Tips for hitch-hiking in developing countries

Useful information about hitch-hiking in developing countries. These advices we wrote down from our own hitchhiking experience in Latin America and Africa.

1. Avoid signs with your destination on it. That way you can talk yourself out of a ride from the beginning if you do not like a driver.
2. Listen to your intuition. If you have a slightly uncomfortable feeling in the stomach about the driver, or any other sign which tells you to refuse, do not get into the car.
3. Avoid hitchhiking by night, unless you have got the ride before darkness falls. In few cases you might feel good hitchhiking at night, but if doing so, always consider where and at what time approx. you will be left out of the car. Depending on the place and time of the night, take your decision.
4. When stopping a car, avoid telling your destination. Better play stupid with ignoring the drivers question and asking him repeatedly where he is going. It is another way to be save from the very beginning.
5. Always have a map with you for knowing exactly where the driver goes.
6. If you disagree about the safety of a ride, do not go for it. It always has a reason why one of you feels negative. Take that serious, since it is for your own safety.
7. If you hitchhike, always pay attention to the drivers eyes. If you notice (happens very often with truck drivers) that the eyes are sleepy, be very attentive. Ask a lot of questions (well selected questions which require a longer answer than yes or no), which will force the driver to talk and thus stay awake. Give him food, water, propose a break. If you feel a too high risk of that the driver will fall asleep anyway, propose to stop and have a rest for several hours. While driver sleeps, you can rest in your tent. Often driver feels responsible for having taken you and thinks he has to drive as far as possible to help you. Make him understand, “Better late than never” is your way of travelling.