Confused.com's Owe Carter doesn't seem to be willing to let go of his recent adventure and return to reality.
I may have mentioned that I recently returned from a superfunhappy trip to New Zealand. I don’t think that I mentioned that my favoured mode of transport was hitch-hiking.
Now, I think hitching is ace. It’s a great way to meet people – specifically locals – and learn things that you might not otherwise by taking a bus or gaggling with other ‘travellers’. Obviously I wouldn’t recommend it in all locations, but there are plenty of parts of the world which are still basically safe.
And it’s easy to forget that the vast majority of people are a pretty decent bunch. No less than two of my lifts insisted on buying me an ice cream, and one let me hang out at his house and gave me cold beer before we embarked on the second leg of our journey. When I hitched there a few years ago, two of my lifts even offered me jobs!
If you fancy the notion of donning a pack and sticking out your thumb, I’ve got a few handy tips:
1. Make a sign
Give the driver some idea of where you’re going. Then they can make a judgement as to whether their destination will help you along your way; and if you’re lucky, they may be heading all the way there. It’s not a bad idea to break long journeys into several signs. Having a sign to a random location three-hundred miles away may be more of a hinderance than a help.
Speaking of which…
1a. Don’t use red poster paint on your sign
It looks like the blood of your last victim. Something I only realised when my sign had dried.
Looks like blood. I promise it's not.
2. Keep your backpack visible
Drivers tend to be more receptive if they know you’re travelling, and can be suspicious of those without luggage. So keep your pack nice and visible when you’re at the side of the road.
3. Be polite!
Just like your lift, manners cost nothing. And try your best not to fall asleep, or at least ok it with your driver before you do. They’ve most likely picked you up for the company, after all.
4. Don’t be afraid to say no
If you get a bad feeling from someone who stops, you’re not obliged to get in.
5. Try and get your journey done before nightfall
People are understandably less likely to pick you up after dark. So try not to be over-ambitious with the length of your journey, and do a bit of research before a trip to make sure there’s somewhere to stay en route.
6. Take out insurance
You probably saw this one coming. Not in the least because the word ‘insurance’ is in the blog title. But what I will say is that it’s well worth looking into policies tailored specifically for backpackers. One of the principal advantages of these types of policies over standard annual cover is that, in the case of the latter, trips will usually be limited to a set amount of consecutive days (31 more often than not). So, if you run over your month allowance, you won’t be covered. Not so with backpacker insurance.
In addition, as this type of insurance is basically custom made for the type of activities you’re indulging in, you’re likely to get much less of a headache in the event of a claim. So you may find it easier to claim for stuff going missing in transit and so on.
To find out more about the cover offered, select ‘I don’t meet the assumptions but I still want a quote’ on the first travel insurance quote page, and you’ll be told which insurance providers we currently go to who offer backpacker insurance and extended cover.
What do you think about hitch-hiking?
I know a lot of people think it’s a terrible idea. When I was making a sign in a café, a customer took it upon herself to tell me that she’d never pick up a hitcher. I asked why, and she said she’d be afraid that they’d be a freak. She did back peddle a little and claimed she didn’t think for a moment that I was a freak, but I took the point.
Have you ever been hitching? Do you think it’s too dangerous? Have you ever had a dodgy hitch-hiking experience? Or, indeed, a wonderful one? Maybe you've got a brilliant tip that you think I've missed? Whatever your views on hitching, I’d love to hear them. So don’t be shy… Leave your comments below.
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