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As a general rule, you should always stick to the autobahn as long as possible and try to change between major autobahns seldomly, 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 Saturday afternoons.
If you travel a specific autobahn, have a look at the [[Autobahn|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 (Germany)|A2]] and [[A30 (Germany)|A30]].
==== 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. If you don't have to leave the autobahn to get to the service station it is called ''Raststätte'' whilst service stations up to about 500 metres from the autobahn are called ''Autohof''. With a few exeptions exceptions all service stations can be entered by foot from the side and feature an unlocked door in the fence or wall.
[[File:Zeichen 448.1.svg|thumb|right|150px|Autobahn traffic sign of an Autohof]] 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 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 Saturday evenings and sundays Sundays at all cost. Another disadvantage for continuing on the autobahn is that local traffic also stops at the ''Autohof''.
=== Federal ''Bundesstraße'' roads ===
== Food and drink==
Drinking tap water is safe all over the country. You can usually get inexpensive but good food at Italian and Turkish takeaways, the latter ones have ''Döner'' or ''Kebap'' written on them. Typical German fast food shops are marked with ''Imbiss'' signs and sell cheap sausages and french French fries. Keep in mind that most shops including supermarkets are not allowed to be open after 20:00 and on Sundays. Petrol stations, 24-h shops and kiosks have a very limited food choice and are more expensive. As a free alternative you can try dumpster diving. More information on this can be found in the [http://trashwiki.org/en/Germany trashwiki article on Germany].
=== Eating on the Autobahn ===
