Hitchhiking in Europe is fun. There are many small countries to enjoy hitching through, motorways in the Western parts can be exceptionally good, and overall hitchhiking is safe.
Some countries such as Germany are quite easy to hitch around, for example, for the large distances in a single lift, or with the possibility to go really fast (especially where driving speed is not limited). Most countries are at the average or rather easy hitchability level, e.g. the Netherlands, Belgium and East European countries. Some other countries are considered bad for the long waiting times (like Spain and Italy) but even there you might get a ride if you are patient enough.
Note: In France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland and Italy trucks are not allowed to use motorways on Sundays and on public holidays. In Germany this is also the case on the first Saturday of the school summer vacations, meaning the trucks will not drive for almost 48 hours! (Any other countries?) However, these restrictions do not apply to those granted an exception, such as trucks transporting perishable goods and fuel supplies.
For crossing the borders have a look at the Schengen Agreement. With a Schengen visa you can travel within a bunch of European countries.
When hitching longer distances it's generally good to stick to petrol stations on the motorway. People there go long distances and it's not uncommon to find rides of 500 km and longer.
Maps
It is more convenient to take a map on your trip but if you don't do so it is no big deal - some people actually prefer to get a feeling of lost nomads and to trust their own senses. For Western Europe the Marco Polo Euro Atlas is a great hitchhikers's choice: It contains a detailed information about petrol stations situated on motorways, and excludes less useful for hitch-hiking trips stuff like the index pages or city maps. For online usage:
- hitchmap.com - based on OpenStreetMap
- viamichelin.com
- Map24.com - very good Java-Maps and routing
- OpenStreetMap.org - free alternative
The app stores have great offline map apps for free or about 1 dollar.
Main European Motorways
See European roads
Tips for each country
The United Nations Statistics Division defines Europe as following:
Northern Europe
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Sweden
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Autonomic Islands or Regions
Western Europe
- Austria
- Belgium
- File:Flag of France.svg France
- 30px Germany
- 30px Liechtenstein
- 30px Luxembourg
- 30px Monaco
- 30px Netherlands
- 30px Switzerland
Eastern Europe
- File:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus
- 30px Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary
- 30px Republic of Moldova
- 30px Poland
- 30px Romania
- 30px Russian Federation
- File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia
- 30px Ukraine
Southern Europe
- 30px Albania
- File:Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece
- 30px Italy
- 30px Kosovo
- 30px Macedonia
- File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta
- Montenegro
- 30px Portugal
- File:Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino
- 30px Serbia
- File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia
- 30px Spain
- 30px Turkey
- 30px Cyprus