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Because of the bad condition of public transport, hitchhiking in private cars seems to be the most secure transport option. Arrange a ride via hitchhiking in the south of Malawi seems to be easy, in the north the distances between the citys are bigger and there is not so much traffic. Consider the common [[hitchhiker's safety|safety]] rules while hitchhiking. When [http://hitchwiki.org/en/User:Sieve Sieve] hitchhiked Malawi in 2013 he had no big problems. People are friendly and will stop for you, either though in more rural areas it really can take a while until a car actually passes by that is not public transport. People often expect you to pay for the lift, usually they try to get more out of you than it would be usual for locals because there's the stereotype white = rich (and the fact you made it to Malawi probably proves it right compared to the living standard the local population enjoys) and people often think that you have no idea what you're doing and that you're kind of stranded but you can negotiate them down to public transport prices easily if you're hitching ethics allow you to pay for lifts (what my ethics do in Africa!). Hitching for free is also possible, and anyway if you only stop cars that are clearly private vehicles 50-60% of the drivers don't want any contribution. Especially on the main north-south route along Lake Malawi you have many foreigners (tourists, expats, lodge owners, investors, NGO workers etc.) that often will pick you up. If not, opt for the fancier cars, like 4x4's and definitely only hitch and don't even indicate that you want transport if you have the slightest suspicion that the car that's passing you functions as a public transport vehicle, which often is the case with sedan cars as well. However, you will probably learn how to differentiate public transport cars from private cars after a while. A hassle I experienced were the pick up trucks that function as public transport. They are moving slow and will stop for you to pick you up. When you deny, whatever explanation you use, you often will overtake them again with the ride you get a few minutes later and the same pick up will see you again at another spot on the road. It happened to me up to four times with the same pickup that I overtook it and later it overtook me again when I was waiting for a lift. However, the conductors in this pick ups, latest at the 2nd or 3rd time don't find it funny and will curse and shout at you, for me somehow understandable, i would feel tricked as well if I'd see the same Muzungu standing on the side of the street every 10km, too. Beside shouting nothing will happen, Malawi is a very safe and good country to travel.