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Usually it makes sense to hitchhike after traffic lights, especially on bus stops and the like, but '''in Mexico it is better to be among the cars, in Peculiarity of Mexican hitchhiking are the traffic lights, and directly ask rides from people who have open windows.''' Sometimes you can just jump in the back of a ubiquitous pick-up without even telling trucks where you are going and just tap jump in the window when you want to get off. You can catch long rides at back, hold onto your hat, kiss the gas stations (gasolineras) wind and at forget about communicating with the exits of the cities when driver. Many people will offer you travel on the highways. food and drinks, especially Coca Cola! On the small roads, however, hitchhiking can sometimes be time-taking - waits and walks of 2-3 hours are not unheard of. Be prepared routes with patience, water and sun cream. Although in many places locals hitch to get home from the grocery store for instancepoor public transportation, hitchhiking as a lifestyle or as a means of long-distance travel payment is not so common in Mexico sometimes expected and not everybody might immediately understand what you want. So, on the mountain paths for instance, your brain should be wired more to enjoy the magnificent views and eating the abundance of fruit the nature has on offer rather than making a lot of progressordinary pickups magically turn into ''collectivos'' (shared taxis).
Peculiarity On the small roads, however, hitchhiking can sometimes be time-consuming – waiting times of Mexican hitchhiking 2–3 hours are the ubiquitous pick-up trucks where you just jump in the back, hold onto your hatnot unheard of. Be prepared with patience, kiss the wind water and forget about communicating with sun cream. Although in many places locals hitch to get home from the driver. Many people will offer you food and drinksgrocery store for instance, especially Coca Cola! On routes with poor public transportation, payment hitchhiking as a lifestyle or as a means of long-distance travel is sometimes expected not so common in Mexico and ordinary pickups magically turn into collectivos (shared taxis)not everybody might immediately understand what you want. You can hitchhike pretty much everywhereSo, even on the highway (although pretty much no one stops at such high speeds). In generalmountain paths for instance, asking on your brain should be wired more to enjoy the gas station or even traffic lights can get you further pretty easily. You can also thumb up at magnificent views and eating the various border control and military checkpoints (just ask abundance of fruit the personnel for permission beforehand)nature has on offer rather than making a lot of progress.
The best place to get a ride is not You can hitchhike pretty much everywhere, even on the side of the road highway (although pretty much no one stops at such high speeds). In general, asking at gas stations (''gasolinera'') or an even traffic lights (''semáforo''), especially on-rampbus stops and the like, can get you far pretty easily. Sometimes it is better to be among the cars, like in many other countriesthe traffic lights, but at petrol stations or and directly ask rides from people who have open windows. Sometimes you can just jump in the back of a pick-up without even telling where you are going and just tap in the window when you want to get off. Other good places include exits from shopping centers, in truck stops or at the restaurants where truckers eat. Some petrol stations in the north don't allow people to do that, but you can try to speak with the manager. It works sometimes. Otherwise, just stay by the cashier of the petrol station or at the door (they can't forbid you that) and ask. Nevertheless Mexico also has many border control and military and police checkpoints (''retén'') in the middle of the highways throughout the country. These can be great for hitchhiking. It's usually good practice to ask the personnel for permission beforehand, and oftentimes they'll be asking all the drivers where they're going, so they can even let you know if someone's going to your destination. You can also catch long rides at the exits of the cities when you dontravel on the highways. Many cities have speed bumps (''tope'') where the highway begins at the edge of town. On smaller highways in more rural areas, there are often speed bumps at every little town, making it easy to move quickly with a number of shorter rides. Many of the larger, faster highways operate on a toll system. It's common for there to be a free road (''libre'') parallel to the paid one (''cuota''), the former being slower and easier to catch rides, but the latter much more likely for getting longer rides. The tollbooths (''caseta''t ) can be good places, too. However, sometimes you have to stand about 100m past the tollbooth (ask people the attendants where you can stand), so traffic has often already picked up speed by the time they get to you, and it can be difficult for cars to pull over. Often there's restrooms, gas stations and stick out your thumb stores just past the ''caseta'', so you can still make good distancetalk to drivers that stop there. Signs can come in really handy at tollbooths.
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{{Infobox Country
|country = of Mexico
|map = <map lat='23' lng='-102' zoom='4' view='0' float='right' />
|pop = 108,700,891
|capital = [[Mexico City]]
}}
'''Mexico''' is a country in [[North America]]. Despite its notoriety, hitchhiking in Mexico is not only possible but it can be a rather enjoyable experience. Due to its sheer size it´s it's impossible to give a general hitchability rating for this country: the experiences vary from state to state. As anywhere, you can go fast on highways and very slow on small less trafficky roads.----For more general info about moneyless travels in Mexico, see [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iqhpdy67vceKm6LBTsYQFU_wulqCb7Q-dPRooZxuU0U/mobilebasic?pli=1 this] handy document.
As for security, most hitchhikers never encounter any major problems. Mexico is an enormous country and experiences vary a lot from state to state. If you want to avoid risks, you can avoid the states close to the border with USA - Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua and Durango, i.e. take buses and collectivos when traveling north of the line between Tampico, San Luis Potosi and Mazatlan (the map). Apparently also the states of Guerrero, Michoacán and Veracruz can be risky.
If you go hitchhiking in Mexico, being able to speak and understand at least a bit of Spanish is nearly mandatory. Apart from touristic areas, most people you encounter do not speak English. If you know Spanish you can communicate way better with people and get a closer connection with them. Useful [[Spanish]] words are "ride" and "aventón", both meaning a lift. Near the [[Guatemala|Guatemalan]] border the word "jalón" is used. No one understands what hitchhiking or autostop means so say “busco/buscamos un ride” instead when looking for a ride.
Vegetarians/vegans: if you ask food carts or taco places if they have anything vegetarian, and they say no, look at the ingredients they've got in their work area and get creative! One vegetarian traveller´s favorite is tomato and avocado taco ([[Chinahitch]][http://hitchwiki.org/en/User:Chinahitch].
== Where to hitchhike? ==
== Signs ==
Signs are almost always unnecessary in Mexico.
However, if you're in an area with a lot of local traffic, it might be useful to make a sign that says "Siguiente Gasolinera" (next gas station). Then you can get a ride to a better hitchhiking spot. Similarly, signs that say "reten" (checkpoint) or "caseta" (tollbooth) can be really useful, especially when cars are passing quickly and the checkpoint or tollbooth is only 10 or 20 km away.
== License plates ==
If you get stuck on the road at night, you can ask to be dropped off at any PEMEX (the only gasoline company of Mexico). If you talk directly to the people in charge, they will tell you what's the safest spot to sleep at. Many gas stations also have free showers and you don't need to be a truck driver to use them.
When you're inside of a town, it's better to go to the fire station. The firemen are very friendly and they are used to host broke travelers from exotic places.
If you ask in churches, you should try to find the priest, explain your situation and ask for a place to stay. Usually, however, they direct you to the police (who, in turn, might direct you back to the church).
Bus stations are safe and open 24 hours as there are buses round the clock and there is a security guy. Of course, you will have to sleep with one eye open but it’s a somewhat safe place to spend the night.
The municipal police is always friendly and you can just ask them where to spend the night. They might assign you a nice well-guarded spot outside in front of the town hall (Palacio Municipal) for instance. It’s not a bed but it is a place to stay, with a roof!
If you're traveling through the West Coast it might be difficult to find a free camping site at the popular beaches. However, almost every beach town has a '''turtle camp''' where you can camp for free. You might be asked to do some work in exchange, like counting and liberating baby turtles!!!
== Cities ==
* [[Acapulco]]
* [[Arriaga]]
* [[Ciudad Valles]]
* [[Guadalajara]]
* [[Guanajuato (city)| Guanajuato]]
* [[Mexico City]] (capital)
* [[Oaxaca (City)|Oaxaca]]
* [[Poza Rica]]
* [[AcapulcoPuebla (city)|Puebla]]* [[GuadalajaraQuerétaro (city)| Querétaro]]* [[San Cristóbal]] de las Casas]]* [[San Luis Potosí (city)| San Luis Potosí]]* [[Tehuantepec]]* [[Tuxtla]]* [[Xalapa (City)|Xalapa]]
== Gallery ==
[[fr:Mexique]]
[[trash:Mexico]]
[[nomad:Mexico]]
