A12 (Netherlands)

The A12 is a highway in the Netherlands, going from Den Haag in the west till Beek in the east of the country.

It passes the cities of Den Haag, Zoetermeer, Gouda, Utrecht, Ede, Arnhem and Zevenaar. At the border the A12 connects to the German A3.

Some part of the A12 belongs to the European road E30.

<map lat='52.02' lng='5.23' zoom='9' view='0' country='Netherlands' width='800' height='180'/>

Hitching the A 12

Legend:  (very good) |  (good) |  (average) |  (bad) |  (senseless)

Beginning of the motorway. The motorway starts next to the Park Malieveld at the end of the road Boslaan. Just before the road splits (A12 goes off to the left in the tunnel) there is a Boslaan bus stop. This bus stop is an official hitch-hiking spot (although the blue thumb sign has been covered in various stickers). Lnx tried to hitch from there to Hilversum (via Utrecht) in April 2008 - it took about 30 minutes to leave this first spot.	(1)
	(2) Den Haag-Centrum
It is easy to stop cars going east at the cycling lane in front of the traffic lights.	(3) Den Haag (good)
	(4) Voorburg
	Knooppunt Prins Clausplein A 4
	(5) Nootdorp
		service station Knorrestein
	(6) Zoetermeer-Centrum
(average)	(7) Zoetermeer
	(8) Bleiswijk
	(9) Zevenhuizen
	(10) Waddinxveen
	Knooppunt Gouwe A 20
(good)	(11) Gouda	(good)
service station De Andel
	(12) Reeuwijk
		service station Bodegraven
	(12a) Bodegraven
	(13) Nieuwerbrug
	(14) Woerden
service station Bijleveld (good) Towards Eindhoven this one seems to be a bit less effective, since most drivers from Den Haag and Rotterdam seem to drive towards Eindhoven over Dordrecht and Breda.		service station Hellevliet
	(15) De Meern
	Knooppunt Oudenrijn A 2
	(16) Nieuwegein
	(17) Kanaleneiland	(good) There is a sign "forbidden for pedestrians" short before the ramp, which you have to ignore. It is also possible to hitchhike on the bus stop next to the tram stop Kanaleneiland.
	(18) Utrecht-Oost	(good) for going west to Den Haag, Rotterdam, Leiden and Gouda. You can only reach this spot easily by hitchhiking. There is a huge roundabout / traffic square connecting to the motorway. Just behind the traffic lights on the on ramp there is good space to stop a car, so use a sign with one of the mentioned cities.
	Knooppunt Lunetten A 27
service station De Forten There is a bus stop on 10 minutes walk away (bus going to Bunnik, and this service area can be reached in 20 minutes from Utrecht city center by bus and walking.
	(19) Bunnik
(good) There is enough traffic and easy stopping.	(20) Driebergen	To the west there is no space besides the ramp to stop easily.
	(21) Maarn
	(22) Maarsbergen
service station Bloemheuvel		service station Oudenhorst
	(23) Veenendaal-West
	(23a) Veenendaal
	Knooppunt Maanderbroek A 30
	(24) Ede-Zuid
service station Buulderkamp		t Ginkelse Zand. Infamous cruising spot
	(25) Oosterbeek
	Knooppunt Grijsoord A 50
		service station De Schaars (good) This petrol station is located only in direction Den Haag. Quite busy, directly between two highway junctions. Enough space at the end of the parking area to stand and stop cars. Get out here if you want to go south towards Eindhoven. This is a busy petrol station. It is possible to get nearby from Arnhem by public transport, then walk to it by the side of the motorway and forest. However, there is a high fence around which is impossible to climb. In the end of 2007 there was a hole in the fence however. To be sure, you may have to take a tool for cutting away one line of barbed wire. This will grant access to this service area ;). From here it is easy to go to all cities in the west of the Netherlands, and it is one of the best places in the east of the Netherlands to find a ride to Brabant or Limburg.
	Knooppunt Waterberg A 50
	(26) Arnhem-Noord	(average) This ramp is combined with junction Waterberg. Cars cannot stop on the ramp to the west, but it is quite easy to get a ride from the traffic lights, and every car can take you to the next great petrol station. Here you can go north towards Apeldoorn along the A50.
	(27) Velperbroek A 348
	(27) Westervoort
	(28) Duiven
service station Oudbroeken
	(29) Zevenaar
	Knooppunt Oud-Dijk A 18
	(30) Beek
service station Bergh Zuid (senseless) Very few cars stop here, and the adjacent on-ramp is seldom used. You are better off using the rest stop 400m down the highway. Although it is also pretty empty, the entry lane is very long and is a good spot to hail passing cars directly off the highway. It is easily accessible via a dirt road running through the farmland behind.		service station Bergh Noord
	border crossing * connection to the German A 3

Dutch motorways

A 1 • A 2 • A 4 • A 5 • A 6 • A 7 • A 8 • A 9 • A 10 • A 12 • A 13 • A 15 • A 16 • A 17 • A 18 • A 20 • A 22 • A 24 • A 27 • A 28 • A 29 • A 30 • A 31 • A 32 • A 35 • A 37 • A 38 • A 44 • A 50 • A 58 • A 59 • A 65 • A 67 • A 73 • A 74 • A 76 • A 77 • A 79