Oulu

Oulu is a town in Finland.

Hitching out
The road is highway from Liminka in South until Ii in North of Oulu and no hitchhiking is allowed there. Going Northwest on or Southwest on  is markedly easier as you can stand by the roadside.

Option 1
Take bus 25Y from the city centre until the last stop, Neitsytkorventie in the neighbourhood of Metsokangas. Then walk west along the street Neitsytkorventie until it becomes Ouluntullintie. Continue walking west on Ouluntullintie and cross over the motorway. There's a Neste petrol station and a convenient bus stop on the motorway entrance to hitchhike from.

The motorway ends about 20 km south of Oulu and splits into the E8 (national road 8) going southwest and the E75 (national road 4) going south.

Option 2
An easier option is to walk west from city centre ca. 2 km along Kainuuntie road to the highway drive-in. There are traffic lights and just enough space for a cars to stop at least in summer.

Option 3
If you don't find any ride by standing at the road, hitchhike to the ABC Tupos (around 20 km south from Oulu). It's even open 24/7 so you have a place to stay for the night as well. There are many trucks going really far in different directions, the truck drivers are really friendly so it's easy to find a ride for one person. If you are not hitchhiking alone, ask people in the gas station or when they are just about to go to their car where they are going and if they could take you with them.

Option 4
If you want to reach directly the best spot to find a straight ride to south, take bus n° 70 from Oulu bus station and get off after Liminka, there is a bus stop right after the roundabout that splits road 8 and road 4. Full traffic, lot of space, very good spot. Bus costs 7,40 € but it really worths if you want to be quite quick.

North towards Kemi and Rovaniemi
'None of the ramps near Oulu city center is ideal for hitchhiking North. You should always aim to get a ride at least to Ii, where the highway ends.'

Option 1
A fairly good option is to reach the ramp closest to Oulu University's main campus on Linnanmaantie road near a big Prisma super market. There's a bus stop on North side of the road from where you can catch a ride to North. Buses 4, 5, 19, 22 among others go there (3,30€ in 2013).

Option 2
A decidedly poorer option for getting a ride is one ramp South of the Option 1 on Kemintie road. There isn't really enough space to stand by the ramp, but if you walk some 100 meters south towards the city on Kemintie road, there's just enough space for cars to stop.

Option 3
The ramp easiest to reach from city center is found by walking by "Raksilan marketit" (three supermarkets Sale, Citymarket and Prisma) near cemetery, railway and bus station. Walk the road Kajaanintie between the graveyard and the supermarkets away from the center of the town (cemetery to the left, supermarkets right). After a bridge which goes over the motorway you find a ramp to your left. The space for standing is extremely limited though. Another option could be halting on a bus stop a bit before the bridge crossing the highway and stading there with a clear sign.

If you want to play it safe, it can be worthwhile to catch a bus for a better hitchhiking location

Option 4
Take bus number 50 from Oulu city center to gas station Shell in Ii, where the highway has ended, but there's a 60kph speed limit. The ride costs ca. 10 euros (2013).

Option 5
Take local bus number 20, 25 or 30 for 3,30e (2013) to village of Haukipudas on the old 847 road. After Kiiminkijoki river there's a roundabout and right after that a bus stop from where you can catch a ride at least to Ii and the E75/A4

Southwest towards Kajaani and Joensuu
Hitching southwest is markedly easier than in the North-South direction. Just walk along the Kajaanintie road starting from city center at least until you pass under the E75/A4 and stop on any of the bus stops following. The longer you walk the more likely the cars are going to Kajaani or further and not just one of the suburbs. Walking by the roadside is strictly speaking not allowed though, so it might be better to use the path running alongside the street on the other side of the Laanaoja stream to your left.

Northwest towards Kuusamo on (and Rovaniemi via Pudasjärvi and Ranua on B78)
Catching a ride Northwest is best done by reaching one of the bus stops on Kuusamontie. Perhaps the most feasible one is right after the junction with E75/A4. There are traffic lights and speed limit of 60kph. On a downside cars are coming on two lanes from the city and join a third from the highway, so drivers might find it difficult to pull over. Try to catch a ride at least to Laivakangas in Jääli (Kiiminki) ca. 15kms from the city. The road to Rovaniemi leaves from Pudasjärvi and is markedly less used than the E75/A4.

Free hotspots
Oulu has a free wireless PanOulu network that is supposed to work all around the city center. Go to a cafe or walk around a bit if you can't seem to find a connection. For those without mobile internet devices, there are large Ubi-screen displays scattered around the city center with maps and such info.

isin: Finland

Oulu trash:Oulu