Long distance hitchhiking

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.