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Usually it makes sense == License plates == Mexican license plates are very easy to hitchhike after traffic lights, especially on bus stops and interpret: The name of the like, but '''in Mexico it issuing federal state is better to be among the cars, in the traffic lights, and directly ask rides from people who have open windows.''' Sometimes written on them (as you can just jump will easily notice once 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. You can catch long rides at the gas stations (gasolinerascountry) and at the exits of the cities when you travel on the highways. On the When traveling longer distances or in central Mexico with its many small roads, however, hitchhiking states it can sometimes therefore be time-taking - waits and walks of 2-3 hours are not unheard of. Be prepared with patience, water and sun cream. Although in many places locals hitch to get home from the grocery store for instance, hitchhiking as a lifestyle or as a means of long-distance travel useful knowing which state your destination is not so common in Mexico and not everybody might immediately understand what (if 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 progresshave one).
You On the small roads, however, hitchhiking can hitchhike pretty much everywheresometimes be time-consuming – waiting times of 2–3 hours are not unheard of. Be prepared with patience, even on water and sun cream. Although in many places locals hitch to get home from the highway (although pretty much no one stops at such high speeds)grocery store for instance, hitchhiking as a lifestyle or as a means of long-distance travel is not so common in Mexico and not everybody might immediately understand what you want. In generalSo, asking on the gas station or even traffic lights can get you further pretty easily. You can also thumb up at mountain paths for instance, your brain should be wired more to enjoy the various border control magnificent views and military checkpoints (just ask eating the abundance of fruit the personnel for permission beforehand)nature has on offer rather than making a lot of progress.
== Where to hitchhike? ==The best place to get a ride is not on the side of the road Vegetarians/vegans: if you ask food carts or an on-ramptaco places if they have anything vegetarian, like in many other countries, but at petrol stations or 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. Otherwiseand they say no, just stay by the cashier of the petrol station or look at the door (ingredients they can't forbid you that) ve got in their work area and get creative! One vegetarian traveller´s favorite is tomato and askavocado taco ([[Chinahitch]][http://hitchwiki. Nevertheless if you don't ask people and stick out your thumb you can still make good distanceorg/en/User:Chinahitch].
== Shelter ==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.
When traveling You can also catch long distances with no specific plan, it becomes difficult to arrange shelter through hospitality networksrides at the exits of the cities when you travel on the highways. Also, in many small towns few people Many cities have access to the internet.Luckily, it's really easy and safe to stay over in speed bumps (''tope'gas stations''' or '''fire stations.'''If you get stuck on ) where the road at night, you can ask to be dropped off highway begins at any PEMEX (the only gasoline company edge of Mexico)town. If you talk directly Where there are police posts at the entrance or exits to the people towns, there are usually topes too. On smaller highways in chargemore rural areas, they will tell you what's the safest spot to sleep there are often speed bumps 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 every little town, making it's better easy to go to the fire station. The firemen are very friendly and they are used to host broke travelers from exotic placesmove quickly with a number of shorter rides.
If youMany of the larger, faster highways operate on a toll system. It're traveling through the West Coast it might s common for there to be difficult to find a free camping site at road (''libre'') parallel to the popular beaches. However, almost every beach town has a paid one (''cuota''), the former being slower and easier to catch rides, but the latter much more likely for getting longer rides. The tollbooths ('turtle camp'caseta'' ) can be good places too, and the ones near to the cities can usually be reached by local transport. However, sometimes you have to stand about 100m past the tollbooth itself (ask the attendants where you can camp stand), so traffic has often already picked up speed by the time they get to you and it can be difficult for freecars to pull over. You might be asked Fortunately, there are often restrooms, gas stations, and stores just past the ''caseta'', so you can talk to do some work drivers that stop there. Signs can come in exchange, like counting and liberating baby turtles!!!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 used roads.
== Cities ==__TOC__* [[Acapulco]]* [[Arriaga]]* [[Ciudad Valles]]* [[Guadalajara]]* [[Guanajuato (city)| Guanajuato]]* [[Mexico City]] (capital)* [[Oaxaca (City)|Oaxaca]]* [[Palenque]]* [[Poza Rica]]* [[Puebla (city)|Puebla]]* [[Querétaro (city)| Querétaro]]* [[San Cristóbal de las Casas]]* [[San Luis Potosí (city)| San Luis Potosí]]* [[Tehuantepec]]* [[Toluca]]* [[Tuxtla]]* [[Xalapa (City)|Xalapa]] == Hitchability ==Peculiarity of Mexican hitchhiking are the ubiquitous pick-up trucks where you just jump in the back, hold onto your hat, kiss the wind and forget about communicating with the driver. Many people will offer you food and drinks, especially Coca Cola! On routes with poor public transportation, payment is sometimes expected and ordinary pickups magically turn into ''collectivos '' (shared taxis).
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.
=== 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 = Where to hitchhike? === Mexican license plates are very easy to interpret: The name of You can hitchhike pretty much everywhere, even on the issuing federal state is written highway (although pretty much no one stops at such high speeds). In general, asking at gas stations (''gasolinera'') or even traffic lights (''semáforo''), especially on them (as bus stops and the like, can get you will far pretty easily notice once . Sometimes it is better to be among the cars, in the traffic lights, and directly ask rides from people who have open windows. Sometimes you can just jump in the country)back of a pick-up without even telling where you are going and just tap in the window when you want to get off. When travelling longer distances Other good places include exits from shopping centers, in truck stops or at the restaurants where truckers eat. Some petrol stations in central Mexico the north don't allow people to do that, but you can try to speak with its many small states it the manager. It works sometimes. Otherwise, just stay by the cashier of the petrol station or at the door (they can therefore be useful knowing which state your destination is in (if 't forbid you have onethat)and ask.
[[File:TortugasTope-mexico.jpg|right200px|thumb|300pxleft|New born turtles in the coast of Mexico, walking towards the ocean.Hitching at a tope (speedbump)]]
== Precautions Safety ==It is even less recommendable than in other countries to take drugs or weapons with you, especially as of 2010 since the Mexican government, backed by the US ADA DEA who are actually present in Mexico (!!) have decided to crack down on narco and weapon trafficking. Therefore you likely will be checked at one of the numerous check points, especially in the north as you near the US border. But it's also good to know that the soldiers hardly ever search all the way through a large back-pack, unless you answer their questions really bad. If the vehicle you're riding in does get stopped just stay calm, show your passport, say the magic words "''turista''" ("tourist") and "''de paseo nada más''" ("just passing"), and if they ask to see your stuff open you bag and show them that it's all clothes and stuff.
Also, in the south, your drivers might ask you about your immigration status and advise you of immigration check points.
One of the great things of hitchhiking in Mexico is that even if you travel alone, you rarely have to hitch-hike alone, because hitchhiking is such a common activity among locals - joining locals hitching will not only add to the fun, but also your safety. This is especially handy as in certain areas - like in the North, around [[Chihuahua (City)|Chihuahua]] - men might take you for a prostitute (even if you have a large bag and totally look like a foreigner).
== MapPersonal experiences ==<gallery style="float:right; width:200px; margin-left:25px;">The Guia Roji road atlas Image:Katja and Augustas in Mexico.JPG|Hitchhikers [[Katja and Augustas]] barely fit with all their stuff in the maps front of the major cities this pickup.Image:Katja hitchhiking in Mexico.JPG|[[Katja and Augustas|Katja]] is ready to get a ride! Image:Katja on a pickup in Mexico.JPG|A usual ride on a back of a pickup.Image:Augustas is maybe worth the 100 Pesos, but people tend helping to know push the roads so if you ask lots truck in Mexico.JPG|Sometimes hitchhikers can be of questions you can also get around without onehelp to a driver - here [[Lithuania]]n hitchhiker [[Katja and Augustas|Augustas]] helping to push a truck somewhere in Mexico. == Personal experience ==</gallery>
:''It may be extremely easy to hitch in mainland Mexico, but in the Baja California peninsula, it's a completely different story! In [[Baja California]], there is only one road, the HWY 1, which isn't hell to hitchhike on but requires a lot of patience: there are often large distances in between cities (which are barely even cities, rather a few ranches and cactus farms) and even larger distances between petrol stations (example: El Rosario is the last one before Guerrero Negro, about 360 km further down in [[Baja California Sur]]). Getting stuck in the middle of the desert is NOT fun, and many people can only take you from town to town as it is local traffic or gringos doing one of the many races down in the Baja. Also, unless you are planning on staying in Baja and going back up towards the USA-Mexico border, you should hitchhike from [[Mexicali]] south. If you plan on heading to mainland Mexico from the Baja, you must take a ferry in either [[La Paz (Baja California Sur)|La Paz]] or [[Cabo San Lucas]] towards [[Mazatlán]], which costs about 80$ USD."
:''In 10 months and tens of thousands of km covered by thumb, my only "bad" experience was between Pto. Angel and [[Oaxaca (City)|Oaxaca City]] (a notorious drug route, as I later learned). The driver asked me to drive and once I was behind the wheel informed me that the van was full of Colombia's finest. I nearly shat myself, but the experience turned out to be quite interesting, as we were forced to make several detours to avoid police checkpoints, taking me through beautiful and remote parts of the [[Oaxaca|Oaxacan]] mountains I otherwise never would have discovered. Be careful not to get set up. A very, very, rare occurance, but one that can happen.''
:''I traveled for 8 months in Mexico, all by thumb. I came down Baja California, hitched a sailboat from La Paz to Mazatlán, steamed over to [[Veracruz (City)|Veracruz]] for the carnival, went up and around the Yucatán, then down into [[Chiapas]], Guatemala, and then back to Veracruz, across to all the big central cities, and down the Pacific coast to Oaxaca and Guatemala once more. I got picked up by plenty of self-proclaimed drug dealers. Whatever. Lovely country. --[[User:Chael777|Chael777]]''
:''The small less trafficky roads, in the mountains and in Chiapas for instance, can test your patience. If you are coming from south (Guatemala) people might be afraid to pick you up because there are so many checkpoints. Even the ones who do stop ask if you have problems with authorities, if you are smuggling drugs or if you have a passport."--[[User:Astikain|Astikain]] ([[User talk:Astikain|talk]]) 15:59, 4 June 2013 (CEST)
"I hitchhiked for two months through the mainland and had a great experience. People are very friendly and willing to help. The biggest thing is getting outside the city. The good thing about the big highways is you are more likely to get a long ride, the bad thing it can be rough to have someone pull over. The small villages are easier to get rides but tend to be short."-Jason == Cities Useful resources ==* [[File:Tortugas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|New born turtles in the coast of Mexico City, walking towards the ocean.]] (capital)* [[Oaxaca (City)|Oaxaca]]* [[Poza Rica]]=== Map===* [[Acapulco]]* [[Guadalajara]]* [[San Cristóbal]] de las CasasThe Guia Roji road atlas with the maps of the major cities is maybe worth the 100 Pesos, but people tend to know the roads so if you ask lots of questions you can also get around without one.
== Gallery = Shelter ===<gallery>Image:Katja and Augustas in Mexico.JPG|Hitchhikers [[Katja and Augustas]] barely fit with all their stuff in the front of this pickup.Image:Katja hitchhiking in Mexico.JPG|[[Katja and Augustas|Katja]] is ready to get a ride! Image:Katja on a pickup in Mexico.JPG|A usual ride on a back of a pickup.Image:Augustas is helping to push the truck in Mexico.JPG|Sometimes hitchhikers can be of help to a driver - here [[Lithuania]]n hitchhiker [[Katja and Augustas|Augustas]] helping to push a truck somewhere in Mexico.</gallery>{{nomadwiki}}
=== Links ===
* For general info about moneyless travels in Mexico, see [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iqhpdy67vceKm6LBTsYQFU_wulqCb7Q-dPRooZxuU0U/mobilebasic?pli=1 this] handy document.
[[es:México]]
[[fr:Mexique]]
[[trashru:MexicoМексика]]
