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
- File:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
- 30px Estonia
- 30px Finland
- File:Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland
- File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
- 30px Latvia
- File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania
- Norway
- 30px Sweden
- 30px United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Autonomic Islands or Regions
- 30px Åland Islands
- Channel Islands
- File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Faroe Islands
- Isle of Man
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Western Europe
- 30px Austria
- 30px Belgium
- File:Flag of France.svg France
- 30px Germany
- File:Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Liechtenstein
- File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg
- Monaco
- 30px Netherlands
- Switzerland
Eastern Europe
- 30px Belarus
- File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- 30px Hungary
- 30px Republic of Moldova
- 30px Poland
- File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania
- 30px Russian Federation
- 30px Slovakia
- File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
Southern Europe
- 30px Albania
- 30px Andorra
- File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 30px Croatia
- File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece
- 30px Italy
- Kosovo
- Macedonia
- File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta
- File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro
- Portugal
- File:Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino
- 30px Serbia
- File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia
- 30px Spain
- 30px Turkey
- File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus