 45 (Helsinki 14:27, Pasila (Böle) 14:32-14:33, Tikkurila 14:42-14:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 15:56-16:09, Orivesi 16:33-16:34, Jämsä 17:15-17:16, Jyväskylä 17:46)

S2 87 (Tampere (Tammerfors) 16:09, Orivesi 16:33-16:34, Jämsä 17:15-17:16, Jyväskylä 17:46)

IC 151 (Helsinki 15:06, Pasila (Böle) 15:11-15:12, Tikkurila 15:21-15:22, Riihimäki 15:50-15:52, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 16:09-16:11, Toijala 16:30-16:31, Lempäälä 16:40-16:41, Tampere (Tammerfors) 16:52-17:05, Orivesi 17:29-17:30, Jämsä 18:04-18:05, Jyväskylä 18:35-18:38, Hankasalmi 19:02-19:04, Pieksämäki 19:25)

IC 147 (Helsinki 16:06, Pasila (Böle) 16:11-16:12, Tikkurila 16:21-16:22, Riihimäki 16:50-16:52, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 17:09-17:11, Toijala 17:30-17:31, Tampere (Tammerfors) 17:52-18:05, Orivesi 18:29-18:30, Jämsä 19:12-19:13, Jyväskylä 19:43)

S2 89 (Tampere (Tammerfors) 19:13, Orivesi 19:37-19:38, Jämsä 20:19-20:20, Jyväskylä 20:50)

IC 149 (Helsinki 19:06, Pasila (Böle) 19:11-19:12, Tikkurila 19:21-19:22, Riihimäki 19:50-19:52, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 20:09-20:11, Toijala 20:30-20:31, Lempäälä 20:40-20:41, Tampere (Tammerfors) 20:52-21:05, Jämsä 21:59-22:00, Jyväskylä 22:35)

Pieksämäki - Jyväskylä – Tampere - Helsinki

S2 80 (Jyväskylä 5:25, Jämsä 5:55-5:56, Tampere (Tammerfors) 6:50)

IC 150 (Jyväskylä 6:20, Jämsä 6:50-6:51, Orivesi 7:25-7:26, Tampere (Tammerfors) 7:50-8:07, Lempäälä 8:17-8:18, Toijala 8:27-8:28, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 8:47-8:49, Riihimäki 9:07-9:09, Tikkurila 9:37-9:38, Pasila (Böle) 9:46-9:47, Helsinki 9:52)

IC 140 (Pieksämäki 6:30, Hankasalmi 6:51-6:52, Jyväskylä 7:16-7:20, Jämsä 7:50-7:51, Orivesi 8:25-8:26, Tampere (Tammerfors) 8:50-9:07, Lempäälä 9:17-9:18, Toijala 9:27-9:28, Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 9:47-9:49, Riihimäki 10:07-10:09, Tikkurila 10:37-10:38, Pasila (Böle) 10:46-10:47, Helsinki 10:52)

IC 142 (Pieksämäki 9:23, Hankasalmi 9:44-9:45, Jyväskylä 10:09-10:13, Jämsä 10:50-10:51, Orivesi 11:25-11:26, Tampere (Tammerfors) 11:50-12:07, Lempäälä 12:17-12:18, Toijala 12:27-12:28, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 12:47-12:49, Riihimäki 13:07-13:09, Tikkurila 13:37-13:38, Pasila (Böle) 13:46-13:47, Helsinki 13:52)

IC 144 (Pieksämäki 12:23, Hankasalmi 12:44-12:45, Jyväskylä 13:09-13:13, Jämsä 13:50-13:51, Orivesi 14:25-14:26, Tampere (Tammerfors) 14:50-15:07, Lempäälä 15:17-15:18, Toijala 15:27-15:28, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 15:47-15:49, Riihimäki 16:07-16:09, Tikkurila 16:37-16:38, Pasila (Böle) 16:46-16:47, Helsinki 16:52)

IC 86 (Jyväskylä 15:15, Jämsä 15:45-15:46, Orivesi 16:25-16:26, Tampere (Tammerfors) 16:50-17:02, Tikkurila 18:18-18:19, Pasila (Böle) 18:27-18:28, Helsinki 18:33)

S2 146 (Pieksämäki 15:27, Hankasalmi 15:48-15:49, Jyväskylä 16:13-16:17, Jämsä 16:51-16:52, Orivesi 17:26-17:27, Tampere (Tammerfors) 17:50-18:07, Lempäälä 18:17-18:18, Toijala 18:27-18:28, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 18:47-18:49, Riihimäki 19:07-19:09, Tikkurila 19:37-19:38, Pasila (Böle) 19:46-19:47, Helsinki 19:52)

S2 88 (Jyväskylä 18:13, Jämsä 18:48-18:49, Tampere (Tammerfors) 19:44-20:02, Tikkurila 21:18-21:19, Pasila (Böle) 21:27-21:28, Helsinki 21:33)

S2 148 (Pieksämäki 18:18, Hankasalmi 18:39-18:40, Jyväskylä 19:09-19:20, Jämsä 19:55-19:56, Orivesi 20:30-20:31, Tampere (Tammerfors) 20:54-21:07, Lempäälä 21:17-21:18, Toijala 21:27-21:28, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 21:47-21:49, Riihimäki 22:07-22:09, Tikkurila 22:37-22:38, Pasila (Böle) 22:46-22:47, Helsinki 22:52)

Helsinki - Tampere - Seinäjoki - Vaasa

   There are two-number IC trains with two floors and not so many stops. Second floor is quite empty and conductor go often after big city, but he do not check toilet usually. But more often are on this journeys Pendolinos with two number and with not so many stops (Green S2 at idos.cz and Pendolino at wr.fi). Pendolino is fast train, but only with one floor. It means that more people go to toilet and you can not run around conductor in another floor to  area, where tickets was already checked. Two-floor IC trains run up to 200 kmh, Pendolinos are even faster. Seinäjoki is crossroad with train line to Vaasa and Oulu. Not so many trains per day goes directly Helsinki-Tampere-Vaasa, but there are buses or Pendolinos between Vaasa and Seinäjoki connected in  Seinäjoki with long journey train between Oulu abd Helsinki. It is just one stop by bus and two stops with Pendolino between  Vaasa and Seinäjoki. Buses belongs to vr.fi too, but it is dubious, if you can get inside this bus. PetterOB haven't tried yet.

S2 455 (3 hours after night train IC 273 - in Seinäjoki 3:01-3:04) (Seinäjoki 6:56, Tervajoki 7:28-7:29, Vaasa 7:49)

Bus 79941 (with IC 21 to Oulu) (Seinäjoki 9:15, Vaasa 10:35)

IC 41 (Helsinki 7:27, Pasila (Böle) 7:32-7:33, Tikkurila 7:42-7:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 8:56-9:00, Parkano 9:42-9:43, Seinäjoki 10:16-10:28, Tervajoki 10:54-10:55, Vaasa 11:15)

IC 43 (Helsinki 10:27, Pasila (Böle) 10:32-10:33, Tikkurila 10:42-10:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 11:56-12:00, Parkano 12:42-12:43, Seinäjoki 13:16-13:28, Tervajoki 13:54-13:55, Vaasa 14:15)

S2 45 (Helsinki 14:27, Pasila (Böle) 14:32-14:33, Tikkurila 14:42-14:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 15:56-16:00, Parkano 16:34-16:35, Seinäjoki 17:17-17:20, Tervajoki 17:46-17:47, Vaasa 18:07)

Bus 79945 (Conected with IC 27 to Oulu) (Seinäjoki 18:15, Vaasa 19:35)

S2 47 (Helsinki 16:27, Pasila (Böle) 16:32-16:33, Tikkurila 16:42-16:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 7:56-18:00, Parkano 18:41-18:42, Seinäjoki 19:16-19:20, Tervajoki 19:46-19:47, Vaasa 20:07)

S2 49 (Helsinki 17:27, Pasila (Böle) 17:32-17:33, Tikkurila 17:42-17:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 18:56-19:00, Seinäjoki 20:04-20:08, Tervajoki 20:34-20:35, Vaasa 20:55)

S2 457 (Connected with IC29 to Oulu) (Seinäjoki 21:12, Tervajoki 21:38-21:39, Vaasa 21:59)

Vaasa – Seinäjoki – Tampere - Helsinki

S2 40 (Vaasa 4:55, Tervajoki 5:15-5:16, Seinäjoki 5:42-5:45, Parkano 6:19-6:20, Tampere (Tammerfors) 6:54-7:02, Tikkurila 8:18-8:19, Pasila (Böle) 8:27-8:28, Helsinki 8:33)

S2 42 (Vaasa 5:54, Tervajoki 6:14-6:15, Seinäjoki 6:41-6:49, Parkano 7:23-7:24, Tampere (Tammerfors) 7:58-8:02, Tikkurila 9:18-9:19, Pasila (Böle) 9:27-9:28, Helsinki 9:33)

S2 44 (Vaasa 6:50, Tervajoki 7:10-7:11, Seinäjoki 7:37-7:39, Parkano 8:13-8:14, Tampere (Tammerfors) 8:55-9:02, Tikkurila 10:18-10:19, Pasila (Böle) 10:27-10:28, Helsinki 10:33)

Bus 79940 (Connected with IC 20 from Oulu to Helsinki) (Vaasa 7:20, Seinäjoki 8:40)

S2 46 (Vaasa 9:40, Tervajoki 10:00-10:01, Seinäjoki 10:27-10:37, Parkano 11:11-11:12, Tampere (Tammerfors) 11:55-12:02, Tikkurila 13:18-13:19, Pasila (Böle) 13:27-13:28, Helsinki 13:33)

IC 48 (Vaasa 12:40, Tervajoki 13:00-13:01, Seinäjoki 13:27-13:37, Parkano 14:11-14:12, Tampere (Tammerfors) 14:55-15:02, Tikkurila 16:18-16:19, Pasila (Böle) 16:27-16:28, Helsinki 16:33)

IC 50 (Vaasa 15:48, Tervajoki 16:08-16:09, Seinäjoki 16:35-16:38, Parkano 17:12-17:13, Tampere (Tammerfors) 17:55-18:02, Tikkurila 19:18-19:19, Pasila (Böle) 19:27-19:28, Helsinki 19:33)

Bus 79944 (Connected with IC26 from Oulu to Helsinki) (Vaasa 16:20, Seinäjoki 17:40)

S2 456 (Connected with S2 56 from Oulu to Helsinki) (Vaasa 18:30, Tervajoki 18:50-18:51, Seinäjoki 19:17)

Oulu – Kemi – Rovaniemi – [Kemijärvi]

   There are IC train usually once a three hours. Some IC trains goes just only Oulu-Rovaniemi and few IC trains goes from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. Rovaniemi is important crossroad for hitchhiking and Arctic Circle goes through north part of Rovaniemi. Kemi is important crossroad too. It is one stop and 58 min by IC train to Oulu and there is road to Sweden and to Norway – Tromso by FI-SE border. There is train line too krom Kemi to Kolari (small town and northest Finish train station), but trains going to Kolari are quite rare during Summer half-year, one train per day in one directtion goes Helsinki-Oulu-Kemi-Kolari.
   Stops between Oulu and  Rovaniemi are always the same in both directions, except night train IC 265 and IC 274 , that goes from-to Misi and Kemijärvi, theese trains des not stop Tervola and Muurola. Stops  between Oulu and  Rovaniemi are (Oulu (Uleaborg) – Kemi – Tervola – Muurola – Rovaniemi).

From Oulu to Rovaniemi, [Kemijärvi]

IC 265 Night train From Helsinki (Oulu (Uleaborg) 4:50 4:57, Kemi 6:03 6:07, Rovaniemi 7:28 7:40, Misi 8:16 8:17, Kemijärvi 8:45)

IC 273 Night train from Helsinki (Oulu (Uleaborg) 7:19 7:43, Kemi 8:47 8:51, Tervola 9:32 9:33, Muurola 10:19 10:20, Rovaniemi 10:40)

IC 711 from Kuopio (Oulu (Uleaborg) 12:24 12:27, Kemi 13:25 13:27, Tervola 13:54 13:55, Muurola 14:22 14:23, Rovaniemi 14:40),, IC 413 From Oulu (Oulu (Uleaborg) 15:03, Kemi 16:01 16:03, Tervola 16:31 16:32, Muurola 16:59 17:00, Rovaniemi 17:17)

IC 415 From Oulu (Oulu (Uleaborg) 18:30, Kemi 19:29 19:31, Tervola 19:58 19:59, Muurola 20:26 20:27, Rovaniemi 20:44)

IC 27 From Helsinki (Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:52 20:56, Kemi 21:56 22:08, Tervola 22:43 22:48, Muurola 23:15 23:16, Rovaniemi 23:34)

From Rovaniemi, [Kemijärvi] to Oulu

IC 22 to Helsinki (Rovaniemi 5:55, Muurola 6:11 6:12, Tervola 6:40 6:41, Kemi 7:08 7:11, Oulu (Uleaborg) 8:15 8:33)

IC 414 to Oulu (Rovaniemi 9:27, Muurola 9:43 9:46, Tervola 10:13 10:14, Kemi 10:42 10:45, Oulu (Uleaborg) 11:50)

IC 416 to Oulu (Rovaniemi 12:09, Muurola 12:25 12:26, Tervola 12:53 12:54, Kemi 13:22 13:25, Oulu (Uleaborg) 14:23)

IC 710 to Kuopio (Rovaniemi 15:18, Muurola 15:34 15:35, Tervola 16:02 16:03, Kemi 16:37 16:40, Oulu (Uleaborg) 17:37 17:42)

IC 266 Night train to Helsinki (Rovaniemi 18:03, Muurola 18:21 18:22, Tervola 18:54 18:55, Kemi 19:25 19:30, Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:55 21:23)

IC 274 Night train to Helsinki (Kemijärvi 19:45, Misi 20:11 20:12, Rovaniemi 20:50 21:15, Kemi 22:30 22:33, Oulu (Uleaborg) 23:36 23:42)

Helsinki – Tampere – Seinäjoki – Oulu - (Rovaniemi)

This is main train line with most of long-joirney IC and Pendolino trains with two numbers. There are two ways between Helsinki and Oulu. First is through Tampere and Seinäjoki. The IC and Pendolino trains runs this journey usually once a 2-3 hours. The number of stops is various, some ICs or Pendolinos has more stops and some are with less stops. Seinäjoki is the station, when train line splits to Vaasa and Oulu. There are pendolinos and busses between Seinäjoki and Vaasa, which are connected with trains between Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu. And some two-numbers ICs ans Pendolinos goes to Vaasa. You can get first to Seinäjoki by any train and choose direction to Vaasa or Oulu after (better tactic against be kicked out). All IC and Pelnolinos has two numbers and do not stop between Tikkurila and Tampere. IC trains between Helsinki and Vaasa are with two floors and some ICs between Helsinki and Oulu are with two floors and some only with one floor. For example IC 27 has only one floor and it can go probably faster than 200 kmh. IC 27 goes quite fast from Helsinki to Rovaniemi with not so many stops.

   There are two night IC with pretty long journey in both directions. Stops close to begin and end are more often, but there are not so many stops between Tampere and Oulu. Night ICs: IC 273 (Helsinki 21:52 - Rovaniemi 10:40), IC 265 (Helsinki 18:52 - Kemijärvi 8:45), IC 266 (Rovaniemi 18:53 – Helsinki 7:06), IC 274 (Kemijärvi 19:45 – Helsinki 9:00), IC 933 (Turku 21:25 – Tampere 23:22), IC 904 (Tampere 5:56 – Turku 7:50). Night IC 933 and 904 are probably connected with long-journey night trains.

   Between Oulu and Rovaniemi some IC trains (during night and day) are only Oulu-Rovaniemi, but some goes from - To Helsinki or Kupio. There are some Express trains on this line between Helsinki and Kolari (Night trains), but theese trains goes only few times per year probably.

From Helsinki to Oulu:

IC 21 (Helsinki 6:27, Pasila (Böle) 6:32-6:33, Tikkurila 6:42-6:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 7:56-8:00, Seinäjoki 9:04-9:08, Lapua 9:20-9:21, Kauhava 9:29-9:30, Pännäien (Bennäs) 9:58-9:59, Kokkola (Karleby) 10:15-10:17, Kannus 10:38-10:39, Ylivieska 11:04-11:06, Oulainen 11:21-11:22, Vihanti 11:35-11:36, Ruukki 11:46-11:47, Kempele 12:07-12:08, Oulu (Uleaborg) 12:18)

IC 23 (Helsinki 9:27, Pasila (Böle) 9:32-9:33, Tikkurila 9:42-9:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 10:56-11:00, Seinäjoki 12:04-12:08, Kokkola (Karleby) 13:03-13:05, Ylivieska 13:49-13:51, Oulu (Uleaborg) 14:55),

IC 25 (Helsinki 12:27, Pasila (Böle) 12:32-12:33, Tikkurila 12:42-12:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 13:56-14:00, Seinäjoki 15:04-15:08, Lapua 15:20-15:21, Kauhava 15:29-15:30, Pännäien (Bennäs) 15:58-15:59, Kokkola (Karleby) 16:15-16:17, Kannus 16:38-16:39, Ylivieska 17:03-17:05, Oulainen 17:20-17:21, Vihanti 17:34-17:37, Ruukki 17:47-17:48, Kempele 18:09-18:12, Oulu (Uleaborg) 18:22),

IC 27 (Helsinki 15:27, Pasila (Böle) 15:32-15:33, Tikkurila 15:42-15:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 16:56-17:00, Seinäjoki 18:04-18:08, Kokkola (Karleby) 19:03-19:05, Ylivieska 19:49-19:51, Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:52-20:56, Kemi 21:56-22:08, Tervola 22:43-22:48, Muurola 23:15-23:16, Rovaniemi 23:34)

IC 29 (Helsinki 18:27, Pasila (Böle) 18:32-18:33, Tikkurila 18:42-18:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 19:56-20:00, Seinäjoki 21:04-21:08, Pännäien (Bennäs) 21:49-21:52, Kokkola (Karleby) 22:08-22:10, Ylivieska 22:55-22:57, Oulu (Uleaborg) 0:10)

IC 265 Night train (Helsinki 18:52, Pasila (Böle) 18:57-19:00, Tikkurila 19:41-19:44, Riihimäki 20:19-20:22, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 20:46-20:48, Tampere (Tammerfors) 21:38-22:11, Parkano 23:00-23:03, Seinäjoki 0:08-0:11, Kokkola (Karleby) 1:48-1:51, Ylivieska 2:47-2:50, Oulu (Uleaborg) 4:50-4:57, Kemi 6:03-6:07, Rovaniemi 7:28-7:40, Misi 8:16-8:17, Kemijärvi 8:45)

S2 53 (Connected with night IC 265 in Seinäjoki) (Helsinki 20:27, Pasila (Böle) 20:32-20:33, Tikkurila 20:42-20:43, Tampere (Tammerfors) 21:56-22:00, Parkano 22:33-22:34, Seinäjoki 23:08-23:10, Tervajoki 23:36-23:37, Vaasa 23:57)

IC 273 Night train (Helsinki 21:52, Pasila (Böle) 21:57 22:00, Tikkurila 22:41 22:44, Riihimäki 23:19 23:22, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 23:46 23:48, Tampere (Tammerfors) 0:40 1:15, Parkano 2:09 2:11, Seinäjoki 3:01 3:04, Lapua 3:20 3:21, Kauhava 3:31 3:32, Pännäien (Bennäs) 4:17 4:19, Kokkola (Karleby) 4:40 4:43, Kannus 5:06 5:07, Ylivieska 5:35 5:38, Oulainen 5:58 6:01, Vihanti 6:18 6:20, Ruukki 6:34 6:36, Kempele 7:06 7:08, Oulu (Uleaborg) 7:19 7:43, Kemi 8:47 8:51, Tervola 9:32 9:33, Muurola 10:19 10:20, Rovaniemi 10:40)

From Oulu to Helsinki

IC 20 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 5:29, Ylivieska 6:46 6:50, Kokkola (Karleby) 7:41 7:50, Pännäien (Bennäs) 8:06 8:07, Seinäjoki 8:48 8:53, Tampere (Tammerfors) 9:58 10:02, Tikkurila 11:18 11:19, Pasila (Böle) 11:27 11:28, Helsinki 11:33)

IC 22 (Rovaniemi 5:55, Muurola 6:11 6:12, Tervola 6:40 6:41, Kemi 7:08 7:11, Oulu (Uleaborg) 8:15 8:33, Kempele 8:41 8:42, Ruukki 9:03 9:04, Vihanti 9:14 9:17, Oulainen 9:31 9:34, Ylivieska 9:50 9:52, Kannus 10:16 10:17, Kokkola (Karleby) 10:40 10:42, Pännäien (Bennäs) 10:58 10:59, Kauhava 11:27 11:28, Lapua 11:36 11:37, Seinäjoki 11:49 11:53, Tampere (Tammerfors) 12:58 13:02, Tikkurila 14:18 14:19, Pasila (Böle) 14:27 14:28, Helsinki 14:33)

IC 24 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 11:55, Ylivieska 13:05 13:07, Kokkola (Karleby) 13:51 13:53, Seinäjoki 14:50 14:53, Tampere (Tammerfors) 15:58 16:02, Tikkurila 17:18 17:19, Pasila (Böle) 17:27 17:28, Helsinki 17:33)

IC 26 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 14:34, Kempele 14:42 14:46, Ruukki 15:07 15:08, Vihanti 15:19 15:20, Oulainen 15:33 15:34, Ylivieska 15:50 15:52, Kannus 16:16 16:17, Kokkola (Karleby) 16:40 16:42, Pännäien (Bennäs) 16:58 16:59, Kauhava 17:27 17:28, Lapua 17:36 17:37, Seinäjoki 17:49 17:53, Tampere (Tammerfors) 18:58 19:02, Tikkurila 20:18 20:19, Pasila (Böle) 20:27 20:28, Helsinki 20:33),,

IC 28 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 18:04, Ylivieska 19:05 19:07, Kokkola (Karleby) 19:51 19:53, Seinäjoki 20:48 20:53, Tampere (Tammerfors) 21:58 22:02, Tikkurila 23:18 23:19, Pasila (Böle) 23:27 23:28, Helsinki 23:33),,

IC 266 Night train (Rovaniemi 18:03, Muurola 18:21 18:22, Tervola 18:54 18:55, Kemi 19:25 19:30, Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:55 21:23, Kempele 21:33 21:34, Ruukki 21:56 21:59, Vihanti 22:19 22:21, Oulainen 22:44 22:47, Ylivieska 23:14 23:18, Kannus 23:46 23:48, Kokkola (Karleby) 0:15 0:18, Pännäien (Bennäs) 0:39 0:42, Kauhava 1:22 1:23, Lapua 1:33 1:34, Seinäjoki 1:50 1:55, Parkano 3:03 3:06, Tampere (Tammerfors) 3:55 4:30, Toijala 4:55 4:57, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 5:22 5:24, Riihimäki 5:46 5:48, Tikkurila 6:25 6:27, Pasila (Böle) 6:58 7:00, Helsinki 7:06)

IC 274 Night train (Kemijärvi 19:45, Misi 20:11 20:12, Rovaniemi 20:50 21:15, Kemi 22:30 22:33, Oulu (Uleaborg) 23:36 23:42, Ylivieska 1:12 1:15, Kokkola (Karleby) 2:04 2:07, Seinäjoki 3:58 4:02, Tampere (Tammerfors) 5:46 6:12, Toijala 6:38 6:40, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 7:07 7:09, Riihimäki 7:33 7:36, Pasila (Böle) 8:52 8:54, Helsinki 9:00)

Helsinki – Lahti – Kouvola - (Joensuu) – Kuopio – Oulu - (Rovaniemi)

The second journey between Helsinki and Oulu is not through Tampere and Seinäjoki, but through Lahti (Lahtis ), Kouvola and Kuopio. But this journey is not so good, because there is more stops and less trains. Two number ICs and Pendolinos goes whole journey Helsinki - Lahti (Lahtis ) - Kouvola - Kuopio – Oulu, but with pretty many stops. Some three-number ICs goes only between Kuopio, Oulu (Rovaniemi) with quite lot of stops.

   Some two-number ICs or Pendolinos goes only Helsinki - Lahti (Lahtis ) - Kouvola – Kuopio. Trains between Helsinki and Kuopio (some trains continues from-to Oulu) goes once a 1-3 hour. But it is pretty many stops.

There are one(two) number ICs and Pendolinos between Helsinki and Joensuu (Numbers range 1-12). Trains with number 1,3,5,7,9,11 go from Helsinki to Joensuu and trains with number 2,4,6,8,10,12 from Joensuu to Helsinki. It is strange, why is only one-number there. Maybe trains are faster there or Joensuu is close to Russia or something else. One-Number trains are with fewests stops, just only Tikkurila-Lahti-Kouvola, Kouvola is place, where ICs and Pendolinos goes 5 more stops to Kuopio.Some trains goes between Helsinki and Kajaani (Kajana), but not so many trains. Theese trains goes through Kuopio too. Some ICs or Pendolinos can go between Imatra and Helsinki. These trains stops in Kouvola too.

From Helsinki to Oulu

IC 65 (Helsinki 11:17, Pasila (Böle) 11:22-11:23, Tikkurila 11:32-11:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 12:11-12:13, Kouvola 12:42-12:55, Mäntyharju 13:32-13:33, Mikkeli 13:56-13:59, Pieksämäki 14:35-14:38, Suonenjoki 15:00-15:01, Kuopio 15:28-15:43, Siilinjärvi 16:01-16:02, Lapinlahti 16:23-16:26, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 16:41-16:43, Sukeva 17:05-17:06, Kajaani (Kajana) 17:31-17:48, Kontiomäki 18:04-18:06, Paltamo 18:18-18:19, Vaala 18:52-18:53, Utajärvi 19:12-19:13, Muhos 19:29-19:38, Oulu (Uleaborg) 20:10),

S2 67 (Helsinki 14:17, Pasila (Böle) 14:22-14:23, Tikkurila 14:32-14:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 15:06-15:08, Kouvola 15:35-15:48, Mäntyharju 16:26-16:29, Mikkeli 16:52-16:55, Pieksämäki 17:32-17:38, Suonenjoki 17:59-18:00, Kuopio 18:32-18:38, Siilinjärvi 18:56-18:57, Lapinlahti 19:18-19:19, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 19:34-19:37, Sukeva 19:59-20:00, Kajaani (Kajana) 20:32-21:15, Kontiomäki 21:31-21:33, Paltamo 21:46-21:49, Vaala 22:20-22:21, Utajärvi 22:40-22:41, Muhos 22:56-22:59, Oulu (Uleaborg) 23:30)

From Oulu to Helsinki

S2 66 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 6:55, Muhos 7:22 7:25, Utajärvi 7:42 7:43, Vaala 8:04 8:05, Paltamo 8:38 8:39, Kontiomäki 8:51 8:53, Kajaani (Kajana) 9:09 9:23, Sukeva 9:50 9:51, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 10:14 10:17, Lapinlahti 10:32 10:33, Siilinjärvi 10:56 10:57, Kuopio 11:15 11:23, Suonenjoki 11:50 11:53, Pieksämäki 12:16 12:26, Mikkeli 13:03 13:06, Mäntyharju 13:29 13:32, Kouvola 14:09 14:20, Lahti (Lahtis) 14:47 14:49, Tikkurila 15:23 15:24, Pasila (Böle) 15:32 15:33, Helsinki 15:39)

IC 70 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 12:46, Muhos 13:16 13:17, Utajärvi 13:34 13:35, Vaala 13:54 13:55, Paltamo 14:33 14:34, Kontiomäki 14:46 14:58, Kajaani (Kajana) 15:14 15:17, Sukeva 15:42 15:45, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 16:08 16:11, Lapinlahti 16:26 16:27, Siilinjärvi 16:48 16:49, Kuopio 17:08 17:12, Suonenjoki 17:40 17:41, Pieksämäki 18:10 18:14, Mikkeli 18:51 18:54, Mäntyharju 19:17 19:18, Kouvola 19:56 20:16, Lahti (Lahtis) 20:46 20:48, Tikkurila 21:26 21:27, Pasila (Böle) 21:35 21:36, Helsinki 21:42),

ICs between Oulu (Rovaniemi) and Kuopio only

IC 711 (Kuopio 7:53, Siilinjärvi 8:17 8:18, Lapinlahti 8:39 8:40, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 8:55 8:57, Sukeva 9:19 9:20, Kajaani (Kajana) 9:50 9:57, Kontiomäki 10:13 10:15, Paltamo 10:27 10:28, Vaala 11:01 11:08, Utajärvi 11:29 11:33, Muhos 11:48 11:51, Oulu (Uleaborg) 12:24 12:27, Kemi 13:25 13:27, Tervola 13:54 13:55, Muurola 14:22 14:23, Rovaniemi 14:40)

IC 713 (Kuopio 12:45, Siilinjärvi 13:03 13:04, Lapinlahti 13:26 13:27, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 13:42 13:44, Sukeva 14:06 14:07, Kajaani (Kajana) 14:32 14:34, Kontiomäki 14:50 14:52, Paltamo 15:04 15:05, Vaala 15:36 15:37, Utajärvi 15:56 15:57, Muhos 16:11 16:12, Oulu (Uleaborg) 16:51)

IC 716 (Oulu (Uleaborg) 10:00, Muhos 10:30 10:31, Utajärvi 10:48 10:49, Vaala 11:08 11:09, Paltamo 11:45 11:46, Kontiomäki 11:58 11:59, Kajaani (Kajana) 12:15 12:17, Sukeva 12:42 12:43, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 13:06 13:08, Lapinlahti 13:23 13:26, Siilinjärvi 13:47 13:48, Kuopio 14:07)

IC 710 (Rovaniemi 15:18, Muurola 15:34 15:35, Tervola 16:02 16:03, Kemi 16:37 16:40, Oulu (Uleaborg) 17:37 17:42, Muhos 18:07 18:10, Utajärvi 18:25 18:28, Vaala 18:47 18:52, Paltamo 19:29 19:30, Kontiomäki 19:42 19:44, Kajaani (Kajana) 20:00 20:06, Sukeva 20:31 20:32, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 20:55 20:57, Lapinlahti 21:12 21:13, Siilinjärvi 21:34 21:35, Kuopio 21:53)

From Helsinki to Kuopio

IC 63 (Helsinki 8:17, Pasila (Böle) 8:22 8:23, Tikkurila 8:32 8:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 9:06 9:08, Kouvola 9:35 9:45, Mäntyharju 10:22 10:25, Mikkeli 10:48 10:51, Pieksämäki 11:28 11:31, Suonenjoki 11:53 11:54, Kuopio 12:20)

IC 65 to Oulu (Helsinki 11:17, Pasila (Böle) 11:22 11:23, Tikkurila 11:32 11:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 12:11 12:13, Kouvola 12:42 12:55, Mäntyharju 13:32 13:33, Mikkeli 13:56 13:59, Pieksämäki 14:35 14:38, Suonenjoki 15:00 15:01, Kuopio 15:28 15:43)

S2 67 to Oulu (Helsinki 14:17, Pasila (Böle) 14:22 14:23, Tikkurila 14:32 14:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 15:06 15:08, Kouvola 15:35 15:48, Mäntyharju 16:26 16:29, Mikkeli 16:52 16:55, Pieksämäki 17:32 17:38, Suonenjoki 17:59 18:00, Kuopio 18:32 18:38)

IC 7 to Joensuu (Change train in Kouvola) (Helsinki 15:17, Pasila (Böle) 15:22 15:23, Tikkurila 15:32 15:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 16:06 16:08, Kouvola 16:35 16:37, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 17:15 17:17, Imatra 17:37 17:40, Joensuu 19:23)

Ex 701 (Connected with IC 7) (Kouvola 16:49, Mäntyharju 17:26 17:27, Mikkeli 17:50 17:52, Pieksämäki 18:34 18:37, Suonenjoki 18:59 19:00, Kuopio 19:27)

S2 9 (Helsinki 16:17, Pasila (Böle) 16:22 16:23, Tikkurila 16:32 16:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 17:06 17:08, Kouvola 17:35 17:47, Mäntyharju 18:24 18:25, Mikkeli 18:48 18:51, Pieksämäki 19:28 19:32, Suonenjoki 19:54 19:55, Kuopio 20:23 20:27, Siilinjärvi 20:44 20:45, Lapinlahti 21:06 21:12, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 21:28 21:31, Sukeva 21:53 21:54, Kajaani (Kajana) 22:20)

IC 73 (Helsinki 19:17, Pasila (Böle) 19:22 19:26, Tikkurila 19:34 19:35, Lahti (Lahtis) 20:07 20:09, Kouvola 20:36 20:47, Mäntyharju 21:24 21:25, Mikkeli 21:48 21:50, Pieksämäki 22:27 22:29, Suonenjoki 22:53 22:54, Kuopio 23:21)

From Kuopio to Helsinki

Ex 700 (Connected with IC 104) (Kuopio 4:40, Suonenjoki 5:07 5:08, Pieksämäki 5:30 5:33, Mikkeli 6:10 6:13, Mäntyharju 6:36 6:37, Kouvola 7:15),

IC 104 (Imatra 6:15, Joutseno 6:26 6:27, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 6:39 6:42, Kouvola 7:20 7:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 7:50 7:52, Tikkurila 8:26 8:27, Pasila (Böle) 8:35 8:36, Helsinki 8:42)

IC 62 (Kuopio 5:35, Suonenjoki 6:02 6:03, Pieksämäki 6:25 6:29, Mikkeli 7:06 7:09, Mäntyharju 7:32 7:33, Kouvola 8:11 8:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 8:50 8:52, Tikkurila 9:26 9:27, Pasila (Böle) 9:35 9:36, Helsinki 9:42)

S2 64 (Kajaani (Kajana) 6:33, Sukeva 6:58 6:59, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 7:22 7:25, Lapinlahti 7:40 7:41, Siilinjärvi 8:02 8:03, Kuopio 8:21 8:26, Suonenjoki 8:53 8:54, Pieksämäki 9:16 9:22, Mikkeli 9:59 10:02, Mäntyharju 10:25 10:27, Kouvola 11:06 11:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 11:50 11:52, Tikkurila 12:26 12:27, Pasila (Böle) 12:35 12:36, Helsinki 12:42)

S2 66 from Oulu (Kuopio 11:15 11:23, Suonenjoki 11:50 11:53, Pieksämäki 12:16 12:26, Mikkeli 13:03 13:06, Mäntyharju 13:29 13:32, Kouvola 14:09 14:20, Lahti (Lahtis) 14:47 14:49, Tikkurila 15:23 15:24, Pasila (Böle) 15:32 15:33, Helsinki 15:39)

IC 68 (Kuopio 14:30, Suonenjoki 14:57 15:00, Pieksämäki 15:22 15:26, Mikkeli 16:03 16:06, Mäntyharju 16:29 16:30, Kouvola 17:12 17:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 17:50 17:52, Tikkurila 18:26 18:27, Pasila (Böle) 18:35 18:36, Helsinki 18:42)

IC 70 from Oulu (Kuopio 17:08 17:12, Suonenjoki 17:40 17:41, Pieksämäki 18:10 18:14, Mikkeli 18:51 18:54, Mäntyharju 19:17 19:18, Kouvola 19:56 20:16, Lahti (Lahtis) 20:46 20:48, Tikkurila 21:26 21:27, Pasila (Böle) 21:35 21:36, Helsinki 21:42)

From Helsinki to Joensuu

IC 1 (Helsinki 7:23, Pasila (Böle) 7:28 7:29, Tikkurila 7:37 7:38, Lahti (Lahtis) 8:10 8:12, Kouvola 8:39 8:41, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 9:19 9:21, Joutseno 9:33 9:34, Imatra 9:45 9:47, Simpele 10:13 10:14, Parikkala 10:26 10:29, Kesälahti 10:50 10:51, Kitee 11:08 11:09, Joensuu 11:40)

IC 3 (Helsinki 10:17, Pasila (Böle) 10:22 10:23, Tikkurila 10:32 10:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 11:06 11:08, Kouvola 11:35 11:37, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 12:15 12:19, Joutseno 12:31 12:32, Imatra 12:43 12:46, Simpele 13:12 13:13, Parikkala 13:26 13:29, Kesälahti 13:50 13:51, Kitee 14:08 14:09, Joensuu 14:40)

R 723 (Connected with IC 63 Helsinki - Kuopio) (Pieksämäki 11:42, Varkaus 12:17 12:19, Heinävesi 12:50 12:51, Vihtari 13:06 13:07, Viinijärvi 13:30 13:31, Joensuu 13:53)

IC 5 (Helsinki 13:17, Pasila (Böle) 13:22 13:23, Tikkurila 13:32 13:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 14:06 14:08, Kouvola 14:35 14:37, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 15:15 15:19, Joutseno 15:31 15:32, Imatra 15:43 15:46, Simpele 16:12 16:13, Parikkala 16:26 16:29, Kesälahti 16:50 16:51, Kitee 17:08 17:09, Joensuu 17:40)

IC 7 (Helsinki 15:17, Pasila (Böle) 15:22 15:23, Tikkurila 15:32 15:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 16:06 16:08, Kouvola 16:35 16:37, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 17:15 17:17, Imatra 17:37 17:40, Joensuu 19:23)

S2 9 (Helsinki 16:17, Pasila (Böle) 16:22 16:23, Tikkurila 16:32 16:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 17:06 17:08, Kouvola 17:35 17:39, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 18:17 18:20, Joutseno 18:32 18:33, Imatra 18:44 18:46, Simpele 19:12 19:13, Parikkala 19:26 19:31, Kesälahti 19:52 19:53, Kitee 20:10 20:11, Joensuu 20:42)

IC 11 (Helsinki 18:17, Pasila (Böle) 18:22 18:23, Tikkurila 18:32 18:33, Lahti (Lahtis) 19:06 19:08, Kouvola 19:35 19:37, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 20:15 20:17, Joutseno 20:29 20:30, Imatra 20:41 20:43, Simpele 21:09 21:10, Parikkala 21:23 21:25, Kesälahti 21:46 21:47, Kitee 22:04 22:05, Joensuu 22:36)

From Joensuu to Helsinki

S2 2 (Joensuu 5:18, Kitee 5:50 5:51, Parikkala 6:27 6:28, Imatra 7:03 7:05, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 7:26 7:28, Kouvola 8:06 8:08, Lahti (Lahtis) 8:35 8:37, Tikkurila 9:11 9:12, Pasila (Böle) 9:20 9:21, Helsinki 9:27)

IC 4 (Joensuu 6:17, Kitee 6:49 6:50, Kesälahti 7:07 7:08, Parikkala 7:29 7:31, Simpele 7:43 7:44, Imatra 8:10 8:12, Joutseno 8:23 8:24, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 8:36 8:40, Kouvola 9:18 9:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 9:50 9:52, Tikkurila 10:26 10:27, Pasila (Böle) 10:35 10:36, Helsinki 10:42)

R 720 (Connected to S2 64 from Kajaani (Kajana) and Kuopio to Helsinki) (Joensuu 7:00, Viinijärvi 7:22 7:23, Vihtari 7:46 7:47, Heinävesi 8:02 8:03, Varkaus 8:34 8:37, Pieksämäki 9:12)

S2 64 (Kajaani (Kajana) 6:33, Sukeva 6:58 6:59, Idensalmi (Iisalmi) 7:22 7:25, Lapinlahti 7:40 7:41, Siilinjärvi 8:02 8:03, Kuopio 8:21 8:26, Suonenjoki 8:53 8:54, Pieksämäki 9:16 9:22, Mikkeli 9:59 10:02, Mäntyharju 10:25 10:27, Kouvola 11:06 11:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 11:50 11:52, Tikkurila 12:26 12:27, Pasila (Böle) 12:35 12:36, Helsinki 12:42),,

IC 6 (Joensuu 9:17, Kitee 9:49 9:50, Kesälahti 10:07 10:08, Parikkala 10:29 10:31, Simpele 10:43 10:44, Imatra 11:10 11:12, Joutseno 11:23 11:24, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 11:36 11:40, Kouvola 12:18 12:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 12:50 12:52, Tikkurila 13:26 13:27, Pasila (Böle) 13:35 13:36, Helsinki 13:42)

IC 8 (Joensuu 12:17, Kitee 12:49 12:50, Kesälahti 13:07 13:08, Parikkala 13:29 13:31, Simpele 13:43 13:44, Imatra 14:10 14:12, Joutseno 14:23 14:24, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 14:36 14:40, Kouvola 15:18 15:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 15:50 15:52, Tikkurila 16:26 16:27, Pasila (Böle) 16:35 16:36, Helsinki 16:42)

IC 10 (Joensuu 15:17, Kitee 15:49 15:50, Kesälahti 16:07 16:08, Parikkala 16:29 16:31, Simpele 16:43 16:44, Imatra 17:10 17:12, Joutseno 17:23 17:28, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 17:40 17:42, Kouvola 18:20 18:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 18:50 18:52, Tikkurila 19:26 19:27, Pasila (Böle) 19:35 19:36, Helsinki 19:42)

R 724 (Connected with IC 70 from Oulu and Kuopio to Helsinki) (Joensuu 15:50, Viinijärvi 16:12 16:13, Vihtari 16:36 16:37, Heinävesi 16:52 16:53, Varkaus 17:24 17:27, Pieksämäki 18:02)

IC 70 (Pieksämäki 18:10 18:14, Mikkeli 18:51 18:54, Mäntyharju 19:17 19:18, Kouvola 19:56 20:16, Lahti (Lahtis) 20:46 20:48, Tikkurila 21:26 21:27, Pasila (Böle) 21:35 21:36, Helsinki 21:42)

IC 12 (Joensuu 18:17, Kitee 18:49 18:52, Kesälahti 19:09 19:10, Parikkala 19:31 19:33, Simpele 19:45 19:46, Imatra 20:12 20:14, Joutseno 20:25 20:29, Lappeenranta (Vilman.) 20:41 20:43, Kouvola 21:21 21:23, Lahti (Lahtis) 21:50 21:52, Tikkurila 22:26 22:27, Pasila (Böle) 22:35 22:36, Helsinki 22:42)

Helsinki-Lahti-Kouvola

   There is usually once a 1-2 hours Pendolino or IC train with two (or only one or three) numbers, IC or Pendolino does not stop between Tikkurila and Lahti (in area with a lot of city trains). It is only around 33 minutes from Tikkurila to Lahti. Trains with number 1 to 12 are best for going further, they go from-to Joensuu. With all two-number or one-number IC or Pendolino - next stop after Lahti (Lahtis) is already Kouvola, where train line splits to Kuopio and Joensuu. It is only around 27 minutes between Kouvola and Lahti. Some ICs or Pendolinos can go between Imatra and Helsinki (two or three numbers IC or Pendolino). These trains stops just in  Tikkurila, Lahti and Kouvola too.

   There is around every 30-60 min commuter city train between Helsinki and Lahti. This train is without regular checking, sometimes, they check tickets, but next top is not so far and you have enough time to get off usually. Trains are like blue R – regional at idos.cz, but the letter on Helsinki map and departure board will be another It takes just 61 minutes from Helsinki to Lahti, this train does not stop so much in every stop. Stops are Helsinki – Pasila (Böle) – Tikkurila – Kerava (Kervo) – Haarajoki – Mäntsälä – Lahti (Lahtis). Kerava (Kervo) is still with plenty of commuter trains and the train line splits there to Tampere and Lahti.

   There are international trains from Helsinki to St. Pettersburg in Russsia too (red INT or green AE at idos.cz). These train stops in Lahti and Kouvola too. But as you know, the international train from-to Russia has very hard border checking and you need visa. Hard checking can be any time in this train. This train even does not stop in Pasila (Böle). International trains are expensive and ticket checking might be hard.

Helsinki – St. Petersburg – (Moscow)

   There is international train (with reservation obligatory) between Helsinki (Finland) and St. Petersburg (Russia). It is Allegro fast train with one floor, it looks like Pendolino (green AE or red INT at idos.cz). This train even does not stop at Pasila (Böle). This train belongs to Finish Company vr.fi too. There are 4 trains per day in both directions St. Petersburk – Helsinki. Journey takes 3:27 hours. From Helsinki to St. Petersburg all stations in Finland are for boarding only and all stations in Russia are only for getting off. From St. Petersburg to Helsinki all stations in Russia are for boarding only and all stations in Russia are only for getting off. Trains are at idos.cz like green AE and at least first train from Helsinki AE 782 is marked too like red INT 782 with all stations for boarding and getting off. Vainikkala is the small village on border, there is border crossing FI-RU.

   And of course, there is quite hard checking by border or it can be any time during journey. Not ticket checking, but passports and Visa checking, or if you smuggle something. And ticket checking can be hard too. You need visa to Russia and you have to know, where you go before. Visa can cost Eur 50-100 and it tan be difficult with offices to get visa. There are four Allegro trains per day in one direction.

    Stops are always the same: (Helsinki FI, Tikkurila FI, Lahti (Lahtis) FI, Kouvola FI, Vainikkala FI-RU border crossing, Viipuri (Vyborg) RU, St Petersburg Finlya RU).

One of four trains per day:

   From Helsinki to St. Petersburg - INT 782 RED/AE 782 GREEN (Helsinki 7:20 - St Petersburg Finlya 10:47), INT 784 RED/AE 784 GREEN (Helsinki 11:00 - St Petersburg Finlya 14:27), INT 786 RED/AE 786 GREEN (Helsinki 16:00 - St Petersburg Finlya 19:27), INT 788 RED/AE 788 GREEN (Helsinki 20:00 - St Petersburg Finlya 23:27).

   From St. Pettersburg to Helsinki -  INT 781 RED/AE 781 GREEN (St Petersburg Finlya 6:40 – Helsinki 10:07), INT 783 RED/AE 783 GREEN (St Petersburg Finlya 11:30 – Helsinki 14:57), INT 785 RED/AE 785 GREEN (St Petersburg Finlya 15:30 – Helsinki 18:57), INT 787 RED/AE 787 GREEN (St Petersburg Finlya 20:30 – Helsinki 23:57).

   There is once a day in one direction night train (green NZ at idos.cz)between Helsinki and Moscow. These trains are with beds and maybe with seats too. These trains does not stops so much between St. Petersburg and Moscow (only one stationTver'). But of course, you need this visa and checking visa, passports or if you smuggle something, it is probably hard. And ticket checking can be hard too. These trains are by Russian train company. Vainikkala is the small village on border, there is border crossing FI-RU. Night trains (NZ 30 and NZ 31) stops at another St. Petersburg platform St Petersburg Ladogskii, but trains INT-AE during day  start-end at St Petersburg Finlya.

Trains NZ 31 and NZ 32 between Helsinki and Moscow belongs Russian train company RŽD; Novaya Basmannaya 2, 107174 Moscow, Russia. Journey takes 14:32 hours from Helsinki to Moscow and 14:27 hours from Moscow to Helsinki. NZ 31 and NZ 32 stops at Pasila (Böle) and Tikkurila.

NZ 31 Night Train (Helsinki 18:47, Pasila (Böle) 18:52-18:53, Tikkurila 19:02-19:03, Lahti (Lahtis) 19:52-19:54, Kouvola 20:32-20:35, Vainikkala 21:30-22:15, Buslovskaja 22:23-22:33, Viipuri (Vyborg) 22:56-23:36, St Petersburg Ladogskii 1:18-1:53, Tver 6:50-6:51, Moskva Oktiabrskaia 9:19)

NZ 32 Night train (Moskva Oktiabrskaia 23:10, Tver 1:10-1:11, St Petersburg Ladogskii 5:46-6:01, Viipuri (Vyborg) 7:54-8:34, Buslovskaja 8:56-9:06, Vainikkala 9:14-10:14, Kouvola 11:09-11:11, Lahti(Lahtis) 11:58-12:00, Tikkurila 12:53-12:54, Pasila (Böle) 13:29-13:31, Helsinki 13:37)

DEATH BY EXAM

   Only really big trains stations in big cities has waiting room with heating. Most of stations with commuter city trains around Helsinki and even most of stations with IC trains (even sometimes two-number ICs) are without waiting room. And waiting rooms in big stations are probably closed during night. There are quite lot of IC trains between Turku-Helsinki, Helsinki-Lahti or Helsinki-Tampere. The next train goes after one of two hours. But between Pori-Tampere or Tampere Turku is time to next train already 3-4 hours. Between Kouvola-Kuopio or Kouvola-Joensuu, is time to next train 3-4 hours. On the line Tampere-Vaasa-Seinäjoki -Oulu is time to next train 2-4 hours, not all trains stops in all stops. Between Kuopion and Oulu is time time to next train around 4 hours, there are around 3-4 trains per day. But not all trains stops in all stops. Between Oulu and Rovaniemi is interval to next train 3-4 hours and there is only one train per day in one direction between Rovaniemi and Kemjäarvi. Trains between Kemi and Kolari are really rare. Night trains goes only Helsinki-Tampere-Oulu-Rovaniemi, two trains per night in one direction. If you are kicked out from last train, then text train will go at morning.

   Like in Sweden and Norway, Death during exam is possible in winter time, in case, that you fail, and waiting room is not in your station (or waiting room is closed during night).

   Hitchiking can be difficult sometime, because there are not so many cars except between big cities. Some smaller road or roads in whole Lapland can be only with few cars and you can wait on the road many hours. Cars can goes only one per 1-5 minutes even in bigger roads. In smaller roads or in Lapland it can be one car per 10 minutes or even one car per hour (and temperature bellow -30 degrees). And people are in this time more afraid to take hitchhikers.  And some roads can be closed during winter, because of snow.

   But in winter in deep frost, you can go to police station and they should let you be there during night. And if you tell that you have no place to sleep and you refuse leave train in cold weather, conductor can call police and police let you be at station during night or even conductor let you travel, if you are polite. It works in Norway and Sweden too, during cold winter. The same in the bus. Bus driver can let you travel, if you are polite. You can get fine in train, it is Eur 80 plus ticket price, but if you are not finish, you don't need to pay.

   Finland has coldest winters from all countries in Shengen - European Union (winter in north Finland is often colder than in Svalbard, but Greenland is much colder). Reason is position – Finland is quite far from Ocean and Scandinavian mountains blocked warm air from Atlantic.  But most of Finland is flat with a lot of lakes and cold continental Arctic air from Russia can easily flow through lowlands. And of course, Finland is north, most south part of Finland is already 59.8 degrees, more north than whole Denmark and big part of Sweden-Norway. End of Baltic Sea is 65,8 degrees north and Oulu is already 65 degrees,  Rovaniemi is by Arctic circle, Inari 68.9 deg, Ustjoki 69.9 deg and most north point of Finland is 70.09 degrees north, by Nuorgam (70.08 deg.).

   The actual temperature (UTC time, actualization every 3 hours) you can find here: meteomodel.pl/AKT/IMG/temp99.png , past weather and climate you can find here for many places in Finland you can find here: en.tutiempo.net/climate/finland.html The weather forecast you can find at yr.no for any town in Norway-Europe-World or at  en.tutiempo.net too.

   Winter temperature can go easily even around Helsinki bellow -15 or -20, sometimes around Tampere can be -20 and rarely -25 or even -30 degrees. Area around Kupio-Oulu is with snow since Autumn to April. Temperature is here between 0 and -15 usually, can be here -20 to -30 during cold vawe, rarely -35. Winter temperature in Rovaniemi area is from 0 to -20 normal winter temperature, it is various. But it can be here -30 or even -35. There can be a lot of snow, up to one meter.

   In Sami region is no train, only buses and cars. There is not so many cars especially in winter (tourist go there during summer). There is snow until May-June. Winter temperature is ussually from -5 to -25, sometimes during cold wave bellow -30 or -35, rarely even bellow -40 (-45 in some valleys). Traffic is good between Rovaniemi - Ivalo - Inari, but north from Inari is traffic low, one car per 3-20 min, it depends on place and time.

   The day length in December is in south Finland just from 9am to 4pm, but around Oulu is day length only 2-5 hours, including twilight. Around Rovaniemi is only 1 hour day length but 2-4 more hours twilight, light is like from 9-10 am to 3-4pm. There is whole December Sun behind Horizon in Inari, but few hours of twilight (Sun is not so deep behind Horizon), light is usually from 9-10am to 2-3pm. Day length in June is huge. Even in Helsinki Sun is only 3-5 hours behind horizon, but not so deep and whole night is little bit of light. Sun goes only around 1 hour behind horizon in Oulu in June. But Sun is not so deep behind horizon and there is a lot of light whole night. There is Arctic circle in Rovaniemi, it means that 21th June Sun just tough horizon around midnight. And in Inari, or more far north Sun never goes behind horizon, but Sun makes circle on the sky during day.

   Finland is with plenty of lakes, it means a lot of mosquitoes in Summer. Situation around Helsinki is not so terrible, but there are quite a lot of mosquitoes in central Finland. And around Sami Land, Inari, Rovaniemi, there are huge swarms of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes does not bring any diseases, but huge swarms of mosquitoes all time, it is difficult.

Oulu- Kemi – Tornio - Kolari and back

   Kemi is station, where the train line splits, one branch is along E75 to Tervola, Muurola, Rovaniemi, (Misi, Kemijärvi), and second branch to Tornio (SE-FI border), Ylitornio, Pello, Kolari along E8. Kolari is most north station in Finland. E8 continue to point NO-SE-FI in mountains and to Tromso in Norway, Atlantic coast. Arctic circle is between stations Ylitornio and Pello, quite close to Pello.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolari_railway_station

   There is night train from Helsinki, Tampere to Kolari, by vr.fi (and it cost Eur 88 from Helsinkito Kolari in 2017). idos.cz first does not want to find train to Kolari, but now, if have found. It is night train with beds and wagon for cars Ex 269. Ex 269 goes from 29th April – 1st May, 15th, 17th and 18th July only. Trains to Kolari are very rare during summer half year. But during winter half year one train per day in one direction goes between Kemi and Kolari, it is Ex train between Helsinki-Tampere-Oulu-Kemi-Tornio-Kolari. This train have seat, beds, bistro wagon, wagon for cars and conductors too.

   There can be some freight trains, probably with wood between Kolari and Oulu or more south. It can be possible to hind some HOBO (taking freight trains or freight hoping) and travel by train hoping on wood. The rail-road ends little bit behind Kolari, there can be some freight trains.

Ex 269: (Helsinki 20:52, Pasila (Böle) 20:57-21:00, Tikkurila 21:41-21:44, Riihimäki 22:19-22:22, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 22:46-22:48, Tampere (Tammerfors) 23:36-23:59, Seinäjoki 1:53-1:56, Kokkola (Karleby) 3:36-3:39, Ylivieska 4:30-4:32, Oulu (Uleaborg) 5:52-6:22, Kemi 7:45-7:48, Tornio Itäinen 8:13-8:16, Ylitornio 9:08-9:12, Pello 9:59-10:02, Kolari 10:48)

From Kolari to south goes one train per day between Kolari-Kemi (Tornio-Kemi-Oulu-Tampere-Helsinki) in winter half year, trains for passengers in Summer half year are pretty rare - Ex 270 goes only 29-30th April and 17th June and Ex 272 goes only 1st May and 15th, 18th June. Night trains with beds, seats and wagon for cars.

Ex 270: (Kolari 18:20, Pello 19:07-19:09, Ylitornio 19:57-19:59, Tornio Itäinen 20:49-20:51, Kemi 21:16-21:20, Oulu (Uleaborg) 22:38-23:10, Ylivieska 0:43-0:46, Kokkola (Karleby) 1:45-1:49, Seinäjoki 3:28-3:31, Tampere (Tammerfors) 5:35-5:43, Toijala 6:08-6:10, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 6:35-6:37, Riihimäki 7:00-7:02, Tikkurila 7:46-7:48, Pasila (Böle) 8:24-8:26, Helsinki 8:32).

Ex 272: (Kolari 18:20, Pello 19:07-19:09, Ylitornio 19:57-19:59, Tornio Itäinen 20:49-20:51, Kemi 21:16-21:20, Oulu (Uleaborg) 22:38-23:10, Ylivieska 0:43-0:46, Kokkola (Karleby) 1:45-1:49, Seinäjoki 3:28-3:31, Tampere (Tammerfors) 5:35-6:22, Toijala 6:49-7:01, Hämeenlinna (Tavastia) 7:26-7:53, Riihimäki 8:16-8:18, Tikkurila 8:58-9:00, Pasila (Böle) 9:29-9:31, Helsinki 9:37).

    Tornio is big crossroad, border SE-FI by Baltic coast. There is no train to Sweden (from Kemi, Tornio to Boden (SE)). There is railway from Kemi to Sweden - Boden, Luleaa, but not with personal trains, there might be some freight trains. There is main road to Luleaa or Boden, closest Swedish train stations. Tornio and Tervola is not the same station, Tervola is after Kemi, on the way to Rovaniemi, behind rail crossroad.

TO SAMI LAND AND FINMARK

   To Sami land and lakes, Ivalo, Inari, and Finmark – Norway (Tromso, Alta, Nordkapp, Kirkenes,, Vadso, Vardo)

   There is no no train line more far in Lapland, to Sami region. The last town with good train connection is Rovaniemi. North edge of Rovaniemi is on Arctic circle. Only once a day train go from-to Misi  and  Kemijärvi, but theese stations are out of main road E75, Rovaniemi is the best.  Kemijärvi is close to big lake in Lapland.

   There is bus going from Rovaniemi to Ivalo, Inari, Utsjoki, Nuorgam, some busses goes from Rovaniemi, Ivalo, Inari to north Norway too. But buses are quite empty, not so often and it can be difficult to take bus for free. These buses are quite expensive (Eur 20 per 100 km).

   Hitchhiking on the road E75 from Rovaniemi to north good, traffic is good until Inari, quite low after Inari, but drivers stops. Road E75 goes from Rovaniemi to crossroad in village Vikajärvi. Road No. 82 goes from  Vikajärvi to east, to big lake and Kemijärvi, Misi is about 10 km south from this road. The main road E75 continues to nort, to Sami region. E75 is main road trough Lapland to east Finmark. Population density is very low and villages and towns are only small (Rovaniemi is last big city). Distances between villages and towns is quite big. Lot of tourist goes to north too.

   First bigger town (not small village) is Sodankilä, 67,4 degrees  north. There is crossroad in  Sodankilä. E75 goes south to Rovaniemi and north to Inari, E63 goes first to south-east but after a while to south – to  Kemijärvi. The road No. 80 goes to Kittilä and from  Kittilä to south-west to Kolari.  Road No. 79 goes from Kittila to south to Rovaniemi and to north-west to big lake Jerisjärvi and to town Muonio. Muonio is on Swedish Border and there is E8 towards Kilpisjärvi and Tromso.

   E75 continues more north from  Sodankilä to big lakes around 68.0-68.3 degrees north (lakes are few kilometers from road), there is no town, only small village Vuoma-Vuosto. More north is small town Ivalo, around 68,55 degrees north. There is river in Ivalo, plenty of lakes  around. From Ivalo goes road No. 91 to East-South to Russian border, but low traffic is on this road (Murmansk is 303 km far and Utsjoki 164 km far from Ivalo).

   Little bit north from Ivalo (couple of 10km), around 68,75 degrees are two big lakes. Ukonjärvi lake close to road in east side and Rahajärvi in west. Village Inari in Municipality Inari is 68.9 degrees north, at E75. Inari is town of sami culture, with Sami library, museum and parlament. It is about 325 km north from Arctic Circle and Rovaniemi. There are hotels and museum, (not dumpsters behind hotel found), and K market with big open container behind, waste is mixed. There is big lake by Inari – InariJarvi. There is even airport in Inari and Ivalo, but in is not possible get in without ticket and it is non-ecological.

   From Inari E75 continues to Finish-Norway border. At 69,135 degrees – there is crossroad E75 to north and road 92, by Kaamanen village. There is river and lot of small lakes. Road No. 92 goes to Norway, to Karasjohka, from Karasjohka E6 continues to Lakselv, Nordkapp, Alta. From  Karasjohka road E6 continue by Norway-Finish border to Utsjoki, Tana bru, Kirkenes, Vadso, Vardo.

   E75 continues from Inari and Kaamanen to north to Norway-Finish border – Utsjoki. There is river by this way and some small villages, lot of lakes. Utsjoki is 69.88-69.91 degrees north. By Utsjoki E6 and E75 from south meet. There is meeting of big Tana river by FI-NO border with river from Kaamen. There is bridge through Tana River between FI and NO and Custom is in Utsjoki. There is E6 to Karasjohka - Tana Bru - Varangebotn in Norwegian side and road 970 from Ustjoki to Nuorgam, Skippagura (NO) with road E6. Nourgam (70.081 north) is most north town of Finland (exactly most north point of Finland is about 3 km east from Nuorgam - by Tana river (river side 70.0922,27.955)).

France

Freeriding trains in France works quite well. There are mostly two kinds of trains: TGV and TER. TGV are high speed long distance trains. (G stands for "Great" and V for the french for "Velocity" another word for speed) TER are normal trains that have usually more stops.

TER can be quite long trains with many carriages but it can also be very small with just 2 carriages or so. On TER you can often be lucky and they don't control at all. Other times when they control they usually control only once or twice during the journey so you can keep your eyes open and try to avoid the control. Usually they don't check in the begining of journey but at some later point which makes it bit harder to predict. Tickets are not being checked in advance so you can just enter TER with no problem.

TGV

Are the high speed long distance trains. TGV drives sometimes over 300km/h which makes it to be an extremely fast mean of transport. You can be lucky and make even few hours journey without control but usually if you go far they will control. On a longer ride they might control second time. They don't do very often the kind of control when they'd ask for new passengers as in other countries. So usually they either control everyone or they don't control. To avoid the control one can do all the typical tricks as hiding on a toilet or dancing around the conductor. It is not too dificult to cross whole France from one end to the other in one day without getting caught. The problem with TGV is that in some stations they control tickets before boarding the train. If they do so there is usually few conductors standing at the gates so you can't really sneak in. In some stations(usually in smaller towns) they don't have the gates so you can just get in the train without any issue. To get out is no problem as the gates are always open for those who are exiting. In the end of this article there is a list of stations that are known to have or not have gates...(please contrtibute to the list!) To get over the gates you can buy a seat reservation for 10 or 20 euros (price in 2025). To do so go to the ticket machine, choose "Buy a ticket", put your destination and everything, when it asks if you have any reduction choose "Other reductions", then choose "Interrail ticket", fill in a fake name, date of birth, phone number and email adress. You need to pay 10 euros and voila here is your seat reservation. Usuually the seat reservation costs 10 euros but if the trains are sold out it can be 20 euros. The seat reservation is enough to open the gate. In case the conductors on the gates would ask you for your interrail you can tell them that it is on your phone but that you have no battery and need to charge it first. But they never ask. On ticket machines you need to pay by credit card or by other technological means. If you want to pay cash you can go to the ticket office and buy the seat reservation there. At the ticket office you can pay also in cash and they will assist you to operate the ticket machine so even us stone age blackriders can manage. They will send you the seat reservation to the email adress you put but at least in the ticket office one could directly print it so you could as well put a fake email. The seat reservation is your way of crossing the gates but is no way a valid ticket so just don't get caught and if you do get caught don't tell them how you got over the gates.

Stations where they don`t check tickets before going to TGV:

Nimes (checked in 2021)

Dijon (checked in 2023)

Morlaix (checked in 2022)

Mulhouse (checked in 2023)

Laval (checked in 2025)

Redon (checked in 2025)

Stations with gates and control for TGV:

• Avignon TGV

• Perpignan

• Lyon

• Paris Montparnasse

• Paris Nord

• Paris Est

• Paris gare de Lyon

• Rennes

• Strasbourg

• Le Mans

• Nice- In Nice there are gates for entering the platforms but you can just buy the cheapest ticket for short train, you pass the gates and then you can go to the fast train you like. (information form 2020)

Getting caught

If you get caught they will ask you either to pay or to show your ID so they can write you a fine. IF you don't provide ID they might just ask you to get out or call the cops. IF you give ID they will issue a fine which functions as a valid ticket so you can continue your journey and if they control you again you just show the fine. If you are foreigner (not a french citizen nor residant) you might also just give your ID and hope that the fine will never arrive. Usually it works. Many people use it. They just sit in a train and when they are controled they give ID. It is very easy and comfortable way of traveling. Conductors are usually polite and without making any stres they just issue you fine and you continue your journey. The fines usually never arrive. Also you can show a passport instead of an ID as usually there is no adress in passport which makes it even harder for them to deliver you the fines. Unfortunately there were cases when people got the fines delivered to their home countries and in at least one case SNCF (the french train company) passed the fines to a debt collector in the home country ( in this particular case it was Belgium) of the blackriding person.

So to summarize: You can have a great time just getting fines and not giving a shit but there is a little chance that they will chase debt collectors after you even in other country. If you don't have property and don't plan to ever have any than it shall be no problem.

Here is the old article with more detail experiences and tips:

Ticket checks are only occasionally performed on TER trains, and even the conductors on TGV trains do not always check tickets. When they do, it may only happen later in the journey, unlike in most countries where all tickets all checked at the beginning of the route.

Non-french citzens

For non-French citizens/residents fines virtually don't exist. Feel free to give your passport and a fake (or real) address. You can have as many fines as you want. They disappear from their system within two months.

Whatever it says on the back of the fine (about fines adding up etc.) might or might not be true, but it ONLY applies to French citizens/residents.

Police

Sometimes ticket inspectors bluff (a lot) that they will call the police, while trying to get you to pay on spot. You have nothing to worry about.

As long as you keep calm and polite they have no legal reason to call the cops. (a reform made that they can handle you to police, but that happens rarely ever, only big stations do have police).

They just hate writing fines because it is extra work for them and they get to write a lot of fines every day. So if you are nice and have a good story, they won't pressure you or try to kick you off, as they sometimes do.

If you don't have an ID the cops will (not always) be called and, as the law is in France, you have to prove your identity, which means just giving your name, address etc. Unfortunately it is up to the cops' opinion whether you are telling the truth or not and they may arrest you. North of Paris you are more likely to get arrested than to the South.

Tip: Before getting checked it is best to locate yourself in-between carriages, where there are a few seats, a table and luggage compartment. Usually nobody stays there. When the inspector comes the atmosphere is more informal as they don't have to keep up an image of 'master-of-the-train' in front of other passengers and it goes more smoothly. After you get your fine (which is a valid ticket) feel free to sit wherever you like in the train.

TGV trains are best because they are the fastest and with the least stops, so in the unlikely event of you getting kicked off, you will still get pretty far. TER trains are slower and with more stops.

Note: French trains don't cooperate much with police, and honestly even Gendarmerie fails to cooperate with regular police.

Exiting Paris region

If you are at the edge of Paris transport region (the former 5 zones, with transillien/RER lines with letters). If you jump in a train from one of the stations at the edge of the transillien RER zone, into a non-transillien there they're likely to check.

It is quite possible to speak with the driver and the controller before the train start and tell them you want a ride for free. You can tell them otherwise, that you want to get a ticket from there, it'll be less than a fine, but more than a regular ticket (a little surplus is added to the regular price, you may tell them you go less far than you do).

Some of them are kind enough to let you in. Bikepunk got better luck with TER than TGV with this technique so far.

Mipplor hitchhiked a train from Luxembourg to Nancy, Lyon, Marseille, Monaco, Nice, and Perpignan in October 2009. Actually 1/3 of his time was spent in the toilet to read newspapers. He was a lucky dog that no single inspector came to trouble him.

France is very big country, more than 1000 km across. But trains are very fast (up to 280-320 kph). You can jump through France very fast and scary, do in France biggest and best jump action ever. If your train skills are very good, you can pass France in 5 hours (more than 1000 km). In the case that fines do not mind you, it is very easy. You just tell your final destination in case of loos in jump and blue jumpr write penalty for you and you will continue to your final destination.

France is great country for train. PeterOB was train in October 2015 from Lion to Montpelier and from Marseille to Strasbourg. He used TER and TGV trains.

As you can read, TGV trains are very fast (180-300 kph) and you can make there scary jump action. Distance between stops is about 50-200 km and 20-80 minutes. Conductor (Blue jumpr) usually check tickets every 2-3 stations, PeterOB thinks. System of control is unclear. In one TGV dace floor blue jumprs only went through wagon with something in the hand and wagon was almost full. It is possible that blue jumprs have in small computer list of seats with passengers and free seats. So they can check this quickly. But Peter sat close to restaurant wagon and many passengers was dining. PeterOB was sitting in somebody's place probably, and blue jumprs looks on free seats and it was OK. In the TGV train from Barcelona to Lion was another situation. Peter sat in tourist class and suddenly blue jumprs appears – one in one end of wagon and another in opposite side, and they start to check all passengers. PeterOB try to go around blue jumpr but he do do left him train zone, so blue jumprs met in Peter's place and they asked him for a ticket. He said that he lost ticket. So blue jumprs said that they call police (they try to make you scary usually) and Peter gave him identity card. They saw that he is not French and only kicked him out of train (probably without fine). Next TGV was running in three hours so Peter decide to hitch-hiking, it is easy in France. As you can read this train is going Barcelona-Lyon and back and hitch-hiking in Spain do not work. Get into TGV train is easy in France but PeterOB do not know Spanish system of ticket checking and Spanish jump styles. Some TGV trains have two floors, but it is not possible run in another floor around blue jumpr because of one part of first floor ends with wall.

Slowish trains

TER (and LER) trains are easy for train there. Distance between stops is about 5-25 km and 5-15 minutes. Speed is about 80-180 kph. There are one or two conductors, but they only give signal for train departure and tell something for passengers. They only rarely check tickets. PeterOB used in October 2015 different 7 TER trains and he was only one time checked. Blue jumpr women start checking ticket in morning train and he was going to toilet, he did not lock the door and he played shitting. But conductor open WC doors and she close it back. After two stops PeterOB went back to seat and conductor women came again for checking new passengers, she ask for a ticket. PeterOB did not have and she ask for final destination and after several stops she went back and ask for identity card. But she saw that Peter is not French and she let Peter to travel and she gave him advise, which trains go to Peter's final destination. So this women co-jumpr was very friendly and Peter did not see another control. LER train is similar and PeterOB do not know difference (Maybe – LER can me small train for small amount of passengers). Peter was train in LER only short distance and one time, but conductor did not check tickets. O train in LER trains is very easy and some TER trains have long journey and a lot of wagons, for example Paris-Lyon. Some TER trains have two floors and you can walk around conductor in another floor to area, where tickets was already checked.

Penalty in TER train is Eur 50 + ticket price in distances less than 150 km and Eur 88 + ticket price. Fines in LER is not same. But you can be probably only kicked out of train without fine, or you can try to run away in next stop. If you do not pay immediately, the fine grows to Eur 375 and if you do not communicate or you give wrong address, fine can grow up Eur 3750. But for non-French black jumprs fines probably do not exist and suddenly disappear after short time (two months). In TGV train – blue jumpr have a lot of time for writing penalty or call cops. They do not like writing penalty (extra job) and they try to make you scary with police sometimes. PeterOB do not know exact ticket inspection system and if tickets prices in TER and TGV are the same, or if penalty Eur 375 is for all types of train (probably yes). Probably, you have to have seat reservation in some or all TGV trains, but not in TER or LER train. And some blue jumprs can not speak English so good as many of French people or blue jumprs in east countries. Talk in English is not very easy in France.

High speed

If you travel far you probably want to take high-speed trains but in many stations they check the tickets for TGV (and ICE and such) on the entry to the platform which makes it kind of impossible to get in and you need to take TER. We tried once to ask the controlers on the gates if they could write us fine directly and let us in but they said that we can't get in without paying. You can't know in advance in what stations they check tickets for high speed trains before boarding but general rule is that in small towns it is likey to have no gates and in big cities there are often gates. You can really jump the gates because there are usually few conducters standing and looking which makes it kind of impossible. Sometimes it happens that also in station where they usually check TGV tickets before boarding they just leave the gates open so you can sometimes be lucky.

Unguarded turnstyles

Some places do use normal (rotating) turnstyles, turnstyles are sometimes unguarded so you can simply hop. You still may get a control later. Non-rotating turnstyles are not always functionning, you may pass throught those.

Germany

To read an old article with some usefull and some unusefull and outdated information look at Deutsche Bahn

Germany has a great railway network with different kinds of trains and it is very possible to travel without a ticket. Unfortunately if you get caught and don't pay there is a possibility of going to prison which makes the whole game more adventurous.

RB and S bahn

RB and S bahn are regional trains with many stops. Often times there is no conducter at all. If there is they often control just once. Sometimes they might control more often. It very depends on where you are. There are some lines where 90% of cases they control during the journey and other where most of the time there is no control at all. These trains can be often quite small which limits your hiding possibilities. The trains usually stop every few minutes so it often works that when you see conducter coming you stand up and start dressing up. Take your clothes and your stuff and walk towards and around the conducter like that you are about to leave on the next station. If they want to see your ticket just tell them that you need to get out on the next stop and keep walking towards the door. Usually it works. After this action take a seat again in the part that was already controled. Other option is to wait for the conducter and before they reach you get out in a station and run on the outside around the train and enter in the part where they already controled. In that case take all your stuff with you for the case you would not make it in time to enter the train again. But again usually it works. After this you can again sit down and relax.

RE

RE are regional trains with longer distance between stops (10 or 15 minutes in average). These trains can be great for blackriding. Sometimes there is no control at all. Often times they control just once during the whole journey. This control can be any time. Usually if they control they don't do it in begining like in some other countries but at any random time during the journey. You can use any of the usual tricks of hiding or dancing around the conducter. Lucky thing with this type of train is that the next stop is not too far so even if you get caught you can just refuse to give ID and just get out on the next stop.

ICE

ICE are the high speed trains. You can cross the whole country with it. The controls are irregular. Usually they control after big cities. It can be that they don 't control for 2 or more hours but if there are big cities on the way it can happen that they control after each stop. Sometimes they just ask for new passengers and you can simply ignore them. Sometimes they control everyone. You can use all the usuall tricks of dancing around or hiding behind luggage or on toilet. Usually you can have quite good overview in ICEs. If you sit somewhere in the middle of the train you can often see to the next carriages through the glass doors in between. So the best can be to just sit down and look every now and then and when you see them controling in the next cariage you can go to hide or get ready for your performance. Don't stay for too long on a toilet though. They keep an eye on it. If you wanna be for longer on a toilet it makes sense to go out and change for another toilet every 5 or 10 minutes. The distance between stops is quite big and many of the ICE stations have cops in the station. That makes it kind of dificult if you get caught. Often times they don't bother and just kick you out. If you are unlucky they might want to fine you and if you refuse ID they might call cops who will wait for you on the station. Sometimes there are also cops on the train.

Hitchhiking trains with disabled people

Many (but not all) disabled people have a train ticket which allows them to take a person as their company for free. So if you see a blind person or a person on a wheelchair or other person who might have such ticket you can ask them if they can take you with onto their ticket.

Getting caught

These days many people have a ticket with which they can take all the regional trains unlimited. Since this ticket the controls are not so often because kind of everyone has a ticket anyway. IT can be that you take few trains and cross half of Germany with no control at all. But it depends. Anyway if you get caught it is good to refuse ID and just get kicked out. IF the conducter is asshole and if they have enough time to get cops you shall rather give them ID and get fined from the conducter. You should always try to avoid ending up with cops. The fine for blackriding is 60 euros. If you don't pay the fine there are two options. First is that nothing happens. Second option is that they make a court trial with you and sentence you for certain amount of day penalties. That means that you either pay certain amound of money (probably lower hundreds of euros) or you go to certain amount of days in prison. Yes in Germany they regularly put people to jail for riding trains! For Germans it is usually that the first fines don 't matter and they usually make you a trial after 3 or more unpaid fines. But thats just how it goes usually. It is no rule. It is unclear how it goes for foreign citizens. But what is important is that if it is cops giving you the fine and not just the conducter the likelyhood of getting a courtcase is much higher even if it is your first fine. So always avoid the cops if you can.

Geting arrested

If they catch you and you present ID they have no reason to call cops. If you don't give ID or if the conducter is especially asshole they might call the cops. In that case cops will be waiting for you on a platform. IT might be that after the conducter called cops they walk away from you and come back to you before the station. In that case use the chance and in the meantime go to other part of train and hide from the conducter. Change your appearence (scarve over your head, different clothes...) and get the fuck out without the cops or conducter noticing you. Other times the conducter stays with you and you have no chance to get away. In that case the cops will take you with to a police station. If you present a fake identity they might believe you or they might not and in that case they might search your stuff, take finger prints, keep you bit longer and so on. IF you present your ID card they will write you a fine and let you go. The whole process is maybe 30 minutes. IT is not a big deal. If you are no german citizen nor residennt they might want you to sign a paper that you agree with having an adress for this case on a local court. Try to not sign this paper. If they force you to sign it (they might treaten you with keeping you longer if you dont sign) your adress is then on a local court and it is your resposibility to go there and check if there are letters for you. YOu will of course not go to a random courthouse every two weeks and then it is very possible that they make a court trial with you without you knowing about it and the next time german cops check your ID you will either need to pay certain amount of money or you go to prison(probably for about a week or two. If you got fined more times it could be even few weeks or months). So if this is the case that they caught you, cops wrote you the fine and you did not pay it is recomandable to carry always some money in cash with you (maybe 300 euros) when you go to germany so in case they control you that you can pay yourself out.

Train companies

Long distance trains are operated by Deutsche bahn. Many regional trains as well but some regional trains are run by other smaller companies. Some of these companies have a similar controling style as Deutsche bahn. Some are more active and strict with controling. Deutsche bahn conductors are usually not very active and blackriding can be relatively easy. With the other companies it depends.

Personal experiences:

Greece

Greece is a great destination for train hopping. The coductors are asking in the wagon if somebody is new(from the last destination). If you are not getting on in the start(when everybody should be checked), then is quite easy to avoid paying. Wait some minutes before the train arrives, and choose not the first and last wagon. Get in and pack your belongings fastly. Find a place to sit down(better when the both seats are free,as the system prefers to replenish the seats until the end), and then listen to music or pretend that you are sleeping. Preferably trains are the fast ones IC and ICE. You shouldn't try(if possible) to the night train between Athens and Thessaloniki as the coductors are stricter, probably because many people are trying. If they catch you, they will ask you to pay for your trip. The ticket will be then almost the double price. I have no personal experience what will happen if you tell them a story and try to convince them. I suppose that some of them could be convinced. If you don't want to pay, you should get off to the next stop. Then, you can try to the next one.

Hungary

PeterOB have written some information how to jump in Czech Republic and Slovakia, read this part first. Let's explore some another country – Hungary. PeterOB bs train through Hungary in summer 2014 to Rainbow Gathering and use the same jump styles that is written in the part Czech Republic and Slovakia. Many people in railway station and train do not speak English (only young people) and pronunciation of Hungarian towns and stations is very difficult. If you want to buy ticket (short journey ticket of course) or ask for platform, pronunciation of town is difficult, better write town on paper. If you ask for platform, use you terminal station and do not show more people you ticket with near station and do not ask the conductor but better to ask some passenger. The trains in Hungary (or Austria, Romania and other European countries) is too at internet Czech page www.idos.cz, you choose "Vlaky" - trains. There are all stops at the journey and arrival and departure times, but the distance in Kilometers is only Czech, Slovakia and some trains that ride though Czech or Slovakia. But the stops and time for every stop is always on this page.

The interval between stops is in Hungary quite small, every trains including EC have usually many stops (every 5-10 km R-trains and 10-30 km long, journey trains, but in some case interval between stops is long). EC often stops in small towns. The interval to next train is quite variable, from 1 hour to 12 hour.

You can use Short journey ticket trick or you do not respond when conductor ask who is new or watch conductor and in some stop go to area where tickets were already checked (if the next stop is so far, you can try walk around conductor). PeterOB do not know how often conductor check toilets and he do not know if there is ticket inspector in trains (this is not conductor), but he saw ticket inspector in bus. In long-journey trains you must watch conductor change in some town. New conductor check all passengers, but not only new passengers.

If you are captured that you travel without ticked, you are usually kicked of out train (no penalty usually), but some conductors let you continue journey. The ticket inspections is not so hard like in another countries. PeterOB had wrong ticket but young conductor in R-train let him to travel. But some another conductor in EC train kicked him out. PeterOB's friend travel too without ticket and conductor let him to travel. Most of conductors do not speak English or another language or speak English little. PeterOB had to show ticket again in some D-train and they do like do not understand and conductor let him be. The Hungary is middle-difficult or good for free riding in train and very good for classic hitchhiking.

Hungary have few tips of trains, like Czech. PeterOB think that all trains belongs national railway company and there are not private trains in Hungary, but he is not sure.

The R-trains is not like R-trains in Czech or Slovakia. This trains have many stops (about every 3-10 km or 3-10 min), it is like OS local trains in Czech. This trains have usually one conductor (sometimes maybe 2 conductors) and about 2-5 carriages. Amount of passengers is variable from teens to hundreds. R-trains near big city (Budapest) have more than 5 carriages, one or 2 conductors and many passengers. The interval to next train is every hour near big city, every 2-4 hour generally. You can look where is the conductor and in some stop go into area where tickets are already checked. (conductor go first time and interval to next control is long near big city). But in general, there are many stops and sometimes small amount of passengers. You can try short time ticket trick. Conductor check only new passengers, you can do nothing when conductor is coming, but in case of small amount of passengers – there is big chance to conductor ask you for ticket. Amount of passengers and carriages is variable.

The D-trains is quite similar R-trains but the interval between stops is about 10-25 km or 10-20 minutes. This trains is like SP or R trains in Czech. D-type trains have usually 3-6 carriages and one (or two) conductors. The amount of passengers is variable, about from 30 to 200. The tricks are the same – short time ticket tricks or do nothing when the conductor ask who is new. Interval between D-trains is quite long (several hours) but you can use another type of train (EC, INT or R).

The next type of trains is IC and EC in Hungary (and EN or INT or Rex trains contains this type too). You do not need seat reservation at most of trains (you have to have seat reservation maybe it few long journey trains but it is very rare). This trains is for long journey (international), usually to, from or through Budapest. This trains have usually a lot of carriages, (5-8), two conductors and a lot of passengers. But not always. There was IC in the timetable but arrived only two-carriages local type train with small amount of passengers. In mostly cases the interval to next control can be long but not always. You can use classic short-journey ticket trick (and go near conductor to be checked before critical station) or do nothing (sleep, look out of the window, read a book), when conductor ask who is new or watch conductor and in some stations go into area, where tickets were already checked.

The interval between net trains is quite variable. First direction is from Germany or Poland through Czech and Slovakia to Budapest and sometimes continue to Beograd. Interval to next trains s 2 hours. Trains have a lot of passengers, two conductors. The interval between stops in Hungary is only 7-20 km. In the journey Kosice-Budapest is interval to next EC train 12 hours and trains have one conductors and a lot of passengers (not in Slovakia). The interval between stops is from Kosice to Miskolc about 20-30 km but between Miskolc and Budapest is only one station Füzesabony. PeterOB think that EC do not stops in Hidasnemeti, it is only cross-border to Slovakia. PeterOB travel from Kosice to Miskolc and buy ticket only for Slovak area, where is small amount of passengers) and in Hungary PeterOB watched conductor and go to area where ticket already checked.

The direction from Budapest to Romania is 4 hours but Budapest-Püspökladany 2 hours (Some EC ends at Püspökladany and another R train continue to Biharkeresztes). The interval between stops is for trains to Biharkeresztes and Romania about 50 km before Püspökladany and 10-15 km after Püspökladany. But if the EC ends in Püspökladany, the interval between stops is whole journey 10-30 km. If you are kicked of the train, you can combine next train type with EC, R,D-trains. You can see in time-table that EC trains continue to Romania and train wait tenths of minutes near border. But in some cases train ends in Biharkeresztes (near border) and you have to change train. Some trains continue to Romania for long journey (for example to Brasov). There are EC and D trains in Romania (EC are international) with stop every 40-70 km usually. But the seat reservation in Romanian EC and D trains. There are too local trains in Romania with many stops. Romania is difficult for free riding in train and for classic hitchhiking too.

The direction Budapes-Wien is similar, interval to next train every two hours ans stops every 15-40 km. PeterOB do not use this train (Rex type of train), but he think there are a lot of passengers and two conductors. This train crossing borders to Austria.

The direction Budapes-Szeged have EC-trains with stops 15-30 km away and interval to next train is one hour. Direction Budapest-Beograd is not so much freqvent. Interval between stops 15-30 km (about 50-80 km in night D-train) and there are only two times with train from Budapest to Beograd – 13:05 INT and EC train from Budapest and 22:20 D-train from Budapest.

Italy

Fines don't exist, the conductor checks only a few times during a trip (even on those very small trains), and if he finds you without a ticket, he simply kicks you out, although some are nice enough to let you ride for free. An exception is Eurostar trains, they have police on the train and will ask you to pay, although you can still get away with it. The night train (InterCity Notte) is the best option for making long distances, as after midnight until after about 08:00 nobody is checking tickets.

I'm sorry, the last thing is not completely true. In the night train from Munich to Rome I was controlled 5 (!) times, 3 times on the Italian side.

Besides, on night trains they DO check regularly. Years ago it was much looser, but not anymore

PeterOB was train by night IC trains in autumn 2016. Sometimes (train from Germany to Rome), they do not check during a trip. But all coupes can be full and locked and you have to stay in corridor (conductor will easily see you) or WC. Empty coupes are not locked. But generally - conductor has in tablet, which coupe is reserved and where should be free. And they check sometimes. Night trains are always with police.

PeterOB went to sea in Italy near Venecia and Padova in June 2015 and he was train a lot in this area. Another trip was in autumn 2016 from Insbruck to Palermo in 24 hours. It was scariest jump action ever. But who want to sleep in cold Alps, if we can go to ball?

The phrase Fines do not exist is not complete true. First train, which PeterOB used in Italy, was EC Train from Munchen (South Germany) to Verona (North Italy) and blue jumpr (conductor) want to give him fine and just prepare block for fines in DB Bahn. But PeterOB have succeed in many Italian trains, train Is not difficult in Italy.

First type is regional train - Treno Regionale. This type of train have distance between stops 5-30 km, usually 10-20 km. Journey of this type of train is about 100-250 km and it takes 2-3 hours with 10-20 stops. Regional trains are quite fast. This type of trains have only one conductor and conductor do not check tickets so often, he go only one-two times during whole journey, usually once 4-8 stops only. And regional trains close to big city (Milano, Bolzano, Etc.) are best – conductor often do not check tickets for whole journey. You can find conductor in stop quite easy – he wear blue-black suit and white shirt. Number of passengers is quite big, up to few hunderts, but in some places, where regional trains ends – number of passengers is not so big. Some regional trains are quite crowded near big town. Conductor asks for ticket usually all passengers during checking, tot only new passengers (and time to next control is long). You never know, when conductor go. You can watch during trip if conductor is coming and walk around conductor during ride without backpack and in the area where ticket were already checked wait until conductor finish your wagon and go back after it but conductor go out of train in stops for give sign to driver – you can in this time go behind conductor in the train easy. You can do sit in WC, do not lock door and hold toilet paper – play shitting during control, not for whole journey – another passengers wants go to WC too. Because of not so often checking ticket and checking all passengers – you can not use Short Distance Ticket Trick or play that you were already checked like in central Europe. If you are found that you travel without ticket, conductor will ask you for buy ticket, but you will say that you have no money. Conductor usually ask you, where is your final destination and sometimes let you travel or kick you out. Sometimes, conductor ask you for passport, bat you will say that you do not have. He let you be. There are no coops in regional trains and conductor do not call police. Most of conductors are nice to free riders and speaks English good. Interval between regional trains is usually 1 hour and trains go from early morning to late evening. Some types of regional train have a lot of short wagons (8-12) and it is not visible so far in this train, where conductor is now. But some trains in north, near Bolzano in mountains are better – you can see whole area of train and where is conductor now and this trains are sometimes crowded and have stops and arriving time in monitors. In trains close to Bolzano – there are a lot of police because of immigrants. They as for ID only dark persons and they do not ask ticket. It is in regional train Bolzano – Brennero and EC Trains Verona – Bolzano – Insbruck – Munich.

Some faster regional trains ( RGV in Sicily, Austrian REX from Insbruck to Bolzano and back) have not so many stops and regional trains with long distance have not so many stops like trains close to big city.

Next type of train is FB FRECCIABIANCA. This type of train have probably two conductors and about 5-9 long carriages, you can see all carriage area (no coupes) and but not to other carriages. FS trains usually go for long distance, hunderds kilometers and distance between stops is 30-80 km. Speed of this train is quite fast, PeterOB thinks about 100-180 km/h between stops, so jump is relative fast. Conductor go usually once 2-4 stops (or more) and probably check only new passengers. As you can see in information board, this type of trains required seat reservation (maybe because of a lot of passengers and maybe for checking tickets) and ticket is more expensive than in regional train, but you travel compete free. Amount of passengers is quite big, but sometimes not so big. Interval to next train is usually 1 hour and trains go from early morning to late evening. It is not like in Treno Alta Velocita (AV at departure table), where conductor have in tablet, which seat is free and which seat should be checked.

You can wait until your wagon is complete checked and you stay sit on toilet without locked doors (like shitting). Of course, you can use short distance ticket trick or play that you was already checked, just sit calmly. If you are find that you travel without ticket, conductor ask you for buy ticket first. But you have no money. So conductor usually just kick you oft of train or he might ask you for passport in some occasions or let you travel without ticket. You can tell to him that you have no passport. There is no coops or security in this type of trains and time to next stop is not so long because of high speed.

Some trains areTreno Alta velocita.  If you want to enjoy fast and scary train, this is good type of train for it There are four types of trains  Treno Alta Velocita (AV at departure board). train is really scary and fast, somewhere 200-250 kph, somewhere (Between Roma and Napoli or Between Firenze and Bolonga, the speed is up to 300 kph). 300 kph is maximum train speed by law in Italy. But the 360 kph train speed is planned since 2018. There are a lot of trains Treno Alta Velocita between  Bolonga – Firenze – Roma – Napoli, usualy once 15-30 min. There is no stop between Napoli and Roma Termini byt Treno Alta Velocita (it is 4 stops with EC trains) and stops with AV trains are usually  Milano, Bolonga, Firenze, Roma Tiburtina, Roma Tremini, Napoli Centrale (CLE). Some AV trains goes between  Bolonga and Padova and Venezia, some trains AV stops in  Arrezo, but some AV trains do not stop between Bolonga and Rome or some AV trains does not stop between Milano and Rome (trip takes around 130 min).

Trains AV (Treno Alta Velocita) goes between Bolzano - Rome - Napoli (Grey AV train at departure board), stops are  Bolzano, Tremto, Roverto, Verona, Bolonga, Firenze, Roma Tiburtina, Roma Tremini, Napoli Centrale (CLE). Some AV trains continues one stop from Napoli to Salerno.

Some AV Trains goes from-to Brescia and Verona and some from-to Torino or Milano.

High-Speed train - Treno Alta Velocita FR FRECCIAROSSA (Trenitalia). This train is blue-green-white and blue at departure paper, with AV at departure board. There are 2-3 conductors, they first go through train fast without checking and they checking tickets once 1-2 stations. They come suddenly sometimes – one conductor in one side of coach and they have in tablet which seat is free, checked, should be checked. It is to late to escape, they do not let you. You can watch, when conductors are near, then you go to toilet and you do not lock the door and you sit like shitting. But there are lot of cleaning workers – they check toilets 1-2 times between stations, before and after conductors go. And some passengers goes to toilet too. So you should make timing before conductor go and after cleaner goes (if cleaner will see you in toilet first time, he usually let you be, but it is dubious). When the conductor will go back and you will be at corridor, you could be checked – so you should to sit on free seat fast after checking. If you will be found without ticket, you will be probably kicked out, but some conductors want to write fine, not so often, or they ask for ID (if you give ID card instead of passport, it is better). PeterOB was train in this type of train a lot. Sometimes – he successfully hide during checking, sometimes, he was found and he was kicked out. But he jump back on another side of long train, cleaner of toilet found him and conductor write his ID card.

FA FRECCIARGENTO is similar high-speed train Treno Alta velocita, like  FR FRECCIAROSSA, but this type is grey in departure plan (big yellow paper).

There are another luxury High Sped train for mans in suit with wifi, drinks and food in every coach and strewards from Trenitalia –Red Treno Alta Velocita with runung lupus '' - FR FRECCIAROSSA? ''' This train is red with running lupus and it is red in departure paper, with AV at departure table. There is streeward in red suit in every wagon and he ask ticket, if your appearance is not usual, streeward ask you for ticket before departure (many people are there in suit or good dressed of course). There is team for cleaning and checking WC before and some times after ticket checking and conductors in blue suit for departure echo. Streeward has in tablet, which seat is checked, free, should be checked, and he goes every station and it is one streward per wagon, so this train is most difficult and probability of fine is biggest. PeterOB tried this type of train but when he get in, streeward ask him for a ticket, it is really difficult, this train.

There is another type of high-speed train – Treno Alta Velocita – Purple Treno Italio (not Trenitalia) train with running lupus (purple Treno Italiano at departure paper, AV in departure table). This train has two conductors in blue suit for departure signal and some conductors in red suits for ticket checking. There is one red conductor per few wagons, not streeward in every wagon. It is similar – red conductors goes almost every station, he has in tablet, which seat should be checked, is free,was checked and if you are in corridor and you go back, conductor probably check you, if you pass around him calmly, you can be successful, but next station, you can be checked. This train is relative expensive (Eur 39 from Rome to Verona). You can try to hide in toilet, but there is cleaning team too, and they look inside toilet before and sometimes after checking too. It is quite difficult to hide inside toilet in all Treno Alta Velocita. If you are captured, you can be just kicked out or probability of fine is here bigger than in blue or grey Treno Alta Velocita (Freccigarossa). PeterOB has bad luck in this train. He traveled two stations and first stations, he joust passed calmly around conductor. But in next station conductor ask him for a ticket. He told that he is in bad train and conductor asked him, where he get in. First, conductor wanted to make ticket or fine. He told just bad station and conductor got upset and he went away. PeterOB stand in toilet, when train stand in some regional station and when conductor checks tickets again. He just get of in his next station, but unfortunately, police was already in station and they took his ID.

Next type of train is EC train (IC Train). EC trains are usually international (from Germany, Austria or France, or Switzerland to Italy, these trains usually does not belongs to some Italian train company, but there are Italian conductors inside Italy, they changed at border. These trains go for long distance. Distance between stops is usually 20-100 km. Interval to next train is 1-4 hours (better use regional train usually, but it depends, where you are), ticket price about Eur 1 per 8-10 km, speed in normal, usually 100-150+ kph. EC trains have sometimes a lot, not so much passengers and two conductor s. EC trains are quite long, you can hide between passengers during entering the train. There are usually enough passengers. Conductors go once 1-3 stations, and they check only new passengers. Sometimes, there is conductor crew change at border with Austria or Switzerland, in Messina (In-Out from Sicily) or is some big cities (Rome, Napoli) and new conductors checks all passengers again. Toilets are not usually checked, especially if you do not lock the door (but passengers are going to WC too). If you are found that you have no ticket, you will be just kicked out. But some places in south Italy have not so many trains per day. There are a lot of coops in trains from Italy to Austria, Switzerland, Germany, they check ID of dark passengers, because of immigrants. Coops look everywhere – toilets, under seats, etc. They do not check tickets. If you will be found without ticket by conductor, you will be just kicked out.

N ight trains ICN or ECN, they go during night. Interval between stops is about 50-100 (or even 300+) km and journey length is quite long, usually more than 1000 km. There are only 1-2 night trains per night. Night trains can go from-to Germany or France, usually to Rome or Milano and some trains go from Rome or Milano to Sicily (Siracusa, Palermo), or from Sicily to Milano or Rome. This trains have a lot of stops in Sicily, and close to Milano and Rome, but between Sicily ( Villa S. Giovanni is station in main Italy with ferry to Messina in Sicily) and Rome night trains have not so much stops (train from Sicily to Rome stop in Villa S. Giovanni and next stop is Formia and Latina close to Rome. Another night train from Sicily stops at Villa S. Giovanni and next stop is Salerno and Napoli) PeterOB was train in night trains. Night trains have beds only and there is reservation for coupes or beds and some coupes are booked with passengers and some coupes are free. You can go in some free coupe with open door and close the door. Conductor usually do not look inside coupe. But if the passengers in some stop later have reserved this coupe, they will go inside and they can call conductor. And if you will go from some coupe to another coupe, some passengers can give echo to conductor.

Conductor has in tablet, which coupe have reservation and which coupe should be free. But some conductors do not check ticket during whole journey, but they often check in regulary, not like few years before, it was free.

If all coupes with beds are occupied, you can try to hide in toilet, washing room or just stay in corridor. Conductor goes after big station between stations with long time or after 2-3 stations, which are not so far. PeterOB traveled in night train from Munich to Rome, and all coupes were occupied, so he stay in corridor. And conductor did not check ticket during journey, but in Verona – train split to Milano and Rome and conductor was outside, he found him. Peter OB was traveled in another night train from Sicily and he was hiding in free coupe. But new passengers came and some passengers give echo to conductor. PeterOB was kicked out and conductor gave echo to another night train.

Main stationRoma Terminihas ticket checking before entering on platform (In Roma Termini probably always, in Roma Airport during day usually, but who knows). There are fences around and some doors are for exit and some doors are for getting on platform. But conductors sometimes (usually during day) are in every door and they check hardly tickets. PeterOB tried to get to platform and he was always pulled back. PeterOB saw it only in Roma Termini station. In many another stations (include Bolzano, Verona, Napoli, Padova, Venezia) is free access on platform, only in Roma Termini not. If you are in Roma Termini, do not go out or close to exit (be hidden between many people in platform). There is big departure table and you can check departures for trains and their stops and type of train  (R, IC, ICN, EC, AV). If you want to get in platform, you can buy cheap ticket for 1-2 stations in Treno Regionale and you go in any train, or you can get by Roma public transport (Tram, Bus) to station Roma Tiburtina with free entry and take some train to Roma Termini (it is one stop and plenty of trains goes there).

Generally – black train in Italy very easy (more Easy than in maybe all European countries). Classic hitchiking is very difficult in Italy but PeterOB think that Spain is worse. There are no places for stay on the road in North Italy, roads are narrow and cars have not place to stops (narrow road, a lot of cars behind) and you have not place for stay in most of cases. You can hitchike in fuel station, but not so much drivers stops. And it can be not allowed in petrol pump or many places near road, the fine is Eur 21, be careful about coops arriving. North is better because of a lot of German, Austrian cars go by motorway.  In Sicily – hitchikng is still not so easy, but better. And some regions are really easy. Police usually just pass around, sometimes, they check ID, because of immigrants and lot of criminality there. Sometimes – police can send you to bus  station.

One more think. Dumpster diving is sometimes easy in Italy and trashes behind supermarket are usually accessible. Trashes behind hotels, pensions or restaurants are good too. Some food is too in small trashes in street. And in summer are markets in center of town and there are many garbage – fruits and vegetables at the end of market (in afternoon or evening), because some fruit or vegetable can not be sold next day. Distance to supermarket can be sometimes long. There are public transport – buses, trams in Cities and it is easy to take it for free in big city. Fine is not so high and you will never pay. But in smaller cities are entering only by front door (and you have to buy ticket from driver) in buses. If you ask in some shop, they usually give you some leftovers too, but it is not so easy in big supermarket.

   There is  long journey from North to south, from Bolzano to Palermo (Stops with AV trains -  Treno Alta Velocita). You usually change train at Roma or Napoli. There is ferry for trains to Sicily. Let’s explore stops for long journey trains (Not Treno Regionalle). Long journey trains (AV, IC, EC) goes usually once a 15 minutes - 4 hours (depends, where you are) and there are some night trains.

Stops with Treno Alta Velocita between Bolzano-Roma(Napoli) are: Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Rovereto, Verona Porta Nuova, Bologna Centrale, Firenze S,M.N. (sometimes Firenze Campo di Marte), (simetimes Arrezo), Roma Tiburtina, Roma Termini, Napoli Centrale (CLE). Second Variant Bolzano/Bozen, Ora/Auer, Mezzocorona, Trento, Rovereto, Verona Porta Nuova, Orvieto, Roma Tiburtina, Roma Termini.

As you can see, AV trains are without stop between Napoli and Roma and the stops are not always the same for all long journey (and quite fast) trains. AV trains goes between Napoli and Roma every 15-60 minutes usually during day and it is about 70 minutes between Roma and Napoli with 290-300 kph in big part of journey.

   Stops  from Roma-Napoli to Palermo (IC train) are:  Roma Termini, Latina, Formia, Aversa, Napoli Centrale, Salerno, Sapri, Paola, Lamezia Terme Centrale, Villa S.Giovanni –----- Crossing Sea –---- branch to west  Messina Centrale, Milazzo, Barcellona-Castroreale, Capo d'Orlando-Naso, S.Agata di Militello, Cefalu, Termini Imerese, Palermo Centrale,

Branch to South - Messina Centrale, Taormina-Giardini, Giarre-Riposto, Acireale, Catania Centrale, Lentini, Augusta, Siracusa.

Some IC or ICN trains have more stops between Salerno and Villa S. Giovanni. And there are AV trains to Villa S. Giovanni too, but with more stops and it runs so often. IC trains goes not so often between Salerno and Villa S. Giovanni. ICN trains are better, some has no stop between Villa S. Giovanni and Salerno or even no stop between Villa S. Giovanni and Formia. Stops in Sicily are always the same, in Messina train split to two branches (first to west – Palermo and second to south – Siracusa and Catania (Etna)).

Villa S.Giovanni is point, where train goes to Ferry, in is about 3 km by ferry to Messina in Sicily only and it can be not so expensive. But train goes on a ferry and you travel for free. There are conductor changes after ferry and trains in Messina split to direction Siracusa (south-east Sicily) and Palermo (west Sicily). If you catch train from-to Sicily, there is no ticket checking during crossing sea, but police often checks ID (migrants, criminality, drugs), and sometimes dogs are searching drugs in train - mostly direction from Sicily. There is really lot and hard ID checking on way from-to Sicily and searching for drugs smuggling too.

   Stops with EC from Geneve:  Geneve, Lausanne, Montreux, Sion, Brig, Domodossola, Gallarate, Milano Centrale, Brescia, Peschiera del Garda, Verona Porta Nuova, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia Santa Lucia

   FB or AV trains from Milano only stops:  Milano Centrale, Brescia, Desenzano del G./S., Verona Porta Nuova, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia Santa Lucia

   FB or AV trains from Torino stops:  Torino Porta Nuova, Torino Porta Susa, Vercelli, Novara, Milano Centrale, Brescia, Peschiera del Garda, Verona Porta Nuova, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia Santa Lucia.

   EC 59 through Switzerland (Basel – Bern – Milano), stops are:  Basel SBB, Olten, Bern, Thun, Spiez, Visp, Brig, Domodossola, Gallarate, Milano Centrale.

Trains from Germany (Munchen) to Austria and Italy and stops:

EC 89 DB-ÖBB EuroCity

München Hbf 13:37, München Ost 13:44-13:46 GO, Rosenheim 14:14-14:16, Kufstein 14:39-14:41, Wörgl Hbf 14:49-14:51, Jenbach 15:04-15:06, Innsbruck Hbf 15:23-15:27, Brennero/Brenner 16:02-16:14, Fortezza/Franzensfeste 16:44-16:46, Bressanone/Brixen 16:55-16:56, Bolzano/Bozen 17:27-17:31, Trento 18:02-18:04, Rovereto 18:17-18:19, Verona Porta Nuova 18:58. (GO – only exit, no tickets for entering, BO – only for boarding, but GO and BO are not interesting of free travelling, you can get in or out anywhere).

 EC between Munchen and Verona in both directions goes once a two hours always with the same stops in both directions. There is a  lot of police checking in direction to Germany. Police goes in train before Bolzano and after Bolzano, Brennero too and they check all places (Toilets, under seats, etc.). A lot of coops are in Bolzano and Brennero station, on the platform, and they are on platform even for regional trains to Brennero. It is because of immigrants – they check only dark and black persons, many immigrants still try to get in Austria or Germany by train and they are in Brennero or Bolzano station, they are looking in toilet or under seat too. But police do not check tickets.

CNL 40485 Apus
München Hbf 21:08, Rosenheim 21:43-21:45 BO, Kufstein 22:07 BO, Wörgl Hbf 22:15-22:17 BO, Jenbach 22:32-22:33 BO, Innsbruck Hbf 22:58-23:05 BO, Brennero/Brenner 23:42-0:02 GO or BO Impossible???, Bressanone/Brixen 0:38-0:40, Bolzano/Bozen 1:07-1:09, Trento 1:41-1:43, Verona Porta Nuova 2:37-7:15 GO, Peschiera del Garda 7:30-7:32 GO, Desenzano del G./S. 7:41-7:43 GO, Brescia 8:01-8:03 GO, Rovato 8:17-8:29 GO or BO Impossible???, Milano Centrale 9:12

Another branch goes from Verona to Rome. Train goes from München Hbf and train splits in Verona to two branches. Branch to Rome - CNL 485 Lupus: Verona Porta Nuova, Bologna Centrale 4:20-5:08 GO, Firenze S.M.N. 6:07-6:25 GO, Arezzo 7:03-7:05 GO, Chiusi-Chianciano Terme 7:34-7:36 jGO, Orvieto 8:00-8:02 GO, Roma Termini 9:22)

 CNL 40463 Pictor
München Hbf 23:36, München Ost 23:44-23:46 BO, Salzburg Hbf 1:19-1:34 GO or BO Impossible???, Schwarzach-St. Veit 2:23-2:26 GO or BO Impossible???, Spittal-Millstättersee 3:26-3:27 GO or BO Impossible???, Villach Hbf 3:51-4:45 GO or BO Impossible???, Tarvisio Centrale 5:04 GO or BO Impossible???, Tarvisio Boscoverde 5:08-5:18 GO, Udine 6:23-6:25 GO, Pordenone 6:58-7:00 GO, Conegliano 7:22-7:24 GO, Treviso Centrale 7:46-7:48 GO, Venezia Mestre 8:12-8:14 GO, Venezia Santa Lucia 8:24

As you can see CNL 40485 Apus and CNL 40463 Pictor, there are some stops, where you can not get in or get off. But it is only for booking tickets. If you travel for free, you can get in or of anywhere. It is quite strange, but probably because of immigrants and police control. There are probably coops between Italy and Germany in trains and a lot of controls.

   There are long-journey EC trains between Germany-Austria-Italy, belongs to  DB-ÖBB train company. These trains starts in Italy at Verona, or Bolonga or Venezia. EC train between Munchen hbf and Verona goes once a 2 hours with the same stops, some EC trains goes from-to Bolonga or Venezia. Stops are:

Bologna Centrale, Verona Porta Nuova, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano/Bozen, Bressanone/Brixen, Fortezza/Franzensfeste, Brennero/Brenner, Innsbruck Hbf, Jenbach, Wörgl Hbf, Kufstein, Rosenheim, München Ost, München Hbf

Or some trains does not go from Bolonga, but from Venezia, or from Verona only. Stops from Venezia:

Venezia Santa Lucia, Venezia Mestre, Padova, Vicenza, Verona Porta Nuova, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano/Bozen, Bressanone/Brixen, Fortezza/Franzensfeste, Brennero/Brenner, Innsbruck Hbf, Jenbach, Wörgl Hbf, Kufstein, Rosenheim, München Ost, München Hbf

There are a lot of border checking between Italy-Austria-Germany in direction to Germany, because of Immigrants. And there are a lot of coops in train and on platforms.

Luxembourg

Since 2020, all modes of public transport - buses, trains and the tram - have been free of charge throughout Luxembourg. If you want to get out of the country, be aware that the inspector will check tickets on the international train as soon as it departs, so, if the next stop is still in Luxembourg, you're screwed. The cops are not liberal.

Norway

: It's insanely easy black train in Norway. When I went to Norway I found it rather difficult to hitchhike, so instead I resorted to abusing Norway's "Ubjent" train system to jump around around the country. I managed to train from Vestfold (south west Norway) to the Swedish border using just free trains! Go to whatever train station, even if it's Oslo central station, size doesn't matter, and look for train which are going local, not long-distance train. For example, Oslo - Ljan (a tiny village not far from Oslo). These trains will usually be red and old looking, and every 2nd carriage will have "Ubjent" written on the outside doors with a small message (in English) saying that you must have a validated ticket before entering as there is not a blue jumpr (!). This essentially means buy a ticket and get it electronically stamped before entering, but of course, no one ever does this and many local people jump black. Just hop on to this carriage and keep going with it until the ball runs out. From there, you can get another local Ubjent train until that ball runs out again! So use this easy jump style until you get to your destination. Like I said, I managed to travel from Tonsberg to Holden, about 250km, using this method.

It is true, that is really easy train in some parts of Norway, especially around Oslo. PeterOB was train in Norway - in area 20-50 km north from Oslo in March 2016. Generally - there are two most common types of train in Norway. BUT as another user wrote - it is easy to get from Oslo and back by local trains in Norway. Region around Oslo is very easy. Some regions around big town can be easy too. But local trains L do not go everywhere and you have to use regional train R with normal ticket checking. But ticket checking is not so often, just after bigger cities. You can use short distant ticket trick (not in local train L) or you can try WC method or something else.

   If you will be captured, you can be kicked out of the train or you can get fine NOK 1150 (about Eur 130), it is reduced to NOK 950 (about Eur 105), if you pay directly. But it is true, that you do not have to pay if you do not live and work in Noway. But there are not so many people in train and conductor can check whole train in one or two stops. Time between stops is usually 10-30 min and 10-50 km (bigger distance in north). If you are kicked out, then many stations can be without waiting room especially in north or in some small stop, many stops are request only (north from Oslo and Trondheim, around Roros, Tynset). There are 3 trains a day and one night train (with not all stops) between Oslo and Trondheim. But there are more trains with shorter journey and more stops. You can wait 2-6 hours or whole night for next train and some stations are without waiting room. Winter temperature in this region, it is various. Temperature is usually from +5 to -15 with west wind and a lot of rain and snow. Bout some stations are further from sea, even in mountains and temperature can drop to -20 or even to -30. It can cause death during exam in case that you fail and waiting room is not in your station (and waiting rooms can be close during night).

Fist type is Orange doors - local train L (you can find this type of train by letter L in station departures table and if you look to idos.cz, this type of train is market like R, and you can see at idos.cz all stops during trip). Local train has in the middle blue part with blue door and is it possible to buy ticket or being checked there (You can buy ticket in train in blue door area, for example if control is coming – it is good idea to sit in orange part, but close to blue part. Or you can sit in first wagon and you will see ticket inspectors in platform (group of people with uniforms), when train is arriving). Conductor is most of time in blue part. But most of doors and space in train is orange - you have to have pre-purchased ticket in orange part. But usually nobody checks it. Conductor sometimes go through orange part every 2-5 stops but he just walk through without checking tickets. Sometimes, maybe once a 15-30 rides, few ticket inspectors check orange part too. But they don't give penalty probably, they just sell ticket in orange part or some people just tell them that they have already ticket. But you can get penalty from them – they are there for giving fines. Almost nobody have ticket in orange part during suddenly checking. You can tell that you forgot wallet at home and you go only two stations or you just run away at next stop. Penalty is NOK 1150 (About Eur 130), but it is pretty rare to get penalty from Ministry of transport (Ministry of Norwegian train).

The same penalty NOK 1150 is in Oslo public transport (Buses, Trams, Underground). The blue jumprs (ticket inspectors) are in group of two-three with reflective jackets and many local residents suddenly leave tram after recognizing them. You can use ships from one to another side of fjord, close to Oslo. There are quite a lot of passengers and nobody check tickets during boarding or during ride. Ship go usually once a hour until late night. If the ticket inspection suddenly start on the ship, you can jump into water and swim 2-4 km to side. But water is not warm. There are buses in another side of fjord than Oslo and in Oslo outer zones. In direction from Oslo usually nobody checks tickets but in direction to Oslo from outside – there is no ticket shop and you have to go around driver and show or buy tickets. You can try to tell that you have Euro only or ticket in phone and empty battery.

Around Oslo - a lot of local orange trains go, usually every 1 hour (sometimes once a 2 hour, but somewhere once a 20 minutes) since early morning to midnight. Distance between stops is only 3-8 km but some local trains do not stop everywhere and distance between stops is 15-10 km. Sped is about 70-110 km/h. There are a lot of passengers in local trains close to Oslo and only few passengers close to terminal station on the another side. Orange trains have only one toilet usually. Toilet is not easily visible, it is usually in middle of train.

Next type is R train (Regional?, R at departure board, REG at idos.cz) R trains don't have orange or blue door but there is normal ticket inspection like in Sweden. Some R trains are with orange door everywhere, but it does not mean anything. R-trains are quite crowded close to Oslo, between Oslo and Hamar, close to Trondheim. Conductor usually check tickets after big town and not so often during a trip after. Many stops can be request only. But if not so many people come into train, there is long journey without ticket checking. And you can try just sleep, read a book, like you were already checked (it does not work at first checking). Conductor almost don't care who is new. Distance between stops is about 10-20 (50+) km and interval to next train about 2-12 hours in south of Norway. Regional trains are marked with R on departures table and at www.idos.cz like REG-trains. You can see at idos.cz all stops. Trains around Oslo are quite crowded, and there is quite lot of people around bigger town. There are small R trains too, with few passengers only and many stops by request. Conductor almost do not check tickets during a trip, only at begin or after bigger town. On the other side, it is easy to find, who is new between few passengers. Conductor just walk through train often and if there is checking of all passengers, they say in Norwegian Biljet Kontrol in train speaker, with some talking around. You can try to stay on the WC during checking, conductor usually do not checks toilets (You can leave door unlocked and sit like during shitting). Or you can try to tell that you have ticket in phone and empty battery or your friend is booking your ticket just now - but you risk penalty with this. You can run away in next station in case of troubles. You can use too short distant ticket trick - that you buy ticket only for 1-3 stations and you continue more far after checking. But if you change train, you need new ticket. And tickets in Norway are expensive (about Eur 5-10 per 30 km, if you buy ticket by internet long time before ride, price can be Eur 1 per 5 km). There are no cheaper tickets “Mini Pris” for shorter distances. Mini Pris tickets are for distances like 100+ km at nsb.no and it cost more than 200 NOK always (around Eur 25). But you can find ticket for 300-500 km long journey with MiniPris 250-300 NOK (30-40 Eur). Standard price for 300-500 km can be 600-900 NOK (around 70-100 Eur).

   Some regional trains (Norwegian train company NSB) are going from Oslo to Moss, Halden, Goteborg and back. Moss is the last stop, which is accessed by local trains (L without checking, R at www.idos.cz) with orange door and it is 5 stops by regional train (R at departure table, REG at www.idos.cz) from Moss to Halden (last stop in Norway) and 3 more stops to Goteborg. There are regional 4 trains a day from Oslo to Goteborg wit not so many passengers inside (Ticket inspection can be just after Oslo resp. Goteborg, maybe after Halden and Moss), from Oslo 7:01,13:01,15:28. It is 10 stops, journey from Oslo to Goteborg has duration 3:40 – 4:00 hours. Back from Goteborg to Oslo trains go: 4:35,6:55,13:00,17:55, journey has duration 3:47-3:57 hours. This train is probably mostly for SE-NO or NO-SE ride, because stops in first country are only for boarding and stops in second country are only for getting off.

There are another not so common types of trains. First F-trains with F letter on departure Table. This trains go from Oslo to Airport and back. F-train goes from-to Oslo Airport and Oslo central station. Ticket cost NOK 90 (about Eur 10) and PeterOB does not know anything about ticket control in F-train.

Swedish high-speed train SJ Snabbstaagbetween Stockholm and Oslo, stops are (Oslo - Kongsvinger (NO) - Arvika (SE) - Karlstad (SE) - Kristinehamn - Degerfors - Hallsberg - (Katrineholm) - (Södertälje Syd) - Stockholm) Only few SJ Snabbtaags stops in Katrineholm or 'Södertälje Syd' It is 8 stops (for one trains 9 or 10 stops). There was high-speed train without stop between Stockgolm and Karlstad (3 hours between these stops), but not anymore (4 stops total) Concrete schedule changes quite lot every day-week. One train goes in Morning (early, except Saturday), one in late morning and 1-3 trains in afternoon. You can find concrete train at idos.cz Generally, number of High-Speed trains between Oslo and Stockholm goes 4-5x in Friday, 2x in Saturday, 3x in other days in each direction There is sometimes identity checking on platform in Oslo after leaving train from Sweden because of immigrants. Only few passengers go between Arvika and Oslo. So blue jumprs probably do not check ticket so often in this part of journey. When PeterOB was train there in SJ Snabbstaag - blue jumprs stayed in Bistro area and they was drinking coffee. But sometimes, they check between Oslo and Arvika, especially in train from Oslo. If you are kicked out inKongsvinger', you can take orange local train to Oslo without ticket checking.. Some Swedish trains go from Kongsvinger to Arvika and Karlstad, but they have a lot of stops, tickets checking every 1-3 station. And only few trains a day stops in some stops, many local stops are without waiting room and winter temperature can be bellow -20. It can be difficult to get from Arvika, because next SJ Snabbstaag can get echo and local Swedish trains between Karlstad - Arvika - Konsvinger (NO) have lot of stops (only few trains stops at Lerot, Os, Lene, Bransberg). From Konsvinger to Oslo goes local train L and there are more trains (SJ Snabbstaag and regional with more stops) and you can hide between many passengers or in tolilet.

   Norway is very long country with very low population density in the north Distance to next village can be 50-100+ km, and there are not so many people in north villages. Not so many cars go to north and you can wait long time on the road. If you go to North, there are 24 hours light in June and many mosquitoes and rain in Summer, temperature about 5-15degrees. But in winter is more difficult – only pretty short days and various weather. Landscape close to ocean has a lot of wind and snow with not so deep frost, but sometimes, especially in some mountain parts temperature can be bellow -30 (Region Roros – Tynset – Koppang – Rena – Elverum is famous for temperatures bellow -20 or even bellow -30 (it can be -35 in Tynset or Roros). It is valley, where cold heavy air from Sweden flows). Everyone want to take train instead of standing on the road in strong frost, BUT only around Oslo, Trondheim or another big city, local trains goes often and many trains are without ticket checking. Journey to North is difficult, even through Roros – Tynset - Elverum mountains area (Death during exam is possible in winter time, in case that you fail, of course, seriously).

   If you want to go more and more north, it is not easy. Remember that you can check all stops during journey and time-table for all European countries (not in East Europe) at www.idos.cz. Select „Vlaky“ - trains. It help a lot for planing journey. If you select „Pouze přímá spojení“ - it means no train change during journey between two stations. It will choose only direct trains from A to B. Idos.cz works for trains like this in Europe, not for buses (for buses only in Czech Republic and Slovakia and some buses in Europe, usually long journey buses).

   You can look on nature and landscape pretty easily now before you will go to train – by cabwiev on youtube. The rail road from Trondheim to Bodoe is here (just put the code into Youtube URL) – Spring ( tnsQ8DjD6YE ), Summer ( TY1sbKvjNcY ), Fall ( 0Tpq2mLtXDc ), Winter ( 9pVWfzsgLoQ ). More CabViews -  Nordlandsbahn 1920x1080 h264 ( 831Drz4YQdQ ), BergensBanen ( z7VYVjR_nwE ), from Oslo to AAl ( 7o7ecadHJmU ). From Halden to Oslo, Goteborg-Oslo rail-road (Nu8z33KYPAA), Bergen-Oslo (xisVS_DKpJg), Nordic train from Sweden – between Kiruna and Narwik (r7XJo6qzyCE), in winter in north Sweden (39RB_IGEA2k) and (_QftmL-KDVs) and (dvxe9U8otTo) and (qr4Ghzcs0g8). And more. Whole URL is youtube.com/watch?v= CODE

   From Oslo to Trondheim goes R train (REG at idos.cz) with fewest stops (much more R-trains with more stops and a lot of passengers goes between Oslo and Lillehamar). Train from Oslo to Trondheim goes at 8:02,14:02.16:02,22:46. It is 16 stops and duration is 6:29-6:47 hours. But the night train has 18 stops and stops Hunderfossen ,Kongsvoll are only by request at night. Night train wait long time in some stops and journey takes 8:08 (22:46-6:54). There are beds inside night train. You need only for night train seat reservation. For blackriding – day trains are probably more easily, because there are more passengers, no seat reservation and beds (You can try to hide one or two more person together into sleeping bag or under blanket and 2 or 3 persons can go on one-person ticket). You have more possibilities to hide, but night train should be difficult. Back from Trondheim to Oslo trains go 8:23, 13:28, 15:30 and night train 23:30. Day trains have 16 stops and duration is 6:34 to 6:40. Night train has 18 stops, seat reservation obligatory, long standing on some stops. Duration is 7:30 (23:20-6:50).

   If you want to go more north, to Bodoe, from Oslo-Trondheim, you always have to change train in Trondheim. Lets search for trains from Trondheim to Bodoe. Blue-Black train here can be pretty difficult. You have only one train during day and one train at night. Daily train R or IC (REG 471 at idos.cz) goes from Trondheim S 7:38 and arrives to Bodoe 17:28, so it takes 9:50, almost 10 hours. It is 26 stops and 11 stops are with request only. There are high probability for changing conductors during journey. But conductor all check tickets probably after Trondheim resp. Bodoe and probably not or just few times between, but you can try just pretend sleep, conductor do not remember after long time and he does not care so much, who is new.

This is most north Norwegian train line by NSB, and it goes through Arctic Circle (66.55 degrees or 66 degrees 33 minutes) Arctic circle is between Mo i Rana and Bodoe, ore exactly between Mo i Rana (66.3905 north) and Loensdal (66.7432 north), northest stations Valnesfjord (67.2995), Tverlandet (67.3019), Moerkved (67.2838), Bodoe (67.2864), northest point of track loks to be by fjord coast (67.3305 north, 15.1567 east). This is onle of four nancing lines in EU-Shenghen, that's goes through Arctic circle. Two are in Finland (from Oulu to Kolari and second line to Rovaniemi, Kemjarvi and Murmansk in Russia without trains after Kemjarvi and the most north train line is between Kiruna (SE) - and Narvik (NO)). But there is not so much cold around Bodoe and Mo i Rana, because of Atlantic ocean. Temperature is here in winter around zero, sometimes -10, sometimes even 5-10, only rarely temperature drop to -20, but here is lot of wind, rain and, snow, lot of clods and Aurora is not so good visible. Summer is with lot of rain, temperature 10-15 degrees and never-ended light.

Stops are: (Trondheim S 7:38,Vaernes 8:10-8:11,Stjoerdal 8:16-8:17,Levanger 9:06-9:07,Verdal 9:18-9:19,Steinkjer 9:44-9:46,Joerstad 10:16-10:17 R,Snaasa 10:23-10:24,Grong 10:50-10:53,Harran 11:04-11:05 R,Lassemoen 11:17-11:18 R,Namsskogan 11:41-11:42 R,Majvatn 12:03-12:04 R,Trofors 12:36-12:37,Mosjoeen 13:06-13:09,Drevvatn 13:34-13:35 R,Bjerka 13:55-13:56,Mo i Rana 14:17-14:20,Loensdal 15:39-15:40 R,Roekland 16:00-16:01 R,Rognan 16:14-16:15,Fauske 16:37-16:46,Valnesfjord 16:53-16:54 R,Tverlandet 17:10-17:11 R,Moerkved 17:17-17:18 R,Bodoe 17:28) R means request stop. Daily train has a lot of stops and regular checking is probably not so often, probably not so many passengers. You can try to hide between passengers or in toilet. You do not need reservation for daily train.

   Night train goes 23:40 from Trondheim S to Bodoe 9:15. Type of train is IC or R-Regional (REG 475 at idos.cz). It is 20 stops and 8 stops are request only. Journey takes 9:35. Train stops only for 1-4 minutes at station. There are beds inside and seat reservation obligatory.

Stops are: (Trondheim S 23:40,Vaernes 0:05-0:06,Stjoerdal 0:10-0:11,Levanger 0:50-0:51,Verdal 1:03-1:04,Steinkjer 1:27-1:29,Snaasa 2:06-2:07 R,Grong 2:37-2:40,Namsskogan 3:27-3:28 R,Trofors 4:24-4:25,Mosjoeen 4:54-4:58,Bjerka 5:42-5:43 R,Mo i Rana 6:05-6:08,Loensdal 7:26-7:27 R,Roekland 7:47-7:48 R,Rognan 8:01-8:02,Fauske 8:25-8:30,Valnesfjord 8:37-8:38 R,Tverlandet 8:56-8:57 R,Moerkved 9:03-9:04 R,Bodoe 9:15)

   Back from Bodoe to Trondheim – situation is the same. One daily train REG 472 and one night train REG 476 only (IC or R at departure board and REG at www.idos.cz). The daily train goes from Bodoe 12:27 to Trondheim S 22:05. Duration is 9:38. It is 26 stops with 11 request stops. There are probably not so many people in train and there is probability of conductor changing during journey.

Stops are: (Bodoe 12:27, Moerkved 12:32-12:33 R, TVERLANDET 12:40-12:41 R, Valnesfjord 12:56-12:57 R, Fauske 13:08-13:11, Rognan 13:31-13:32, Roekland 13:39-13:40 R, Loensdal 14:06-14:07 R, Dunderland 14:48-14:56, Mo i Rana 15:28-15:31, Bjerka 15:51-15:52, Drevvatn 16:11-16:12 R, Mosjoeen 16:38-16:41, Trofors 17:11-17:12, Majvatn 17:45-17:46 R, Namsskogan 18:07-18:08 R, Lassemoen 18:31-18:32 R, Harran 18:43-18:44 R, Grong 18:58-19:07, Snaasa 19:33-19:34, Joerstad 19:37-19:38 R, Steinkjer 20:13-20:16, Verdal 20:37-20:38, Levanger 20:53-20:54, Stjoerdal 21:32-21:33, Vaernes 21:34-21:35, Trondheim S 22:05) R means request stop.

   Night train from Bodoe to Trondheim – situation is the same. There are beds and seat reservation obligatory, probably not so many passengers. You can try to hide in the dark coupe and pretended sleeping, but chance of success is dubious (or more persons inside one sleeping bag or one blanket can go with one ticket). Night train goes from Bodoe 21:10 to Trondheim S 7:47. It is REG 476 at idos.cz. Duration is 10:30 and it is 20 stops, 8 request stops include. Train wait at stops from 1 to 13 minutes.

Stops are: (Bodoe 21:10, Moerkved 21:15-21:16 R, TVERLANDET 21:23-21:24 R, Valnesfjord 21:40-21:41 R, Fauske 21:54-21:58, Rognan 22:18-22:19, Roekland 22:26-22:27 R, Loensdal 22:57-22:58 R, Mo i Rana 0:13-0:20, Bjerka 0:40-0:41 R, Mosjoeen 1:30-1:40, Trofors 2:09-2:10, Namsskogan 3:15-3:28, Grong 4:23-4:26, Snaasa 4:53-4:54 R, Steinkjer 5:37-5:40, Verdal 6:02-6:03, Levanger 6:14-6:15, Stjoerdal 7:04-7:05, Vaernes 7:06-7:07, Trondheim S 7:47) R is request stop.

   Around Roros - Tynset - Koppang. There are just small trains with one conductor and one WC, not so many passengers. One journey is Hamar-Elverum-Rena-Koppeng-Tynset-Tolga-Os-Roros Highlands starts after Rena and there is tack in valley from Koppang to Roros. Many stops are request only and not so many people in train are between Koppang and Roros. There is a lot of snow during winter (30-100 cm) and the cold heavy Arctic air is flowing from Swedenin this valley . Temperature sometimes drops bellow -20C often, sometimes bellow -30C (In extreme case daily maximum can be bellow -25C and minimum bellow -35C), Tynset is coldest place. There are six trains per day in one direction. Most of stops are with waiting room but waiting rooms are closed at night. Last train from Roros to Hamar goes around 4pm. It is possible to be kicked out there or even next train can get echo and you can be alone in station. Situation on track Roros-Trondheim is worse. Almost all stops are request only and there is a lot of stops. Some stops can be without waiting room too. There are three trains per day in one direction between Trondheim and Roros. Tynset-Roros Area has coldest winter days in Norway and death during exam is possible there in case that you fail.

   There is no train line further north from Bodoe in Norway , Bodoe is the most north town or stop, where you can get by train through Norway by NSB – Norwegian train company (and it can be difficult and dangerous in winter). There is one railway from Trondheim to Storlien (Border SE-NO) and Ljusdal (and rail-road continue to Gavle and Stockholm or to Sundsvall). It is pretty long with many stops, not so many passengers and almost no cars between Norway and Sweden there. There is another railway in Sweden from Stockholm to Gavle, Sundsvall, far to north (Umeaa, Boden, Kiruna - SE, Narvik – NO).

   Buses and cars continue from Bodoe to Narvik, Tromso, Hammerfest, NordCapp You can try buses – in Sweden is often only possibility pay by card or phone, no by cash, but in Norway is possible to buy ticket by cash. So you can try to say, that you have Euro only. Drivers might let you take bus for free. But it is question, how it works in long distance buses. You can try too quickly show phone, where is something like fake ticket on display (they do not check it so hard) or you can try to snick inside back door. But of course, population density is pretty low and distance between towns can be more than 100 km. There are not so often buses going, and not so many cars for hitchhiking. You can wait many and many hours on the road. Because of ocean, winter temperature is usually between +5 and -20, but with strong wind and rain, snow often. And sometimes, temperature drop bellow -30 during arctic wave. There is pretty short daylight and no Sun during December, and non-stop light in June. Some truck with food goes from south to north of Scandinavia and you can catch some truck too.

   There is ship line around fjords (Bodoe – Lofoten – Narvik – Tromso Alta – Hammerfest (close to Nord Cap) – Vardoe – Kirkenes (East Finmark, close to Russian border)). But ship could be quite expensive, especially cabins. Ticket just for walkers can be cheaper, but it cost still quite a lot. Maybe, you can hitchhike a car and hide inside car. And Short Distance Ticket Trick (like in train) should work. You can try to buy ticket only for short distance, and continue further. There are usually restaurants, buffets and bars inside ships. And people leave leftovers on tables or in some special places. You can usually eat quite lot of leftovers – bread, salates, main dishes, starters etc. PeterOB ate lot of leftovers on ferry in Baltic Sea.

   Food is quite expensive in Norway and more and more expensive in the North, especially in Svalbard. Some shops have trashes accessible, but many shops lock it. Situation with trashes is bad in south, quite good in north or in cold areas Roros-Tynset (not so many dumpster divers there) or in smaller tovns. And the shops throw away a lot of food. It might be not so easy to find good shop for dumpster diving, if you do not know terrain before. More and more trashes are locked especially in south of Norway or Sweden – shitty supermarkets. Good trashes behind Coop and other supermarkets are in coldest winter area – Roros, Tynset.

   You can go by train in Sweden, it is log journey Stockholm – Gavle – Ljusdal – Ostresund – Duved – Aare – Storlien(Border SE-NO) ,Storlien is on the border Sweden-Norway, it is relative close to Trondheim. It is pretty easy to get to Gavle by train, but from Gavle to Duved is not so easy – only 4 trains a day in one direction, with a lot of stops (around 15-18). It can be very difficult too. There are not so many passengers and some stops are without waiting room. And winter temperature can drop to -30C. Death during exam is possible here.

   There are R trains from Storlien to Trondheim and Heimdal (REG at ww.idos.cz), but only two trains a day by NSB train company. From Storlien (Border SE-NO) trains go 9:40 – 11:09 (REG 382) and 18:40-20:12 (REG 384), it is 8 stops to Trondheim and 3 more stops to Heimdal . Many stops are for request only. But conductor probably does not check tickets so often, maybe just after bigger town, if anytime. Duration is 1:28-1:31 from Storlien to Trondheim resp. From Storlien to Heimdal 9:40-11:24 resp. 18:40-20:29. Duration is 1:44 rep. 1:49.

Heimdal – Trondheim - Storlien(Border SE-NO) trains go REG 381 Heimdal 7:30 – Trondheim S 7:48-7:50 - Storlien(Gr) 9:25 resp. REG 383 - Melhus Skysstasjon 16:17 – Heimdal 16:26-16:29 - Trondheim S 16:46-16:50-Storlien(Gr) 18:25

   Complete station list: (Melhus Skysstasjon 16:17, Heimdal 16:26-16:29, Marienborg 16:35-16:36 R, Skansen 16:40-16:41 R, Trondheim S 16:46-16:50, Vikhammer 17:01-17:02 R, Hommelvik 17:11-17:12 R, Hell 17:18-17:20, Hegra 17:26-17:27 R, Gudaa 17:49-17:50 R, Meraaker 17:58-17:59 R, Kopperaa 18:06-18:07 R, Storlien(Border NO-SE) 18:25) R means Request stop. Both trains (morning and afternoon) and both directions have the same stops.

   There are a lot of R and R trains between Heimdal and Trondheim, even L trains without checking (once a hour during night and once 5-30 min during day) whole day and night. Some trains are local (L at departure table, R at www.idos.cz) with orange doors area and no ticket checking. Orange trains (L at departure info and R at www.idos.cz) goes pretty often here, with a lot of stops and some stops are request only. Local orange trains go from Steinkjer – 9 stops to Aasen(N)  - 11 stops to Trondheim S, 3 stops to Heimdal  and 1 more stop to Melhus Skysstasjon. Or it can be from Heimdal 4 stops to Lundamo. But at night local orange trains do not go, only regional trains once a hour (R at departure table and REG at www.idos.cz). But it is pretty easy to jump during day by local trains L (R at www.idos.cz) Steinkjer - Aasen(N) – Trondheim S - Heimdal -  Melhus Skysstasjon -  Lundamo. And conductors probably not so much checks tickets at night.

   By NSB train company (almost only this company is in Norway) and rail-roads in Norway – Bodoe is northest point with rail-road. BUT there is long train journey in Sweden: Stockholm – Gavle – Sundswall – Umea – Boden (Luleaa) – Kiruna – Narvik There are a lot of trains and 3 or 4 stops from Stockholm to Gavle. It is prety eassy to get there. From Gavle to Sundsvall is 3 stops by high-sped train SJ Snabbstaag, or long journey train SJ Nattaaget or Arctic cirle train. From Sundwall to Umea is 4 more stops with SJ AB and many stops with local trains. And many stops can be without waiting room (stops for local trains, stops with long-journey trains should be with waiting room) and winter temperature can be -35. Only few trains a day (2-3) continues to Boden(Luleaa) and more North-West to Kiruna. Distance between stops can be 20-100 km and it takes quite long time to next stop. There are local trains too, with a lot of stops and not so many passengers. Some stops can be without waiting room and winter temperature is usually from +5C to -20C but sometimes temperature drop to -40C. And you can wait many hours for train. The area between Kiruna and Narvik is with mountains, it is very beautiful area, but with a lot of snow, grass, wetland and mosquitoes. Winter temperature here is from +5C to -25C normally, but sometimes -40C. There are only 2 trains per day in one direction and only one train per day in one direction in some stops. There are not so many passengers and  there are small villages only. But conductor probably does not check ticket almost there and you can pretend sleeping.

   Two trains a day in one direction goes in the north between Narvik and Kiruna. IC 95 Narvik 10:38 - 11 stops to Kiruna 13:36-13:54 - 6 stops to Luleaa 17:41 and R 93 Arctic circle train Narvik 15:12 - 8 stops to Kiruna 18:00-18:12 - 8 stops to Umeaa Central 1:42.

   Back from Sweden NZ 94 Arctic Circle Train Stockholm Central 16:28 - 18 stops to Kiruna 9:31-9:49 - 7 stops to Narvik 12:36. IC 96 Luleaa Central 11:07 - 6 stops to Kiruna - 15:09-15:27 - 11 stops to Narvik 18:22. So there is only one train per day in one direction in 3-4 stops (Laaktatjaakka station, Vassijaure station, Rombakk, Bjoernfjell in direction to Narvik). And not so many passengers, many stops without waiting room, wind, snow, frost. Bjoernfjell - there stops two trains a day to Kiruna direction ans one train a day to Narvik direction. You can try to go back to Katterat (Narvik direction) 10:57. Distance between stops is 30-70 km and there are pretty small amount of passengers, and many stops can be without waiting room. And temperature in north of Scandinavia can be -40 degrees Celsius during winter. Death during exam is possible in winter time, in case that you fail and waiting room is not in your stop (and waiting room can be closed during night). Check all stops during journey for all trains (you can see it at www.idos.cz - select "Vlaky"). Watch weather forecast and have good sleeping bag. Frost can come pretty fast (from -5 to -40 degrees in 1-2 days). PeterOB do not explore trains in north of Norway. But Norway have only 5 millions inhabitants, most inhabitants close to Oslo. So there can be really empty trains behind Arctic circle and not so many trains a day (and stops can be without waiting room). But there is railway from Oslo to Trondheim and from Trondheim Bodoe (Bodoe is before Arctic circle, it is quite close to Arctic crcle) and there is NO train to Tromso (behind Arctic circle). Classic hitchhiking is probably easier in north of Norway and Lapland (But it is dangerous area, because of weather, no Sun during Winter and no dark, lot of rain and a lot of mosquitoes during summer, but mosquitoes do not bring any diseases).

Poland

As we can read – PeterOB have many experiences in black train (free riding by train) in Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Central European jump styles - Tips and trick for game with conductor is similar in all countries in central Europe (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland). Leťs explore Poland. Tips and tricks are similar.

   There are several types of trains in Poland. First type is local train. This type of train is marked like OS or R-train in Poland. Local trains have distance between stops about 2-7 km, and this type of train have a lot of stops during journey (50-200 km). Speed of local train is not so big, because of loot of stops and not so fast running. Classic speed is 40-60 km per hour (without stops 60-100 kph). Local trains have about 4-6 wagons and usually only one conductor (or two conductors), some wagons are not so long. You can see about 2-4 wagons away, where is conductor in some types of local trains. Number of passengers is not so big, but it can be more than 100 near big town, but only 10-30 passengers in some train. Conductor go usually every 2-5 stops and check only new passengers, but in some local trains from big town conductor go one time at start and no more during journey, because of almost no new passengers go to train. The conductor's walk is quite fast, but not so fast at the begin in big town with a lot of passengers. You can try walk around conductor, especially in some stop get off and go to area, where tickets have been checked. But it do not work, if conductor's walk is fast. As I have told, conductor check only new passengers. You can try sleep, read a book or look out of window and do not answer for checking new passengers (you, are new,  of course). But if amount of passengers is small or you do not look like average person – there is big chance for asking you to show ticket. Especially in night/late evening local train and not to close to town, you can get on as quiet as possible and conductor might do not go. Method, that PeterOB use in Poland is Short Distance Ticket Trick. The ticket price is about Eur 1 per 10-13 km. You bu ticket only for short distance (20-30 km, few stops), and you go near conductor, show your ticket during control and continue journey much further than distance in your ticket. The conductor do not remember final destination of all passengers and check only new passengers. But if you look like strange person, the chance that conductor remember your final destination is increasing. If you try to hide in toilet, do not lock the toilet, and sit down like during shitting and hold toilet paper in hand. But stay in toilet only for control time, because of another passengers go to toilet and open the door. And one more thing. Be carefull in in some stops in bigger town because of conductor change. New conductor check all passengers, not only new. And many passengers changed in big town. If you are found that you travel without ticket, you will challenged to buy ticket or you might be challenged for give your passport or identity card for write fine. The fine is Zloty 200 (about Eur 40) + Ticket price/ If you in local train refuse to give ID (do not have). You will be kicked out of train in most of cases. Interval to next train is usually 1-4 hours, it depend on location and time. But be carefull for last train at evening.

   Next type of trains is IC or R-train. This type of train is faster. R-train have distance between stops about 10-20 km and IC train about 12-30 km between stops. This type of train usually have two conductors and more passengers than local train. This type of train is usually electric (Local train is usually diesel). Interval between this type of trains is usually 1-2 hours or 2-4 hours. Seat reservation is requited for this type of train, maybe because of a lot of passengers or ticket control system. Because of more passengers you can more easy walk around conductor in some stop outside or inside during control (play that you have telephone and go out of seats area around conductor) and you wait until conductor finish your carriage and you return to your seat after it. But you can do it one or two times, if you travel for long distance, it might fail. You can too use Short Distance Ticket Trick or no not respond during checking new passengers or you can hide in toilet and do not lock door, if you see when conductor is coming). And you course, be aware of conductor change in big town. If conductor found that you travel without ticket, the chance of asking you for pay penalty or give ID to conductor is bigger. And in bigger train for long distance can be coops or security, especially now because of immigrants.

   The last type of train is EC-train with a lot of passengers and a lot of wagons. Seat reservation is required (long distance, a lot of passengers, because of control ? ) This type of train is sometimes international and run for very long distance. Some EC trains go from Prague (Czech) through Ostrava and Bohumin (CZ) to Katowice and Warsaw. Some EC trains go from Hungary or Austria (Budapest or Wien) through Bratislava, Zilina (SK) or Breclav, Ostrava, Bohumin (CZ) to Warsaw.  Speed of this train is usually 80-120 km per hour (more than 100 kph without stops). Distance between stops is quite variable – from 10-15 km to almost 200 km, usually 15-80 km. EC-trains from capital city Warsaw to south go to Bohumin (CZ) and continue through Breclaw to Wien or through Bratislava to Budapest and some trains go to Prague. Some trains divide to two parts in Bohumin (CZ) and one part continue to Prague, Second part to Bratislava and Wien or Budapest. Look for stops, arriving time and distance between stops at www.idos.cz, choose trains - “Vlaky”. You can find for example EC 111 Praha from Prague to Warsaw (Prague 0 km 10:07, Warszaw Wschodnia 18:48 721 km, one conductors crew is from Prague to Bohumin and probably second crew from Bohumin to Warsaw). Record distance between stops is from Zawiercie  to Warszawa Zachodnia 190 km and 122 minutes, averages speed 93,44 kph.

   Because of number of carriages and passengers is big and distance between stops quite long, it takes a lot of time and maybe few stops when conductor come to you. I do not if the seat reservation (you have to have) is used for ticket inspection. You can go in some stops to area where tickets are already checked (interval to next control is quite long) or walk around conductor to area where tickets have been already checked by outside way or inside wagon without backpack and play telephoning (wait for finish checking your wagon and go back) or try stay in toilet during control and play shitting, do not lock the door. But the chance of toilets checking or asking you for ticket when you walk around conductor can be bigger that local, R or IC trains, because of long distance journey and long distance between stops. I am not sure, if Short Journey Ticket Trick work (you can go near conductor for checking before final stop on ticket and in is not so cheap because of long distance between stops), because of seat reservation (conductor can have in computer with seat is with passenger and which seat not and if you sit on free seat, conductor will ask you for ticket, of course). And I do not know if conductor check only new passengers in EC/IC trains (because of seat reservation). The control before boarding do not exist in Poland or Czech, Or Slovakia or Hungary except of black private Leo Express IC trains – in Leo Express black train is control before boarding and in Yellow Regioet is one conductor per wagon and conductor have free seats and seats with passengers in Regiojet train in Czech and Slovakia). But Back to Poland EC trains. Because of international Journey, the cops and security is very often in this train, especially now because of immigrants. If conductor found you without ticket, the chance of asking you for pay penalty (About Eur 40 or Zloty 200 + Ticket price) is quite big and if you refuse to pay and give ID, the chance of coops coming is big (conductor can too phone to next stops for coops because of long time between stops). Or sometimes you can be kicked out in the middle of fields or forest,  this can usually happen in Czech-Slovakia high speed train (up 160 kph) Pendolino with small passengers, seat reservation required and expensive tickets.

   And one more warning for all type of trains (OS, R, Local, IC, EC, Pendolino), which crossing border especially Czech-Poland or Slovakia-Poland and Czech-Slovakian border too. Because of cheap drugs and medicaments for drug preparing (and illegal alcohol or tobacco without mark too) in Poland, the c controls of backpacks in international trains is quite often near Polish Borders. The police usually check identities and very detailed check all thinks in your backpack and all pockets (but do not check tickets).  Be prepare for this, especially if you take ganja or similar thing with you in your backpack or pocket. The amount of this non-ticket controls can rise up today because of a lot of immigrants.

   But generally – trains in Poland are quite slow and with a lot of stops (almost all type of train have a lot of stops and small distance between stops) and interval to next train can be very long, especially in east of Poland (and border controls are not so pleasant), classic hitchhiking is better. Hitchhiking in Poland is quite easy, waiting time is about 10-60 minutes. It is best in east parts of Poland. So going by hitchhiking is better than take train in most cases }it is faster in most of cases even go by train with zero times be kicked of). The same situation (slow trains, a lot of stops and good hitchhiking) is in Hungary. And if you are in car, coops do not check your backpack. And one more gut sign for freegans. PeterOB have found quite a lot of food in trashes in city and a lot of bread and cakes behind supermarket. This is in Poland quite good, better than Czech Republic. But supermarket workers an be sometimes angry.

But in Poland - you can probably buy quite cheap ticket for local trains. If you buy ticket for 15 km, price is about ZL 5, if you buy ticket for 40 km, price is ZL 10, for 90 km ZL 20. But the price per km is really reduced for long distances. Maximum length is 800+ km and it cost ZL 47 (about Eur 13). Prices are from year 2015. But Peter OB do not know, if you can use this for all trains, maybe only for local trains, which do not go so far and you have to make several changes of train. EC and IC trains go really far but there is seat reservation obligatory. And it is probably more expensive than local trains (at least passengers need to buy seat reservation). There s a lot of stops, even in IC trains.System of trains in Poland is not so developed and only few trains and railways are in east of Poland.

Spain

There are many different types of trains (Cercanias/Rodalia, regional, regional express and Catalunya express are obviously the worst, as they have the most stops) and you have to be aware of the fact that depending on where you are, trains may not go frequently. The conductor may either check the whole train several times or after initial check rely on his memory to see who has just hopped on the train or he may have a list. He doesn´t get off the train while checking, so you can jump off the train and jump back on on that part that he has already checked. Trains have only one inspector, even if they are composed of two parts between which you can´t walk. They don´t call the police if you refuse to pay or show a proof of identity, you simply have to get off at the next stop. White timetables (those showing trains going between two locations, not just those stopping from a particular station) list only regional trains - well, in case, you´re wondering why there are so few trains listed. Trains seem to have only one toilet, if any. In bigger cities (Barcelona, Castellon, Valencia, Alicante, ...) and in many smaller cities which may be even worse since there is less people and security can easily notice you it seems to be the rule that you need a ticket to get to the platforms. Sometimes you need a ticket to get only to Cercanias/Rodalia trains, sometimes only to express trains, sometimes both. If you are kicked out of the train, security may kick you out of the station too, so sometimes the only option is to hitchhike. When leaving Barcelona, take any Rodalies train to Passeig de Gracia where all trains going from Estacio de Franca south and from Estacio de Sants north and Rodalies trains stop at the same platform - that is, there are two platforms for each direction, you don´t need a ticket to go between them. In some stations (especially around Barcelona) they control tickets before entering the platform. In other cities (like Murcia) they don't and you can enter. In some cities they check tickets before entering just for high speed trains so you can still take the regional trains for free (like in Girona). You can't know in advance but if you find out about some stations you can add the information to here.

Sweden

Sweden is really big country from South to North (about 2000 km) and about 300-400 km from East to West. But there are not so many inhabitants (about 9,5 millions But about 7 millions Ingenious people). Population density is not so bad in south (highest density in south province Scaane and close to Stockholm - south from capital city). Hitchhiking in Sweden is not so easy (worse than average), but not really bad. Many cars drive for short distance and there are not so many good places for standing on main roads. Weather is really hostile sometimes. There are very short days during winter time, very long days during summer time, especially in the north. Temperature during winter can be during clod wave -10 to -20 in south, -30 in the middle and -40 in north (Lapland). And in north regions – there is really small amount of cars and small population density or roads network. Public transport (train, buses) is quite good developed and expensive. And interval to next train or bus can be pretty long with terribly weather in north part. PeterOB was train in many types of train, include high-speed trains (SJ Snabbstaag) with long distance between stops. He was captured many times. But he was always kicked out of train, nobody wants his ID. But in one case - conductor from high-speed train gave message to next trains and PeterOB has not unusual appearance. It was difficult for him to get into next train. It is written on the train door, that you can get fine SEK 1200 in SJ trains or SEK 1000 resp. DKR 750 in Oresundstaag train. But probably only for Swedish people - they can maybe get fine. If you speak English and not Swedish, you will be not asked for ID or fine. The fine SEK 1200 is too in Goteborg public transport, but that is question, if you get fine like non-Swedish resident.

   You can find the train connection, points for change train, and Swedish train names and train companies at www.sj.se , but there is not journey plan for every train (stops and time, starting and terminal station) (you can not find, where you can be kicked out and when next train will go). So PeterOB recommends to use www.idos.cz You can find there train type and company too, and all stops and time for every stop, first and last stop for every train and train change points and of course, next train, if you are kicked out from previous one. Select “Vlaky” - trains. If you want to find only direct trains without train change, choose “Pouze prima spojeni”.

   There are in Sweden some local-regional trains with distance between stops about 5-15 km (different names at departure board and different companies, blue R trains at www.idos.cz) (Crosataagen, Pagataag, BersTaag, TiB-SJ) .

   Long journey trains and high-speed trains with distance between stop 30-100 km (or up to around 300 km) – (SJ SnabbsTaag, SJ IC, SJ Nattaaget at dearture table, green X2, IC, NZ trains at www.idos.cz ).

   There are regional trains with distances between stops around 10-50 km (SJ Regional, SJ Övriga in north, Oresundstaag, TiB-SJ, X-taag (X-taaget), NorrTaag, Ostgota, Lanstaag, Veolia).

   The long journey trains usually belongs to SJ train company (SJ Nattaag, SJ SnabbsTaag, SJ IC). There are seat reservation obligatory in SJ trains and a ticket belongs to name (if you say that you lost ticket, it is easy to look for ticket in system, include SJ Regional and SJ Övriga). You can not buy ticket inside SJ train after boarding, so if you will be captured and you will not speak Swedish, you will be kicked out without showing ID, but you can get penalty SEK 1200 (about Eur 130).
   You can not buy ticket inside OresundsTaag train. But tickets probably do not belongs always to name there. So if you say that you have ticket in phone and battery off, or you lost ticket, you will have to get off without showing ID, if you do not speak Swedish. Penalty is DKR 750 or SEK 1000 (About EUR 105), but probality of getting penalty is small.

   There is usually not seat obligatory reservation in another type of trains (excluding SJ and OresundsTaag trains) and you can buy ticket inside train. But is some type of train (Veolia) you can pay only with credit card (so you just say that you have cash only and you will have to get off only).

   PeterOB was captured many times, including SJ Snabstaag and he was always only kicked out without penalty or showing ID. But one time - they ask for his ID in SJ SnabbTaag and they made extra stop for small station for kicking him out. And during another journey - they gave echo to next trains in SJ Snabbstaag from Malmo to Stockholm. BUT if you are more north, (not close to Malmo), then some stations have not waiting room, you have to wait outside (or waiting room can be closed during night). Next train can be many hours later (there is only 1 train per day (in one direction) in few stations) and winter in Sweden is not like winter in Italy. Death during exam is possible in winter time in case tat you will fail and there is not waiting room in your station (or waiting room is closed during night).

   PeterOB has been finding quite hard system of train names, types and companies, and correlation with train types and types at www.idos.cz. There are many train companies in Sweden, name of train company is not always the same name like name of train type. Many long journey trains (include regionals) belongs to SJ train company. And at www.idos.cz there are local and regional blue trains (usually R or REG in north) and green long journey trains (X2, IC, NZ). All green trains and few blue trains belongs to SJ. In north – the regional SJ train (Övriga, blue at www.idos.cz) can be part of long-journey green train (NZ, SJ Nattaag). It is usually branch from Boden to Luleaa – short branch from long journey Stockholm-Narvik, or even between Sundsvall and Luleaa can be blue R train – SJ Övriga the same like green NZ train – SJ Nattag between Sundsvall and Boden. NZ 10093 is blue at www.idos.cz, but is long journey SJ Nattag (and SJ Ovria during part of journey).

   First type is high-speed train - SJ Snabbstaag. It is high-speed train with fewest stops and you can go with this train for long distances. SJ Snabbtaag has usually 5-6 wagons and second or third wagon is usually bistro wagon with small bar. First class is usually first or last wagon. Distances between stops are about 5-100 km, sometimes even more and speed is usually 140-200 kph. Conductor goes sometimes every station, but sometimes once 2-3 stations and they don't check tickets so often last 2-3 stations (especially if the train goes to Oslo or Copenhagen). They check at first all passengers and they ask only, who is new, during next checking. If there is a lot of passengers, 2-3 blue jumprs check tickets together (especially first checking), but most of time only one conductor checks new passengers.
   There is quite lot of passengers, so you can just sit and sleep or read a book, like you have been there before, if the first checking was done (if your appearance is not unusual). There are doors with glass between wagons and you can see, when ticket checking is coming (sit close to corridor, not close to window and watch booth sides). When checking is close in neighbour wagon, you will go to toilet for a while (you can lock or do not lock door) and wait for a while (other passengers can go to toilet too). Conductors usually do not check toilets. BUT there are waiters in bistro wagon with same clothes like conductors. Do not exchange them and do not hide in toilet from waiters, they will stay in Bistro.
   If you are captured, do not tell them final destination, but the next station only, or last station, which is gone or some city with another direction and another train. If you tell them final destination, they can give echo to next train. You can not buy ticket inside train SJ SnabbTaag or SJ Regional. So you will be probably kicked out. Tickets belongs to names, so trick that you have ticket inside phone and battery out or you lost you ticket, does not work (you can try to tell common Swedish surname). Probably all stations with SJ SnabbTaag and most of stations with SJ Regional has waiting room.

The line with SJ SnabbTaag is once 1 hours between Copenhagen or Malmo and Stockholm with (plus minus) 8 stops ([Copenhagen], Malmo, Lund, Hassleholm, [Älmhult station], Alvesta, Nassjo, [Tranaas station], [Mjolby], Linkoping, Norrkoping, Sodertajle, [Stockholm Flemingsberg], Stockholm Central) Trains goes usually once a hour between Malmo and Stockholm, during weekend once a 2 hours. Only some trains stops in stations with brackets. Usualy every second train (once a 2 hours) continue to Copenhagen. Not all SJ Snabbtaag stops in Mjolby, many of them do not stops between Nassjo and Linkoping. Only trains from Malmo 14:11 and 19:11 stops at Tranaas station instead of Mjolby. And only some trains stops at Almhult – these trains do not stop at Mjolby. Not all trains goes from or to Copenhagen (DK). SJ Snabbstaag X2 500 X 2000 from Malmo 5:36 is best with fewest stops - (Malmö Central 5:36 BO, Lund Central 5:46 5:48 BO, Hässleholm Central 6:18, Linköping Central 8:09, Stockholm Central 9:46 GO). SJ Snabbstaag from Stockholm to Malmo 17:06 is best with fewest stops - (Stockholm Central 17:06 BO, Alvesta station 19:54-19:56, Hässleholm Central 20:31-20:33, Lund Central 21:03-21:05 GO, Malmö Central 21:15 GO).

   If you are kicked out, you can wait for next SJ Snabbtaag, but it is better to get out from Tranas and Almhult to better station (Alvesta resp. Mjolby-Linkoping). There is once a hour (once a 2 hour in weekend) good Oresundstaag train between Malmo-Lund_Hassleholm-Alvesta-(Kalmar), you can use it for this region. And there is usually often (once a 30-60 min) Ostgotapendel train between Tranaas-Mjolby-Linkoping. Lot of local trains with lot of people goes between Linkoping-Norkoping-Stockholm. There are only few trains with lot of stops between Alvesta-Nassjo-Mjolby, it is really good idea to take SJ Snabtaag only there.

   There is once a day train from Malmö to Stockholm – Veolia transoprt Sverige AB (R 9340 at ww.idos.cz like regional), train goes from Malmo 9:20 (R 3940) to Stockholm 14:31. Stops with Veolia company are: (Malmö, Lund, Eslöv station, Hässleholm, Alvesta, Nässjö, Linköping, Norrköping, Södertälje, Stockholm). Another direction - R 3941 9:14 from Stockholm to Malmö (Stockholm Central 9:14 BO, Södertälje Syd 9:33 BO, Norrköping Central 10:51, Linköping Central 11:19, Nässjö Central 12:18, Alvesta station 12:59, Hässleholm Central 13:45 GO, Eslöv station 14:10 GO, Lund Central 14:20 GO, Malmö Central 14:40 GO). This train has about 4-5 wagons and relative lot of people inside, it is quite crowded train in daytime with most of passengers, so it should be easy there (long train, lot of passengers, and conductor do not see you). This train is on departure table SJ Snalltaget and blue R at www.idos.cz. It is usually only one SJ Snalltaget during day, but some days more SJ SnallTagets go (One Friday PeterOB found 3 SJ Snalltaget per day from Malmo to Stockholm. And the SJ Snalltaget after noon do npt stop between Alvesta and Linköping.) There is even better train once a day between Malmo and Stockholm in afternoon. This train has about 9 wagons (pretty long train) and pretty lot of people inside (almost no free seat). How many conductors are inside train and how often they check - that is question.

IC 204 (Sometimes IC 10204) (Malmö Central 15:16 BO, Lund Central 15:27-15:29 BO, Hässleholm Central 16:03-16:05, Alvesta station 16:47-16:49, Nässjö Central 17:30-17:32, Linköping Central 18:33-18:35, Norrköping Central 19:00-19:02, Södertälje Syd 20:12-20:13 GO, Stockholm Central 20:33 GO)

IC 207 (Sometimes IC 10207) (Stockholm Central 14:59 BO, Södertälje Syd 15:19 BO, Norrköping Central 16:41-16:43, Linköping Central 17:10-17:12, Nässjö Central 18:12-18:14, Alvesta station 18:53-18:55, Hässleholm Central 19:36-19:38, Lund Central 20:09-20:11 GO, Malmö Central 20:22 GO)

   Between Malmo and Stockholm goes once a night train SJ Nattaget (NZ1 at idos.cz) Between Stockholm and Malmo journey takes almost 8 hours.  Stops are similar like SJ SnabbTaag, but not the same.

There are quite lot of local trains between Alvesta and Malmo and between Mjolby and Stockholm too. But between Alvesta - Nässjö - Mjölby only long journey trains go often, if you are somewhere between big stations, there is only Crosatagen with 2-3 wagons and lot of stops, and only once 1-6 hours.

   Usually once 2 hours SJ SnabbTaag goes from Malmö to Goteborg with 3 stops (Lund, Helsingborg, Halmstad, Goteborg) Stops are always the same. First train from Malmo 6:05 and Last train from Malmo 18:00. SJ Snabbstaag goes from Malmo (to Goteborg): 6:05, 6:59, 9:37, 11:05, 13:05, 16:00, 18:00.

First train continues two more stops to Skovde and Katrineholm – Malmo 6:05 –----- Goteborg 8:20, Skovde 9:34, Katrineholm 10:41).

   From Gotebörg to Malmö SJ Snabbstaag goes: 6:40, 7:40, 10:10, 12:40, 14:40, 16:40, 18:40. Stops are the same (Göteborg Central, Halmstad Central, Helsingborg Central, Lund Central, Malmö Central). Last train goes from Hallsberg - (Hallsberg station 16:39, Skövde Central 17:19, Göteborg Central 18:25-18:40, Halmstad Central, Helsingborg Central, Lund Central, Malmö Central 20:56).
   There are a lot of  Oresundstaag(OTU at www.idos.cz trains, once a hour (once a two hours during weekend) between Goteborg and Malmo-Copenhagen, it is 12 stops between Goteborg and Malmo. You can use this train too, if you are konced out.

   About once 3 hours runs high-speed train SJ SnabbTaag between Stockholm – Karlstad - Oslo (train line by 59 degrees lattitude, close to big lake) with stops: (Stockholm, [Sodertajle Syd], [Katrineholm], Hallsberg, Degerforos, Kristinehamn, Karlstad, Arvika SE, Konsvinger NO, Oslo S NO) Some SJ Snabbtaag goes between Stockholm and Karlstad only and some of them takes whole journey between Oslo and Stockholm. Only some trains stops in Katrineholm and  Sodertajle Syd, most of trains does not stops between Hallsberg and Stockholm. There was SJ Snabbtaag without stop between Stockholm and Karlstad, but not anymore.

   It can be SJ IC train instead of SJ Snabbtaag between Karlstad and Stockholm with the same stops. And there is twice a day between Goteborg – Karlstad – Hallsberg – Stockholm train

Bergslagstaag (blue R at idos.cz) with lot of stops between Goteborg and Karlstad buts stops between Karlstad and Stockholm are (Stockholm, [Flren Station], Katrineholm, Hallsberg, Degerforos, Kristinehamn, Karlstad). If you are kicked out, it is usually better to wait for next train with not so many stops. Local trains goes by Lattidude 59 journey, but with plenty of small stops. There is quite good connection with long journey trains between Stockholm and Katrineholm, plenty of commuter trains between Sodertajle and Stockholm. There are some local trains between Degerfors, Kristinehamn, Karlstad usually once 1-2 hour, bust with more stops and not so many people. There is every hour local train between Karlstad and Arvika, number of stops is variable and some stops are small with not so many trains. Only few local trains with almost no people goes between Arvika (SE) and Konsvinger (NO), but there are many super small stops. In Norway – There is local train without ticket checking inside L14 between Oslo and Konsvinger once a hour.

There is once a hour high-speed train SJ SnabbTaag between Goteborg-Stockholm First train goes quite early and latest train quite late and sometimes, SJ Snabbtaag goes more than once a hour. It is usually 0 or 2 or 3 stops between Goteborg and Stockholm and stops are very variable, every trains stops in another stops. It means, if you are kicked out, next train can be in many hours, if you are on bad stop, SJ Regional stops in all these stops, but it has much more stops. But some trains does not stop at all between Goteborg and Stockholm (about 5 trains per day).

SJ Snabshaag X2 420 X 2000 5:05 has 7 stops and only this SJ Snabbstaag stops at Falköping and Töreboda. So this train is not good. Most trains have 2-3 stops between Goteborg and Stockholm All possible stops are ([Helsingborg Central], [Halmstad Central], Göteborg Central, [Herrljunga station ],[Falköping Central],[Skövde Central], [Alingsaas station], [Töreboda station], [Hallsberg station], [Katrineholm], [Södertälje Syd], Stockholm Central) Most of trains stops at Skövde, Katrineholm usual number of stops is 2-3.

   There is regional train SJ Regional with pretty much stops between Goteborg and Stockholm. (R at www.idos.cz, SJ Regional at departure board). It is 18 stops and duration is about 4:40. Stops are: (Göteborg Central, Alingsaas station, Vaargaarda station, Herrljunga station, Falköping Central, Skövde Central, Töreboda station, Laxaa station, Hallsberg station, Kumla Station, Örebro Södra, Örebro Central, Arboga station, Köping station, Västeraas Central, Enköping station, Baalsta station, Sundbyberg station, Stockholm Central) BUT R92 (SJ Regional) has much less stops.
   You can try go by night train SJ Nattaaget between Goteborg – Stockholm - Lulea NZ 92 to Stockholm, Lulea and NZ91 from Lulea, Stockkholm to Goteborg. Some days NZ 91 and NZ 92 goes only between Lulea-Stockholm, not between Stockholm-Goteborg all days.

PeterOB have not experiences with night trains. There are obligatory of seat reservation like in high-speed trains. And it can be beds only and locked coupes inside.

High-speed train SJ SnabbTaag goes north from Stockholm Journey is Stockholm-Gavle-Hudiksvall-Sundsvall-Umea Most of JS SnabbTaag goes only between Stockholm-Sundsvall or few trains can go only between Stockholm-Hudiksvall. About 2-4 SJ SnabbTaags per day in one direction go whole train line Stockholm – Umeaa. Once a 2 hours goes SJ Snabbtaag Stockholm-Sundsvall. It takes about 3:34 hours Stockholm-Sundsvall and about 6:24 hours Stockholm-Umeaa. Usually one SJ Snabbtaag goes another north-west journey Stockholm -Gavle - Ljusdal – Ostersund. Stops by North train line SJ SnabbTaag are: (Stockholm Central, Arlanda Central, Uppsala Central, Gävle Central, Söderhamn station, Hudiksvall station, Sundsvall Central, Timraa station, Härnösand station, Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik C, Umeaa Östra station, Umeaa Central)

If train does not go whole journey, it does not matter, every stop is good. Stops with SJ SnabbTaag are always the same. As you know – it is visible to neighbor wagon, so you watch, when conductor is coming and you hide on toilet during checking. Toilets are not usually checked. Or conductor check only new passengers and you play, that you are here long time before.

There are two night trains per day in journey Stockholm – Gavle – Sundsvall – Umea – Lulea even with little bit less stops. train Arctic circle train from-to Kiruna, Narvik is best with fewest stops. Really a lot of trains goes between Stockholm and Gavle, it is 3 or 4 stops. There is local train X-Taagetbetween Gavle and Sundsvall with more stops. Norrtaag train company with more stops goes between Sundsvall and Umeaa. Between Umeaa and Boden goes only 3 trains pr day in one direction. One NorrTaag train and two night trains. NorrTaag has one-two extra stop close to Umeaa.

North-West journey Stockholm-Gavle-Ljusdal-Ostersund has about 1 SJ SnabbTaag per day and 1 SJ IC with more stops plus one more SJ regional with more stops and only to Ljusdal. Stops with SJ SnabbTaag are: Stops with SJ SnabbTaag: (Stockholm Central, Arlanda Central, Uppsala Central, Gävle Central, Bollnäs station, Ljusdal station, Aange station, Bräcke station, Östersund Central)

There is Night train - SJ Nattaget (SJ Nattaget at departure board and green NZ at idos.cz) by main train long journey lines (Malmo-Stockholm), (Goteborg-Stockholm-Gavle-Sundsvall-Umea-Boden-Luleaa), and long journey night train Arctic circle train (Stockholm-Gavle-Sundsvall-Umea-Boden-Kiruna-Narvik) It is in one line one night train per night in one direction. NZ93 and NZ 94 Arctic circle train goes between Stockholm and Narvik, it is best with fewest stops at all. NZ 91 and NZ 92 goes between Goteborg – Stockholm – Luleaa, but some days only between Stockholm and Luleaa. NZ 91 and NZ 92 can be like blue regional R91 and R 91 at idos.cz resp. SJ Orviga between Sundsvall-Umeaa-Boden-Luleaa.

Night trains has beds and seats too, and there is seat reservation obligatory. Night train is usually slower than daily train, because it stand longer time in some stops. PetterOB haven't try Swedish night train yet and he do not know, how ticket checking works in night train.

NZ 94 Arctic Circle Train from Stockholm to Narvik 19:00 hours

(Stockholm Central 17:29 BO, Arlanda Central 17:50 17:53 BO, Uppsala Central 18:14 18:21 BO, Gävle Central 19:23 19:26, Söderhamn station 20:23, Hudiksvall station 21:16 21:21, Sundsvall Central 22:19 22:34, Härnösand station 23:23, Kramfors 23:52, Örnsköldsvik C 0:44, Umeaa Central 1:40 1:50, Bastuträsk station 3:23, Jörn station 3:46, Älvsbyn station 4:45 4:46, Boden Centralstation 5:24 5:51, Murjek station 7:23, Nattavaara station 7:50, Gällivare station 8:24, KIRUNA STATION 9:36 9:54, Abisko Östra Station 10:57, Abisko Turiststation 11:02, Björkliden station 11:12, Katterjaakk station 11:36, Riksgränsen station 11:41, Katterat 11:59 12:00, Narvik 12:29 GO)

NZ 93 Arctic Circle Train from Narvik to Stockholm 18:00 hours

(Narvik 15:15 BO, Katterat 15:42 15:43, Bjoernfjell 15:59 16:00, Riksgränsen station 16:04, Katterjaakk station 16:10, Björkliden station 16:31, Abisko Turiststation 16:41, Abisko Östra Station 16:47, KIRUNA STATION 17:58 18:25, Gällivare station 19:34, Nattavaara station 20:08, Murjek station 20:41 20:42, Boden Centralstation 21:38 21:55, Älvsbyn station 22:24, Jörn station 23:25, Bastuträsk station 23:48, Umeaa Central 1:15 1:19, Örnsköldsvik C 2:17, Kramfors 3:03, Härnösand station 3:31, Sundsvall Central 4:24 4:35, Hudiksvall station 5:39, Söderhamn station 6:18 6:29, Gävle Central 7:25 7:27, Uppsala Central 8:26 8:33 GO, Arlanda Central 8:51 8:54 GO, Stockholm Central 9:15 GO)

NZ92 from Goteborg-Stockholm to Luleaa 16:41 hours

(Göteborg Central 18:30 BO, Herrljunga station 19:17, Skövde Central 19:51, Hallsberg station 20:55, Stockholm Central 22:35-22:40, Arlanda Central 23:04, Uppsala Central 23:26, Gävle Central 0:23, Söderhamn station 1:10, Hudiksvall station 1:43, Sundsvall Central 2:47-2:58, Härnösand station 3:52, Kramfors 4:21, Örnsköldsvik C 5:07, Nordmaling station 5:47, Umeaa Östra station 6:19, Umeaa Central 6:25-6:30, Vindeln station 7:14, Bastuträsk station 8:28, Jörn station 8:51 8:53, Älvsbyn station 9:52, Boden Centralstation 10:22-10:37, Sunderby sjukhus station 10:59-11:01 GO, Luleaa Central 11:11 GO)

NZ 91 from Luleaa to Goteborg-Stockholm 18:04 hours

(Luleaa Central 17:31 BO, Sunderby sjukhus station 17:44 BO, Boden Centralstation 18:06-18:25, Älvsbyn station 19:01, Jörn station 20:04, Bastuträsk station 20:33-20:34, Vindeln station 21:26, Umeaa Central 22:21-22:26, Umeaa Östra station 22:29, Nordmaling station 23:03, Örnsköldsvik C 23:34, Kramfors 0:21, Härnösand station 0:50, Sundsvall Central 1:47-1:52, Hudiksvall station 2:52, Söderhamn station 3:26, Gävle Central 4:27-4:30, Uppsala Central 5:30-5:43, Arlanda Central 6:04-6:06, Stockholm Central 6:31-6:41, Hallsberg station 9:00, Skövde Central 9:56, Herrljunga station 10:37, Göteborg Central 11:35 GO)

NZ 91 and NZ 92 do not goes all days from-to Goteborg, some days only between Stockholm and Luleaa.

NZ 1 from Stockholm to Malmo 07:46 hours

(Stockholm Central 23:09 BO, Södertälje Syd 23:38 BO, Norrköping Central 1:05, Linköping Central 1:42-1:47, Nässjö Central 3:07 3:51, Alvesta station 4:45, Älmhult station 5:18, Hässleholm Central 5:53-5:56 GO, Lund Central 6:36-6:44 GO, Malmö Central 6:55 GO).

NZ 2 from Malmo to Stockholm 07:46 hours

(Malmö Central 22:08 BO, Lund Central 22:23-22:24 BO, Hässleholm Central 23:08 BO, Älmhult station 23:44, Alvesta station 0:16, Nässjö Central 1:11, Linköping Central 2:29-3:13, Norrköping Central 3:45-3:52, Katrineholm 4:26, Södertälje Syd 5:25-5:27 GO, Stockholm Central 5:54 GO).

Next type of trains is OTU – Oresundstaag (Oresundstaag at departure board, blue OTU at www.idos.cz). Name is from Oresund bridge between Malmo (SE) and Copenhagen (DK), which this trains pass. Oresundstaag train goes from Helsingor (DK) to Copenhagen (DK), Malmo (SE), Lund. Oresundstaag continues from Lund to 3 branches in Sweden, first branch is to Hassleholm, Alvesta, Vaxjo, Kalmar (Some trains goes only from-to Vaxjo), second branch is to Hassleholm, Kristianstad, Ronneby, Karlskrona. This branch has no stop between Hassleholm and Lund. Third branch is from Lund to Helsingborg, Halmstad, Goteborg.

There is once a hour Oresundstaag train in every branch (once a 2 hour between Vaxjo, Kalmar and almost in all branches during weekend), it means that Oresundstaag goes once a 20 min (once a 40 min in weekend) between Lund, Malmo, Copenhagen(DK), Helsingor (DK).

Common stops are: (Helsingoer, Snekkersten, Espergaerde, Humlebaek, Nivaa, Kokkedal, Hellerup, Oesterport, Noerreport,Koebenhavn H, Oerestad, Taarnby, Kastrup Lufthavn, Malmö Hyllie station, Malmö Triangeln station, Malmö Central, Lund Central) There are many stops around Copenhagen, it is usualy less than 5 min to next stop, distance is 1-8 min, 14 min between Kokkedal st and Hellerup st, 12 min in Oresund Bridge between Malmö Hyllie (SE) and Kastrup Lufthavn (DK). At idos.cz – you see Oresundstaag like blue OTU between Copenhagen H and final destination in Sweden, and blue OTU with another number between Helsingor and Copenhagen. But it is one train, not two trains.

Oerestad is station close to good hitchhicking point to west and south (to Denmark, Germany). Good entrance to motorway E20 is about 200-300 m west from station. If you want to get to Malmo, best is train. But hitchiking point is last crossroad before bridge-tunnel, about 300 m east from station Kastrup Lufthavn.

There is usually only one ticket checking between Malmo and Copenhagen and train is quite crowded, especially inside Malmo. Ticket checking is usually during crosing bridge. PeterOB made this journey 4 times and he was always hiding in toilet, when conductor is near. PetterOB does not know, how is it between Helsingor and Copenhagen.

After Lund – OTU train line splits to 3 branches Distance between stops is usually 10-30 km and 10-25 min. Conductor comes usually once 1-2 stations and he checks only new passengers. Train is usually crowded and toiled is often occuped, but you can simple hide between passengers, when conductor is checking new passengers only. OTU trains are crowded between Alvesta – Hassleholm – Lund – Malmo – Copenhagen, but relative empty near Karlskrona or Kalmar.

Stops for Kalmar Branch (only once a 2 hours trains go between Kalmar and Vaxjo): (Kalmar Central, Nybro Station, Emmaboda station, Lessebo station, Hovmantorp station, Växjö station, Alvesta station, Älmhult, Osby(S), Hässleholm Central, Höör Station, Eslöv station, Lund Central)

Stops Karlskrona branch: (Karlskrona Central, Bergaasa station, Ronneby station, Bräkne-Hoby station, Karlshamn Station, Mörrum station, Sölvesborg station, Bromölla station, Kristianstad Central, Hässleholm Central, Lund Central)

Stops Goteborg Branch: (Göteborg Central, Mölndal Nedre station, Kungsbacka Station, Varberg Station, Falkenberg(S), Halmstad Central, Laholm station, Bastad station, Ängelholm Station, Helsingborg Central, Landskrona station, Lund Central)

   Pagataag is local train in Scane (around Malmo), it goes between most of bigger towns. Train is usually violet, with long wagons, you can see quite far in train. Conductor goes once a few stations and he check new passengers. Some Pagataag trains are crowded. You can just hide between passengers, or you can go t toilet, when conductor is coming. If you are captured, you can be me kicked out from train, if something happen. But of course, some small stations can be without waiting room.

Distance between stops is about 3-10 km and 3-10 minutes. Interval to next train is usually 20-120 minutes. Pagataag goes quite often is some lines. Trains goes between Malmo, Trelleborg (south coast, ferry to Germany, Poland), Ystad (coast, place with ferries), Lomma, Landskrona, Lund, Hasssleholm, Helsingborg, Kristiandstad and other places.

   Crosataagen is local yellow train with lot of stops in region north from Hassleholm and Skane, in Kronnobergs lan and Jonkopings lan (between Hassleholm, Osby, Almhult, Alvesta, Vaxjo, Ljungby, Varmano, Jonkoping and other towns). It is small yellow train with 2-3 wagons. There can be relative lot of passengers after big town, but many stops are almost with no people and train can be quite empty. Interval between trains is 1-3 hours. Conductor goes usually after big town or every few stops. Line Alvesta – Nassjo – Jonkoping is with quote lot of stops and not so many people.

Distance between stops is 5-10 km only. Some stops are without waiting room by small village. You can try just hide between passengers or in toilet. If you will be captured, conductor ask you first for buy ticket. And you can be kicked out from train after.

   Kustpilen is train between Ostergotlan and Kalmar lan. Journey is between Kalmar – Linkoping and Vastervik – Linkoping One branch with one stop is from Berga to Oskarshamn. There is ferry from Oskarshamn to Visby – Gotland Island.

Train has about 3-4 vagons and it is not so good visible from one vagon to another. Istance between stops is about 10-40 km. Conductor goes usually once a 1-2 stops and he checks new passengers. There is quite lot of people in train, so you can try to hide between passengers like you was already there. Or you can hide in toilet, conductor does not check it.

If you are captured, conductor ask you for buy a ticket. There is possible to use credit card only in train, no cash. It is written on the door, that penalty is SEK 1000, but you will bee just kicked out. But some stops are without waiting room. Interval to next train is usually 1-3 hours, last train is not so late (about 19-21).

Stops are: (Kalmar Central, Blomstermaala station, Högsby, Berga (Högsby kn) station, Hultsfred station, Vimmerby, Kisa, Rimforsa, Linköping Central) It is one stops with another train between Berga and Oskarshamn.

Stops during second journey: (Västervik station, Gamleby station, Överums Bruk station, Falerum station, Aatvidaberg station, Linköping Central)

   Situation with regional trains is similar in region Motala, Mjolby, Linkoping, Norrkoping – Östgötapendel trains run every 30 or 60 minutes and usually relative late (until 21-24 hours). Number of stops is big – stop is every 5-10-15 km usually.  Motala – Mjolby – Norrkoping. A lot of local train goes Motala – 2 stations to Mjolby – 3 stations to Linkoping– 3 stations to Norrkoping – every 30 or 60 min. Train is not so long with one toilet in the middle. You can see through whole train. Conductor goes nce a 1-3 stops and he checks new passengers. Unfortunately, place, where conductor sits, is close to toilet. It is good connection to Motala and only one station from Motala to Hallsberg with Taag I Berslagen. Ammount of Passengers in Ostgotapendel is not so small, but not really big.

There are R train from Goteborg to Kalmar with company SJ Regional (SJ AB train company) (SJ Regional at departure board) in R-group at www.idos.cz. There is seat reservation and ticket before boarding obligatory (it is not possible to buy ticket in this train). Only 4 trains a day goes from Goteborg to Kalmar (6:05 10:05 16:05 18:05) or from Kalmar to Goteborg (5:00 9:55 11:51 15:57). Stations are: (Göteborg, Boraas, Limmared, Hestra, Gnosjö, Värnamo, Alvesta, Växjö, Hovmantor, Lessebo, Emmaboda, Nybro, Kalmar) If you will be captured, you will be kicked out of train, but interval to next train is here pretty long. At least most of stops have waiting room inside.

From Goteborg to Oslo there is NSB train company (NSB at departure board, NSB is main Norwegian train company,). NSB Company belongs to Norway, so it is higher chance to get penalty in this train. At www.idos.cz you will see R-train 4 stops from Goteborg to Halden (first stop in Norway) and "REG" train from Halden to Oslo (7 stops, 5 stops Halden-Moss, Moss is first station, where starts local orange norwegian train to Oslo, without checking), but it is still one train Between Goteborg and Oslo. NSB trains go from Goteborg 4:35 6:55 13:00 17:55 and from Oslo 7:01 13:01n 15:28 18:02. REG NSB trains between Halden and Oslo goes quite often, usually once a hour. Between Oslo and Moss train goes every hour, it is local train with orange door, without ticket checking.

Västtrafik train company is in area Stormstad - Uddevallaa -Goteborg There is only six trains during day between Stormstad and Goteborg. Interval to next train is 2-4 hours. It is 8 stops Goteborg-Uddevalla Central and 8 more stops between Uddevalla Central to Stromstad. Many stops are without waiting room and it is during winter, windy weather with rain and snowing difficult. Temperature during January can be -15 or even -20 during night. There is road from Uddevallaa to Stromstad close to many stops (for hitchhiking). But be kicked out from last train into dark is not so nice. There are lot of passengers between Uddevalla and Goteborg, but train is only with few passengers close to Stormstad. Conductor goes and checks new passengers every 1-3 stations, not so often between Uddevalla and Goteborg. You can stay long time, or when conductor is coming in toilet, almost nobody goes to toilet close to Stormstad.

The good connection (every hour or more othen) with a lot of stops is Goteborg – Boras (7 stops) or Nassjo – Linkoping. From Uddevalla to Goteborg trains go every 1-2 hour and this is 8 stops.

Local train Värmlandstrafik (Lanstaag at departure board, R-trains at www.idos.cz) goes between Kristinehamn, Karlstad, Arvika, Charlottenberg, Konsvinger (NO) The distance between stops is only 5-10 km and many stops are without waiting room. Number of passenger is quite big, conductor goes almost every stops and checks new passengers. Trains have usually 2-3 wagons an 1-2 WC. You can try to be hidden in WC or between passengers which were already checked. If you will be captured, you will be asked for buy ticket.

Local trains goes only once a 2-4 hours from Karlstad to Arvika and Charlottenberg (SE), some trains continues to Konsvinger (NO). Stops are (Karlstad Central, Kil Station, Fageraas station, Högboda station, Edane station, Arvika station, Aamotfors station, Charlottenberg station, [Konsvinger (NO)]) There can be some trains with more stops - Lene, Brunsberg before Arvika and Ottebol station, Lerot, As after Arvika. These stations are small without waiting room and not so many trains stops there, if any. It is easy to stack there during night. And death during exam is possible there.

Local trains Lanstaag goes once a 2 hour between Karlstad and Kristinehamn. Stops are: (Karlstad Central,Valsviken station, Väse station, Kristinehamn Station). But there are many trains with no stops between Karlstad and Kristinehamn. It is SJ regional, which goes only this short journey, Berglasbanen, trains from Goteborg to Stockholm or Falun and SJ IC or SJ Snabbtaag. SJ Snabbtaag, that continues to Oslo, stops Kristinehamn, Karlstad, Arvika, Konsvinger (NO). Some Lanstaag goes whole journey Charlottenberg – Kristinehamn.

Between Goteborg, Karlstad Kristinehamn, Stockholm, Falun goes another train – Bergslagstag, (BersTaag at departure board). There are only one or two trains per day between Goteborg and Stockholm, through Karlstad. But not all days this train goes, only in some days. Second branch is from Karlstad to Falun, with 1 or 2 trains per day, if any. So it means that time to next BersTaag is many hours or even days. But There are usually many another trains, but not between Kristinehamn and Grangesberg It is specific danger place, where trains are really rare and only Hallefors is close to road. Distance between stops is 10-30 km and many stops are small, withouth waiting room.

BersTaag is small train with one or two wagons. Number of passengers is really small on way Falun-Kristinehamn, but there can be lot of people in another lines. Conductor goes once 1-2 stations, and he checks nef passengers. But it is with not so many people easy to see, who is new. But almost no body goes to toilet, you can try to hide there. Stops on line Goteborg – Karlstad – Stockholm are: (Göteborg Central, Trollhättan Central, Öxnered station, Mellerud station, Aamaal Station, Säffle station, Grums station, Kil Station, Karlstad Central, Kristinehamn Station, Degerforos, Hallsberg, Katrineholm, [Flen Station], Stockholm) Another branch is between Goteborg and Falun. Stops between Goteborg and Kristinehamn are the same, but branch to Falun continues: (Kristinehamn, Storfors, Nykroppa, Grythyttan, Hällefors, Bredsjö, Grängesberg, Ludvika, Borlange, Falun) Only one otr two Berglastaag goes between Karlstad and Falun, if any. There is no train on this line many days. Stations Grängesberg, Ludvika, Borlange, Falun are not so bad, because there is waiting room and every two hours another train. But stations Storfors, Nykroppa, Grythyttan, Hällefors, Bredsjö are really dangerous. Next train goes in any direction after many hours, or days and these stations are without waiting room. Only Hallefors is close to road, other stations are nowhere in the forest. Here can be -15 during day and -25 at night.

There is another train line with Berglasbanen, between Goteborg and Karlstad. Only one BersTaag per day goes this journey, if any, but many other trains goes there: (Göteborg Central, Herrljunga station, Falköping Central, Skövde Central, Töreboda station, Laxaa station, Degerefors, Kristinehamn Station, Karlstad Central)

'SJ Regional goes once a two hours between Goteborg and Karlstad. It is 8 stops, distance between stops is 10-30 km. There can be quite lot of passengers and train has few wagons. You can hide in toilet, when conductor is coming (not so easy to see to another wagons), or just between many people like you were already checked. Stos are the same: (Göteborg Central, Trollhättan Central, Öxnered station, Mellerud station, Aamaal Station, Säffle station, Grums station, Kil Station, Karlstad Central, [Kristinehamn Station])

There is in area Mjolby – Hallsberg – Orebro – Borlange – Falun – Gavle – Mora – Fargesta local train Taag i Bergslagen - Svenska Tagkompaniet AB (TiB SJ at departure board). Taag I Bergslagen is regional train (blue R at idos.cz), however the train lines and balls are quite long. Distance between stops is 15-50 km. Train is not so long, with 1-2 long wagons. It is quite easy to see through train and when conductor is coming. Conductor check tickes once 1-2 stations, usually after bigger station and conductor checks new passengers only. There is about 20-60 people in train and 5-20 passengers get in-out in station. You can try to hide between passenger, just do like you are here long time, when conductor ask, who is new. There are two toilets in train, close to begin and end. Conductor usually does not checks toilets. Toilets are free most of time. Population density is getting less after 59 degrees line and distance between villages is bigger.

There is long train line Mjolby – Orebro – Borlange – Falun – Gavle with Taag I Bergslagen. Train goes there once a 2 hours. Mostly only TiB goes there. Most of stops are with waiting room, but not Koppaberg, Stora, don't be kicked out in winter there. There is road Hallsberg – Borlange – Falun for hitchicking too. Last train does not go so late. From Mjolby to Motala goes often and to late night Ostgotapendel and sometimes, but rare goes BerglasTaag from Falun to Grangesberg, Hallefors (area with really bad connection). Comlete journey Mjolby-Gavle is with 19 stops and almost 6 hours. Stop list: (Mjölby Station, Skanninge station, Motala station, Hallsberg station, Kumla Station, Örebro Södra, Örebro Central, Frövi station, Lindesberg station, Storaa station, Kopparberg Station, Ställdalen station, Grängesberg station, Ludvika station, Borlänge Central, Falun Central, Hofors station, Storvik station, Sandviken, Gävle Central)

There is about oncea two hours Taag I Bergslagen (SJ AB) between Borlange and Mora, Morastrand It is 9 stations and 74 minutes though this line. Distance between stations is about 5-20 km. Stops are: (Borlänge Central, Djuraas station, Gagnef station, Insjön station, Leksand station, Tällberg station, Rättvik station, Mora station, Morastrand station) Mora is already in Dalarnas lan, close to Norwegian mountains. Here can be bellow -30 during winter and already in Falun-Borlange area can be bellow -25. Mora is quite close to Hippie Village Skattunbyn

Once a 2-4 hours, 5 times per day, goes Taag I Bergslagen from Hallsberg though Avesta to Gavle. It looks that there are not so many people and lot of stops can be without waiting room. Interval to next train can me long. Stops are: ([Laxaa station], Hallsberg station, Kumla Station, Örebro Södra, Örebro Central, Frövi station, Skinnskatteberg station, Fagersta Central, Karbenning station, Avesta Krylbo station, Fors(S), Horndals Bruk station, Torsaker, Storvik station, Sandviken, Gävle Central)

There is rail-road triangle Storvik-Ockelbo-Gavle, only from Gavle to Ockelbo trains go. X-Taagetor X-trafik AB train companies are there, only one station between Gavle and Ockelbbo, train continues to Ljusdal 8 stops.

train company X-Taaget is similar to Taag I Bergslagen. Trains are not so long, it should be with two toilets and toilets are free most of time. However in this area, amount of passengers is not so big, it is difficult to hide between passengers. Many stations are small without waiting room and interval to next train can be many hoour (and last train is not so late). Temperature in this area can be in winter bellow -30 or even -35 already.

X-Taaget goes between Gavle and Sundsvall, it takes by local train about 130 minutes and 6 stops. Local X-Taaget goes only once 3-4 hours. Stops are: (Gävle Central, Ljusne station, Söderhamn station, Iggesund station, Hudiksvall station, Gnarp station, Sundsvall Central, Sundsvall Västra station) However there is high-speed train between Stockholm-Gavle- Hudiksvall-Sundsvall-Umea. SJ SnabbTaag between Stockholm and Sundsvall goes once 2 hours and between Stockholm and Hudiksvall even more often. Stops with SJ Snabbtaag and long journey trains are are here ( Gävle, Söderhamn, Hudiksvall, Sundsvall).

Second line for X-Taaget is beteween Gavle and Ljusdal. X-Taaget goes here once a 2 hours usually. Stops are: (Gävle Central, Ockelbo station, Lingbo (Ockelbo kn) station, Holmsveden (Söderhamn) station, Kilafors station, Bollnäs station, Arbraa station,Vallsta station, Järvsö station, Ljusdal station).

There is 2-3 times per day long journey train SJ IC or or SJ SnabbTaag SJ Regional Stockholm- Gavle – Ljusdal – [Ostersund]. Stops with SJ IC: (Stockholm Central, Arlanda Central, Uppsala Central, Gävle Central, Bollnäs station, Järvsö station, Ljusdal station, Aange station, Bräcke station, Östersund Central). Stops with SJ Regional: (Stockholm Central, Arlanda Central, Uppsala Central, Gävle Central, Ockelbo station, Bollnäs station, Järvsö station, Ljusdal station). Stops with SJ SnabbTaag: (Stockholm Central, Arlanda Central, Uppsala Central, Gävle Central, Bollnäs station, Ljusdal station, Aange station, Bräcke station, Östersund Central).

Area around Stockholm is connected well. There are plenty of local trains every 30-60 min with a lot of stops, but almost no controll. Commuter trains – Pendeltaag goes from Stockohm to many directions – To Arlanda airport, to Sodertalje, and other directions. Distances between stops are only 2-7 km and commuter trains are quite full. There is almost no ticket checking. You can see quite far inside train, when conductor is coming and you can go to area, where thickets were already checked. If you are captured, then nothing happpens, maybe, you can be kicked out. There is no toilet in commuter trains. From Sodertalje to Gnesta goes commuter trains once a 0.5-2 hours. There is ticket checking and no toilet. You can see quite far in train. If you are captured, then nothing happens. There are gates – turnstiles from-to commuter train platforrms in Stockholm and from-to Stockholm subway too. But it is pretty easy to go behind somebody, the “Gate workers” do not go to you, if you pass behind somebody. There are conductors in Stockholm trams, they ask everybody for a ticket. And ticket checking is in stockholm city buses too, when you are entering. Bud trams and buses in Goteborg are without checking, only randomly ticket inspection.

Many trains goes from Stockholm, to north – to Gavle. It is night train (SJ Nattaget) to north, SJ Snabbtaag to Hudiksvall, Sundsvall, Umea and trains to Ostersund and Ljusdal. It is usually 3 or 4 stops from Stockholm to Gavle - (Stockholm central, Arlanda Central, Uppsala Central, [Tierp station], Gavle Central). Arlanda is airport. There is local train with lot of stops every few km between Uppsala and Gavle – Upptaget. It is from Gavle to Tierp 5 or 6 stops and 6 stops from Tierp to Uppsala.

SJ Regional Trains goes Linkoping, Norrkoping, Sodertajle, Stockholm. It is with regional trains about 6 stops from Norrkoping to Stockholm, but SJ SnabbTaag and Snalltaget or IC stops only Linkoping, Norrkoping, Sodertajle, Stockholm. SJ SnabbTaag from Stockholm to Goteborg has forst stop Katrineholm or Sodertajle and SJ SnabbTaag to Karlstad or Oslo stops usually in Hal;sberg first stop after Stockholm (It can be Katrineholm or Sodertajle too). It is good way, how to get out from Stockholm.

Journey to north is possible by X2 - SJ Snabbstaag train, it is from Gavle to Sundsvall only 3 stops and next 6 stops from Sundsvall to Umeaa (more north in Baltic coast). The same with night trains NZ 90 and NZ 92. NZ90 has only 4 stops between Sundsvall and Umea.

There is NorrTaag train company in north of Sweden (blue R at idos.cz and NorrTaag at departure board.) - Sundsvall and more north, one branch is from Sundsvall to west, to Storlien (border with Norway and close to Trondheim). Norrtaag train company goes like local train with 12 stops from Sundsvall to Umeaa. And only one Norrtaag train per day goes from Umeaa to Boden and Luleaa. But it has the same stops like two night trains and 1-2 more stops close to Umeaa. Three trains per day – NorrTaag train company goes between Boden and Kiruna with 4 stops only (same stops like trains from-to Narvik). But one Norrtaag per day has three more stops before Kiruna. This train is probably most dangerous in winter.

Area around Storlien-Sunsvall-Umeaa is still far from Arctic circle, but here are quite short winter days. Temperature here can be -30 or -35 and you can wait many hours for next train. Many stations can be without waiting room. Death during exam is possible here. The Umeaa-Boden has only 3 trains per day in one direction, with 4-6 stops. Only one train per day is NorrTaag with 6 stops.

Norrtaag train line between Boden and Kiruna cross Arctic circle. There are three Norrtaag local trains (blue R at idos.cz), one IC train between Luleaa and Narvik and one train between Stockholm and Narvik, so it is 5 trains in one direction per day. Almost all trains have 4 stops between Boden and Kiruna, but one Norrtaag train per day has 3 extra stops close to Kiruna. Here are days in December pretty short and temperature in winter can be here bellow -30, frost can be up to -40. Most of stations should have waiting room, but three extra stations close to Kiruna are dubious. Death during exam is possible here with NorrTaag train company, especially if train has extra stops close to Kiruna.

Norrtaag train line Sundsvall – Aare – Duved - Storlien (SE-NO border) There are three trains from Sundsvall to Aare, Duved (5:03, 8:05, 18:13), train 8:05 ends in Aare, train 5:03 continues fo Storlien (NO-SE border). It is 20 stops from Sundsvall to duved, it takes about 3:41-3:46 hours (19 stops and 3:32-3:39 from Sundsvall to Aare) and lot of stations are without waiting room and nowhere in forest with almost no people. Interval to next train can be many hours even during day and temperature can be -35. Death during exam is possible here.

From Aare to Sundsvall trains go 12:12, 15:21 and 19:30, it is 19 stops and it takes 3:35-3:41. Afternoon train starts 15:12 in Duved (20 stops and 3:47 hours) and night train starts 18:47 in Storlien and takes vhole journey (23 stops, 5:13 hours).

Stops are: (Sundsvall Central, Sundsvall Västra station, Stöde station, Torpshammar station, Fränsta station, Ljungaverk station, Erikslund (Aange kn) station, Aange station, Bräcke station, Stavre (Bräcke kn) station, Gällö station, Pilgrimstad station, Brunflo station, Östersund Central, Östersund Västra station, Krokom station, Mörsil, Järpen station, Undersaaker station, Aare station, Duved station, Aann station, Enafors station, Storlien-Gr).

Once a 1-3 hours goes NorrTaag between Sundsvall and Umeaa. It is 11 stops. Stops are: (Umeaa Central, Umeaa Östra, Hörnefors, Nordmaling, Husum(S), Örnsköldsvik Norra, Örnsköldsvik C, Kramfors, Härnösand, Timraa, Sundsvall Västra, Sundsvall Central ). Many stops can be without waiting room, small stops only. And here can be wind and frost up to -30. However in one direction goes here 2-4 SJ Snabbtaag and 2 SJ Nattaget per day. It is 6 stops, but train From-To Kiruna, Narvik has ony 4 stopsa here. Stops are: (Sundsvall, Timraa, Härnösand, Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik C, Umeaa Östra, Umeaa Central).

NorrTaag between Umea – Boden - Lulea goes only once a day. Stops are: Stops are (Umeaa Central, Vannasby, Tvaralund, Vindeln, Hällnäs, Bastuträsk, Jörn, Älvsbyn, Boden, Sunderby sjukhus, Luleaa Notviken, Luleaa Central). It is only one train per day - R 7108 Norrtaag Umea C 16:11 – Boden C 19:27 - Lulea central 20:05 and journey from Luleaa to Umeaa goes NorrTaag in Early morning withouth stop in Hällnäs – there probably stops only one train in one direction only. There are night trains NZ 91 and NZ 92 between Luleaa and Stockholm (Goteborg) with less stops, stops are (Boden, Älvsbyn, Jörn, Bastuträsk, Vindeln, Umeaa) These trains can be marked like SJ Orviga and blue R at idos.cz too. There is too Arctic circle train between Stockholm and Narvik NZ 93 resp. NZ 94 with 4 stops between Boden and Umeaa - (Boden, Älvsbyn, Jörn, Bastuträsk, Umeaa).

NorrTaag between Kiruna and Boden (Luleaa) There is in one direction one night train (between Stockholm and Narvik) and one IC train between Luleaa and Narvik. Theese trains has four stops from Bodet to Kiruna or back. Stops are: (Boden, Murjek, Nattavaara, Gällivare, Kiruna). There are three NorrTaag trains per day in one direction. Two of them has the same four stops, like SJ IC and SJ Nattaget – NZ. Norrtaag train has usually only 4 same stops too, like long journey trains, BUT one Norrtaag train per day has 3 extra stops (R 7154 Norrtaag Lulea 16:30 Boden 17:03 Kiruna 20:07 and R 7151 Norrtaag Kiruna 6:20 Boden 9:27-9:29 Lulea 9:52) R 7154 and R 7151 has three more stops between Gällivare and Kiruna - (Fjällaasen, Kaitum, Sjisjka). How many stations are with waiting room is dubious, but waiting room is closed at night. And there are three extra stations, where is easy to stack whole night or day. Especially in these dangerous stations with only one train per day in one direction - Death during exam is possible here, in case, that you fail. Temperature in winter can be easily -30 and rarely -40.

There are quite lot of trains between Boden and Luleaa, it is 1-3 stops between Boden and Luleaa. between Boden and Luleaa. There is no train line around baltic coast, to Finland, only road with buses and cars. First good stop in Finland is Kemi and it is 1 stop and 58 min to Oulu. It is possible only hitchhike or by bus around Baltic sea to Finland.

Between Kiruna and Narvik- There are twoo Long-Journey trains per day in one direction (SJ IC and SJ Nattaget NZ) between [Luleaa] – Boden - Kiruna-Narvik. There is IC 95 from Narvik to Luleaa and IC 96 from Luleaa to Narvik. Only theese trains goes between Kiruna and Narvik, it is 2 trains per day in one direction. IC 95-96 has 11 stops in area Kiruna-Narvik and NZ 93 to Stockholm has 8 stops from Narvik to Kiruna. NZ 94 from Stockholm has here from Kiruna to Narvik 7 stops. Narvik is most north station in Shenghen, however in Russsia, about Murmansk is more north rail-road.

This is area with mountains and lakes and many small villages and resorts. Narvik has quite mild winter with temperature from -10 to -15, sometimes -15, but rarely -20 and mountains divide warm Atlantic air and cold continental air. There are big temperature differences in small distances or between valley and hill. By openstreetmaps.org – Narvik is most north station, position of station is (68.4417, 17.4414). Most north point of train line is close to Narvik (68.4517, 17.4986) and (68.4517, 17.4808).

NZ 94 Arctic Circle Train (Stockholm Central 17:29 BO, Arlanda Central 17:50 17:53 BO, Uppsala Central 18:14 18:21 BO, Gävle Central 19:23 19:26, Söderhamn station 20:23, Hudiksvall station 21:16 21:21, Sundsvall Central 22:19 22:34, Härnösand station 23:23, Kramfors 23:52, Örnsköldsvik C 0:44, Umeaa Central 1:40 1:50, Bastuträsk station 3:23, Jörn station 3:46, Älvsbyn station 4:45 4:46, Boden Centralstation 5:24 5:51, Murjek station 7:23, Nattavaara station 7:50, Gällivare station 8:24, KIRUNA STATION 9:36 9:54, Abisko Östra Station 10:57, Abisko Turiststation 11:02, Björkliden station 11:12, Katterjaakk station 11:36, Riksgränsen station 11:41, Katterat 11:59 12:00, Narvik 12:29 GO)

NZ 93 Arctic Circle Train (Narvik 15:15 BO, Katterat 15:42 15:43, Bjoernfjell 15:59 16:00, Riksgränsen station 16:04, Katterjaakk station 16:10, Björkliden station 16:31, Abisko Turiststation 16:41, Abisko Östra Station 16:47, KIRUNA STATION 17:58 18:25, Gällivare station 19:34, Nattavaara station 20:08, Murjek station 20:41 20:42, Boden Centralstation 21:38 21:55, Älvsbyn station 22:24, Jörn station 23:25, Bastuträsk station 23:48, Umeaa Central 1:15 1:19, Örnsköldsvik C 2:17, Kramfors 3:03, Härnösand station 3:31, Sundsvall Central 4:24 4:35, Hudiksvall station 5:39, Söderhamn station 6:18 6:29, Gävle Central 7:25 7:27, Uppsala Central 8:26 8:33 GO, Arlanda Central 8:51 8:54 GO, Stockholm Central 9:15 GO)

IC 96 (Luleaa Central 10:00 BO, Sunderby sjukhus station 10:11 BO, Boden Centralstation 10:26 10:35, Murjek station 11:50, Nattavaara station 12:14, Gällivare station 12:46, KIRUNA STATION 14:19 14:45, Abisko Östra Station 15:54, Abisko Turiststation 15:59, Björkliden station 16:08, Laaktatjaakka station 16:31, Vassijaure station 16:36 16:41, Katterjaakk station 16:47, Riksgränsen station 16:52, Bjoernfjell 16:57 16:58, Katterat 17:13 17:14, Rombakk 17:25 17:26, Narvik 17:45 GO)

IC 95 (Narvik 11:00 BO, Rombakk 11:19, Katterat 11:30, Bjoernfjell 11:44 11:45, Riksgränsen station 11:49, Katterjaakk station 11:55, Vassijaure station 12:02, Laaktatjaakka station 12:06, Björkliden station 12:20, Abisko Turiststation 12:29, Abisko Östra Station 12:35, KIRUNA STATION 13:43 14:02, Gällivare station 15:20, Nattavaara station 16:02, Murjek station 16:30, Boden Centralstation 17:42, Sunderby sjukhus station 18:12 18:13 GO, Luleaa Central 18:22 GO)

Genearlly black train in north of Sweden – from Gavle to Sundsvall some EC, EN and arctic circle trains goes. All long journey-trains are SJ AB (SJ Regional Sundsvall – Umeaa – Luleaa) (SJ Nattaag or Nattaaget - IC trains between Luleaa – Narvik and EN, IC trains between Stockholm – Boden - Narvik) It is 3 stops Gavle-Stockholm and 3 stopc Gavle-Sundvall, 4 stops Sundvall – Umea and 4-5 more stops to Boden. There are some local trains with more stops but it is very dangerous during winter. There are not so many passengers in train, interval between stops is 20-100 km and interval to next train 3-6 hours (somewhere 1-2 hours), (including local trains with more stops). Some places have only 2-3 trains a day in one direction (or 1 train a day). From Umea to Boden and Kiruna only 2 very long journey trains go. Distance between stops is 50-100 km and time between stops 40-75 min. Three local trains during day go from Umea to Boden and Kiruna with distances between stops 30-70 km. Only two trains goes from Kiruna to Narvik and back (7 resp. 8 stops by Arctic Circle train and 11 stops with IC train between Kiruna and Narvik). Distance between stops is 30-70 km and there are pretty small amount of passengers, and many stops can be without waiting room. And temperature in north of Sweden can be -40 degrees Celsius during winter. Death during exam is possible in winter time, in case that you fail and waiting room is not in your stop (Or waiting room can be often close during night – security comes after some hour (10pm) or last train). Check all stops during journey for all trains (you can see it at www.idos.cz - select "Vlaky", for direct train without train change select “Pouze prima spojeni”). PeterOB thinks that you can't see stops during journey at Swedish railway web pages. Watch weather forecast and have good sleeping bag. Frost can come pretty fast (from -5 to -40 degrees in 1-3 days).

Switzerland

The commuter trains (S-Bahn) are great (it even goes out of the country), they have A LOT of stops, which means that you can easily jump off. There is no constant presence of ticket inspectors - blue jumprs. Most often blue jumprs are undercover and get on at random stops. They can be hard to recognize so better sit in the front and keep an eye for groups of 2 to 4 people with big side bags - watch situation on the train attentively during the ball. The S-Bahns also get uniformed blue jumprs who wear blue jackets and red scarfs. You can try to jump in another train - bus. As per the buses, drivers don't check tickets, except in some areas during evenings. It is easy to get onto the bus whilst no one is looking, or through the back door. If you are stopped however, often you can get your way out of paying very easily, because the drivers are payed by the kilometer and not passenger.

Inter-Regional trains often have inspectors that check several times during the trip -- by memory or, occasionally, by asking out loud who just got on the train. This is like in central Europe. You are new and do not respond. The short distant ticket trick works well, but tickets in Switzerland are very expensive. If you loose on the train and you are caught without a ticket, you'll usually be asked to pay a 90 CHF fine (~110$), as well as the cost of the ticket. There is a bit of wiggle room with this fine, so if you see a blue jumpr, your best bet is to go towards the end of the train and buy a ticket on your phone (using the SBB Mobile app, all you need is a credit card - works on iPhones and Androids). Even though you bought the ticket after you left the platform, the controller wouldn't mind seeing as many people do so - just pretend that you care when he lectures you, and explain that their system is very slow (it is).

On the advanced long journey trains - Inter City trains (the newer, high speed trains with restaurants), there are always at least 2 blue jumprs, usually 4 during peak times and on the last train. If only two are present, they start at the end of the train each time, and work up all the way to the front. It is often possible to avoid the inspectors on short trips during the day if you sit right up against the front. At each station, they usually just go back to the back again, so you may never even be controlled. It is best not to run or act suspiciously when in front of the inspectors, as blue jumprs can add a penalty of up to 200 CHF for disrespecting the conductor in case of not so good train skills. Contrary to popular belief, there are railway police agents, and the come to the train station in extreme situations. It is very hard to avoid these fines, however there is one loophole in the system: whenever you see a controller, go to the front of the train, and there should be a kids compartment. In that kids compartment, there is a slide, and under the slide, there is a fairly large area which is big enough to hide a person, yet very hard to spot when walking past. Nevertheless, if you do get caught in this space, the penalties can be quite severe. Seeing as most trains have 2 floors, you could just walk down the stairs (calmly), however, this can arouse suspicion, and the inspector can decide to cut you off on the other side of the wagon.

United Kingdom

For short journeys, the UK is fairly good for fare-dodging. Quite a few young people get away with not paying fares, particularly when the trains are busy (e.g. at rush hour). Many trains have no inspectors, and rely on entry/exit barriers to validate tickets. Often these are unmonitored, so a quick hop can get you in. They are often open after 9pm (ish). It is increasingly popular for train operators to have standard fines for people caught sans-ticket. These vary from £10 (maybe, minimum fine is £20 - from 2010, when PeterOB was in United Kingdom) to double the full adult fare (which is a lot!).

A good tip is to look out for 'Permit to Travel' machines. These are designed for people who for whatever reason can't but a normal ticket - the idea is that you buy a Permit to Travel with whatever money you have, then pay the difference later. It shows a general willingness to pay for a ticket - this means that you can escape any fine, so long as you have ample money to pay for a full ticket if caught. The minimum you can put into a machine and get a Permit to Travel is 5p, which is a pretty cheap price to avoid a fine. Also, if you board a train without a ticket and show willingness to pay but just by far not enough money when caught, some inspectors will let you ride for free or be satisfied with your pennies.

Permit to travel machines are largely being phased out by train operators. Those remaining are centred around London and the South East. Locations where some machines are still known to be operating are: London, Thameslink, Kent Coast, Great Northern, Great Eastern, South Western, West Anglia, West Yorkshire, Certain routes around Birmingham.

Ticket inspectors are not allowed, legally, to touch you to wake you up. So put your headphones on and fall asleep. They'll loose interest fast. Be aware some inspectors will try to bump you awake with their ticket machines, or ask the passenger next to you if they could wake you. For destinations with barriers get off at stop before and buy a low cost ticket to the next stop.

PeterOB was train in United Kingdom in Summer 2010 and he tried to use his common jump style – Short Distance Ticket Trick. But the control system in Great Britain is another than in central Europe and you have to modify jump style, of course. Blue jumpr do not go so often, only once per many stations, or at begin and before finish of ball start and he check all passengers, not only new passengers. Blue jumpr usually appear suddenly and go forward quite fast. You can try good jump style in trains with a lot of passengers - walking around conductor to area, where tickets were already checked and wait until your wagon is finish and return to your place after it. Conductor probably do not check toilets so much (you can sit there and do not lock doors during control).

But there are one more another jump style and your train skills must be better than usually – many train stations have turnstiles, especially bigger towns near London (like London Subway) and you have to put your ticket to machine during going towards train and too during leaving platform at finish. There are one or two blue jumprs near turnstiles and watch passengers (or only cameras in some places). You can try to use shadow tactic – go behind person with ticket. Or you can buy ticket for child – turnstile do not recognize your age. If you buy ticket just few minutes before departure, it is very expensive (up to Eur 1 per 4-5 km), but if you buy online ticket for non lucrative time (early morning), the price is much cheaper (Eur 1 per 10-25 km). There are exact train and seat in this ticket, but you can use it whole day. Conductor do not check tickets so much, only very fast because of a lot of passengers. You can buy only one station ticket (close stop, even your train do not stop in this destination, turnstiles do not know which train you want to use) and same think at finish – short distance ticket trick. If you do not have ticket on exit platform, you can still buy it (short distance of course).

But night traveling is better – turnstiles are open after 9pm and no control during entering to platform or leaving platform.

train in United kingdom are quite fast, 200-250 km/h is quite common, so it is quite scary prom. Many trains have own stop list and it is very different for optimalize train speed. Interval to next train is usually 15-60 minutes. Distance between stops is 25-100 km. There are usually a lot of passengers in train, especially at afternoon. Because of Britain population is huge.

Turnstyles

There are slower local trains with more stops and without turnstiles at stop of curse.

You can always buy ticket in train (if conductor go) or from conductor that watch turnstiles in entrance and exit way from platform (not whole journey but as short as possible). If you refuse to buy ticket in train or during leaving platform (with turnstile) or you give to turnstile ticket with another final destination that you are now, you can get fine from conductor. Fine is double classic adult fare (which is about Eur 1 per km) or at least pound 20. Conductor choose more expensive fine.

If you want to go another way that through turnstile and you want to cross track, do not do it. There are cameras and penalty is pounds 1000. And trains are very fast and not all trains stops in all stops, it is variable – so crossing track is very dangerous. One train stop, but another train run through station 250 kph.

Source: Train License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The weather is an important factor to keep in mind when hitchhiking.

Rain

Hitchhiking during strong rain is not very nice, especially when there is a strong wind as well. During light rain hitchhiking is still very doable with just an umbrella to keep you dry. It also catches the attention of drivers.

A general advice is to hitchhike with an umbrella in case of rain. It keeps you dry for a long time. On petrol stations it remains easy to approach drivers to request rides. Statistics say that in the Netherlands - a country generally known for "frequent rain and wetness" - rain is falling 4% of the time. In general people highly exagerate the badness of weather - perhaps just a way to explain themselves why they wish to drive as much as possible by car.

On motorways during rain it is mostly a matter of going from one petrol station to the next and waiting and requesting rides under the roof of the petrol station. Only a strong wind could still make one wet.

When you stand next to the road and it starts raining, your chances that somebody stops quadruple for a couple of minutes until you are wet, and then your chances slide down. Therefore, keep smiling when it starts raining and the first few drops come down.

Take a rain coat when expecting rain, bright yellow is good for visibility. Emergency rain ponchos that can be had for less than 2 euros or some transparent plastic can also do the trick. If it's likely to rain, it can be good to wear dark colour clothing to mask your wetness. Dark grey or black work well. Brown won't do, since it easily shows how wet you are and how much the mess you'll cause in the car, you know not many drivers want more than a few drops of water in their car floor.

Also make sure that your luggage is water proof. If there's a high chance of a lot of rain it's wise to pack stuff individually in plastic bags or zip lock bags (at least for important stuff like your passport).

Thunder

Some have also reported that lightning can actually work in your advantage. Be careful with trees though.

Snow

Hitchhiking during periods with snow cover is all right, provided you wear warm clothes. The visibility of hitchhikers increase during snow cover and drivers are generally more attentive. Take care not to stand on places where ice on the road is a potential danger. Hitchhiking in a curve could become easily very dangerous if a driver starts slipping. Take your responsibility in extreme weather conditions.

Extreme temperatures

During cold winter periods or during warm periods in summer the difference in temperature inside cars and on the street becomes rather big. In summer this is mainly true in countries where many cars are equipped with air conditioning installations. On a longer distance this requires strongness from hitchhikers. During a whole day of hitchhiking - when one gets perhaps ten rides or even more - there is a constant change of temperature on the street and inside the cars. This rhythm might easily lead to a sore troath and coughing - especially when combined with (active or passive) smoking.

Heat

During very warm periods in summer, or in warm exotic countries, one should protect oneself against excessive heat from the sun. Sometimes a place in shadow is not available, and waiting times are not always reliable. A simple cap would help prevent from burning the neck. Also arms and legs can be vulnerable to the heat of the sun. Make sure to take enough water. Also remember sunscreen.

Cold

Be careful, because sometimes a wait of a few hours might be unavoidable, and during cold your fingers may (almost literally) freeze off. This is of course especially true if one gets stuck at night.

Websites

• Forecasts and statistics for every possible city: yr.no ( is in Norwegian )
• Forecasts for Sweden and other Nordic countries: smhi.se (english) is in Swedish but has good info

Source: Weather License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

A good hitchhiking spot makes hitchhiking safer and easier. Finding a good spot might be tricky, and sometimes knowing the area is an advantage. If you know your route, you might check the best places on this wiki, Hitchwiki Maps or from the internet, including Google Maps, before heading to the road.

There are some generic hitchhiking places, like petrol stations, bus stops etc. This page attempts to provide an understanding about where you should hitchhike.

See also the article on how to pick up hitchhikers.

What the data says

An analysis of 32,475 ride comments on Hitchwiki Maps found that gas stations (2,425 mentions) are by far the most frequently referenced landmark, followed by bus stops (1,732) and roundabouts (1,083). Nearly half of all reported waits (47%) were under 15 minutes, with a median of 20 minutes. Highly-rated spots are most often described as "easy" with short waits, while poorly-rated spots involve waits measured in hours.

The data confirms what experienced hitchhikers already know: gas stations on motorways are the most reliable type of spot. The sections below describe each type in detail.

Bus stops

Bus stops are in some cases the only place to hitchhike legally. This is the case when a driver drops you off in a cross-section of a motorway.

Pros

• It is a safe place to stand.
• It is a safe place for the drivers to stop.
• It is often a dry place in case of wet weather.

Cons

• The drivers might think you are waiting for a bus. You can avoid this by using a big sign.
• In poorer countries those who stop might want money for the ride.

Petrol stations

Petrol stations are good places to ask for a ride, especially while hitchhiking along a motorway.

Pros

• Almost always a safe and dry place.
• Often marked on maps, and sometimes mentioned on sign posts well in advance, so more forward planning is possible.
• People who stop there might go very far.
  • Higher chance of meeting truck drivers, known for traveling the farthest distances.
• You can and should ask for a ride from drivers.
  • Be friendly, and always say thanks and so on, even if the driver is going the right direction but doesn't want to take you. If you get annoyed because someone says no, the next person you ask will notice your annoyance and will be less eager to take you.
• Thumbing is easy, as the cars drive slowly.
• Possibly warm.
• Sometimes a convenient (but often expensive) source of (usually bad) food, drinks, maps and toilets.

Cons

• People who stop there might be local and not go very far.
• You miss the cars passing the station.
• Often difficult to access from city centers at the beginning of your journey, so can be bad starting points.

On ramps

On ramps to freeways and interstates are prime realty as long as the driver has room to pull over. A good spot to stand usually is beside the no pedestrians sign.

Make sure that there is lots of room for a car to pull over safely and still allow other cars to pass. A shoulder large enough to safely park a truck is best. It is becoming easier to locate a safe spot by looking at Google Maps or Google Earth before you depart. Google Maps Streetview can be especially useful, in locations where it is available.

In many places in the United States, on ramps are the only legal option for places to thumb. This includes the entire state of Tennessee. In most countries in Europe you can legally hitch on a slip-road leading onto the motorway, as long as you stand in front of the motorway sign.

Toll Booths / Péages

In some countries the motorways or a part of them are toll roads, so the places where drivers stop to pay might be very good spots to get a ride, since all the traffic going your direction can see you. Other type of toll booths is only stopping the traffic joining/leaving the motorway on one particular exit, there the traffic will be much more weak.

Pros

• All the through traffic on the motorway slows down and stops.
• In most cases there is a good visibility and room to pull over.

Cons

• On roads with heavy traffic they are very huge and only the cars from the first lanes can see you (for example on the motorways leaving Paris)
• It might be forbidden for pedestrians (and consequently for hitchers). The way it is enforced (or not enforced) vary greatly though, depending on the country you're in, and even within the same country depending on the network you're on and your particular luck that day. Sometimes the motorway staff can call the police if they see you, other times police passes by and doesn't care.

Truck Stops

Flying J, Pilot, TA and other truck stops can be good hitching spots. Truck stops, like petrol stops are frequented by more than just trucks. This is a good place to get picked up by young folks who are traveling across the country on summer vacation, or by the older crowd who are on a long trip by themselves.

Pros

• Truckers often go long distances
• Truck stops often have cheap food, a lounging area, showers, internet, and restrooms
• Truckers often give you cash or food when they can't offer a ride

Cons

• Generally it is against truck stop policy (though not always enforced) to allow soliciting, including for rides
• It is against the policy for trucking companies in certain countries to have riders because of insurance reasons

Outside of town

Before or after a town is a good place to hitch. Usually where the speed limit changes or main area of businesses and housing ends.

Anywhere cars can pull over safely

• huge parking spaces

Nine times out of ten you can get a ride anywhere there is a parking lot;(i.e. park and ride).

Traffic lights

Traffic light are pretty good spots. All the cars are standing still so you can easily make eye contact with the drivers and signal you want a ride.

Sometimes it's harder for cars to pull over, especially if there is a lot of traffic. Try to get an idea of where cars might be able to pull over safely. Traffic lights right before a highway entrance, which often have a large space on the side of the road, can be good spots as they combine the time drivers spend at the lights with the safety of a large space to stop for you. If you're unfamiliar with the area, try to find a place like this using Google Maps or Google Earth before you depart.

On the road

The countryside, especially where traffic speed is lower than about 60 km/h, can be a good place for hitching. Traffic on minor roads on the countryside can offer great rides to get to the nearest bigger city, or onto the main infrastructure.

Often on bigger roads the slow, local traffic coming from smaller sideroads may provide excellent rides, and it is quite often quite easy to flag those drivers down, as a very personal and direct approach is often possible.

Even national roads (non-motorway) often provide good space along the main flow of traffic, as there are often emergency lanes or so called Mehrzweckstreifen.

Finally, hitchhiking on emergency lanes of motorways can be an option in case of traffic jams. In such situation using a cardboard sign is usually highly effective. It is necessary though to take maximum safety precautions (we suppose you are smart enough to take these precautions), and you should know that hitchhiking on motorways is basically forbidden in most Western countries.

Asking locals about good hitchhiking spots

Asking local people about the best spots to hitchhike from in the area is a great way to save time. They may even give you a lift themselves. Ask them about the generic hitchhiking places mentioned above, and ask them where they have seen any hitchhikers before. Although what they say is not always useful or even truthful, asking several locals and comparing their advice will give you a good impression of the layout of the area.

Leaving the vehicle

When leaving the vehicle, if you are planning to look for another ride immediately after, then make sure you are on or near a hitchhiking spot when you say goodbye to the driver. Try to choose the spot yourself by looking out of the vehicle window - despite their efforts to help, drivers are often very ignorant about what makes a useful hitchhiking spot and their advice can range from brilliant to terrible. Often it's not worth taking the risk.

It is easy to lose hours by making mistakes such as standing on the wrong road, or the wrong side of the road. Make sure you know which road you want to be on, and keep checking the road signs so that you know where you are on your map and where you will leave the vehicle. This is especially important when traveling across cities.

Source: Where to hitchhike License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking in winter or more generally in cold climates can be more complex but with the right preparation one can secure the comfortability of winter traveling, too. This page will detail how to keep warm when travelling in the cold. Extremely dangerous winter climates such as in Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia and Northern China should have extra precautions taken before starting out, and should best be avoided unless you really know what you're doing. Without proper equipment or a place to stay prearranged, you might find yourself in very serious trouble if stuck outside at night.

Essential rules

For more advanced, as well as for beginners, there are some essential rules to take care of:

• First and most important: Wear warm clothes and keep your feet warm and dry!
• Limited daylight: In winter, it is usually cold and dark for the most part of a day. For example, there is only 8 hours of sunlight per day in Western Europe on the third week of December, and it's already dark at 5 in the afternoon. If you don't want to find yourself hitchhiking at night (when temperatures drop even further), you have to choose your routes carefully.
• It's good to stick to highway gas stations where you can wait inside, e.g., next to the coffee machine, with a sign of your destination.
• If you know that you won't avoid thumbing on on-ramps, bring a torch to shine light on yourself and your sign. You should also try to stand someplace where there is a lot of light from the streetlights.
• Dry cold air is not as bad as a humid one.
• Some people prefer to dress in layers like an onion to keep themselves warm, and unpack when it is needed. However, some hitchers, for example, alex, prefer not to have lots of layers under the warm jacket as cars are mostly well heated (unless you are in Russia?), and for short rides it is more convenient to be dressed only in 2-3 really warm layers so that you could avoid the hassle of undressing million of layers and then dressing up again.
• Bear in mind that there is snow & ice: drivers might drive more slowly, but also there could be less space to stop than usually

Additional gear for winter

When hitchhiking in winter, temperatures can be very low. In case of longer waiting times, bad weather conditions and other things, please secure yourself with following gear ( in addition to described here => common essentials ):

Boots (keeping your feet warm and dry is extremely important):

• In addition to substantial (leather) boots, appropriate for winter conditions, you can also consider plastic boots and sorel insulated boots (e.g., "Sorel Bighorn", rated to -40 degrees) as possible options.

Base Layers (no cotton):

• Midweight or Expedition-weight thermal underwear top
• Midweight or Expedition-weight thermal underwear bottom

Other Essentials:

• Windproof and waterproof jacket, preferably with a hood (or any warm hat to protect your ears!)
• Midweight or Expedition-weight Insulated fleece gloves or mittens + waterproof overgloves or mittens
• Down sweater

Optional:

• Hand warmers (e.g., "Grabber Mycoal" air-activated warmer) or rechargeable hand warmers
• Insulated water-bottle blanket
• When hitchhiking a lot in the countryside or further from the cities and petrol stations, please consider getting a primus stove.
• Reflective/hi-vis vest for better visibility after nightfall

Traveling through different climate zones

It can be a problem when you travel from warm to cold zones or the other way around (and you like to travel light with little luggage), e.g., from South Iran to Turkey in winter. However, traveling from cold climate zone to a warm one seems to be less of a problem as when you get to the warm zone you can just ship your winter stuff back home. Nevertheless, it does not have to be costly or implies heavy luggage to travel the other way around.

Personal experiences

General Advice

If you do not have experience in surviving outside in cold conditions, perhaps hitchhiking isn't the best way to find out what it's like. It is good practice to inform people exactly where you are going, and when you expect to reach your destination. You should also bring money with you; enough to buy food and to afford a hostel, in case things turn bad. Having knowledge of the weather forecast is also advised, so you have awareness of how the weather will be over a longer period of time. Finally, you should have a complete backup plan, in case you are forced to give up. This might include taking public transport or returning home.

Equipment you might need

• Warm clothes
• 5 Season sleeping bag
• Tent
• Gas lamp
• Bivvy bag

Sleeping Outside

You must find an appropriate spot to set up camp. If it is very cold, you probably won't have to worry as much about people or animals disturbing you. You should try to find a spot which is, firstly, sheltered by the wind, and secondly, sheltered from above, such as by trees. Once you have found an optimal spot, you might want to start a fire. This will provide heat and light. You should learn how to start a fire before leaving. I have met some people who have used gas lamps successfully, keeping them inside their tent for extra warmth (not recommended unless the situation is desperate). Once this is done, you can start clearing away snow, if there is any. You should not to use your hands or clothes, try to find an instrument that can clear the snow aside. Piling the snow around to form a wall will provide more insulation.

Once this is done, you can set up your tent and sleeping bag. Put on as many clothes as you can wear. If you have wet clothes on, consider changing out of them if at all possible. Do not expose your skin to the air, if it is extremely cold.

Regarding sleeping bags for extreme winter conditions (below -40C), forget about the manufacture's survival rating or how much money you spent on that Everest Down Sleeping Bag. For guys planning to hitchhike to the North Pole, buy a portable propane heater and drag a sleigh of propane tanks.

Gallery

Image:2001_Hitch-hiking_in_Russia.jpg|Hitchhiking in Russia Image:2002_hitch_hiking_in_Norway.jpg|Hitchhiking in Norway Image:Parnu-riga.jpg|Hitchhiking in Estonia Image:Erzurum.JPG|Early morning and -25°C in Erzurum, one of the coldest places in Turkey; leaving the town towards West. File:Lisa in the Snow.jpeg|Towards Karlsruhe.

Source: Winter License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

For women, hitchhiking seems to be more risky. Hitchhiking as a woman can be easier though. Often, women stop for other women or girls. Even families (or other usual-not-hitch-hiker-friendly car owners) stop to "save" women from a situation in which they think she could be in "danger".

Do not forget that being a woman you are firstly a human being and you have the same rights as males. You have a right to be respected and it is not true that while hitchhiking you expose yourself to a risk at your own wish.

Safety tips for female hitchhikers

Whatever statistics are concerning violence to women (though when it comes to hitchhiking, they're low -- the German Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Police) estimates the chance of attempted rape at 1-2 out of 10,000 and the chance of rape at 1 out of 10,000 lifts), (?reference). There are some things you can do in order to avoid/go out from difficult situations

Choose your driver

There are many different ways to get a ride from staying on the side of the road to asking directly to people at petrol stations. It could be better to ask people because you can then have a feeling of who is driving. It is of course difficult to know what kind of person someone could be just from how they look, but that first contact may compel you to avoid guys who already have macho or strange behavior towards you. If you want to or have to stay on the edge of the road, your attitude will of course attract different people. The 'positive attitude' thing is important but be aware of what you may suggest when standing and smiling. Body language is really important. I have a friend who almost got raped when hitchhiking in Europe for the first time. I hitched with her a few months later and understood then how this may have happened. She was standing on a half highway road without sign indicating her direction and with a huge smile, a slightly denuded t-shirt and a suggestive attitude. I am not saying we should all wear burka when hitchhiking, some people also use their charm and flirt a little bit with people without any problems. It is just a matter of being aware of how we do it.

Also the car sometimes tells about the owner. I am personally more careful when asking. For example, I flatly turned down a car with a big sound installation and loud music since this can show that the driver gives a lot of importance (and money) into appearance, and probably likes to be seen and to impress. It is not rare that their car is also a tool to flirt and impress girls. This is just an example and there is of course no generality. I have often met really nice people, which at first glance I wouldn't think of as sympathetic. Just follow your feeling and don't hesitate to refuse a ride if you don't feel like it!

Marymary (talk) 21:54, 19 June 2014 (CEST) says: I didn't write the above, but I'll chime in with my advice: truck drivers seem to be really held accountable with where they are, and they have to regularly get various parts of the truck maintained and pass through checkpoints. And trucks are heavy, so if a guy wanted to murder you he'd have to pull over in the middle of nowhere. In general I feel extremely safe with truckers and hitch from truck stop to truck stop only. They are all given money for food and showers from their companies, and are generally very generous and gentlemanly. I would advise this over getting in cars with random guys. I did meet some skeezy truckers who could have been dangerous, but using common sense (that is, don't engage anyone who makes you feel weird) avoided problems. And don't get in a vehicle with more than one guy; that's asking for trouble. I work in the adult industry and even we don't allow ourselves to be alone with more than one guy if we can help it because it's too dangerous. Some people will do all kinds of messed up stuff if they're high on bro spirit (see: A Clockwork Orange). Don't do it.

Listen to your yourself / set up some safety rules

Set up some rules for yourself before begining to hitch hike. I personally have this one that if I happen to think/feel something is strange with somebody, I refuse the ride or ask to be dropped as soon as possible, even in the middle of nowhere. This is also valid for your security whith some drivers driving like crazy or really fast because they usually do so or because they want to show you how fast their Audi TT is. It may be better to spend an extra night in the middle of nowhere (which can actually be really nice) than being raped or smashed in a car accident.

Protect yourself

There are two main ways to protect yourself: Prevention and action. Prevention means taking steps to avoid being in a bad situation in the first place, i.e. steps you ALWAYS take while on the road. Action means defending yourself if your prevention fails and you end up in a bad situation: you have to take action to save yourself.

Prevention

First and foremost, be assertive. If you are a solo female and choose to accept rides from single or multiple men (which many people say is a big no-no, although many single women do it) you need to be paying attention to how they act and be able to steer the conversation how you want it to go. Don't let them drive the conversation towards sex, partying or dating. If they insist tell them about your fiance - you know, the 250lbs professional boxer you are on your way to visit. They may try to see how easily intimidated you are, "Aren't you scared out here all by yourself, (a pretty girl like you)? Don't you know there are bad people around?" Of course many people will ask you variations of this without ill-intention, but sticking to a general answer along the lines of "yes I know there are bad people, but I believe that there are more good people than bad out there. Many people go out of their way to help me, like you". This invokes guilt if they had bad thoughts, and gives them an honourable way out. You could also mention something meant to be slightly intimidating, but this may be taken as a challenge and work to your disadvantage.

There is a story of a nun who hitchhiked around the United States for many, many years without ever running into any trouble. Her "secret" was that whenever she got into a car, the first thing she said to the driver was: "Thank you so much for picking me up! There is so many crazy, dangerous people out there that I feel I'm really lucky to be picked up by somebody as trustworthy as you are!" -- or something along those lines. People generally seem to find it hard to "disappoint" a trust that has so obviously been placed in them.

Here are other preventative techniques that can be used:

• Having a mobile phone and knowing the important numbers (police, friends, etc) may be useful. Have an emergency code word with a family member so that you do not set off alarm bells with a potential aggressor (this may tempt him to take immediate action against you).
• Keep your bag at your feet if it is not too big, in case you have to leave quickly.
• Some people send a text message to a friend with the license plate number of cars they are about to get into. Always ask the driver first, if they object then don't get in their vehicle. Make sure you tell them it is only a safety precaution you take with all drivers, so that they do not feel you don't trust them (after all, they are trusting you by letting you into their car.

Action

If prevention has failed and you find yourself in a situation where you are almost certain you are in danger, it is time to take action. Do not wait. Your chances of escape go down significantly once he has taken you to a back road or isolated area. If you start feeling uncomfortable while on a main road or in a populated area, get out then. Make an excuse to stop: washroom ("that time of the month!"), private phone call etc, and then simply take your stuff and leave. Or jump out at a traffic light or at low enough speeds (see WikiHow: Jumping out of a moving car. Better to be safe than sorry. Here are some other self-defence ideas:

• Knife: keep it on your body and accessible, but hidden. A belt or bra-strap are good locations. It may be enough to dissuade your aggressor, but beware that if you don't know how to use it, it may end up being taken and used against you (this is far too common).
• There are pepper sprays you can find in some specialized shops, thought difficult to use in closed spaces. Take care, in some countries it is illegal to use pepper spray against people (or to use it at all).
• Remember that as the passenger, you ultimately have a lot of control - after all, the driver has to drive. If you have asked the driver to stop and he refuses, or becomes aggressive, be ready to take action. Know where the door handle,lock and window mechanism are (in some vehicles this may be more complicated than one would think). Opening the door while the car is in motion will draw attention, but remember at high speeds this is difficult due to wind resistance. Flailing your arms out the window also draws attention. Pulling the parking break can be the best resort at high speeds. Hopefully he be forced to slow down enough for you to jump out. Pulling out an ignition key and holding outside open window in a moving vehicle can be very effective if successful - guessing which car design allows that is quite hard. (Note: It can also engage the steering lock and disable the power steering and/or power brakes and as such may do more harm than good! Prino (talk) 10:14, 23 July 2013 (CEST))

We all hope to never be in a situation where such extreme actions are needed, but if such a situation arises, resolve and confidence in your chosen course of action is key.

Hitchhiking as a female

Backup from girls.hitchbase.com.

There are not so many girls who are solo long-distance hitchhikers, but we exist and some of us practise it as a lifestyle. We love it not only because it is free of cost, or because of the freedom you have to grab your bag any day disregarding the fact that there are buses out of town only on Thursdays and Sundays.

Most of all, and I know I am not alone in passionately arguing this, renouncing hitchhiking would lead to missed opportunities. Through hitchhiking in the past we all have met gorgeous folks and been invited into their homes, and been lead down paths that we never would have discovered through any bus window or guide book. These encounters form the richest flavour of our travels, and they are what keeps us going back for more!

Many people automatically assume that hitchhiking is a death wish, and if the hitchhiker is a girl thrice so. Even reputable traveller’s guidebooks write unfounded, hyped up statements like, "Women should never hitchhike on their own" or, "Any woman hitchhiking on her own is making herself fair game for anyone".

This is, to put it bluntly, rubbish.

Don't buy the media's brainwash that is trying to scare us all into obedient consumers. Be self-confident, act responsibly and the road is yours!

I have hitchhiked in almost fifty countries on three continents and I have only encountered generosity and kindness. So although people may call hitchhikers foolhardy, in my experiences I have found that openness and a smile will melt away people's misgivings about you, and allow curiosity to supplant suspicion. I have hitchhiked through some pretty unsavory places, and without exception had overwhelmingly positive interactions.

Advantages as a woman

No matter what some self-assured male hitchers will tell you, whereas it is true that getting lifts is in part a matter of technique, WE ARE FASTER, there is no doubt about it. Talking to regular male hitchhikers, they without exception have longer average waiting times than a girl.

These days drivers often are afraid to take anyone on, and whereas some males have to go to great lengths to look benign (drawing smileys on their cardboards etc.), as a woman you can almost look as scrubby as you want and you won't be considered a threat. Many lift givers told me in fact that this was the first time they stopped for any hitchhikers at all.

I don't want to clog this page with anecdotes but just consider the following:

Once I hitched together with a Scottish long-distance hitchhiker who had done the rather long stretch of Côte d'Azur to Scotland by hitchhiking umpteenth times. When the first car that stopped for us was a BMW he exclaimed, "This is the first time I am going in such a nice car," to which I only could reply a truly astounded, "Really??"

In fact in Western Europe travelling businessmen's fast BMWs and Mercedes constitute for me almost the majority of lift givers, at least counting out lorry drivers, whom for shortish distances you might give a miss because they are so slow.

You might very well find that you are making fantastic progress if you are going LONG distance with lorries though. Lorries sometimes fix you up with rides for the rest of a 2000 km journey across Europe. They take you as far as they are going, drop you at a service station and tell you to wait a few minutes. Shortly after another lorry will pull up who already knows your name and your final destination.

Whereas they are also generous lift givers when it comes to guys, a female voice over their radios works wonders. You'll see.

Techniques

If you are uncomfortable with just standing by the side of the road you can opt for asking around at garages (gas stations), a tactic also many male hitchhikers resort to because for them it is easier to convince the drivers that they are innocuous and willing to exchange a chat for the lift.

(This by the way, even if sometimes repeating the same old conversations can get tedious, is an etiquette you should follow, thereby leaving behind a happy hitchhikee who will pick up hitchhikers again!)

In most of Europe you will be noticeably quicker if you make yourself a sign. In the rest of the world just sticking out your thumb or hand, depending on local custom, will do just as fine.

Some people swear you will get a lift quicker if you wear bright clothes with high visibility.

If you prefer to wait for daylight, you can camp somewhere or find a place to stay with:

• http://www.hospitalityclub.org
• http://www.bewelcome.org
• http://www.couchsurfing.org

For a good overview, see:

• http://www.hospitalityguide.net

If there are two of you, you might just hitch through the night from garage to garage.

Prostitution essentially being a night activity though, it is advisable for a lone female not to hitch at night.

For sleeping, bring a sleeping bag and crash out in the woods. You'll be safer without a tent because no one will expect you there.

Safety tips

As for safety, there are a few tips that hitch-hiking girls can hand down to others:

• This is probably not really anything you have to remind hitchhikers of, but just in case: don't, for starters, hitch in a short skirt, or you will be mistaken for someone looking for a lift to the next parking lot only. Generally, even in countries where prostitutes can frequently be seen standing along roadsides soliciting customers, a first glance at you will make it clear that you are there for a different reason. You will most likely be wearing something like boots and a flabby T-shirt, have a bag and sign (which in some places is indispensable for getting a quick lift anyway).

• When you get in the car ask them where they are going before you answer the same question. If you have time, check them and their motives out in a minute's probing interlocution. Many neophytes often ask "How do you recognize if someone is not alright to hitch with?" The answer is simple. The very few times I have refused lifts it made itself clear in a few seconds' conversation that the driver had other ideas about the goal of picking me up than I. It is common sense not to get into a car with an old driver drooling over you or someone telling you straight away they're not at all going your direction but still insisting you get in, for instance.

• A general point you'll quickly figure out yourself is perhaps that if you see a driver pulling over his car to stop for you when he can impossibly already have deciphered your sign, it is a fair bet he stopped because of your female figure and not because he is looking for some company as well as doing someone a favour.

• When you decide to get into the car, make sure you know how to open the door in case of emergency. A good way to find it out is not to close the door correctly when you enter the car. So you have a good reason to re-open it before the driver can start.

• Try to hitchhike with a bag as small as possible and keep it between your legs, at least until your feeling tells you that you can trust the driver. Sometimes drivers propose to put it in the back, but then I usually answer:

: "Thanks a lot, but I have got my water bottle and my cell phone in it. So I can reach it more easily."

: In case you have to get out, you won't lose all your stuff. And the driver won't know what exactly you have got in your bag to defend yourself in case of an attack.

• In theory it is suggested to make a note of the car's licence plate, although in many moments you will be too excited and busy running up to the car the moment it stops to remember doing that. If you do remember, you can do it ostentatiously in front of the driver, so he has seen you will be able to track down his identity.

• As a proposition for a more concrete safety measure: carry a mobile phone and send each licence plate number to a friend as soon as you've got into the car. In case the driver gets difficult, you can always tell him that his licence number is already in your friend's cell phone.

• But remember, the greatest dangers of hitch-hiking are the dangers of road traffic. So if the driver is driving too recklessly, no matter how nice he otherwise happens to be, get out. If he doesn't see, hear or understand anything in the traffic, or if he thinks accidents happen only to the others, it isn't worth dying with him. Your time can wait.

• Always say that you are on your way to a friend's house who is expecting you around a certain time span, even if that is far from the truth. If the occasion arises, nonchalantly throw in that you have a functioning mobile phone on you to ring them up.

• In general be on your wits. Make sure your driver is going the right way. If he or she does not seem to be, make them justify their detour or show you the way on a map. If they won't comply with your request, have them drop you there and then.

Make no compromises about this.

Counteracting unwanted "proposals"

Since I feel there are good amounts of misinformation floating around with girls who always have heard stories from someone else, never experienced them themselves (like stories of girls having to hitchhike with knives or the good old AIDS-infected syringe "in case the driver acts dodgy"), I want to make it clear that these are hopelessly paranoid:

• Any direct rude comments and indeed proposals are VERY rare. Physical "transgressions" (touching, grabbing) are even rarer.

• Some men might at some point think they can "try" and make some polite allusions. In this case, play naïve, like you can't even imagine anything else than your driver taking fatherly care of you, and the man will get the point very quickly. It is a tried and tested fact that by the psychological pressure you are thus exerting on him he will soon change face, and trying to keep countenance will turn out just as nice as you want him to be.

• Many girls worked themselves a standard set of questions out that works wonders as a primer, setting the tone for the rest of the conversation. You will see that simple enquiries about marital status and progeny will usually not have him bother you anymore. After he told you all about his wife and kids that is just not the thing to be done. In case any unwanted advances are coming forth later on, just bluntly direct the conversation back on his family and he'll get the hint.

Most of all, be confident.

If he is not married, ask him why not, at his age, after all. Make it clear, implicitly, that your attitude is that at a certain age any respectable person should be married, etc.

• Pepper spray may be a good idea to take with you, if only to make you feel more confident. Feel free to mention to your driver that you have it on you.

• Remind yourself that you are practically in the superior position compared to the driver's. He has to keep his eyes on the road and his hands to the steering wheel whereas you have hands and attention free, after all. Don't be bashful about laconically informing the driver about this.

• Remember that as a last resort you can use the handbrake.

ATTENTION: Be extremely careful and never pull a handbrake at high speed! There is a good chance you will cause a huge accident by sending the car skidding or rolling.

I have used it myself once, and one tiny thing I want to hand down to others is: look whether there are any cars behind you when you perform that so effective sleight of hand.

I myself had not, in the ardour of the moment, borne in mind this minor precaution requiring but the turn of one's head. I could have killed us or other people, since we were going at a fair speed, the sudden stop being the perfect invitation for a rear-end collision.

(In that case I don't actually think the guy would have become any more than annoying by the way, but the dumbfounded look alone on the idiotic man's face when I put such an abrupt end to his obscene babble was well worth another hour of waiting and easily made my day.)

• Don't hitch when overly tired, since it will not only leave you physically weak and unfit to run away or defend yourself, but, moreover (and more importantly in reality in my opinion), your social skills will suffer and you might not be able to handle the conversation with the requisite verve and confidence and, seeming weaker in general, you might slide down the sloping side of the fulcrum, that is to say the one entitled (possible) victim.

This is the most important point I am going to make:

Even in the occasion you meet that axe-murderer who is so ubiquitous in the mind of the frenzied masses, but very, very rare in real life (in other words: you won't meet him), it is a question of mental strength, not physical one.

Personality development

I will illustrate what I mean by quoting Bernd Wechner's article Hitchhiking: a course in personality development (please read the whole thing on http://bernd.wechner.info/Hitchhiking/Suite101/?22), an article which helped form my opinions about the matter and which concisely sums up the gist of the idea.

(The passage starts off with a quote from the German Federal Bureau of Police who had done a report on murdered hitchhikers.)

They write:

... the risk of falling victim to a crime while hitch-hiking is strongly defined by the process of interaction between the driver and passenger.

What are they saying here?

Well, I don't want to present pages of extracts here, and you'll have to accept my representation, I guess. Essentially, they argue that hitch-hiking crimes (with the exception of pre-planned crimes) don't just happen to you. They are much rather the product of a process of interaction between the driver(s) and passenger(s), and each of the players has a hand in the game and a chance to control the outcome.

They are describing a social game here, not a physical game. It has to do with a relationship (driver-passenger) and the evolution and management of that relationship.

Another good quote:

Fear is something others can read on you, can sense. If you think a knife will protect you, maybe it will. But others can sense your discomfort. The mind is always the best weapon: the ability to carry oneself with confidence, to discern who to trust, to lead others to help rather than hurt you. I'm not saying that absolutely everyone has good intentions; I'm just saying that I've been out of a lot of sticky situations unharmed, and I do think it was mostly in my way of dealing with them. And despite being a tiny little girl, I don't carry weapons other than simply my mind.

• Instinct - it's a wonderful thing. You will learn to trust it.

All of the bad stories I have heard from hitchhiking women happened with a driver that they had a dodgy feeling with to begin with. Someone not well-meaning may wait around, try to cajole you into sitting into the car, talk other drivers out of giving you a lift, etc.

If a driver behaves like this after you have declined the lift, it is a pretty clear sign that he (rarely she) wants to make a problem for you.

The most important thing is that you stay firm in such a situation and do not get into the car. This can be more difficult than it sounds, so I reiterate: you have to be very firm.

If you have a bad feeling, don't set a foot in there.

If you have got into such a car, and the driver starts to act dodgy, be self-assured. It is better to be a little more on the aggressive side than to show fear.

Make it clear that you are a traveller and just want to get to your destination. Repeat "Let's just keep going straight" and/or keep pointing out the correct road signs.

If it is possible, try to pull the handbrake and get out of the car.

From experience I can say that in these cases all violence starts with "psychological violence". Even if you made the bad move and got into that car, if you act strong enough, you will be OK.

I hope we have made it clear that such situations are extremely rare though. They are more common in places with strong macho traditions, and in the case that you are hitchhiking alone, of course.

Countries where it is unusual for women to hitchhike

In most Asian or African countries native women would never be hitchhiking, or, in short, travelling, on their own, but as an outsider it is often understood that you have different status.

Don't forget that as a Western female you are looked upon as a third sex. You don't need a veil, but long pants, a long skirt and a long-sleeved shirt are fine.

In a lot of these countries hitchhiking works so well that you do not slow yourself down a lot if you try to stop cars with women only.

This is a technique that may make you safer if you are alone, and will assure you a lot of overwhelming hospitality.

Once you will have taken pictures of the kids and had long conversations with the women, no man will treat you with anything else than the utmost respect.

In fact, along roads with little public transport in the "third world", or Global South, or whatever you may call it, hitchhiking is often both faster and more comfortable than taking a bus or shared taxi!

For a special article on Female Hitchhiking in the Middle East visit:

• http://kurdistandiary.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post_26.html

Hitchhiking in Turkey for Girls:

• http://youarealltourists.blogspot.com/2008/04/hitchhiking-guide-to-turkey-for-girls.html

Further reading

• You can find a specific guide about women hitchhiking at girls.hitchbase.com!
• A scientific article about Hitchhiking women's hair color
• Anick-Marie Bouchard - Women travelling alone - Part I, II, III.
• Safety Hitchhiking Guide to Turkey (for Girls)
• Stories about female solo hitchhiking blended with feminist theory
• Facebook group: Feminist Explorers (feminism for travellers, nomads, and backpackers)
• Hitchhiking - How-to zine written by a woman
• Discussion on FB group "Hitchgathering" about women and long distance hitching
• Discussion on FB group "Hitchgathering" about women hitchhiking
• Tips for solo women hitchhiking
• Hitching tips for women by The Tourist Of Soft-Porn, Sheikhs and Dunes
• YouTube guide sharing practical tips on how to hitchhike safely as a girl
• A book about a solo female hitchhiking in 70 countries Solo Female Traveller: What I Learnt from Hitchhiking in 70 Countries

Source: Women hitchhiking License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Europe

West to east: the British Isles, France and the Low Countries, the German-speaking lands, the Nordics, Iberia, Italy, then central Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans, and the east.

The United Kingdom is a country in Nothern Europe which forms the so-called Common Travel area with Ireland and is not part of the Schengen Agreement. It is connected to mainland Europe via the English channel. As of 2020, it is no longer part of the European Union.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking in the United Kingdom is feasible although the British are a little surprised (especially in England) to see people still doing it these days since it has become a dying trend largely due to the safety worries, insurance issues and very busy roads, but also extremely cheap coach fares. You will still manage a ride somehow but you really need to be at the right spot. Finding a safe spot where drivers can pull over easily can be crucial here - British people usually don't like to stop in bad places, so make it easy for them to pick you up!

There are people in the UK who hitchhiking to travel, some also hitchhike as a freetime activity. Races are regularly organized mostly by university societies.

Hitching in Scotland or Wales tends to be more easy than in southern England although this depends from county to county. For example, the rural mentality in the South West makes it a lot more easier than trying to hitch in the South East. It seems the closer you are to big cities, especially London, the harder it is. Furthermore, especially in the South of England, people have some kind of you-only-get-what-you-merit-(equals: work for)-attitude, which is why they sometimes react with unfriendliness to the idea of hitching. On the other hand, many students hitched in the 70s and 80s and they often give lifts now that they are older.

When traveling a long distance on the motorways it is best to stick to the service stations as getting a lift on a slip road will take an exceptionally longer time. Don't get dropped at any motorway intersection junctions (M25/M4, M4/M5 etc.) as traffic will be going too fast to stop and you will probably be picked up by the police. In case you do get dropped there your best option is probably to start walking a bit away from the motorway, and if you're a foreigner, attach a sign to your backpack saying e.g. from Holland.

As A-roads, however, are a replacement for motorways in more rural areas, people basically go at the same speed, and it is quite difficult and dangerous to flag somebody down.

If you're hitchhiking long distances and considering making a sign, in general people use the motorway names rather than the city names. For example, from London to Cornwall have a sign saying M4. But if you are hitching on a motorway with multiple cities (i.e. M1) it is an idea to use a sign with the city name (e.g. Nottingham, Sheffield).

As a final note, rides are called lifts and trucks are called lorries:)

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is legal in the United Kingdom and no law forbids asking a stranger for a lift; motorways are the exception. Rule 253 of the Highway Code states that motorways must not be used by pedestrians, citing the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 (regs 3(d), 4 and 11) and, in Scotland, the Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995 — the ban covers the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip roads. Rule 271 adds that nobody may stop on a carriageway, emergency area, hard shoulder, slip road, central reservation or verge except in an emergency, so a lift cannot lawfully be picked up on the motorway itself. Motorway service areas are private land reached off the motorway rather than part of it, so asking drivers there is lawful, though the operator can ask you to leave. On A-roads and everything below them, stand safely off the carriageway and thumb: there is no offence in it.

Apart from motorways, you can also hitch on the so-called A-roads, where - legally - you can stand on the side lane.

Like anywhere else, it is illegal to walk on motorways, and so hitchhiking is best done from the bottom of slip roads and at service stations (at discretion of the owner). Highways Agency officials may question you if you hitch from sliproads on motorways as technically you are not allowed to do this, but the police will not pay any interest; the Highways Agency staff are more pedantic than the police regarding that.

Service stations hitchiking method

Stick to motorway services, as lot of traffic is passing, filling up their tanks. Talk with drivers who are filling up their tanks in petrol station. It will help if you will have a sign, or if you don't have one, have some kind of paper map, because you will look more trustable from distance. Thumbing near the motorway services exit also works well.

If there are a lot of traffic coming through petrol station, or in general, don't waste time going to speak to drivers in rest area, they will pass you at some point. Try asking drivers if you are in good place for heading that direction, for example: Strazdas007 was stuck on Maidstone services while trying to get to the North, as all drivers where going South, or just around the corner, so he just went back to Dover port. If you are in bad service station for your direction, don't hesitate going back to last good spot, or possibly good spot. Try to look up service stations on maps or gps. A Collins road map of the UK (+ Ireland) can be found in book stores for ~£5 and is very useful here since you don't want to miss the last possible service sttation. Go for the popular ones if you have a choice, like: Starbucks over Costa, as it is with petrol stations - Shell over BP.

Also, with some luck, you can even get job offers (Strazdas007 got offer from driver to work as roofpainter or smth like that in service station near Leeds).

Climate

The UK is infamous for its rainy weather. The oceanic climate makes the weather changeable from one day to the next and causes comparatively long but light phases of rain. This doesn't mean it's always raining, but it can always rain. Be prepared and always have waterproof clothes with you. The rainiest months are October−January. As a rule of thumb, one could say the further west and the higher the elevation, the greater the rainfall. Contradicting the cliché, some parts of south and west England are surprisingly dry and may even have drought problems in summer.

An advantage of the mild oceanic climate is that it does not get extremely cold or hot.

Hitchhiking a ferry

There is a map of ferry routes on GreenTraveller.co.uk. Roughly, there are ferries

• from Dover to Calais (probably the most common route)
• from East England to Netherlands
• from South England to France
• from Wales/West England/Scotland to Ireland

Some ferries allow extra car passengers to turn up for free at the port (like Dover->Calas). Others demand an extra fee (often making paying a foot passenger ticket the cheapest option). If you get onto the ferry as a foot passenger, you can still ask around on the ferry and hitch a lift out in someone's car. This is often a better idea than trying to wait outside the port when you arrive.

You can read more about hitchiking ferries below, on the Dover page, on the Holyhead page, on List_of_ferries_that_can_be_hitchhiked#Great_Britain, on Portsmouth.

Hitchhiking towards Western Europe

Hitchhiking the English Channel from England to France is possible. Just hitchhike in direction of Dover along the M20 in the South East to reach the ferries or The Channel Tunnel. Once you're there, you could either try to find a lift in Dover or in a more relaxed atmosphere on one of the services along the M20, e.g. Maidstone Services (note however that a lot of people on this service station are locals, so you might be better off with a truck driver, they are parked behind the restaurant).

Truckers who cross the channel through the Eurotunnel (train) cannot take an extra person, but those who go by ferry in Dover can. If you're lucky you can even eat for free in the truckers' restaurant on the ferry! If you can't get a ride from a service station before Dover, wait by the BP station just over a mile before the ferry port in Dover. See the English channel page.

You can also hitch from the Immingham docks near Grimsby to Zeebrugge on a truck ferry. Hitching from Scotland to Scandinavia is also possible, see Scrabster. Due to fears of terrorism and illegal immigration authorities may ask you not to wait near the docks.

Another option is the various ferry routes from Portsmouth (to Caen, Bilbao, St Malo, Cherbourg, Le Havre). The only regular route is to Caen, and drivers must pay an extra £40-60 for an extra undeclared passenger (first 2 are free) (accurate 2026) (roughly the same price as a foot passenger ticket), so it sounds like it would be difficult to do for free (unless you are alone and find a car with 1 passenger).

Hitchhiking from Western Europe

Hitchiking across the English Channel to Great Britain is possible. When coming from France, make sure you stay on the A26. Loads of truck drivers are heading from Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany to Great Britain. So if someone offers you a ride to Lille, make sure you stay on the A26 or you might get stuck.

If you're dropped off in Calais, you can start hitchhiking at the bottom of the bridge before the check-in. The price is the same for a car, no matter how many passengers (also in Dunkerque). People who booked in advance indicated how many passengers they would have, so it could be better not to mention at the check-in that you're a hitchhiker (?). A one way ticket as a foot passenger is € 40. On the parking lot where everyone's waiting to board the ferry, you can often find another lift that goes in your direction. Just show your sign to all the waiting truckers/cars.

If coming from Zeebrugge note that the truckers usually can have two passengers on the manifest so if you travel this way you don't need to pay for a ferry ticket. You might be better off hitching with a car, because truck drivers are often more suspicious of people who want to be taken across the channel - their livelihood depends on it, as UK police tend to arrest anybody who knowingly or not help illegal immigrants to enter the UK.

Hitchhiking from or towards Ireland

There are ferries from Wales (Holyhead in the North and Fishguard in the South), from Scotland (Troon, Cairnryan, Stranraer) and from England (around Liverpool). Currently, it might only be possible to get across without paying if you can find a sympathetic driver who allows you to hide in their vehicle, as every passenger pays separately.

From Birkenhead there is a ferry with DFDS seaways that goes either directly to Dublin or Belfast. Two ferries per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. If you can find a driver who has already paid for his car + 1, then it is possible to amend that ticket and check in with the driver for only 10 euros. It would still be paying, but on the ferry you get a dinner buffet and breakfast buffet.

Your driver will also get a cabin with his ticket with four bunkbeds in it, so you will depending on wether your driver wants you in the cabin or not, get a night on real sheets. (Cheapest alternative I have been able to come across if you are still to do it in any legal way. Credit to SamanthaofTarth on the westeros internet forum for this initial info.)

(If you decide to pay, consider getting a Megabus for 25 Pound from London to Rosslare, ferry included, as this is already cheaper then the foot passenger ticket for the ferry only. Alternatively, there sometimes are decent Rail & Sail offers from London to Dublin, via the Holyhead Ferry.)

Links

• Map of Service Stations - Motorway Services Online
• Map of Service Stations - alifeee.net
• Frixo Traffic Reports – Live travel updates for UK roads / motorways

Personal Experiences

Source: United Kingdom License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Roadside hitching spots go stale. For current places to hitch in and out of this city, use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live Hitchwiki page linked at the end of this chapter. This book keeps general orientation, not a pin gazetteer.

London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the third biggest city in Europe.

Greater London

This region is a part of the East of England and accessible through the motorways M1/A1 and M11. These regions are part of the London commuter belt and include in part or totally the following counties:

Bedfordshire: Luton (London Luton Airport)

Cambridgeshire: Cambridge, Peterborough

Essex: Colchester, Southend-on-Sea

Hertfordshire: Stevanage, Bishop's Stortford / London Stansted (Airport)

Airports

London Gatwick / London Stansted / London Heathrow / London Luton

Paid transport to and from airports can be expensive. Hitching can be a good alternative. The exits to the airports can also be good places to get lifts to other places. For example, if you get stuck on the western part of the M25, try to get to Heathrow, from there people are going all over the country. If you are coming from Brighton, and trying to get around London, you may get a ride quicker to where you want to go if you get dropped at Gatwick Airport than at Pease Pottage services.

Transiting Greater London

Since nearly all the motorway networks lead towards London, you probably might have to go through that urban area somehow to reach your destination. The M25 is the ring motorway that surrounds the city and connects with every possible motorway network in all directions. It's recommended to find a lift past London as it's somewhat hard to find somebody going off the M25 in your direction from any of the service stations on the M25. Be careful: there are only 3 service stations, and the entire western section has none at all. It may also be possible to head around the M25 from junction to junction. However, the only problem is that a few of the junctions are really bad in the south, and you can get really stuck as a large part of the traffic is only going round the ring a short distance. If if you do get stuck, try making a sign M25 east or west. So consider waiting for a ride that actually takes you to the road you want to be on, rather than just stopping somewhere at random on the M25.

Clacket Lane Services

Clackett Lane services are located in the south of London and are possibly the best place to get lifts on the M25. There is a bridge here to cross from one side to the other, which can be useful to know if, for example, you are trying to hitch from the M4 to Brighton but get a lift with someone who is going to Dover.

Take the train from Victoria to Bromley South. Then take bus 246 (timetable here) south in the direction of Westerham Green and get off at Pilgrims Way. Walk west along Pilgrims Way and then Pilgrims Lane for ≈1.4km until you reach Clackett Lane. Turn left (south) and walk for ≈1km until you reach the entrance to the service station (heading east). Continue walking along Clackett Lane for another 400m over the motorway M25 bridge to reach the entrance for the services heading west. You can see where you're going on a map here. Where it says "Clacket Wood" is the service station. There is also a street view of this area on google maps.

Clacket Lane is an excellent place to hitch to Brighton (Westbound) or Dover (Eastbound) and also fairly good for most other directions as it's a busy station. Best thing is to stand outside the main doors into the station and ask everyone that comes out if they are going your way ("excuse me, are you by any chance going to Brighton?")

Source: London License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

England is a country in the United Kingdom. The capital city is London.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking can be quite hard; it is not the easiest country of the Kingdom. Especially in the (richer) South, where people tend to be "posher" and more individualistic, there is sometimes little understanding on why you don't just take a train or "get a job".

For more general information about hitchhiking within England, check out the United Kingdom article. For specific cities in England, have a look below.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is legal in England and no law forbids asking a stranger for a lift; the motorway network is the exception. The Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 treat pedestrians as "excluded traffic" (reg. 3(d)) and regulation 15 lets them use a motorway only when an accident, an emergency or a broken-down vehicle makes it necessary — which puts the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip roads off limits. Rule 253 of the Highway Code states the ban plainly and rule 271 adds that nobody may stop on a carriageway, emergency area, hard shoulder, slip road, central reservation or verge except in an emergency, so a lift cannot lawfully be picked up on the motorway itself. Motorway service areas are private land reached off the motorway rather than part of it, so asking drivers there is lawful, though the operator may ask you to leave. On A-roads and everything below them, stand safely off the carriageway and thumb — there is no offence in it.

Hitchhiking to/from England

The UK being an island, you will need to cross the English Channel, which is quite possible as a hitchhiker, and can be done as a free car passenger on one of the ferries or by the Channel Tunnel between Dover, England and Calais or Dunkerque, France.

It's possible to hitchhike several ferry lines going to England. Just hitchhike a car or a truck that's going to the ferry and you pay nothing because the car is already paid for.

More information on the English channel page.

Ferry companies

Airports

• London Heathrow
• London Gatwick
• London Stansted
• London Luton

Public transport

England is not a great country for using public transport without paying, pretty much impossible on buses as with very few exceptions you purchase a ticket from the driver, and hard on trams. For short hops on local trains, it's possible, and from stations without a ticket office, where one is expected to buy a ticket on board the train, it's often possible to simply look out of the window or pay attention to a book, and the conductor won't bother you. The same is just as possible from a station with a ticket office, however, if caught the penalty ranges from from being expected to pay a higher fare, to being fined £20 or more, and to having your details taken and risking a criminal record; and you should weigh up the risk against the cost of paying the fare. Be also warned about stations where you need to a ticket to get off the platform, stations such as at Cambridge and at London King's Cross.

Nationalrail website will offer fares at four times discount in advance one or two weeks. It is possible to buy discounted tickets on most lines via nationalrail.co.uk up until 6pm the day before travel. Much cheaper is megabus or nationalexpress - in advance two or three weeks, although cheap tickets can also be bought on day of travel via their websites for many routes.

Personal Experiences

External links

A rather extensive overview on hitching in England is offered on the website of "Bristol Jailbreak"

Source: England License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hitchhiking in Scotland tends to be far easier than England, and can be incredibly easy in the Highlands (specifically towards the west coast and islands), where up to 1 in 5 cars will stop. In Dumfries and Galloway, on the the Scottish islands and on the Kintyre penninsula (south-west), hitching locally is reasonably easy.  

Hitchhiking

There aren't many motorways in Scotland. There are, however, some express dual carriage road, such as the A9 or A90. Those are great to hitchhike since it's allowed to hitchhike on the road itself, in bus stations or laybys. Just make sure that you dont stand after a turn and that your sign is large enough.

For more general hitchhiking information, check out the United Kingdom article, which relates to all countries within the Kingdom.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is legal in Scotland and no law forbids asking a stranger for a lift; the motorways are the exception, and they have their own regulations rather than the English ones. The Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995 class pedestrians as excluded traffic and regulation 13 permits them on a motorway only where an accident, an emergency or a vehicle at rest makes it necessary, which rules out the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip roads. Rule 253 of the Highway Code states the prohibition and cites these regulations, and rule 271 stops any driver pulling over for you there except in an emergency. Motorway service areas are reached off the motorway and are not part of it, so asking drivers there is lawful, subject to the operator's wishes. Scotland's trunk network is mostly A-road rather than motorway, and on those roads hitchhiking is unregulated — stand off the carriageway where a driver can stop safely.

Hitching there

There are two main roads to get to Scotland from England.

: The western road to Scotland, connecting Birmingham with Manchester, Liverpool and finally Glasgow. Not easy to get on from London, but recommended from anywhere in the West/Southwest as you can easily hop from service station to service station. To get to Edinburgh, fork off at Abington Services to take the A road east. Hitching with a sign works better than asking at the services.

• /A1: The eastern road to Scotland, connecting London, Leeds and Edinburgh. The M1 only goes up to Leeds where it becomes the A1. Relatively easy to hitch out of London on, but the last services before Edinburgh are near Leeds. Afterwards you can hitchhike along the road though as it's not a motorway anymore.

There's ferries from Ireland and Scandinavia as well as to the islands of Scotland, but those can't be hitchhiked. There's always a chance of asking around in ports to find a small boat, though. Boats from the Faeroe Islands call at Scrabster.

Sleeping

As you can see below, camping is great in Scotland. If you don't have a tent, though, or if you're not cut out for Scottish rain, there are several alternatives. There are a lot of different kinds of shelters if you're a bit creative. In the Highlands, you might even consider sleeping in a bus shelter as the area is safe. The bus shelter in the village of Haroldswick on the island of Unst in the Shetland Islands even has a sofa and a table!

There are many derelict houses which are either empty or transformed into stables. Feel free to move into any of those for a night, but make sure the walls and roof are stable enough. Bear in mind that squatting in buildings is illegal in Scotland and the owner can immediately eject you from the premises.

You can stay at these for a night or two, but remember to respect the bothy code - and check the website for restrictions. For example, some bothies are locked during stag stalking season, when hunters use the area. Bothies are often a long walk from the nearest road, sometimes up advanced hiking routes. Be careful, know your limits, and always carry a tent in case you find the bothy locked or already full. If you do find other people there, or others join you when you're already there, it's customary to make space and share something such as firewood, biscuits, or conversation with them.

Camping

Scotland has a outdoor access code for use of rural spaces, which permists wild camping almost anywhere - except in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, where wild camping is only possible with a permit during summer months. Here there are plentiful campsites though. Generally, Camping is tolerated and allowed anywhere where public access applies, out of the way on farmland, out of sight of houses and public buildings and out of sight of roads. This includes beaches, you have very little light pollution on the west coast which means you are treated to a vast array of stars at night. One must take care not to damage the natural environment, and in upland and peat areas, open fires are discouraged due to the danger of peat fires and forest fires. Camping near A-Roads is not included under public access provisions, but it is well tolerated, making it easier to travel, as if you become stuck somewhere you can pitch camp as long as you are out of the way.

Asking people where the best camping spot is has often yielded great results - from good spots to being invited to stay with them instead. Just mention that you're not looking for a campsite, but for a patch of grass where you could pitch a tent.

If you're camping in or near a small coastal town, the harbor might have toilets and showers (operated by coins and not very expensive) for the yacht crews. In some places there's an entrance code, but someone might help you and give you the code - just make sure you're leaving things clean so that no one has a reason to complain.

Highlands

The Scottish Highlands are very easy to hitchhike around, however you should be careful to avoid major trunk routes as people drive very quickly, and even when you can be seen they are unwilling to stop.

Locals stop very often, especially in less busy areas such as the islands or in hiking areas. On the NC500 route, especially during the summer, you can get picked up by tourists from all over the world. During the winter, areas like this can be quite empty and you may find yourself waiting for a while before you see a car. Wear warm clothes and try to keep moving.

Camping in the highlands can be uncomfortable in the summer, especially near pine forests and water, due to biting insects - midges, which are almost a match for mosquitoes; if you are not careful they will attack any area of exposed skin and bite repeatedly. Midge nets (particularly the over-head nets) are a valuable asset for any trip to Scotland and will make your experience travelling around the country much more pleasant. Make sure the netting says 'midge-grade', because some nets do not have small enough holes. Unfortunately, Mosquito repellent is mostly ineffective against midges. A secret weapon against them, is to use a skin lotion called "Avon Skin So Soft", which you can find in most camping shops or petrol stations. Its effectiveness is widely known among the locals (only little con: using it, makes you strongly smelling of lemon).

The weather in Scotland is very unpredictable. We say to pack for all 4 seasons. In summer it's advisable to be prepared for both extremely warm and humid conditions but also the cold and very, very wet. Thunderstorms are not uncommon at any time of the year, and unusually for the British isles, some of the mountains will carry a permanent snow cap which gives you an idea of some of the possible conditions. In the winter, it is very cold in the highalnds, and snow is not unusual. In colder winters the peaks are enjoyed by skiers and snowboarders. Some of Scotland's mountains are renowned for their dangers, however with care, preparation, and proper maps, these areas can be enjoyed at any time of the year, and are particularly beautiful in the winter months.

Hitchhiking boats around Scotland and out of Scotland

Scotland has hundreds of islands, of which about 90 are populated, many coastal tows with harbors, lochs (lakes) and the Caledonian canal. As a result, many boats are sailing around. Nina has done minor attempts to hitch boats, and though she hasn't been successful, can definitely say that it's possible. You should leave time for that (sailing depends on winds, which are really moody around Scotland), ask around in harbors (people are very helpful) and maybe even be open to various destinations. Scrabster might be an option. At Wick there was at least one boat going to the Shetland Islands, so it might be possible too.

Cities

• Aberdeen A large city on the north east coast. Has ferry connections to the Orkney and shetland islands.
• Crianlarich Less a city and more a town. A hub in the west coast, this is a great place to catch rides across the western Highlands.
• Dundee A city on the south west coast, an important transit link between fife and the eastern highlands.
• Edinburgh - the capital city, and a magnet for tourists. Hard to hitch out of.
• Fort William the outdoor capital of the country. A meca for climbing, hikers and skiers, and a fantastic location for hitchhiking.
• Glasgow - The largest city in scotland, and a hub of activity. No matter what you are into you can find it here.
• Inverness - the only city in the Highland region, and a starting point for the great glen way.
• Perth (Scotland) An important junction where the path from Glasgow and Edinburgh head north together.
• Stirling A historic town, and a important transit hub for loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
• Dumfries

Islands

• The Outer Hebrides
• Isle of Skye
• Isle of Mull
• The Inner Hebrides
• Orkney Islands
• Shetland Islands

Destinations

Glencoe

Personal Experiences

Source: Scotland License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Wales (Welsh: Cymru) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.

Welsh pronunciation guide

Though for some Welsh people, especially in the North West, Welsh is the first language, everyone you meet will speak English. Even so, some knowledge about Welsh pronunciation can help, since some places only have Welsh names. Others will have an English name and a completely different Welsh name (e.g English - Abergavenny, Welsh - Y Fenni) - both will be written, so you can just use the English one.

ll (double L) - sounds like a hissed "tl"

"w" - this is a vowel in Welsh! Something between o and u

c - always k (not s)

f - sounds like v (ff is an f)

dd - sounds like th in "the"

u - sounds like i in hitch

Cities

• Aberystwyth
• Bangor
• Cardiff
• Haverfordwest
• Holyhead
• Swansea
• Wrexham

File:Imgp6041.jpg|Martin hitchhiking in Wales. File:Carl Nai Maroc.jpg|Carl & Naomi hitching out of Cardiff.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking in Wales is fun! People are very willing to help and will often take you to your destination, or at least closer to it, even when it's not on their way. Waiting speeds vary, but generally speaking hitchhiking is quite fast, unless you're in the extreme situation of either trying to leave a city or hitching on a very remote road with few cars.

There are not many motorways, but the A-roads are almost the same, except that they are interrupted by roundabouts in every town. This can make perfect places for hitchhiking for you, although it doesn't have to, as hard shoulders aren't too popular in Wales - aim for bus stops. Though signs are not very necessary outside urban areas, they can sometimes help to make people more inclined to stop.

Wales is an important through route from Ireland to England, as two major ferry lines use Welsh harbours. The southern line (Rosslare to Fishguard and Pembroke) is mainly used for traffic going towards Cardiff, Swansea and the South of England, although there is the odd car going to North Wales or Liverpool/Manchester. Try your luck and ask around. For North Wales and Liverpool/Manchester, the second line is more promising, though - the one from Dublin to Holyhead. Neither of these lines is hitchable, prices for a single foot passenger are currently around 33€ (for Rosslare to Fishguard on Stena Lines).

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is legal in Wales and no law forbids asking a stranger for a lift; the motorway network is the exception. The Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 treat pedestrians as "excluded traffic" (reg. 3(d)) and regulation 15 lets them use a motorway only when an accident, an emergency or a broken-down vehicle makes it necessary — which puts the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip roads off limits. Rule 253 of the Highway Code states the ban plainly and rule 271 adds that nobody may stop on a carriageway, emergency area, hard shoulder, slip road, central reservation or verge except in an emergency, so a lift cannot lawfully be picked up on the motorway itself. Motorway service areas are private land reached off the motorway rather than part of it, so asking drivers there is lawful, though the operator may ask you to leave. On A-roads and everything below them, stand safely off the carriageway and thumb — there is no offence in it.

Personal Experiences

Source: Wales License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Northern Ireland is a part of the island of Ireland, but is politically part of the United Kingdom. Unlike the Irish Republic which uses the Euro the currency in Northern Ireland is the British Pound.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is usually quite good, comparable to Ireland. Northern Ireland is connected to Scotland and to England via ferry (not hitchable) to Larne and Belfast.

Hitching along the coast from a little ways north of Belfast up to and around Giant's Causeway is lovely. Be sure to stand where there is room to see you and pull over. People were very wonderful in picking me up, but I'm a woman. Many said they wouldn't stop for men alone, though they very rarely see hitch hikers anymore. Be sure to look nice, dress well, for easier rides.

For more detailed hitchhiking information, you should check the article Ireland.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is legal in Northern Ireland and no law forbids asking for a lift; only the motorways are closed to you, under regulations of their own rather than the ones covering Great Britain. The Motorways Traffic Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 treat pedestrians as excluded traffic and regulation 13(1)(b) allows them on a motorway only where an accident, an emergency or a vehicle at rest makes it necessary — so the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip roads of the M1, M2 and the rest are out. Drivers cannot legally stop for you there either, the same regulations restricting stopping to emergencies and the places provided. Northern Ireland has a short motorway network and a long A-road one, and on the A-roads hitchhiking is unregulated. Stand off the carriageway, on the verge, where a driver can see you and pull in safely.

Personal Experiences

Source: Northern Ireland License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Ireland (Republic of Ireland) is a member state of the European Union but with only partial participation in the Schengen Agreement.

Hitchhiking

It is a great country for hitchhiking. The recent economic upsurge has changed this situation a little bit though. But the recent and inevitable economic downturn has made the people a bit more accommodating and brotherly again.

Hitchhiking is the easiest and fastest way to travel in the countryside and in the less inhabited regions where public transportation such as train or bus is not available or it is not as frequent as a traveler might expect (one or two buses per day). You can easily get multiple lifts from one village to another for really short distances, and people are very welcoming. You can get a lift virtually anywhere, even on the smallest roads.

Most people are very happy to see backpackers hitchhiking. Even if they don't pick you up, many will motivate you by waving, honking, showing thumbs up, and so on. Drivers are very communicative here!

Long distance traveling can be a little slow, but the country isn't big. It's possible to get from one coast to the other in one day, on the national (N) roads. These roads connect cities or bigger towns in the country. Usually they lead directly into the town centers, so all the long-distance-traffic has to use them. This makes it very easy to hitch a ride at the end of town. Some bigger towns have bypasses which make it more difficult, but it's usually possible to hitch a ride to the bypass.

The easiest place to hitch the motorways is on the roundabouts that precede the entry or exit ramps. Typical wait time is under 5 minutes, as most drivers are going slowly around the roundabouts and have plenty of time to see you. For long distances, simply go as far as the driver's next exit, and have them drop you at the next roundabout.

For medium distances or short distances, stick to national secondary (R) roads, using R and N roads, you could technically get to anywhere in Ireland, but it all depends on the area. These are expanded country roads, with a lot of traffic, getting a lift/ride is, on average, easy.

Good places to hitchhike, would be near bus stops (as there's space to park), a large driveway, but people don't mind stopping for you in the middle of a road.

On rare occasions, if drivers see you walking, they will offer you a lift/ride even if you haven't put your thumb out.

Showing your thumb is the common way to hitchhike, but using a sign (when on a national road) reduces waiting times a lot. It is recommended to put only the name of the next town on a cardboard. You will be much faster with many short rides than by waiting for a long one.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is legal in Ireland and no law forbids asking for a lift; motorways are the exception and the rule there is unusually blunt. Section 43(4)(a) of the Roads Act 1993 states simply that "pedestrians and pedal cyclists shall not use a motorway", and section 43(5)(b) makes contravening it an offence — that covers the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip roads of every M-road. Motorway service areas are reached off the motorway rather than being part of it, so asking drivers there is lawful, though the operator can ask you to leave. National and regional roads — the N and R network, including the dual carriageways that are not motorways — carry no such prohibition, and that is where hitchhiking in Ireland is done. Stand off the carriageway, on the verge, where a driver can see you and pull in safely.

Some national roads have a dual carriageway, so they are similar to motorways, except that it is allowed to stand on the side of the road on dual carriageways – perfect for you, it is however dangerous in certain areas of these roads. It is technically illegal to walk or cycle on these, but the police (called guards or garda in Ireland) won't bother you.

It's illegal to hitch on motorways, but the Irish will still pick you up if you do it, and the police/guards aren't very likely to show up or, if they do, do more than tell you to get away.

Cities

• Dublin, the capital
• Cork, second most populous city
• Galway, on the west coast, often called The party town
• Limerick, halfway point between Cork and Galway
• Waterford
• Kilkenny

See also:

• Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland (situated on the same island as Republic of Ireland)

Maps

The AA has published a very good nation-wide map. It has a scale of 1:300 000. You can get it on in main street bookshops in Ireland for about EUR 8. The road network is growing very fast at the moment (as of 2008). So make sure you have a map which is not older than a year.

It shows all the maps one could need for traveling and also shows real-life aerial photography if you click in enough times. It also shows various archaeological or historic features such as castles, megalithic tombs, stone circles etc. in your area which you could have otherwise passed by and unfortunately missed.

Ireland is also extremely well signposted, under the EU national development plan, which led to the building of most major motorways, so in the absence of maps, most travellers can find their way as long as they want to go. Locals will usually be more than willign to give you good directions if you are unsure.

Hitchhiking to and from Ireland

user:Tobias: Brittany Ferries (Rosscoff/Santander - Cork) car ticket includes 2 passengers. Info from customer service: "You can either change it online or phone the Cork office. You cannot turn up with an additional passenger if they are not booked as this can cause problems at the port." All other companies charge per person (03/2019). Unverified Information.

Fruupp proposes on digihitch:

One way of doing it is to call some of the Dublin Removals companies who haul household contents to the UK and the continent. If you are going one way and are willing to work to unload one of their jobs they might hire you. They save on the fact that your trip is one way so they aren't paying per hour for the regular labor that would be returning to Ireland. Some of the freight companies might also give you passage and labor in the same way.

Another way would be to take the DFDS Seaways ferries that leave from Dublin port (not Dun Laoghaire) or Belfast. Two ferries per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. If you can find a driver who has already paid for his car + 1, then it is possible to amend that ticket and check in with the driver for only 10 euros. It would still be paying, but on the ferry you get a dinner buffet and breakfast buffet.

Your driver will also get a cabin with his ticket with four bunk-beds in it, so you will depending on whether your driver wants you in the cabin or not, get a night on real sheets. (Cheapest alternative I have been able to come across if you are still to do it in any legal way. Credit to SamanthaofTarth on the westeros internet forum for this initial info.)

A good way to go about finding a driver would be to start from the toll-booths at the mouth of the port. You would have to hitchhike to the terminal of DFDS anyway as there isn't a pathway for walking all the way as there is a stretch of highway is just before the terminals 1,2 and 3 (with very big ominous signs saying you are not allowed to walk there at the beginning of the highway).

The ferry from Dun Laoghaire is more expensive as you will save only 2 euros compared to the price of a foot passenger (31 euros); however, the staff seems to be rather nice with hitchhikers and you probably can catch long rides quite easily.

non-hitchhiking alternative: Megabus offers London - Rosslare (ferry ticket incl.) for ~30€ which is cheaper than just the ferry ticket(03/2019). <- Not available in 08/21 maybe due to Brexit/Corona.

bylandandsea.ie'' is a useful website that also references hitchwiki & hitch hiking. Unfortunately (2026) is seems very unlikely you can hitch with any of the Irish ferry companies as they are all pay per passenger. I have heard of people occasionally hiding in vehicles, however obviously this is risky. If you are purchasing a ticket from UK to Ire I recommendsail and rail'' tickets as this also includes your train to the harbour for free basically, and sometimes this way, weirdly, the ferry ticket is actually cheaper than the ferry website.

July 2014: Antoine and Avery successfully hitchhiked a yacht from Holyhead to Dublin, having waited less than 15 minutes by asking sailors at the marina.

Accommodation and Sleeping

All the usual hotels and hostels exist around the big touristy areas and towns, but are still quite expensive and would not be a long term solution. Camping is by far the most reliable for of long term sleeping arrangement as tucked away, empty fields can be found just minutes outside even the biggest towns. The farmers would probably appreciate your asking if you could stay but for the most part they probably wouldn't even care. Just try not to go into fields with crops or livestock and never light a fire that would be visible from a road or house. Forest fires aren't really an issue in Ireland most of the year as it's usually very wet, in recent years they have been happening more during dry summers though, so be careful. Be careful about bogs and wetlands, as the ground is not very solid here. The entire coast is state owned so while wild camping is not technically legal, nobody should bother you sleeping along the coast, outside a field. You could also try Trustroots for accommodation if you're interested in meeting local people. Most showers of rain in Ireland pass quickly but if you're unlucky enough to experience the weeks of drizzle and rain which can sometimes plague the country at any time of year you might need to cash out for a B&B to get a good nights sleep or to get a chance to dry out.

Personal Experiences

Source: Ireland License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Roadside hitching spots go stale. For current places to hitch in and out of this city, use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live Hitchwiki page linked at the end of this chapter. This book keeps general orientation, not a pin gazetteer.

'''''' is the capital of Ireland, it consists of the city centre, the suburbs just outside the city, and some rural areas. Its population is 1 million inhabitants. Car licence plates from Dublin have the letter D in them.

To Do

The majority of museums in Dublin are entirely free and definitely worth going to. Busking requires a permit, but no one should bother you if you stay off the big touristy streets.

Food

There are several feedings throughout the week. SAFE is on Grafton Street with food and clothes Monday and Friday nights.

Fruit and veg stalls just off Parnell St have many skips full of food, go during the day and browse like a shopper.

Public Transport

There are buses and trams in Dublin. You have to pay when getting on the bus and they only accept cash and give no change. The trams are being called 'Luas' and there is the red line and the green line. Sometimes there are poeple on the Luas checking for tickets, they are usually wearing all black clothes and are easily recognisable. If you do get caught without a ticket you can usually get away if you just tell them you're getting off the next stop (and then doing so). There are ticket machines for the luas at every luas stop.

Source: Dublin License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Isle of Man is an island country in the Irish Sea. It's about 50km long, 10km wide. It's got a green, mountainous landscape.

Anyone granted right of passage in the UK or Ireland has the same right of passage on the Isle of Man. You will not need a passport to board any of the ferries, although a passport is needed for entry and exit by air.

The currency is the Manx pound, fixed at 1:1 with UK currency (pound sterling). Both Manx and sterling are accepted on the island, but Manx pounds are not accepted in the UK. You will receive a mixture of currency when on the island. If you need to withdraw only sterling, use the ATM at the Douglas Sea Terminal.

For mobile network data, QueerAmann arrived on the island and had network but no mobile data. I called my mobile network provider (located in France) but they did not know where was the Isle of Man and couldn't find it in their database. I ended up going to the Sure store on the main street of Douglas and paying 5£ (they only accept card payment) for unlimited data for a week on the island.

The population is mostly British (50%) or Manx (45%), with sizeable South African, Irish, Polish and Filipino minorities.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is easy on the Isle of Man and you will never wait long for a ride. There is also a good bus service, and a small train service (very slow, as the trains are over a hundred years old). Douglas has a horse-drawn tram line. If all else fails, walk - wherever you're going, it's not far. The island's length can be walked in a day, and the width in 3 hours.

People living on the island are typically well-travelled (much more than their British relatives) and as a result they are friendly and helpful towards foreign strangers, mostly without fear.

Hitchhiking on the Isle of Man is quick and simple. Hitchhikers are very rare but not completely unknown, but drivers have no fear in picking you up. The only real crime on the island is money laundering; if there is street crime, it's related to alcohol and other drugs. Show that you are clean, and you will get rides out of towns/villages within a couple of minutes.

There are no motorways, and there is less than 1km of dual carriageway (next to the airport). Most roads are narrow country roads, and mountain passes. Stand anywhere on a quiet road out of a town/village with good visibility and a hitchhiking sign, and you'll get fantastic, usually immediate results. The average waiting time seems to be about two or three minutes in the country, and five or ten minutes out of towns/villages.

If a driver isn't going as far as your destination, ask nicely if s/he can make a detour for you. They usually agree. Don't worry if they choose to leave you in the middle of nowhere - the next car will most likely save you. And if that car doesn't pick you up, then the next car will.

Bear in mind the island's critically high road accident rate. This is for four reasons:

• motorbikes rule the roads,
• Manx residents can legally drive cars and ride bikes at the age of 16,
• the island's roads are narrow with many hills and blind corners, and
• out of towns/villages, there is no speed limit.

When you're picked up, your driver may well want to show you the power of the vehicle by hurling it down straights, or by slinging it around corners while straddling the middle of the road. All types of drivers will stop for you, so make sure you find a driver with good eyesight.

Hitchhiking on private boats to England, Scotland or Ireland is possible. The main harbours are Ramsey, Douglas, Castletown, Port Erin and Peel.

Legality of Hitchhiking

The Isle of Man legislates its own road traffic, and neither of its 1985 Acts contains an offence of hitchhiking or of soliciting a lift. It also has no motorway and no restricted-access class of road: nothing in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1985 creates one, so there is no category of road you are shut out of. Restrictions on Manx roads are made one at a time instead, by traffic regulation order under section 1 of that Act, taking effect through signs placed under section 16 — so the rule binding you at any given spot is whatever the sign there says, with no general provision sitting behind it to look up. The real hazard here is not a legal one: many Manx roads outside the villages carry no speed limit at all, so a car approaching your thumb may perfectly lawfully be doing well over 70 mph. Stand where a driver has the room and the time to stop, and favour the villages and junctions over the open unrestricted stretches.

About

The island has independence from the EU, as well as from any other country. The island has a grand Celtic and Viking history, and a unique cultural heritage. It calls itself the "motorbike capital of the world", with 61km-circuit road races and several large festivals (eg. TT festival, Manx Grand Prix) held in the summer.

Hitchhiking In

It's almost impossible to hitchhike to/from the Isle of Man - the only ways are to crew a private boat, or hitch a plane or helicopter. Swallow your pride and buy a ticket.

By ferry

Ferries dock at the Sea Terminal in the centre of Douglas.

In the summer, you can travel twice daily to/from Liverpool (2½ hours), Heysham (3½ hours), and twice weekly to/from Belfast (2¾ hours), and Dublin (3 hours).

In the winter, there are two weekly sailings to/from Liverpool (Birkenhead), on Saturday and Sunday. Heysham is served 12 times per week. Belfast and Dublin are served during holiday periods. NB!

• in winter, the journey is 4 hours from Liverpool
• during bad weather (60km/h winds or stronger) ferries can be delayed or even cancelled. This happens often in December or January
• if you are on a ferry in December or January, then say hi to your last meal

One-way foot passenger tickets (to/from any destination) cost £17.50 (more like 21£ as of June 2024), if booked in advance. The price rises a few days before travel, and the price is automatically high during the TT festival (first two weeks of June), the Manx Grand Prix (last week of August), and on holidays such as December 24th-26th, Easter Day etc. The Manx Steam Packet Company operates all ferry routes - use their website for all bookings, timetables and travel advice. Don't try hitchhiking onto a ferry - only passengers with tickets (on foot or in vehicles) are permitted on board. But the ferries are great places to meet people and arrange onward rides to many destinations..

Note that if you have big luggage you will be asked to put it on the carousel and won't have access to it until you leave the ferry, so keep a little bag with you containing all you will need for the ferry trip.

By plane

Planes land at Ronaldsway Airport, and from there it's a few kilometres to Douglas by hitchhike or by bus (£2). Do NOT take a taxi (£20).

Several airlines operate flights to/from the Island from airports across the UK and Ireland, as well as the Channel Islands, and Geneva. Plane tickets start at £20 (including taxes) for the close destinations such as Liverpool or Manchester. Although they are more expensive, planes are sometimes a better option when travelling longer distances, and they are usually the best option during winter.

Main towns/villages

• Douglas/Onchan (east, ferry port and the capital)
• Laxey (northeast)
• Ramsey (northeast)
• Kirk Michael (northwest)
• Peel (west)
• Dalby (southwest)
• St. John's (central)
• Port Erin/Port St. Mary (southwest)
• Castletown/Ballasalla (south, airport)

Also, try hitchhiking the TT course!

Personal Experiences

Source: Isle of Man License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Jersey is southernmost and biggest island of the Channel Islands group just offshore Brittany and Normandy in France. Despite its location near the french coast, the Bailiwick of Jersey remains a private property to the British Crown; therefore it holds an independent status inside the United Kingdom. The capital and main harbour is St. Helier.

The longest straight journey you could undertake are some 11 miles (about 17km).

Hitchhiking

The island is big enough for cars to circulate, and a maximal speed of 40mph could facilitate hitchhiking.

Hitchhiking on the island is very easy. Traffic isn't going very fast so it's easy to find a place where people can stop safely. With a very low crime-rate on the island, people are not scared to pick up strangers.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is not mentioned in Jersey law, and there is no motorway on the island for anyone to be banned from: the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 has no motorway or expressway class at all, and nothing in it regulates where a pedestrian may stand or forbids asking a driver for a lift. The one article that sounds as though it is about hitchhiking is not — article 54(1) fines you for taking hold of or getting onto a vehicle while in motion on any road for the purpose of being drawn or carried, which is about hanging on to a moving one, so wait until the driver has actually stopped. What does constrain the practice is the driver's side of it: article 55 makes it unlawful to let a vehicle stand on a road in a position causing unnecessary obstruction or likely to cause danger, so pick a spot with room to pull in properly. The waiting and parking restrictions the parishes make by Order under articles 59 and 62 bite the same way, and are signed where they apply.

Hitchhiking in

The Condor ferries to the island are pay per passenger, so it's not hitchable. It may be possible to hitch private ships or fishing boats.

Ferries to the island leave from: Portsmouth, Poole, St Malo, Cherbourg, Granville and Carteret.

If you plan to hitch a ride on the boat to your destination make sure not to check-in any luggage, as you will have to exit with all the foot passengers to collect it.

Personal expierence

In May 2024 I spent 3 days hiking, hitchhiking and riding busses on the island. On the smaller roads I would walk untill I'd hear a car coming my way and give it the thumb. On the bigger A-roads I would find any place where I was reasonable visable and hitch from there. The walking/hitching didn't always work, but that's mainly due to low volumes of trafffic. Standing on the A-roads I never waited more than 10 minutes. Many drivers would take a detour to bring me exactly where I wanted to go.

   --Chris9012 (talk) 14:14, 12 May 2024 (CEST)

Personal Experiences

Source: Jersey License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

European France is part of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement.

Hitchhiking

It is usually a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. Drivers have to pay toll on motorways (except in Brittany and at some other places), and you can get a ride quite easily at some barrières de péage (toll stations). When hitchhiking on local roads, you might face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France (as in many foreign countries) is the language - you might want to learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France.

Hitchhiking is fairly common in France you can regularly spot people hitchhiking to travel, some also hitchhike as a freetime activity.

In France you can find official hitchhiking spots mostly in rural areas. Most of them are operated by Rezo Pouce.

On Sundays, only trucks with frozen goods are allowed to drive. Keep in mind though that trucks are not allowed to go more than 90 km/h and the driver must stop for a 45 min break every 4 1/2 hours, which can make the trip much longer.

The "Michelin 726 National" map of France is a good choice for a hitchhiker in this country. It shows all the major barrières de péage and service stations. You can get a free map in péage offices.

Legality of Hitchhiking

French law has no offence of hitchhiking; what it restricts is being a pedestrian on the fast roads. Article R421-2 of the code de la route bars pedestrians — along with animals, cycles and mopeds — from the autoroute, and that covers the hard shoulder, the slip roads and the toll plaza, not only the carriageway. Drivers cannot legally stop for you on it either: article R421-7 forbids stopping or parking on an autoroute's carriageways and verges, bandes d'arrêt d'urgence included, except in absolute necessity. The lawful places are therefore the on-ramp before the blue autoroute sign, and the aires de service and aires de repos, where you ask drivers face to face rather than thumb. On routes nationales and départementales hitchhiking is unregulated and legal; article R412-36 tells pedestrians outside built-up areas to keep to the left edge of the road, facing the traffic.

Hitchhiking at the péage next to the barrier is forbidden, but police and highway staff mostly turn a blind eye if you stand there. Moreover some experience shows that French people will more often stop in a place where it is not normally allowed than in other countries.

Asking people

If you want to ask for rides, you can say sentences like: "Excusez-moi, je vais à [name of the city] en stop. Allez-vous dans cette direction?" and if you get a positive answer, just ask "Pourrais-je venir avec vous?". It may be also good not to tell a city but the direction you want to go: "Excusez-moi, je fais du stop vers le sud. Allez-vous dans cette direction?"

Autoroutes, péages and barrières de péage

It is also commonly used as referring to toll stations.

In France, most of the motorways are toll roads (autoroute) which are the fastest way to hitch across the country. There are two types of toll stations on péages. First, there are big ones where all traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket) - these are barrières de péage and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride and make it really easy to hitchhike during the night. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations of the first type can be difficult to hitch from due to heavy traffic.

To reach the barrière de péage, you may need to walk along the motorway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be walked is not too long. It is illegal to walk on a side lane of the motorway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (voie express or voie rapide) in France); if police sees you, you may be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for 11 to 40€. Péage toll stations are considered a part of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there. You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each barrière de péage. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you're not endangering yourself or others.

Having a sign with your destination (or the next city) is recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant. You will definitely need it if the road splits. The fastest way to travel on a péage is from one barrière de péage to another.

Hitchhiking options are:

• You can thumb immediately after the barrière de péage
• If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you're at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the toll machines but it is often tolerated). Just say "Bonjour, je vais à [name of the city]".
• You can wait before the barrière de péage, just where the drivers choose their lane - there is often enough of space for cars to pull over to stop for you.

Some barrière de péage are really good, some are not. If you've been waiting for a while using a destination sign, drop it and try thumbing.

While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one petrol station to another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers.

Personal Experiences

Main cities

License plates show the numbers of the region the car is from. This can help a lot to find longer rides.

• Paris, 75, suburbs: 92 93 94 95
• Marseille, 13
• Lyon, 69
• Lille, 59
• Toulouse, 31
• Bordeaux, 33
• Nice, 06
• Nantes, 44
• Strasbourg, 67
• Rennes, 35
• Grenoble, 38

Links

• Service Stations Network, a pdf file that shows all service station on major routes in southern France.

Source: France License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Roadside hitching spots go stale. For current places to hitch in and out of this city, use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live Hitchwiki page linked at the end of this chapter. This book keeps general orientation, not a pin gazetteer.

Paris is the capital of France. It is situated within a ring road called le périphérique, or le périph. The actual city is relatively small, but is surrounded by endless suburbs, which are linked to the urban public transportation system at no extra cost, as since January 2025 the Metro and the RER (suburban trains, not to be confused with Transilien trains) have a unified fare system.

Note that there is an "outer ring road" to the Paris suburb area, motorway A86 (or super-périphérique) and another wider ring even further called "la Francillienne" which isn't completed but still used to connect. If your ride is not going to Paris itself, you might want to clarify which ring they are going to take as it may affect the place where you'd want to be dropped. You may also find them useful if you need to bypass Paris, especially the Francilienne, as it has more gas stations and less complex interchanges.

Good to know if you're starting to stink up in the City of Lights: the Municipality provides free shower facilities in 17 locations around Paris. Note they are BYOT (bring your own toiletry).

Getting around

If you need to use the Metro and don't want to pay for an ever more exorbitantly priced ticket (€2.50 now!): here is a detailed guide on blackriding. It's in French but here are some main takeaways:

• An easy way to get in is to stand in front of an exit gate and reach your arm to the sensor on the other side to trigger its opening (as illustrated in the guide)
• Otherwise, the main types of entrance gates are:

1. Turnstile with a half-gate behind it: wait for someone to pass so that the half-gate is open and is slowly closing, jump over the turnstile or sneak under it, go through the space left open (easier if you're skinny)
2. Short glass doors: literally just push them forward with a bit of force. Genius move by the RATP who are expanding this type to more and more stations.
3. Tall glass doors: these are tricky. Find another type or use an exit gate.

• Be careful to avoid busy stations with 3 lines or more (Châtelet, République, Nation, the main train stations, etc) as ticket inspectors tend to concentrate there, but you can get always get a bad surprise. They congregate at corridor angles where they can't be seen ahead of time, so keep an eye out for foot traffic that is slowing in front of you, or voices saying things like "contrôle des titres de transport, s'il vous plaît".

The same goes for RER trains, with two main differences: ticket inspectors tend to actually get on board of them, and you are supposed to use your ticket in order to go through the exit gates.

Airports

Charles de Gaulle airport / Orly airport / Beauvais airport

Source: Paris License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Principality of Monaco is a wealthy city-state in Western Europe.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking inside the city of Monaco is easy. People feel safe there and will easily take you if you want to reach another part of the city or an adjacent one. Moreover, the probability of traveling in a high-standing car is quite high.

Legality of Hitchhiking

The law here has not been checked. Nobody has yet read the road traffic rules in force in Monaco against the official text, so this section cannot tell you what they say, and nothing elsewhere on this page should be read as a statement of the law. What holds almost everywhere is that hitchhiking is not an offence in itself and that what the traffic code regulates is where a pedestrian may stand — off the carriageway, and off motorway-class roads and their slip roads altogether — but whether that is true here is simply unknown. Ask locally before standing on a major road, and treat the rest of this article as what hitchhikers report rather than as a rule you can rely on. If you can read the official text, please replace this paragraph with the provision it turns on and a link to it.

Hitchhiking out

Instead of hitchhiking from the city itself, one typically takes a public transportation out to a hitchhiking point.

West towards Nice

Option 1

See the route on Hitchwiki Maps

You can get a train to Nice or Saint Laurent du Var.

If you dont want to take a train to Nice, you can go by walk to the gas station on A8. From Monaco center it took 2.5 walking but it definitely worth it, I got a ride to Barcelona in 30 min. Its hard to describe how to got there, and you definitelly will need a map for that. I was using MapsMe app. This is the of that gas station. First you need to get to the village La Turbie. Take bus 11, leaving from the tourism office close to the casino, once in an hour, in the direction La Turbie and get out at the bus stop "Mont Angel". Then walk up the street "Route de Mont-Angel" for 600 meters, then to the left into "Chemin du Col de Guerre", in maybe 30 min you will reach the bridge above the highway, after 5 min more walking you will reach the gate to the gas station, when I came, almost midnight, it was closed, so I just jump over it. But, I guess, you can ring the bell and someone will open. Take in mind that all way from Monaco to this gas station requeries to go UP. So think about whether you need it.

East towards Italy

Option 1

Take bus 11, leaving from the tourism office close to the casino, once in an hour, in the direction La Turbie and get out at the bus stop "D 2564/RD 63". From there it's around a 10-minute walk to a service station on the highway towards Italy. Follow the street Route de Menton eastwards and take the second road left going up the hill, be careful about the cars, the road is narrow and cars are going fast. The bus costs 1.50 € (June 2017).

Another possibility for leaving in the direction of Italy is bus TAM 100, which goes from Nice to Menton on the Italian border. The fare is 1.50 € regardless of the distance. It stops in Monaco at the Place des Armes.

When you want to go further to italy *DO NOT* Stay at the peage there, it’s almost everytime Full of italian border-Police and they will fine or warn you and they will tell you, Thats illegal in Italian to Autostop. The best solution is to use the petrol station right behind Monaco and ask to Drive further than Sanremo because it could be hard before. ( we waited more than 6 Hours and still got nothing, we had to walk there.. ) maybe you will be luckier but its your risk:/.

Circuit de Monaco

Option 1

It is possible to hitchhike the Monaco street circuit, by standing on the start/finish line and sticking your thumb out.

See how fast you can complete one lap (timed from the moment you start waiting on the side of the road, until the moment the car you're in crosses the line). Sanne and Tom, hitchhiking as a pair, completed 1 lap in about 9 minutes (we forgot to time exactly) on 10 May 2009. If you are in Monaco, give it a go, time yourself and let the world know how you did! Elise, Joséphine and Nico, as a group of 3 (challenging) completed it in an hour, in 2023, enjoying 2 rides in gorgeous electric and luxurious cars. Welcome to Monaco.

Better try it during evenings or weekends, the amount of cars during the days makes you going too slow to reach less than 9 minutes.

Sleep

Ofcourse it's better to find a place to sleep in a nearby cities, because it's hard to find a good place for a tent in Monaco. I can recommend you one place in Italy, before the French border. If you age going from Italy, it's a really only one good place on the way from Ventimiglia to Monaco. Trust me, i made all this way on foot and check everything along the road. Two kilometres before the border there is a tunnel Galleria Mortola, after you pass this tunnel, turn left and you will see railway and the small bridge for pedestrians that cross this raillway. Cross it and you'll see nice green area on the rock with amazing view on a night Monaco.

You can also walk from Monaco toward France, near the Route de la Plage Marquet is the beach it situated near Le Lampar restaurant. I slept there, without using a tent, just in sleeping bag and noone bothered me. At the morning you will got just amazing view.

Personal Experiences

Source: Monaco License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Belgium is a small country between, clockwise from the North, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. It is a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement. The country is divided into a Dutch speaking part in the North (Flanders), and a French speaking part in the South (Wallonie) and a tiny German speaking part in the East. Brussels, the country and European capital, has a bilingual status. In Flanders most people will be able to help you out easily in English. In French speaking Belgium English is quite a bit less commonly spoken, but on the whole people will be able to help you out (especially younger people).

Hitchhiking

Hitch-hiking in the country is in general fairly easy, and, due to the high number of foreigners working in the country, getting a ride out of the country is usually just as easy. The country has one of the most dense road and motorway networks in Europe which can make it slightly complex when trying to find a direct route to a destination. Still, hitching out of a city or moving from on-ramp to on-ramp is usually fairly simple.

The best places to start are the roundabouts near the entrance of the main highways (such spots can be found very easily in Oostende, Liège, Louvain-la-Neuve and Namur).

Belgium has a very high density of petrol stations and service areas on the motorways. This makes it easier to find one, but also leads to less traffic on a single service area. Because of its bilingual status, it could be helpful to approach drivers in their native language. Although there is no specific way to be sure of telling what language a driver speaks, some solutions are:

• quickly say 'Hi' in both Dutch (dag) or French (bonjour)
• check up the sticker of the car retailer to notice in what part of the country it has been bought
• introduce yourself as a foreigner

Useful tip: Free use of Internet PC's in many city libraries. Useful tip: Most petrol stations in Belgium are open 24/7, the staff is friendly and you can have a nap during the night, if you end up on the road. However, be careful since the traffic is high all night long, many people stop and some can be drunk.

It is common practice to use the E-numbers for motorways, instead of A-numbers like in most countries. Even on road signs you will only find E-numbers.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Belgian law does not prohibit hitchhiking; it prohibits pedestrians on the fast roads. Under article 21.1 of the code de la route / wegcode, access to an autoroute (autosnelweg) is forbidden to pedestrians, cyclists, mopeds and animals, and vehicles may enter or leave it only at the places built for that — so the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip road are all out. Article 21.4.4° lets drivers stop or park only on the parking areas signposted E9a, which is where a hitchhiker asks for the next ride, and article 22.1 reserves routes pour automobiles (autowegen) for motor vehicles too. Everywhere else hitchhiking is unregulated and legal: thumb from the verge before the motorway sign, or at the last service area before it. On 1 September 2026 the 1975 code gives way to the new Code de la voie publique, whose article 24 §1 carries exactly the same ban on pedestrians.

Main Cities

• Brussels (French: Bruxelles, Dutch: Brussel, German: Brüssel)

• Antwerpen (French: Anvers, Dutch: Antwerpen, German: Anwerpen)
• Brugge (French: Bruges, Dutch: Brugge, German: Brügge)
• Gent (French: Gand, Dutch: Gent, German: Gent)
• Hasselt (idem)
• Leuven (French: Louvain, Dutch: Leuven, German: Löwen)
• Oostende (French: Ostende, Dutch: Oostende, German: Ostende)

• Liège (French: Liège, Dutch: Luik, German: Lüttich)
• Charleroi (idem)
• Namur (French: Namur, Dutch: Namen, German: Namur)
• Mons (French: Mons, Dutch: Bergen, German: Mons)
• Arlon (French: Arlon, Dutch: Aarlen, German: Arlon)
• Louvain-la-Neuve (idem)

Food & Toilets

The price of food on motorway services is very high, so try to stock up before leaving and note that very few motorway services have free toilets. The price (usually between EUR 0.30 and 0.70) sometimes includes a voucher that can be used in the restaurant. However, it is easy to jump over the barrier and use the toilet for free. The cheapest supermarkets in the country are Lidl, Aldi and Colruyt, and food bought in them will be significantly cheaper than on motorway services. Carrefour and Delhaize are more expensive options, but are extensively located downtown with longer opening hours (Often 20:00, but not all of them!) which will offer better prices than the convenience stores. Note that in Belgium most shops close at 18:00 and very few shops are open on Sundays.

There are few free public toilets around, and you might even be charged in places like McD's. It is best to avoid the tourist areas when looking for a free toilet and aim at the less obvious places such as big chain hotels (Radisson...), public buildings (libraries and schools) and some cafés where you can use the toilet without being spotted by the staff who might request you to pay a fee up to 50 cents, although many will allow you to use the toilet if you ask them in English!

Belgium is famous for its frietkoten. These are small restaurants or stands that sell French fries (a Belgian dish mind you! Protip: Make sure you don't call them French fries, but just fries. Because some will lecture you about fries not being French.) and all sorts of snacks for relatively low prices. It's not very healthy, but for EUR 5 you can have quite a big meal which is bigger & cheaper then McD's. Every village has a frietkot, and every city has at least one in every neighborhood.

Also make sure you try out the beer. Belgians have the most and best types of beer in the world, and often it'll be cheaper then water or soda.

Personal Experiences

Links

Facebook group Hitchhiking in Belgium and the Netherlands

Source: Belgium License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Netherlands are a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement.

Hitchhiking

Asking the Dutch people at a service station is faster than waiting while using the thumb for hitchhiking.

Hitchhiking is fairly common in the Netherlands you can regularly spot people hitchhiking to travel, some also hitchhike as a freetime activity.

Since 1991 Dutch students have a card providing them with free public transport (either on weekends or during the week), so hitchhiking is not as popular as it used to be. In some university towns there are still liftershaltes, which are official hitchhiking spots.

Other good places are petrol stations along the motorways and the entrances to the motorway from larger cities (when there is a stopping space such as an emergency lane). On such a place the usual waiting time is 5–45 minutes (same as Germany). A major difference with Germany is that many lifts are not longer than 50 km.

At petrol stations you should definitely try to talk to people, which will probably work out fine if you don't dress up like a hippie. Many people will not stop their cars if you stand with the board but will take you if you ask them in person (which is a general hitchhiking principle). Try to speak in Dutch or English. French and German often work too, but not as effectively. Most likely the Dutch people will avoid you while speaking in German. In the Netherlands, there are as well a lot of seasonal workers and immigrants. There are particularly a lot of people from Poland and Bulgaria. Thus, it is fairly easy to get a lift for instance straight to Poland if you know the language or are communicative enough to sway Polish people to take you.

Sometimes the petrol stations workers tell you to not ask people in front of the shop directly. You can then hitch at the exit of the station which is mostly just as good but as its disadvantages of course.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Dutch law says nothing about hitchhiking, so it is legal wherever you may lawfully be on foot. Article 42 of the Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens (RVV 1990) permits use of an autosnelweg only to drivers of motor vehicles that may and can travel at least 60 km/h — 50 km/h on an autoweg — which keeps pedestrians off the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the slip road past the blue sign. The useful part is in the definitions: article 1 states that parking places, petrol stations and bus stops lying alongside a motorway are not part of it, so standing at a motorway tankstation or verzorgingsplaats and asking drivers is straightforwardly legal. Article 43 also forbids drivers to turn round or reverse on a motorway, so nobody can come back for you once they have passed. On every other road, stand where a pedestrian may stand — off the carriageway, on the shoulder or the verge — and thumb.

The basic idea is that when you're allowed to walk somewhere, you can stand there for hitching too. Standing on a motorway entrance just in front of the motorway sign is allowed as well as standing on a petrol station along the motorway.

Useful tips

• Download and print 42 ready made hitchhiking signs for easy hitchhiking all across the Netherlands!
• Use of Internet PCs in every city library, for a small price. Also you can find lots of public wi-fi networks that you can connect your laptop with for using the internet.
• The system to pay for public transport is called OVpay. You can check in with either an OV-chipcard wich you can buy at a ticketmachines, or a contactless debit or credit card, or a mobile phone linked to a contactless payment system. All expenses of one travel day are taken of your account on the next day. If you've checked in but not checked out 20 euro will be taken out.
• Banks and supermarkets often have free coffee and sometimes even cookies.
• 'Lefier' (or local job-centres) have free coffee and sometimes jars of free chocolates and mints.
• Some employees of petrol stations may tell you not to hitch in front of the station, where the pumps are. Finding a ride at the parking lot, or thumbing where the back of the station starts is not a problem. Keep petrol station employees for friends and avoid starting unnecessary discussions.
• Shell has internal guidelines to only allow customers on their property. A hitchhiker may therefore be asked not to talk with drivers in the forecourt of the station, but this rarely happens. If this happens, buy a coffee or inexpensive whatever-bar, and ask for the receipt. This will formally make you a customer!

:

Dutch Hall of Shame of petrol stations where hitch-hikers have been asked not to talk with costumers on the forecourt

Service station Kloosters (Shell), A59, Tilburg --> Eindhoven (Fverhart was asked once out of 4 times), other hitch-hikers have also been asked not to talk with costumers Winner of Most Unfriendly Petrol Station Award in the Netherlands

Service station Swentibold (Shell), A2, Maastricht --> Eindhoven (Fverhart was asked once out of 6 times)

Service station Haarrijn (Shell), A2, Amsterdam --> Utrecht (Fverhart was asked once out of 7 times)

Links

• Facebook group Hitchhiking in Belgium and the Netherlands
• Hitchhiking in the Netherlands, by Frank Verhart.
• Nederland Lift, campaign to promote hitchhiking as a daily means of transport.
• Survey about hitchhiking in the Netherlands

Personal Experiences

Source: Netherlands License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Roadside hitching spots go stale. For current places to hitch in and out of this city, use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live Hitchwiki page linked at the end of this chapter. This book keeps general orientation, not a pin gazetteer.

'''''' is the capital of the Netherlands.

Boats

It is very possible to hitchhiking a boat around the Amsterdam canals. Just sit next to the water and thumb and eventually someone will stop. This is more aimed at sight seeing than getting somewhere specific, but more worth it than paying for the touristy ones.

Public transport

Public transport in Amsterdam is very expensive. Most people use a card called OV-Chipkaart which works with all public transportation in the country, but that you won't have if you don't live in the Netherlands. Thus if you just want to get across the city you're better off using a 1-hour ticket which costs a whopping €3.20. If you don't want to pay that much, here's a little guide to Amsterdam public transportation:

• Trams are for the most part a no-go, since you have to climb in the front or in the middle, thus in the sightline of the driver/controller who will look if you're validating your ticket/card. Lines 5, 19 and 24 have newer trams, which don't have an office thingy in the middle like the older ones, so you can just board way in the back and you should be fine.
• The metro is very easy to blackride: just go behind someone at the gates (preferably asking them first). Controllers are quite rare. The metro system is quite limited in its coverage but can easily get you to some main spots like Sloterdijk and Amstel Station.
• If you're using the train, then use the exact same tactic as with the metro (though you might have more eyes on you...). The train sees more ticket control than the metro though it's still not very frequent, especially not on the Sprinter trains (the single-decker ones).

Source: Amsterdam License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Luxembourg (in Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerg) is a small country in Western Europe, bordered by Belgium, Germany and France. It is a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement.

Most people speak not only the local language, Luxembourgish, but also French, German and English fluently.

Hitchhiking

Luxembourg is a great country to catch a long distance ride, due to its central location in Europe. Many drivers stop here to take advantage of the low duties on fuel, alcohol, and chocolate. Most motorways leaving Luxembourg have a large service area which are the best places to get ongoing lifts. However, much of the traffic are drivers coming from just a few kilometres over the border in order to get cheaper fuel. Therefore, for a long distance ride, it may be wise to have a sign specifying your direction and destination or simply to preselect the drivers according to the registration of their car in order to have a less frustrating experience.

Especially Aire de Capellen Sud is great. guaka (talk) has found direct rides to Avignon, Valencia and even Morocco, with waiting times of less than 1 hour.

Local hitchhiking in the countryside of Luxembourg is somewhat less straightforward as hitchhiking is not so common by local inhabitants.

Public transportation (busses, trains and the Luxembourg (City) tram is entirely free in Luxembourg, except for first class seats on trains. The free public transport and the low chances of locals stopping for you makes it best to simply take a bus towards one of the petrol stations on the motorway when going further away out of the country.

Legality of Hitchhiking

The law here has not been checked. Nobody has yet read the road traffic rules in force in Luxembourg against the official text, so this section cannot tell you what they say, and nothing elsewhere on this page should be read as a statement of the law. What holds almost everywhere is that hitchhiking is not an offence in itself and that what the traffic code regulates is where a pedestrian may stand — off the carriageway, and off motorway-class roads and their slip roads altogether — but whether that is true here is simply unknown. Ask locally before standing on a major road, and treat the rest of this article as what hitchhikers report rather than as a rule you can rely on. If you can read the official text, please replace this paragraph with the provision it turns on and a link to it.

Living

Luxembourg is a very expensive country. Restaurants and accommodation are expensive. The cheapest youth hostel in Luxembourg City will be EUR 20 per night. Luxembourg has a huge financial sector - many banks, insurance companies etc. As an anti-capitalist you may feel a little cold there;)

Personal experience

Source: Luxembourg License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Germany is a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement.

Hitchhiking

It is a great country for hitchhiking, both on motorways (via on-ramps, service stations, more seldom - parking lots) and local roads. Germans are a little bit suspicious, but nice if you get to know them. Thumbing makes it easier for them to say "no", because they do not even have to look at you. Those who will stop are often people who hitchhiked themselves when they were younger. Many of them have families, jobs and fast cars now. Because of the absence of speed limits on many motorways it's a good country to hitchhike long distances in short time.

Hitchhiking is fairly common in Germany you can regularly spot people hitchhiking to travel, some also hitchhike as a freetime activity. Germany has the most active landscape of open-to-all and free hitchhiking races and some of the longest standing and biggest races such as Tramprennen and Tramprally.

In Germany you can find official hitchhiking spots mostly in the form of benches ("Mitfahrbank") in rural areas.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking as such is not regulated by German law and is legal on ordinary roads; what the law restricts is where you may stand. § 18(9) of the Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung (StVO) forbids pedestrians to set foot on an Autobahn at all, and lets them cross a Kraftfahrstraße only at junctions or other places provided for it — that covers the carriageway, the hard shoulder and the on-ramp beyond the blue motorway sign. Drivers cannot legally pick you up there either, because § 18(8) StVO bans stopping on the Autobahn, hard shoulder included. So thumb on the on-ramp before the blue sign, or ask people face to face at a Raststätte, Autohof or Rastplatz, which is where hitchhiking on the motorway network actually happens. Service stations are leased businesses and the operator has Hausrecht over the forecourt, so they may send you off it — the parking area is then the place to stand.

Just like other people, police may or may not be friendly towards hitchhikers. It is said that police controls are more frequent in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. As a foreigner you have to carry your passport at all times; a national ID card is sufficient if you are from another EU country. If you are being checked, be friendly, show it to them and they will leave you alone.

Road types

To hitchhike efficiently in Germany it is good to know the three different kinds of roads between cities and towns. By descending speed these are:

• motorways or expressways called Autobahn with no general speed limit (there can still be signs with speed limits)
• federal roads called Bundesstraße
• country roads called Landstraße

Their use in hitchhiking is different and explained below.

Autobahn

For more information, see the article Autobahn.

The autobahns in Germany are the fastest links between cities. Their numbers consist of an A and the number of the highway. On traffic signs the A is not mentioned but they can be distinguished by the blue colour of the sign. The autobahns in Germany are the fastest links between cities. Their numbers consist of an A and the number of the highway. On traffic signs the A is not mentioned but they can be distinguished by the blue colour of the sign.

The lack of a general speed limit is something most Germans are proud of demonstrating to you and what makes them the best choice for longer distances. Subsequently walking and hitchhiking is illegal on the autobahn and the emergency lane.

As a general rule, you should always stick to the Autobahn as long as possible and try to change between major autobahns as little as possible, even if this means some detours. As soon as you are on the Autobahn and travel between service stations, you are hitching fast and reliable. For more information about this kind of hitchhiking, see the article on petrol station hitchhiking.

As trucks do not travel faster than 90 km/h you might want first try to get a ride hitching a personal car before asking truck drivers. Trucks are great for a night-ride; however, there are restrictions, like in France, of when trucks are allowed on an autobahn. In Germany most trucks aren't allowed on motorways on Sundays or public holidays before 22:00. As most truck drivers stop earlier truck traffic already gets less on Saturday afternoons.

If you travel a specific autobahn, have a look at the autobahn page where you can find very specific information and hints about hitchhiking on German motorway ramps, etc. - for example, the route Amsterdam–Berlin along the A2 and A30.

Getting onto the autobahn

To get onto the autobahn either hitch a ride from a city, thumb at the on-ramp before the sign or go to a service station by public transportation and walk there. A good possibility is to look for a street with traffic lights that leads to an autobahn. Wait for the red light, then knock at the windows (do not forget to smile!) and ask for a ride. If you look neither like a homeless nor like a drug dealer, they will be happy to help you.

Service stations and rest areas

You have various possibilities for being dropped off along the autobahn to look for your next ride. As petrol station hitchhiking is faster, try to avoid being dropped at on-ramps where you have to thumb. On the autobahn, it is preferable to be dropped off at a service station instead of a rest area as rest areas have much less cars stopping.

The Raststätte is the usual choice for hitchhiking because most cars tend to refuel there. Make sure your Raststätte has not just a restaurant but also a petrol stations because more people stop there and they leave quicker. Most Raststätten are on both sides of the autobahn and there is often a bridge or tunnel nearby to cross. Therefore you might consider hitchhiking to a Raststätte in the opposite direction first to get onto the highway quicker. At the entrance of the petrol station shop there are usually map stands that show the surrounding area and other service stations in Germany. The Raststätte is the usual choice for hitchhiking because most cars tend to refuel there. Make sure your Raststätte has not just a restaurant but also a petrol stations because more people stop there and they leave quicker. Most Raststätten are on both sides of the autobahn and there is often a bridge or tunnel nearby to cross. Therefore you might consider hitchhiking to a Raststätte in the opposite direction first to get onto the highway quicker. At the entrance of the petrol station shop there are usually map stands that show the surrounding area and other service stations in Germany. With a few exceptions all service stations can be entered by foot from the side and feature an unlocked door in the fence or wall.

The off-autobahn Autohof is a local fuel station that is marked on traffic signs on the autobahn. Food and fuel is cheaper there but most car drivers don't bother and thus mostly trucks stop there. This means that they are okay on weekdays but have to be avoided on Saturday evenings and Sundays at all cost. Another disadvantage for continuing on the autobahn is that local traffic also stops at the Autohof.

Federal Bundesstraße roads

The federal Bundesstraße roads are indicated by yellow signs and carry numbers like B6 or B49. Like in the case of the autobahn the B is not written on traffic signs, but federal roads can be distinguished by the yellow colour of the sign. As they are smaller and carry more local traffic they should only be used to get from and to the autobahn, though there are a few exceptions to the rule. The federal Bundesstraße roads are indicated by yellow signs and carry numbers like B6 or B49. Like in the case of the autobahn the B is not written on traffic signs, but federal roads can be distinguished by the yellow colour of the sign. As they are smaller and carry more local traffic they should only be used to get from and to the autobahn, though there are a few exceptions to the rule.

Their general speed limit is 100 km/h and they usually have no emergency lane so they are difficult to thumb. To get a ride either try petrol stations or choose a place where have a lot of space to see you and stop or where they are going slower, e.g. town exits. Police might consider it illegal to thumb in sites where cars cannot stop without putting the traffic in danger.

To make it more complicated some of the Bundesstraßen are a so called Kraftfahrstraße. For them most of the Autobahn-rules apply (e.g. no pedestrians and bikes allowed). You can recognise a Kraftfahrstraße by the sign of a white car in front of a blue backround. To make it more complicated some of the Bundesstraßen are a so called Kraftfahrstraße. For them most of the Autobahn-rules apply (e.g. no pedestrians and bikes allowed). You can recognise a Kraftfahrstraße by the sign of a white car in front of a blue backround.

Smaller federal Landstraße roads

These roads are not numbered on traffic signs and usually connect minor towns. As most of them have lower speed limits thumbing is likely to work. As they might not have a lot of traffic coming through they should only be used for getting from and to you final destination.

The Ruhr area warning

When hitch hiking towards and from Belgium, be carreful passing the Ruhr area (Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg). Once you get in, it's difficult to get out. Raststättes are rare and passing traffic avoids this region. We tried on several places and had to take the train to pass this area (lost 5 hours). There are sufficient work arounds to avoid this area. See also the hitchwiki page of the Ruhr Area.

Car registration/number plates

You can determine where a car is registered by its number plates. While tehre are certain plates on rented cars. (Europcar has „HH” (Hamburg), Avis – „EU” (Euskirchen), Sixt – „M” (Munich), Hertz „DN-H” (Düren)), other plates are associated with areas - DE, EN. The first letter is usually the district where it is registered. In addition, there is a little patch beside the number which tells you what state that number plate belongs to, which is useful if you do not know the district letters.

License plates

There are between one and three letters on a license plate which show the city or region where the car is registered. For example, look for license plates starting with B if you're hitching to Berlin. Have a look at the articles on Wikipedia for more information: German car number plates (in English) and Liste der Kfz-Kennzeichen in Deutschland (in German).

Note that it is no longer required to change plates if you move, so a HH (Hamburg) car may very well belong to someone living in München (M). At the moment this is not yet a big problem, but in due course it may lead to the situation that license plates become as useless as those in many other countries for determining the direction a car might be going...

Maps

Recommended maps for Germany are listed in this article. You can easily hitch through Germany with just a map that has all service stations along the Autobahn on it. There are maps at many service stations in a little free booklet which are quite misleading, they do not contain all service stations, just the ones belonging to one of the big companies running them. For a good map to print out and bring with you that has all the service stations on it have a look here: Rastekarte. This is the same one you will find at the service stations as big overview maps, more often than not those can be nicked very easily as well.

On the website: www.autobahnatlas-online.de you can find detailed listings of all Autobahnen, with all drive-ups, interchanges, all types of rest stops, tunnels, and bridges along their ways, with exact kilometer allegations. This comes along handy when hopping from station to station.

For those using offline mobile apps CoMaps / Organic Maps / Maps.ME, you may download a.kml file with all the service plazas for viewing on your map offline. Considering Germany is extremely well mapped on OpenStreetMap, these locations can be assumed to be very accurate and up-to-date. You can view the data extract here and click Export > Download as KML and then open the.kml file on your phone to be loaded into your maps app.

Language

Despite German being the major language, (with over 95% of the population speaking it as a first language 1) you will find that many Germans speak English or French as a second language. Other common languages in the country are Turkish, Russian and Arabic.

Learning to speak German

The basic hitchhiker needs can be satisfied by a look at the phrasebook here.

When asking your drivers for help it pays off to know that the German word Straße for street contains the weird letter ß which looks a bit like a B. If you pronounce it like an s Germans will understand you. Contrary to popular belief the diacritics on Ä, ä, Ö, ö, Ü and ü are not metal umlauts and thus they do affect pronunciation. If in doubt try to pronounce the word as if the diacritics didn't exist. For instance, if you pronounce the city Würzburg as Wurzburg you will probably be understood.

Personal Experiences

Useful links

• Comprehensive guide about hitchhiking in Germany by Korn on https://warmroads.de
• Overview of autobahns in Germany

Source: Germany License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Roadside hitching spots go stale. For current places to hitch in and out of this city, use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live Hitchwiki page linked at the end of this chapter. This book keeps general orientation, not a pin gazetteer.

'''''' is the capital of Germany. The city has served as a starting point for the Tramprennen in 2024.

For Scandinavia bound hitchhikers

Direction Denmark: The ferries leave 15 km north of Rostock at Warnemünde and from Puttgarden, from Berlin generally people head for the ferry at Rostock but it leaves more seldom, and if you are offered the right ride you could go to the Puttgarden one instead, which is a good option especially if you are only transitting through Denmark to Sweden seeing as on the Rostock - Gedser ferry there is very little Sweden bound traffic.

Direction Hamburg-Stillhorn: If you can get a ride to this gas station you can walk under the highway and hitchhike the other direction towards Lübeck - however, only people living in the southern part of the city are likely to pass by here. Direction Lübeck: It is possible to accept a ride either to Lübeck or to the Neustadt gas station just north of the city (but that is more rare). In case you can get dropped off at the onramp leading out of central Lübeck in direction Neustadt, wait for a ride that will take you at least to the gas station 10 km north.

Direction Århus: You can also accept a ride towards Flensburg and some hitchhikers have even been known to accept such rides and then going to Copenhagen through Kolding and Odense. Also it is possible to reach both South western Norway with the ferries from Hirtshals (Hitchable??) and Göteborg, Sweden with the ferry from Fredrikstad.

Direction Sweden: You can also head for one of the direct ferries to Trelleborg, leaving from either Rostock or Travemünde near Lübeck. The ferry from Sassnitz on Rügen has been discontinued. Stockholm has a direct night ferry from Rostock 3 times a week running since autumn 2021. Currently they charge per vehicle and passengers so you couldn't join a crew, but passenger tickets go for 28€ so might still be worth it.

Highway 10 (Poland - Netherland)

Far from Berlin - Get off at Rasthof Michendorf (after all the ring interchanges). There is a bridge over the Autobahn nearby so if you are coming even from Poland you can jump over and easily find someone going into the city. Alternatively, you can walk into Michendorf itself, which takes about 30 min. Just head north from the petrol stations (you can go under the Autobahn from the southern petrol station From Michendorf, you can take a train for EUR 3.30 to the centre of Berlin (the ABC ticket, which is valid for 2 hours, so you can also use metro, bus etc. when in Berlin). The last train everyday is at 00:21

Walk to metro - get of at "Wildau" town. Look a highway road sign for Wildau and ask driver to drop you at Chausseestrase enter/exit ramp (same road he can drive out) OR to stop at emergency line. Than ask people for s-bahn station

A115 - Spanische Allee

You can get off at the exit Spanische Allee if your driver takes the A115 passing by Potsdam to get into the city which most people do that are coming from the West. From the station Nikolassee right next to it you can take the S-Bahn to Zoologischer Garten, Friedrichstraße or Warschauer Straße from where you can go anywhere. It is usually faster to do so unless your driver really goes directly into your neighbourhood, because you need more or less the same time by public transport to go anywhere in Berlin from this spot as with the car. Also your driver can easily go off the highway and back onto it.

Public transport

Despite its size and unless going from one edge of an outer suburb to one on the opposite side of the city, going from one point to another within Berlin seldom takes more than one hour. Use VBB.de to find out how to get from one location to another within Berlin and also the surrounding state of Brandenburg. Berlin operates on a fairly simple tariff zone system: Zone A is anywhere within the suburban train ring (Ringbahn / S-Bahn lines S41 and S42), zone B from the ring to the administrative borders of the city, and zone C is a defined area of Brandenburg in proximity to the city (somewhat confined by the terminal stops of the S-Bahn).

As of April 2023, the current prices for a single adult, one-way ticket are: €3.20 (tariff zones AB), €3.80 (tariff zones BC) and €4.00 (tariff zones ABC). There is a plethora of concession, daily, group and other discounted tickets too, check the VBB or BVG website for more information.

The Ruhr Area warning

When hitch hiking towards Berlin from Belgium, avoid passing the Ruhr area (Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg). Once you get in, it's difficult to get out. Service stations are rare and passing traffic avoids this region. We tried on several places and had to take the train to pass this area (lost 5 hours). There are sufficient work arounds to avoid this area. See also the Hitchwiki page of the Ruhr Area.

Source: Berlin License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Austria is a member state of the European Union as well as of the Schengen Agreement.

People in Austria speak German (in some parts locally also Slovene, Croatian and Hungarian) but if you are not a German speaker you won't be in big trouble since almost every Austrian speaks at least basic English.

Hitchhiking

It is a good country for hitchhiking, with fabulous views of the surrounding Alps and small lakes. While hitchhiking by motorway you can easily “hop” from city to city - ramps are usually easy to get to and easy to hitch from. Good places are service stations, too. In Austria you can find official hitchhiking spots mostly in the form of benches ("Mitfahrbankerl") in rural areas.

Austria is surrounded by Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Slovenia, Liechtenstein and Italy - to any of these countries one can get easily by hitchhiking.

In Austria most motorway service stations serve both directions of the motorway and there is one situated in the junction of the A9 and A1, serving all four directions! This is an overview of features of all motorway service stations along the Austrian motorways.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is not an offence in Austrian law; where you stand is. § 46(1) of the Straßenverkehrsordnung 1960 reserves the Autobahn for motor vehicles built for more than 60 km/h and states that all other traffic, "in particular pedestrian traffic", is forbidden on it — carriageway, Pannenstreifen and on-ramp alike. The same paragraph makes one narrow exception for going in on foot: at a border crossing or a toll station you may enter the Autobahn for business connected with the crossing. § 46(4)(e) allows vehicles to stop or park only at the places marked by signs, meaning the Rastplätze and Raststationen — which is exactly where you ask drivers for the next ride. On Bundesstraßen and everything smaller hitchhiking is unregulated and legal, so thumb before the motorway sign.

Border crossings

Germany

If you're coming from Germany and plan to come to / pass by Austria, There are two main points to cross the border: Passau and Salzburg

• Most of the traffic going through Passau is heading East to Linz, Vienna, Budapest
• Most of the traffic going through Salzburg is heading South to Trieste, Italy, Slovenia, Balkans

Hungary

• Hegyeshalom-Nickelsdorf border crossing

Regions and Cities

Vienna is by far the country's largest city. Graz is second in size, with 291,007 inhabitants, followed by Linz (206,604), Salzburg (155,031), Innsbruck (131,989), and Klagenfurt (101,303). All other cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.

Jumping trains

Hitchhiking in Austria can be very time consuming but blackriding trains often work super good. Check out the train article: https://hitchwiki.org/en/Train#Austria

Links

Austrian Hitchhiking Infoplattform

Personal Experiences

Source: Austria License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Roadside hitching spots go stale. For current places to hitch in and out of this city, use maps.hitchwiki.org and the live Hitchwiki page linked at the end of this chapter. This book keeps general orientation, not a pin gazetteer.

Vienna (Wien in German, Bécs in Hungarian, Vídeň in Czech, Viedeň in Slovak, Dunaj in Slovene, Beč in Serbo-Croatian) is the capital of Austria. It is in the east of the country on the river Danube. More than 1.6 million people live there. It is the largest city of Austria and is surrounded by the state of Lower Austria. It is also an administrative district (Bundesland) of its own. The city has served as a starting point for the Tramprennen in 2015, 2023 and 2025.

From Vienna Airport all directions Bratislava, Budapest, Brno, Linz or Graz

Vienna Airport is the largest one in the region and many people who are leaving or landing are being dropped or picked up there by their friends or family members. You can find rides in all of the directions by asking the drivers there according to their license plates. Departing travelers are often dropped at the Abflugstrasse above the ground floor of the terminals, arriving travelers are picked at the Kurzparkplatz in front of the arrival hall. Chance of getting such ride might be better at the Abflugstrasse as the driver going back has free place, but the with the arriving ones you will surely hear fresh travel stories.

Public transport

It is possible to ride the subway, bus, and tram system with no ticket, though at your own risk. Buses and trams are almost never controlled (except night buses and in the first month of each semester, e.g. October and March), but checks on the metro are rather frequent. Also they check trams around center.The fine is EUR 103, but foreigners can give a fake address in their home country and avoid paying.

The Wiener Linien themselves provide information on where their ticket inspectors are riding on any given day (https://www.wienerlinien.at/web/wiener-linien/kontrollen). It is unsure how reliable this information is, so be careful anyway.

Another website where the passengers tell of where and when they have seen controllers is http://schwarzkappler.info/, with information for major Austrian cities and some German cities as well, with Facebook and Twitter pages.

Sleeping

Source: Vienna License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Switzerland is a landlocked country in Western Europe it is officially part of the Schengen Area.

In Switzerland people speak four different indigenous languages, depending on the area you are hanging around: German in the north and east, Italian in the south, French in the western part of the country, and Rhaeto-Rumantsch, which is derived from Vulgar Latin, brought by roman soldiers two millenia ago in the mountains of eastern Switzerland.

Hitchhiking

The Verein Autostop Schweiz organizes the Swiss Autostop Championship yearly since 2014 from Fribourg.

There is a large percentage of foreigners, as well as many tourists. Most people will be able to understand some English (most young people speak it well).

Hitchhiking works very well in Switzerland, especially in the mountain regions and small country roads, where it is quite common to pick up hikers and hitchhikers. It is also quite easy to get lifts with truck drivers from Germany to Italy and back. Thre are not that many service stations along the highways, and some are not open 24 hours. In Switzerland you can find official hitchhiking spots mostly in the form of benches ("Mitfahrbänkli") in rural areas.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Swiss law contains no rule against hitchhiking, only against being on foot where the motor traffic is. Article 43(3) of the Strassenverkehrsgesetz (SVG, SR 741.01) provides that on roads reserved for motor vehicles — Autobahnen and Autostrassen — only the vehicle types the Federal Council names may drive, and that "entry is prohibited, access being permitted only at the places provided for it". Going in on foot is therefore out: no thumbing on the carriageway, the hard shoulder or the on-ramp past the green motorway sign, and no walking into a service area from the road behind it. Being dropped at a Raststätte and asking drivers there is the normal and lawful way to move along the motorway network. On every other road hitchhiking is legal and unregulated.

Hitchhiking at the border

Since in not legal to hitch on motorways (petrol stations are allowed though), you should avoid to get dropped at the border. If you're hitchhiking with a truck driver into Italy, he'll maybe need to stop at the border before driving on - but ask him not to say that you're a hitchhiker since the border police might tell you to leave the truck and drive you to the bus station instead.

Cities

• Bern - the capital
• Basel
• Bellinzona
• Biel
• Chiasso
• Duedingen
• Fribourg
• Geneve
• Lausanne
• Luzern
• Marly
• Neuchâtel
• Solothurn
• St.Gallen
• Winterthur
• Zürich

Camping

In Switzerland, everybody is legally allowed to use pasture and woods to a certain extent, including camping. The same goes for agriculturally not usable space such as public bodies of water, rock, snow or ice.

Sometimes its good to let locals know that youre camping next to their property. If someone reacts bad, just ask another person or people who are on a walk.

Highway petrol stations

If you type the name of the petrol station in Google Maps you will find where exactly it is. This makes it much more comfortable to hitchhike.

External links

• You can find a nice online map at http://map.search.ch, including zoom, service stations and integration with the Swiss railways.
• Service Stations in Switzerland
• Taxito is a local ridesharing service that exists in some municipalities.

Personal Experiences

Source: Switzerland License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Liechtenstein is a tiny country in Western Europe, surrounded by Austria and Switzerland. It is a member state of the Schengen Agreement. People speak German.

Hitchhiking

There is no motorway in Liechtenstein, but the A13 in Switzerland is within walking distance from any point in the country. It goes down to Bellinzona and merges into the A2 towards Lugano and Italy.

Liechtenstein was the destination of the Abgefahren Hitchhiking Race 2009.

Legality of Hitchhiking

Liechtenstein has its own Strassenverkehrsgesetz, closely modelled on Switzerland's but not identical to it, and hitchhiking is not an offence under it. The difference that matters to you is that there is no motorway in the country and no motorway chapter in the law — the word Autobahn does not occur anywhere in the SVG of 30 June 1978, so unlike in either neighbour there is no class of road you are shut out of. What governs you is article 45: pedestrians must use the pavements, and where there are none they keep to the edge of the road, walking in single file where particular dangers require it. The same article tells you to keep to the left edge unless special circumstances prevent it, namentlich ausserorts in der Nacht — especially outside built-up areas at night. The real constraint here is geography rather than law: the country is some 25 km end to end, and the motorway you actually want is the Swiss A13 or the Austrian A14, where those countries' rules take over.

Hitchhiking out

South towards Bellinzona, Lugano, Italy

Option 1

If you want to hitch out of Liechtenstein, try to go to to the service station Rheintal between the ramps Buchs and Sevelen. It doesn't matter at which ramp you are, it's possible to walk along the bicycle path along the river to get directly to the service station. The on-ramp Sevelen is also pretty good to hitchhike a short ride to the petrol station.

Eastbound/Northeast Bregenz, Ulm, München

Option 1

Take bus number 11 from Vaduz to Feldkirch (rarely controlled, leaves twice an hour). In Feldkirch get off at Rappenweg (Tisis) and walk back to the Agip service area (everyone who goes to Austria will take petrol here and not on the Liechtenstein side - it's cheaper here). Alternatively get off at the border (custom control) - cars have to get slow there, so perfect to catch a ride to Bregenz and Germany.

Personal Experiences

Source: Liechtenstein License: CC-BY-SA-4.0