A2 (Netherlands)

The A2 is a well-frequented motorway in the Netherlands.

The most effective way to travel as a hitchhiker using this motorway is to comply with the same, common on Western motorways practice of hopping from one service area to another. A2 unites several cities, notably Utrecht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven and Sittard. In Maastricht, the A2 ends for a distance of about 2 km, to turn into A2 again from the south of Maastricht up to the border to Belgium where it is named A25 and goes towards Liege.

Since the A2 is the main north-south motorway within the Netherlands, hitchhiking is usually pretty straightforward.

For more information check either Dutch or English Wikipedia.

Scroll down to bottom of page for more detailed maps 

Hitchhiking on the A2
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Hitchhiking A2 Amsterdam direction Maastricht using service areas

 * Petrol station 500 meter south of the bridge Utrechtsebrug in Amsterdam. This one may be reached on foot from the Utrechtsebrug. One has to walk in the verge of the motorway. Rating: 
 * Petrol station "Viersprong" between exit 3 and 4. This petrol station does not exist anymore Rating: 
 * Petrol station "Haarrijn" between exit 5 and 6. Huge petrol station, and the best one to change cars between Amsterdam and Utrecht. Possible to camp at the west end of this huge area. Rating: Good
 * Petrol station "Nieuwegein" between exit 8 and 9. Comparatively small petrol station, yet good going further down the A2 or onto the A27. Rating: 
 * Petrol station "Bisde" between exit 13 and 14. Quite big petrol station. Rating: 
 * Petrol station with restaurant "De Lucht west" between exits 17 and 18. Huge petrol station with a long history. One of the buildings dates back to the 1950s, and the area has been used as a stopover for travellers for over a hundred years. This service area may be considered the most important one between the west and the south of the Netherlands. Fverhart hitched there over 10 times, with an average wait of 10-15 minutes for a 100 km ride to Maastricht or its vicinity. Rating: 
 * Parking area "De Rooijen" between exit 19 and 20. Please avoid this one, just a couple of kilometers after the previous great petrol station. Few people stop here, it is usually rather noisy and windy (though the views over the river are nice), and there seem some shady activities to be going on. And you may smell piss or so, because there is no toilet there. Rating: 
 * Petrol station "Velder" between exit 26 and 27. Place to change car is the driver is going into Eindhoven. Pretty standard size, and even if it is not the most busy one, pretty easy to get away. Rating: /Good
 * Parking area "Aalsterhut" between exit 34 and 35. This parking does not exist anymore. Rating: 
 * Petrol station "'t Haasje" between exits 35 and 36. Quite good, just as the previous one. Rating: /Good
 * Restaurant and parking "Roevenpeel" between exits 39 and 40. There is no petrol station on this service area, therefore the prospects with hitchhiking are not optimal. Rating: 
 * Petrol station "Ellerbrug" between exits 40 and 41. This one is rather quiet, especially in the evening. It is currently being rebuilt. Rating: 
 * Petrol station "Het Anker" between exits 46 and 47. This is the service area which you should use in case the driver is not going to Maastricht, but to one of the other cities in the southernmost part of the Netherlands, or if the driver is heading for Aachen or beyond in Germany. It is quite easy to find a driver to Maastricht. About 20% of the drivers actually go there, while most go towards Geleen, Heerlen, Kerkrade etc. French and Luxembourgian cars are extremely likely to go through Maastricht from here. Rating: /Good
 * Petrol station "Vossedal" between exits 49 and 50. This one is small, but since Maastricht is only 8 kilometers further on, one normally finds a ride there in no time. Rating: Good (for Maastricht) and / (for any place beyond Maastricht)
 * Petrol station "Knuvelkes" between exit 57 and 58. This one is already south of Maastricht. Alas, it is not frequented very much, because all drivers go into Belgium, and rather leave this one aside, for the petrol in Belgium is a bit cheaper. Still it is possible to find rides to Liege/Luxembourg or towards Charleroi. Rating: bad/average
 * Parking area on the border. On this former customs area you will find a snack bar, where some people stop on their way to the south. France, for example. Rating: /

Hitchhiking A2 Amsterdam direction Maastricht using ramps
If an on ramp is not listed, it does not mean it is good or bad. However, it is likely not to be particularly good.
 * Utrechtsebrug, bridge just before the beginning of the motorway. Amsterdam. This is a classic starting point to hitchhike, the spot for hitchhiking in the '60s and '70s. Today it does not look too good there, but one may still ask for rides at the traffic lights just before the bridge. It is a pity for hitchhikers that there is a barrier between the road and the cycling lane onto the bridge. Autostopguide to Europe recommends hitchhiking after the bridge, between the first (unofficial) exit and entry lanes, though cars are speeding there yet at 80 kmh. Rating: quite bad
 * Entrance 3. Abcoude. Dangerous! Rating: bad
 * Entrance 5. Breukelen. Reasonable. Easy to get to the next petrol station. Rating: bad/average
 * Entrance 6. Maarssen (Utrecht north). Enough space, but drivers do not tend to stop here. Rating: bad/average
 * Entrance 8. Utrecht. Traffic situation on the square is complicated. On access lane drivers speed up too much, and not very easy to reach this place. Ask for a ride at the traffic lights. Rating: bad/average
 * Entrance 17. Zaltbommel. Enough space to stand, easy to stop. Quite good point to leave Zaltbommel. Rating: average
 * Entrance 20. 's-Hertogenbosch. There is NO space to stop. Rating: bad
 * Entrance 24. Vught. Enough space to stand, easy to stop. Rating: average
 * Entrance 26. Boxtel. Enough space to stand, easy to stop and to get to the next petrol station. Rating: average
 * Entrance 28. Best. Most drivers are heading for Eindhoven, and it can be hard to find one going further. Rating: quite bad
 * Entrance 31. Veldhoven. Enough space to stand, but many drivers will stay in Eindhoven. Still a reasonable place to get a ride towards Maastricht, Venlo or Antwerpen. Best is to ask at the traffic lights, where you would have just enough time to get in the car. Rating: average
 * Entrance 32. Veldhoven-Zuid. There is no space to stop on the access lane (only further on, where cars are speeding already. Rating: bad
 * Entrance 33. Waalre. Enough space to stand. Rating: perhaps average.
 * Entrance 38. Weert-Noord. Supposedly quite complicated junction with a 4-lane road to Weert. Rating: perhaps quite bad
 * Entrance 39. Nederweert. Enough space to stand, easy to get away, enough traffic from Weert and other main road. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 40. Kelpen. Enough space to stand, easy to get away, enough traffic from Weert. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 41. Grathem. Even though the motorway connects here to an important non-motorway the access lane may not be very good, since it has big dimensions and drivers need all their attention to take the sharp curve. Rating: bad/average
 * Entrance 44. Sint Joost. A traffic square with space to stand on the access lane. Traffic passes by slowly, and there are enough drivers, coming from Roermond for example. Easy to stop a car here. Situation will change in next years, when the A73 motorway will be realized. Rating: average
 * Entrance 45. Echt. Good, because there is a small roundabout where it is easy to stop. Rating: average
 * Entrance 47. Roosteren. Rating: average
 * Entrance 48. Urmond Rating: average
 * Entrance 50. Maastricht-Aachen Airport. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 51. Meerssen. Impossible to hitch south, as the entrance lane is only to the north. Rating: mission impossible
 * Entrance 55. Randwyck. Rating: bad/average
 * Entrance 57. Oost-Maarland. There is no access lane to the south. Rating: mission impossible

Hitchhiking A2 Maastricht direction Amsterdam using service areas

 * Petrol station "Patiel" between exits 58 and 57. Even if this petrol station, still south of Maastricht, is not always that busy, it is fine for hitchhiking. It is the first rest area after the border, and people are quite likely to be heading for many directions within the Netherlands from here. Rating: average/good
 * Petrol station "Kruisberg" between exits 51 and 50. This petrol station is quite small and it lacks a rest area. It can be reached from Maastricht by public transport, as it is about 1 kilometer from train station Bunde. Later in the evening there is not a lot of traffic. In the afternoon many drivers will have come out of Maastricht, and may be heading back home, well furhter on. Its small size may make it a bit more likely that you would be sent away by the manager, than on other petrol stations. Rating: average
 * Parking area "Kruisberg" between exits 51 and 50. This parking area is situated about 2 km further after the petrol station with the same name. It is a nice place to be, on the steepest motorway slope in the country, but hard to get rides. Rating: bad
 * Petrol station "Swentibold" between exits 48 and 47. Just another okay petrol station, which you were not likely to use, but since the next one is closed, the likeliness has become a bit bigger. Rating: average/good
 * Petrol station "Bosserhof" between exits 45 and 44. Last petrol station before the N273 to Venlo. It used to be a good one, but it was receded in 2007, because of the realization of the A73 motorway to Venlo. It will not be reopened. Rating: average/good (before closing) and mission impossible (now)
 * Petrol station "Meiberg" between exits 40 and 39. Here is also an AC Restaurant and during sunny days especially many people take a (prolonged) rest here. It should be quite easy to find rides towards Utrecht or Breda. Rating: average/good
 * Petrol station "Groote Bleek" between exits 36 and 35. Last petrol station before Eindhoven, a city which sometimes is a kind of barrier on the way. Most drivers here tend to go towards Tilburg, Breda in stead of 's-Hertogenbosch, Utrecht. It is not as busy as the previous one, and closed at night. Rating: average
 * Petrol station "Ooiendonk" between exits 27 and 26. It should be well possible to find rides to Utrecht, Amsterdam and perhaps to Waalwijk and Rotterdam. Rating: average/good
 * Parking area "Zwartehof" between exits 20 and 19. Please avoid this one, just a couple of kilometers before the next great petrol station. Few people stop here, it is usually rather noisy and windy (though the views over the river are nice), and there seem some shady activities to be going on. And you may smell piss or so, because there is no toilet there. Rating: bad
 * Petrol station "De Lucht-Oost" between exits 18 and 17. Huge petrol station with a long history. One of the buildings dates back to the 1950s, and the area has been used as a stopover for travellers for over a hundred years. This service area may be considered the most important one between the south and the west of the Netherlands. However, Fverhart had a hard time when he tried to find a ride towards Den Haag or Rotterdam here; Utrecht or Amsterdam are definitely easier. Rating: great
 * Petrol station "Lingehorst" between exits 14 and 13. Quite big petrol station. Last petrol station before the junction with the A27 towards Lelystad and Zwolle. Rating: average/good
 * Petrol station "Nieuwegein" between exits 10 and 9. Rather small petrol station without parking area, and perhaps quite a lot of intralocal traffic. Last petrol station before the junction with the A12 towards Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden. Rating: average
 * Petrol station "Ruwiel" between exits 5 and 4. Quite big petrol station. Finding a ride into the city of Amsterdam should be easy here. Last petrol station before the junction with the A9 towards Haarlem, Alkmaar. Finding a ride from here onto the A8 (direction Hoorn, afsluitdijk) should be rather tough. Access lanes S103, S102 and S101 on the A10-west ring around Amsterdam are possible ramps to hitch in this direction. Rating: average/good

Hitchhiking A2 Maastricht direction Amsterdam using ramps

 * Entrance 58. Eijsden. There is no access lane to the north. Rating: mission impossibleaverage
 * Entrance 57. Easy to get to nearby Maastricht, otherwise rather hike back to the petrol station 2 km south. Rating: average
 * Entrance 55. Easy to get to nearby Maastricht. Roosteren. Rating: average
 * Entrance 51. There is NO safe space to stop, and the situation is rather chaotic. Walk back to the nearby motorway petrol station, 1 km back down the road. Urmond Rating: bad
 * Entrance 50. Maastricht-Aachen Airport. Ramp with a lot of space to stop. Perhaps pretty good towards Eindhoven. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 49. Elsloo. There is space to stop. Rating: average
 * Entrance 47. Urmond. There is space to stop and quite some traffic. Perhaps good to Eindhoven. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 41. Grathem. There is space to stop. You are not very well visible because of nearby trees, and not so much traffic heading north on this important junction, Rating: average
 * Entrance 39. Nederweert. A lot of space to stop and a lot of cars. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 33. Waalre. Good onramp towards 's-Hertogenbosch or Antwerp. However, currently reconstructed. Also quite easy to ask drivers coming from the south at the traffic lights (other side of the bridge). Best onramp to change cars if driving stays in Eindhoven, when coming from the Maastricht. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 31. Veldhoven. There is space to stop and a lot of cars. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 26. Boxtel. There is space to stop, but not a lot of traffic. Easy to get to 's-Hertogenbosch from here. Rating: average
 * Entrance 24. Vught. There is space to stop and easy for cars to stop. Rating: average
 * Entrance 20. Rosmalen. There is space to stop and a lot of traffic. This is perhaps the best ramp of the city when heading for Utrecht or Amsterdam. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 19. Kerkdriel. There is space to stop, but on this rural place expect a longer wait. Every car can take you to the next great petrol station. Rating: quite bad
 * Entrance 19. Enough space to stand, easy to stop. Quite good point to leave Zaltbommel. Rating: average
 * Entrance 8. Utrecht. There is no space where cars can stop beside the road. If there is little traffic the cars drive too fast. If there is a lot of traffic you may ask for a ride at the traffic light in front of the ramp. If there is little traffic it would be better to cross this square (using the small side bridge) and ask at the traffic lights on the westside of the motorway. Rating: quite bad/average
 * Entrance 7. Oog in Al. This access lane has good space to stop, and even a bus stop on the ramp. Easy one to get to Amsterdam. Rating: average/good
 * Entrance 3. Abcoude. Dangerous! Rating: bad

Amsterdam and northern section to Vianen (Utrecht and provinces)


Middle section, and provinces, around Den Bosch and Eindhoven


Maastricht and southern section, A2 in province, Weert to Belgian border


A2 motorway (Netherlands)

A2 (Nederland)