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Hello,

I found your website on hitchwiki.org, in a picture about hitchhiking in Peru. I have a few questions on that subject, so i’m eagerly stalking all people on the internet i can find, who might have any experience hitching in south america .
So here goes my story:

i’m a student from Belgium (21 years of age), and this summer i’m planning on visiting South-America. During the last couple of years, i’ve travelled a lot in Europe (france, sweden, schotland, ireland, italy, …) and last year i made a 1 month trip in India, together with a buddy of mine.

I’m also a fanatic hitchhiker. I went on hitchhiking trips in France and Ireland, and i often hitchhike here in Belgium to avoid waiting/paying for trains and busses. I love to be free, going off the beaten track and meeting locals, experience the real feeling of the country, etc. rather than getting stuck in fancy tourist hotspots or hotels. I prefer a bumpy ride in a beaten-down lorry on an amazing Andes-mountain trail over a luxurious ride in a 5 star train wagon. I love travelling low budget.

So for this summer (july-september), me and my friend have bought a plane ticket to Lima, peru, and were planning on hitchhiking/travelling our way up to Bolivia and back. We will be staying for about 2 and a half months. Some places i would like to visit are lima, huarez, arequipa, la paz, uyuni salt flats, sud lipez, …). However, i’m reading all sorts of stories that peru and especially bolivia are really poor hitchhiking countries… Long waiting times or just no cars? And since the distances between all these places are huge, i’m getting the feeling that maybe i should take the bus every now and then or just cut some places out of my itinerary.

So my question is, can you give me any advice about the ‘hitchability’? Is it possible to hitchhike in bolivia and peru?

Another thing i’m asking myself is the safety. We are 2 guys, and we won’t be carrying anything of value with us. But still i’m wondering if it is safe to stand by the side of the road, or to wander around at night… Since hitchhikers tend to end up in strange places, at strange times, i expect to find myself all alone in the centre of a small town at 11pm in the dark. So will those situations be ‘safe’?

Last question i was asking myself is wether camping (tent + sleeping bag + deserted area or backyard of friendly people) in those countries is possible? My main concern would be the temperatures, as i’ve been told that it could go below zero in july-august?
In Belgium there is a television show that features couples hitchhiking in Asia and South-america (peru also), who ask locals to sleep in there living rooms. A bit like couch surfing, but just by knocking on people’s doors. We would be concidering this asswel.

Thanks a million times for taking the time to read through my email. I hope i’m not disturbing you or asking too much of your time! By reading your website however, i’m getting the feeling that you have quite some experience travelling and living around the world. So i was hoping you could give us some advice before we set off on our own adventures.

Thanks in advance:), and good luck with any travel/life plans yourself!

Bob

p.s.: oh yeah before i forget, we both speak a little bit of Spanish, but we’re planning on going slow for the first couple of weeks, mainly traveling by bus. That way we can get the hang of the country/culture, and study up on our spanish.