Results for "Bagnoles+|+127+>+345"

salam!

Je projete avec trois amies de passer trois semaines au Maroc en Juillet. Quel trajet nous conseillez-vous ? Quels sont les sites incontournables ? Quel budget prévoir sachant que nous sommes étudiantes (et pas très riches il faut le reconnaitre). Comment faire pour établir le contact avec les marocains sans passer pour des touristes-club Med ou touristes-pigeons ? Si on veut faire une excursion dans le désert, comment procéder, où aller et combien ça coute ? Est-on en sécurité au maroc en voyageant à 4 filles ? Des conseils pour bien préparer notre voyage de manière générale ? Oui je bombarde de questions, je suis désolée mais j'ai vraiment envie de vivre notre séjour à fond. Je veux depuis longtemps découvrir ce splendide pays et en profiter un maximum en découvrant aussi ses traditions, sa population, ...

Merci de votre aide qui me sera très précieuse! Chroukrane (c'est bien ça ?)

Bonjour 🙂, je vais pour 5 mois en Australie à compter du mois de Mars et je voulais commencer par m'établir environ 3 mois dans une ou deux villes pour y travailler, profiter de l'océan et me ramasser un peu d'argent de plus avant de partir faire le road trip de l'Australie. Comme le froid commence à gagner le sud j'optais plutôt pour le Nord. J'avais tout d'abord songé à Brisbane mais supposément la plage est loin( mon but n'étant pas de faire juste de la plage mais les attraits des activités nautiques et de la nature sont très attrayants). Bon ma question est la suivante: Quelles petites-moyennes villes proposez-vous pour y rester un bout de temps pour travailler et profiter de l'ambiance australienne? ou est-ce trop difficile de se trouver un emploi et je serais mieux de rester dans les grands centres comme Brisbane?

merci de me faire profiter de vos expériences!

Andrew 😉

Bonjour à tous,

Je pars en Thailande du 14 au 31 janvier. J'ai entendu dire que cette ile n'était plus aussi belle qu'avant depuis le Tsunami....y a t'il des endroits sympas ou nous puissions dormir ou cela ne vaut peut etre pas le coup d'y passer? J'attends vos réponses avec impatience. Merci. Wendy

devant me rendre a djibouti, et vu le prix des vols secs, je suis sur le point de prendre un sejour UCPA sur le yemen. mon idee partir qqs semaines avant la date du trek au yemen et me rendre de saana a djibouti par bus/bateau puis revenir pour le trek. des commentaires sur le trajet saana/ djibouti ? notamment la duree, eventuellement les difficultes du trajet ? sur l'ucpa en particulier ? le planning serait 15 jan - 4 fev djibouti, 5 - 17 fev circuit yemen sur la premiere periode, on aimerait faire une escapade en ethiopie (vers le nord, gondar ...) : y'a t'il des circuits qui partent de djibouti ou vaut il mieux aller vers addis ? est il facile d'y trouver 4x4 et guide, y'a t'il bcp de voyageurs pour eventuellement monter un groupe ? je lis des tarifs de l'ordre de 100 dollars par jour : ca me semble beaucoup. ceux sont reellement les tarifs ?

merci a tous ceux qui apporteront qqs elements de reponse ! et bonne route a tous 😉

PS: si des personnes se trouvent dans la region a la meme periode et pourraient etre interesses, notamment pour l'ethiopie, welcome !!!!

Re-bonjour à tous, une fois n'est pas coutume, je me permets de naïvement vous solliciter pour un voyage avec Pédalette. J'ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à lire les performances (cf. mon post "combien de kilomètres par jour?) des uns et des autres; et finallement, me situant dans la moyenne du nombre de kil/jour, me voilà plus que rassurée... sauf que... sauf que... sauf que j'avais prévu avec Môssieur mon n'amoureux un petit périple Rouen/Le Havre à pédalette en suivant les méandres de la Seine. Môssieur travaille beaucoup donc il faut revoir le projet sans compter sur l'Homme 😕... tatatatatatttttaaaaaaaaaaa (MUSIK!!!!): 1- Moi et Pédalette souhaitons arriver au Luxembourg parce que not' cousine vit là-bas et que ça fait un bail qu'on l'a pas vu (la cousine...). 2- On veut z'y aller à vélo. 3- Entre prendre un train Paris/ Amsterdam et rejoindre Luxembourg à Pédalette; 4- Prendre un Paris/Francfort en train et rejoindre Lux. avec ma pédalette; OU 5- Prendre un Paris/Varsovie en train et rejoindre Lux... en vélo... Que me conseillez vous, sachant que je recherche AUSSI le côté un peu "endurance" à vélo vu que: Luxembourg, je connais, A'dam, je connais... blabla... Par contre, Bruxelles et l'Allemagne Est sont pour moi des inconnus... Je précise aussi que le prix du billet de train n'est pas un facteur décisif (je suis allée sur l'île de Paques sans un radis...) et que... je dispose de 4 semaines MAXIMUM entre mi-septembre et mi-octobre 2006(facteur intangible, malheureusement).

J'emmène donc Pédalette, un réchaud, de la bouffe préparée pour le cyclo-pédalage (sous-entendu: petits sachets de repas maison à faire réchauffer, genre "manger" qui fait du bien 🙂), mes tente, matelas, duvet, oreiller... grosso modo! QUID de vos préférences en terme de parcours? Pour le matos, j'ai du bas de gamme; pas les thunes pour dépenser plus mais l'envie de faire mes 1ères armes malgré tout... donc ce sera du DKT, du vieux voleur et un peu de GoSpo..!! Si je gère bien, Môssieur m'offrira un bô vélo de randô 😊!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (oooouuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisss!!!!)

Autre question; Où puis-je trouver des infos sur les routes praticables pour Pédalette (angoissée du guidon... autant que moi!!!) soit en Allemagne soit en Belgique? J'ai cherché sur le site mais pour un 1er voyage seule avec Pédalette (parce que sans, j'ai déjà fait des milliards de parcours), j'aimerais juste un peu de rassurantes précisions... Et comment faire pour pioncer la nuit, sachant que ma môman a réussi à transmettre à Môssieur mon homme ses angoisses de kidnapping 🤪??????!!!!!!!!!!!?????? Bref... par où je passe et où je dors, telles sont mes premières questions!!!!!!!!!! Laissez vous aller à la complète subjectivité: je ferais le tri de mes propres ressentis!!! Je suis motivée; 'reste plus qu'à trouver la route la plus sympa 😛 MERKI A VOUS TOUS!!!!!!!!!!

Bonjour,

Nous serons en guyane tout le mois d'aout avec nos deux enfants de 6 et 9 ans. Les vaccins sont faits (y compris tiphoide, hepatite), le traitement anti palu est prescrit. Les billets d'avion sont achetes et 3 semaines sont reservees en gite ( du coté de Roura et mana) reste une semaine... Nous hesitons à prendre l'avion pour Saül: est ce raisonnable avec les enfants? Pouvons nous nous y balader en sécurité (chemins balisés?) faut-il prendre un guide?

Autre question: aller au Brésil? est ce intezressant ou suffit il d(y passer faire qq courses? Et le Surinam?

faut il acheter nos hamacs et moustiquaires en metropole ou en guyane? Quel est le meilleur repulsif moustique? Ou louer une voiture à prix interessant,

Je suis preneuse de toutes vos infos sur un voyage en guyane avec enfants( à faire, à ne pas faire à voir ou non etc...)

Merci beaucoup

Bonjour, j ai 18 ans et je voudrais partir en allemagne faire les tour de l allemagne . Partir de Ieper en belgique passer par bruges apres Pays bas puis, Allemagne nord est et descendre jusque en baviere et enfin Autriche pour rentrer par Italie Pyrenné... Voila, j aimerai parler à des gens qui ont deja roulé en Allemagne et de me parler de leur experience et me montrer des fotos... En velo de course je fais du 250 km à la journée en combien de temps pourrais je faire ce periple . Je n ai pas encore personne qui veut se lancer dans ce genre de voyage lol, on nous prend pour des fous lol, il y a des gens de mon age ici ? Je donne mon msn : sepieter@msn.com, et s il vous plait ecrivez egalement votre experience pour ceux qui l aurait fais Encore merci

Promenade en Taxi

J’aimerais entendre vos mauvaises et bonne aventure avec des chauffeurs de Taxi dans le monde.

Allez défoulez – vous ! Moi j’ai trop d’histoire d’horreur !

Bonjour,

Je suis allé en voiture en Chine depuis la France en 1996. A l'époque, il fallait payer 45 000 FF pour entrer en Chine avec son véhicule personnel. Nous l'avions donc laissé à la frontière...

Je souhaite retourner en Chine cet été. Savez-vous s'il faut toujours payer une taxe exorbitante pour entrer en Chine avec sa voiture personnelle, ou si c'est plus ouvert ?

Merci d'avance

Bonjour à tous ! Dans un mois, je sors de chez moi et ne compte pas revenir avant au moins trois mois équipé d'une tente, sac de couchage, sac à dos et 2000€ d'économie.

Je vais commencer par la Grande Bretagne en visitant surtout l'Ecosse au début. Jusque là, je n'ai pas de problème, j'ai un oncle qui fait des allers-retours tous les jours vers Londres depuis l'Hexagone.

Là où ça devient plus délicat, c'est sur la Grande Europe, je compte visiter l'Italie, la Grèce, la Slovénie, la Tchéquie, la Slovaquie, l'Allemagne, les Pays Bas la Belgique (et peut-être d'autres pays Européens, selon les opportunités !)

Je compte traverser ces pays en stop, la pancarte brandie aux péages et aires d'autoroutes. Après avoir fait quelques recherches sur le forum, j'ai pu (cru ?) comprendre que le stop se fait aisément en Grèce, en Italie, en Allemagne et en Slovaquie. Mais qu'en est-il pour les autres pays? Quels sont les meilleurs plans pour se déplacer dans ces lieux, sinon?

Il faudra bien que je fasse ma toilette et le camping ne sera pas forcément simple lors des visites de grandes villes. Auriez-vous des adresses pas chères dans les pays cités?

Voilà, je sais que je donne l'air de partir sans rien savoir mais je me vois des vacances un peu cheap et très nature.

Merci d'avance ! ^^

Je cherche des infos sur l’état de la piste entre Regane et Gao, y a t’il des problèmes de sécurité ou autre. Je compte passer par là ( en fourgon Mercedes) cet été, pour aller au Mali. Si des personnes sont intéréssé, bienvenue 😎

Bonjour, 😉😉je vous sollicite pour des nouveaux conseils : je suis une femme et je pars avec un collègue masculin pour 15 jours de vélo en Turquie. J'aimerais savoir par rapport à la religion musulmane comment la femme en vélo est perçue et ce qu'il convient de faire ou de ne pas faire🤪. Pour les fois où nous serions éventuellement hébergés chez l'habitant, pensez-vous que je pourrais manger avec mon collègue ou serais-je uniquement avec les femmes ? Dois-je porter un foulard ou pas ? dans la journée j'aurai mon casque, mais c'est surtout pour après. Notre itinéraire part d'Ankara et rejoint la côte sud entre Antalya et Adana via Konya. Merci pour tous vos conseils afin de m'intégrer le plus respectueusement possible dans le pays. JB

Salut à tous les voyageforumeurs! je prévois un voyage de 3 semaines au Yémen en sep-oct... quelques questions restent sans réponses 1/ agence locale ou francaise? 2/ je rêve d'aller sur l'île de Socotra, avez vous visité cette île? Connaissez vous une agence qui propose à la fois un tour au Yémen et une escapade sur cette île?

Merci à tous pour votre précieuse aide... holylola

Bonjour !🙂

Je viens de m'inscrire après avoir longtemps cherché un forum sur les voyages aux USA, celui-ci me semble parfait !

Alors voilà, j'ai pris la ferme décision de partir 3 ou 4 semaines aux USA (sept-oct), pour la première fois. J'ai donc un grand besoin de vos conseils avisés... Comme je n'aime pas trop planifier mes voyages, voilà en gros ce que je compte faire: d'abord, je pars seul (j'aime ça), avion Paris=>Los Angeles, là je prends la voiture louée via Autoescape, je ne traîne pas à L.A. (m'en fous...), je pars directos vers le nord jusqu'à l'Oregon en longeant la côte. Puis plein Est, Idaho, Wyoming (?), puis plein sud, Utah, Colorado, si je peux tirer jusqu'au Kansas et Oklahoma, puis retour via Arizona, Nevada... J'ai un budget de 2500/3000€. La voiture sera la moins chère (Chevrolet Aveo). En faisant 300 ou 400 kms/j, ça me fait un circuit de 5 ou 6000 kms. Pour le logement : 50% campings, 25% motels pas chers, 25% dans la voiture ou dehors, à côté. Nourriture : bord de route, supermarchés (m'en fiche un peu...)

Ce que j'aime surtout, c'est l'Amérique "profonde" : le trip éoliennes grinçantes, motels paumés, stations essences abandonnées, avec Tom Waits et Woody Guthrie dans l'autoradio, etc... vous voyez l'genre quoi ! 😛 Je compte éviter les grandes villes et le shopping...

Alors bien-sûr, je me doute bien que je vais devoir passer par la case visa à Paris et tout le tralala. Tant pis. Je ne vous en parle pas...

Mais j'ai une question : est-ce que tout cela vous parait réalisable ? Au niveau budget, itinéraire, "esprit"... Est-ce que j'ai choisi les bons endroits pour trouver ce que je cherche ?

Je serais vraiment content de recueillir vos conseils et avis sur la question. Vraiment. Cette histoire de visa et de passeport biométrique me fait douter...😕

A bientôt !😎

Salut a tous je suis tout nouveau sur ce forum que je trouve vraiment pas mal du tout ! Alors voilà j’ai essayé de reprendre tous les topics deja ecrit pour voir si plusieurs ne repondaient pas a mes questions mais quelques unes restent en suspens ! Alors voilà je souhaite faire cet été un « petit » trajet(au vu de certains !!) qui consiste a rallier paris a toulon ! Pour le choix du trajet il m’est venu a l’idée d’emprunté l’itinairaire du paris nice qu’on emprunté les cyclistes professionnels en 2003! cela vous paraît il une bonne idée ?sachant qu’il passe par auxerre st etienne le pont du gard aix et toulon.(il existe le site du paris nice qui decrit plus precisément le trajet) et que je n’ai jamais vraiment fais de velo mais etant tres sportif(5a 10h par semaines!)et que je compte m’entrainer plus specifiquement d’ici le voyage. Pour ce qui est du trajet j’ai pu lire que passer par les grandes villes n’été pas recommandé donc je peux faire en sorte de les eviter, de meme que d’eviter les grands axes routiers !le paris nice n’emprunte que des departementals majoritairement cela devrait convenir ? Mais j’aimerais aussi savoir si il y des coins sympas par lesquels je ferais mieux de passer ?ou des curiosités touristiques pas loin de mon trajet (château, oppidum gallo romain, vielles villes, dolmen…)qui necessite de s’y intéresser ? Pour ce qui est du voyage en lui meme je me posais la question du lieu ou dormir, (j’ai lu que le camping sauvage été interdit par la loi)alors pour ce qui est des campings comment etre sur d’en trouver un ? y en a t’il partout ? je n’est jamais eu l’occasion d’essayé c’est pour ca que je pose la question ! Quel type de repas me conseillez vous ?des repas froid tout les jours ? ou investir dans un rechaud ?et si c’est le cas dans quel type ?les recharges se trouvent elles facilement ? Quel materiel indispensable dois je prendre outre la tente le sac de couchage le materiel de reparation ? Merci d’avance !😉

Bonjour,

Nous avons l'habitude de voyager en non organisé, c'est à dire: vol sec+location de voiture, hotels au gré. Qui a une réelle expérience sur le Brésil avec cette façon de voyager ? Est-ce possible? Merci et à bientôt

JE CHERCHE DES INFOS SUR LA ROUTE QUI MENE DE NOUAKCHOTT AU MAROC PAR VOITURE

J'ai trouvé ces quelques lignes sur internet et je veux les partager avec vous parce que je crois que c'est extrêmement important;

L’ouragan Wilma a provoqué de gros dégâts matériels mais une partie des responsabilités revient aussi à l’homme qui, dans la frénésie des profits immédiats, n’a pas toujours respecté l’écologie, l’environnement et la nature. Les mangroves, ces marais plantés de palétuviers où vivent les crocodiles, qui permettent d’absorber la puissance des ouragans, ont été les uns après les autres asséchés tout au long de la Riviera maya. La forêt dans l’arrière-pays a été massacrée. Il reste encore la barrière de corail qui a considérablement amorti la force des vagues, mais pour combien temps encore ? Les coraux se meurent avec la pollution des hôtels et des bateaux qui promènent les touristes. A Cancun, qui veut dire en maya, serpent doré, les promoteurs ont construit sur cette bande de terre très fragile les hôtels les plus luxueux, autour de la lagune Nichupté transformée en plan d’eau pour ski nautique. Faute de respecter les courants marins l’alimentant, la lagune est morte et de l’autre coté, les plages de rêve sont parties. Peut-être que l’homme a trop joué ici aux apprentis-sorciers. Wilma, le 21e ouragan de la saison, a vengé quelque part la nature outragée.

Il faut agir vite ! Ça ne coûte rien de changer quelques habitudes, si des millions de personnes dans le monde change un tout petit peu leur quotidien, ce sera un grand pas pour l'environnement. Un exemple : au travail, apporter vous une tasse pour votre café au lieu de prendre le verre de styrofoam à chaque jour, c'est si simple.

Merci d'avoir pris ces quelques minutes de réflexion

L année passé j ai fait une balade avec les guaranis sur le fleuve a Igazu malheureusement trop courte et je sais que l on peut faire des exursions de plusieurs jours mais je n ai pas trouvé les renseignements d 'ici.Je repars au mois de nov merci pour les conseils

Bonjour à tous, 😉

voilà, nous voudrions savoir combien on peut espérer de la revente d'une 505 break à Dakar ? Quelle différence entre essence et diesel à la revente ?

Merci pour le renseignement !

A tous, Bonjour

Je pars prochainement en Mauritanie, offrir un véhicule à un ami Mauritanien.

Concernant l'assurance auto pour descendre, comment fait-on ????

Mon assureur m'informe ce jour, qu'il n'assure seulement les tiers personnes accidentées, sauf les personnes dans mon véhicule, l'auto n'est pas assuré, et pas de possibilité de conduire à 2 chauffeurs!!!!!!!!

Peut-on me renseigner svp, Merci

Bonjour je m'appelle Marie-Eve et je voudrais partir pour le tour de l'europe en 2007-2008 en vélo ! je commence mes recherches sur le sujets auriex-vous des infos sur l'itinéraire, le choix de vélo, accessoires, etc. tout ce qui pourrais toucher ce voyage. Je pars seul ou accompagner et je ne sais pas ma date de retour. Merci d'avance🙂

Je projette un voyage en Ouzbekistan prochainement. Au gré de mes lectures, j'ai lu plusieurs articles sérieux concernant la présence de produits poluants dans les nappes phréatiques et dans l'alimentation ( fruits, légumes, lait .. ) en Ouzbekistan. J'aimerai avoir l'avis de personnes qui étaient sur place.

Merci.

Nous envisageons de louer un camping car (5 personnes dont 3 enfants) pour faire le tour des parcs de l'ouest à partir de LA. Quelqu'un aurait il des expériences, positives ou négatives, sur les différents loueurs? Que penser des loueurs en ligne tel campingCarOnLine?

merci d'avance pour vos expériences !

salut tout le monde! Nous devons partir avec un poteau pour un périple africain en camionnette au mois de janvier pour environ quatre mois. Nous prévoyons pour l'instant de faire le Maroc, la Mauritanie et le Mali, pour l'instant car nous percevons le voyage plus en terme de rencontre qu'en terme de projet arrêté... Nous ne nous inscrivons dans aucun projet à but humanitaire ou de développement mais plutôt dans une logique d'échange. Moi j'ai très peu voyagé, (à part depuis peu en Croatie, Slovénie Italie, toujours en camion), études obligent!! Mais maintenant que c'est fini, ça trace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nous sommes tous les deux éducateurs et nous pensons qu'avant de prétendre éduquer les personnes que l'on accompagne, il est important de s'enrichir de la richesse culturelle que porte notre Terre afin de poursuivre notre connaissance de l'Homme et de sa diversité... Bref, peut-être un voyage initiatique!!! Et pourquoi pas revenir avec un projet éducatif ou de développement, mais construit avec les personnes que nous rencontrerons.........

Si notre itinéraire n'est pas arrêté et se dessinera en fonction des rencontres que nous ferons, nous voulons être au clair avec toutes les procédures administratives d'entrée sur les territoires. Vu que nous n'avons pas de dates fixes, est-il possible de trouver les visas aux frontières? les assurances pour le véhicule? Et pour l' assurance rapatriement, à qui doit-on s'adresser?

Autre question:existe-t-il des cartes de cette zone, surtout la Mauritanie, tenant compte du contexte géopolitique, sachant qu'il y a un climat tendu dans certains coins, des pistes praticables ou non, des pistes à convois etc etc....

Si quelqu'un connaît qq sites internets ou qq bouquins ou qq expérience qui pourrait me renseigner, je le remercie d'avance..... Ciao

Hello everyone,

It’s something we often notice in this forum—and many others—this behavioral shift.

A long-time member, or even a new one, asks a question. They get one or more answers, some brief, some detailed, and then... nothing???

Not even a simple thank you!!!

From what I’ve gathered, if the answers don’t align with what they wanted to hear, it seems natural for the asker to just disappear!! 😕 Unless—(and I fear this is the case)—basic politeness is no longer part of our society????

Please forgive my little rant.

Wishing everyone all the best. Cheers,

Puma2A



...

“Hey, your Marker... - My Marker? - The one you used to make hitchhiking signs.”

The marker in question is sitting proudly on the kitchen table. Marielle found it at the bottom of a moving box.

I’ve been meaning to tell the long story of my love affair with hitchhiking for years. Here we go.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure when it started. My earliest memory goes back to a fair with a bike race in my maternal grandparents’ village. I was with my cousin, my little sister, and three girl cousins. There were six of us, ages ranging from six or seven to thirteen or fourteen. Our parents stayed at the fair, and we’d had enough. So we decided to walk home. Only it was four kilometers away. So we hitchhiked. A guy driving an old car picked us all up and dropped us off at the farm. He probably found it amusing to see us thumbing a ride by the side of the road, but maybe it also worried him a bit. With everything you read in the papers...

Around fifteen or sixteen, I started hitchhiking regularly, alone or with a friend, to go to the nearby town. But it was especially when I started boarding school in Orléans that it became more regular. The first year, I’d leave Monday morning and come back Saturday noon by bus. It was an old, uncomfortable bus where we froze in winter. To make matters worse, I often got motion sickness if, as was too often the case, I ended up sitting in the back. In the spring, a high school friend suggested I hitchhike back. It meant a slight detour, but the advantage was taking only national roads.

So that’s how, from the end of tenth grade to twelfth grade, I’d thumb a ride every Saturday on the Pont de Bourgogne. Drivers were used to seeing young people hitchhiking, and it worked pretty well. Our biggest fear? Soldiers! At that time, military service was still mandatory, and on weekends, it wasn’t rare to see them competing with us. They’d keep their uniforms on to go home. That gave people confidence—with everything you read in the papers—and they’d rarely wait more than five minutes. We, with our long hair, were definitely less popular. From time to time, three big red-faced guys in a van coming back from a construction site would flip us off, yelling things like “go get a haircut, you bums!” Those were the good old days.

We still had a good laugh, though. Patrice, the friend I’d hitchhike back from school with on Saturdays, is a musician—I’d later discover he’s an excellent composer. A die-hard Beatles fan, he knows their repertoire by heart and spends his time singing at the top of his lungs while we thumb a ride. One Saturday late morning, we’d been waiting for a while at the exit of Châteauneuf-sur-Loire when a little lady came up to him and asked if he could please sing a little quieter: a baby was sleeping in the house. He put on the most sorry face: “Oh, sorry ma’am, we didn’t realize.” No sooner had the lady gone back inside than he started again. Luckily, a car stopped just then, sparing me the embarrassment of seeing the lady come back out.

Saturday was also the day when the cigarette pack was dangerously low. So before leaving, we’d go buy some “Parisiennes,” the “P4s” as we called them back then. They were slightly thinner cigarettes with a mix of tobacco scraps. Sometimes they tasted like light tobacco, sometimes like dark. Not great, but by the end of the week, our pocket money was gone. They were sold in small packs of four, hence the name P4. We’d only pay 20 centimes. On Saturdays, it was rare for the two of us to manage to scrape together 1.50 F to buy a whole pack of Gauloises...

The last twenty kilometers, I’d usually do alone, Patrice having reached his destination. From time to time, luck would smile on me: an acquaintance would just happen to pass by and stop. One January Saturday, at the exit of Gien, I ran into another guy from Argenton whom I knew a little. That day, the weather was nice, but the temperature was well below zero. It was around noon, and it was the off-peak hour. We were shivering, stamping our feet by the side of the road, when a Citroën “Tube” arrived: it was his father’s boss’s, a mason. They were both sitting in the front, but since they were obese, they had us climb onto the open back. Even though we huddled against the cab to shelter from the wind, the twenty kilometers felt very long, especially since we were only going sixty kilometers an hour. Our hands and cheeks were blue when we finally arrived.

The year I took my baccalaureate, a friend with a 2CV would take me Monday mornings with one or two others we’d pick up in nearby villages. We’d share the gas costs, but it was still cheaper than the bus. And in winter, the bus was my nightmare. You had to get up at five to catch it at six. Not enough sleep, and outside it was freezing or raining—or both. The 2CV was luxury. Plus, Philippe would pick me up at home. On the other hand, since I didn’t have class Saturday mornings—well, I did, but we only had PE the first two hours and nothing after—I’d skip class and slip out right after breakfast to thumb a ride at the Pont de Bourgogne.

Those three high school years were formative in this optional subject that was hitchhiking. Little by little, I learned the rules of the game. First, you shouldn’t walk along the road while thumbing. Cars go too fast and can’t stop easily. Accepting a ride that’s too short is also a no-go. The guy who offers to take you a little way but drops you off at some vague crossroads in the middle of nowhere? No thanks. You need to get dropped off in a town. If it’s a fairly big city, you often have to cross it from one end to the other, but it’s better. At the exit, you have to choose your spot well. Actually, you have to put yourself in the driver’s shoes: they need to see you early enough, not be going too fast, and be able to stop easily without risking an accident. So when leaving a city, it’s better not to go too far. It’s wiser to find a spot where cars go slowly and can stop easily. And preferably near a café. The café is for when you still have a few coins for a coffee and need to warm up. From time to time, you’d run into someone nice who’d make a detour to drop you off at a better spot to start again. Finally, if possible, avoid hitchhiking on Sundays. Cars are packed with whole families who, most of the time, aren’t going far. And then there’s the little worry of those people who rarely leave home: with everything you read in the papers...

During those high school years, it was only short trips, rarely exceeding a hundred kilometers. Later, I aimed bigger, and things were a bit different. In 1973-74, I crossed part of France for the first time on two or three occasions, coming back from the German border or returning to Bordeaux, where we lived briefly. Since there weren’t many highways back then, we took national roads. It was during these trips that I realized it was better to leave in the evening. As I said earlier, Sunday is to be avoided, but on weekdays, there’s another problem: if you leave in the morning, you only make short hops. First, it often takes longer to get going because drivers are people going to work nearby. Which brings us back to those who drop you off in a bad spot, far from everything. There, you have to know how to refuse. You thank the driver for stopping—oh, if only everyone could be like you—while explaining why you’d rather stay put. People don’t take offense, by the way. Those who pick up hitchhikers often hitchhiked themselves when they were in the military or before they had a car. In the late afternoon, you’d often run into salespeople or truckers, in other words, people who drive a lot. At that time, salespeople no longer had appointments and were more relaxed. They wanted to talk about something other than the merits of their products. On the radio, it was time for *Les Grosses Têtes*. You’d also quite often run into small business owners, professionals, or even hippies. The conversations were pleasant and often enriching. A little later in the evening, truckers would take over. They’d already driven a few hundred kilometers, and the depot or customs was still far away. So they’d gladly take a hitchhiker to stay awake at the wheel and chat. The radio with Max Ménier’s show *Les routiers sont sympas*, you’d eventually get tired of it. So a hitchhiker was a change. Others, who’d hit the road at midnight to be at their destination by morning, were nice and offered to let you lie down on the bunk while they drove. When you’d been hitchhiking since six in the evening, freezing in the wind between two vehicles, you weren’t unhappy to take a little nap.

Speaking of Max Ménier, he’d often make announcements for hitchhikers. One evening, I called him. It was getting late, and I still had quite a way to go. No luck: the show had ended for good the day before!

In short, it’s better not to rush, sleep in, and leave after lunch, or better yet, in the late afternoon. Obviously, I’m talking about when you have several hundred kilometers to cover. That’s when you have to play it pro.

First thing, especially at night, but it also applies in the middle of summer when the light is blinding: dress to be seen from far away. I’ll admit I have an advantage over most other hitchhikers: I’m small and don’t scare people. To balance that out, racist drivers often take me for an Arab and are less likely to pick me up, but overall, the balance tips in my favor. Back to the need to be seen: at night, I wear light-colored clothes. In headlights, you can see me from far away.

Second thing: travel light. Forget the big backpack with a frame. Drivers don’t always have room in the trunk or on the back seat, especially if it’s rained and the ground is wet. Plus, it forces them to get out of the car. If they’re nice enough to pick up a hitchhiker, you shouldn’t ask for too much either.

Third thing: bring a cardboard sign and a big marker—like the ones in the photo at the start of this post—to write the name of your destination. In the early 80s, I ran a tourist house in the Cher, but I lived in the Netherlands. In the off-season, it was only open on weekends. On Fridays, I’d leave Holland and return on Mondays. 1200 km round trip. On the way there, in Paris, I’d stand at Porte de la Chapelle. At that spot, the road is very wide, and drivers could stop easily. Obviously, on the sign, I didn’t write Eindhoven, which not everyone knows, and even less Amsterdam because of its seedy reputation. In that case, you’d expect to see a police car stop and two officers in kepis ask for your papers. So as a first destination, I’d write Compiègne. We were well out of Paris, and since it wasn’t too far, a trucker or salesperson was less reluctant to stop. Once past Compiègne, I’d take out my Lille sign. Once in Belgium, it wasn’t really necessary to use a sign anymore, since everyone was going in the same direction. Usually, the guy who picked me up at Porte de la Chapelle would say he wasn’t going far but could take me a little way. Before that, I’d still ask if there was a gas station on the highway where he could drop me off before exiting. While talking, the guy would realize he wasn’t dealing with a dangerous criminal. He’d pretend to check his watch, think for a moment, then say that actually, he was going to Belgium and could take me to the border or a little beyond. To leave Paris on the way back, I’d take the train to Melun, where it was easier to hitchhike than at Porte d’Italie.

Over all those years, I think I was pretty lucky. Or maybe philosophical enough not to imagine a car would stop after a few minutes. An hour’s wait was average. Sure, I sometimes waited three, four, or five hours. Most often at odd hours and in terrible weather. When it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But there’s always a moment when things pick up. Sure, when you’re soaked in freezing rain in the early morning after a sleepless night, you’re less philosophical than when I’m writing these lines comfortably at my computer, but it still holds true.

Earlier, I mentioned clothing and the importance of being well-rested before leaving. When you’ve eaten well and just gotten out of the shower, shaved, you’re in a better mood. And somehow, drivers sense it. Or at least, that’s the impression I’ve always had. It’s better to look in shape than disgusted at standing there, half-heartedly thumbing a ride. In short, when I’d start to get fed up with waiting, I’d go into the first café I saw for a coffee. Coming back out, I’d be refreshed, and most of the time, a car would stop within minutes. I’ve often said that when I stood by the side of the road thumbing a ride, I felt a bit like a gambler in front of a slot machine. It was a matter of giving luck a chance. And well, it worked out pretty well.

Then, there are countries where hitchhiking works really well and others where it’s harder. In the 70s-80s, it worked best in Germany and England. In the late afternoon, it wasn’t rare to be invited for tea. Well, that was in England. Tea meant being offered room and board. In Germany, they’d offer you coffee. Once there, they’d first show you the guest room and point out the bathroom before sitting you down in front of a big plate of cold cuts. In the evening, they’d go out in town, and the next morning, they’d usually drop you off at a good spot for hitchhiking. On the other hand, in Mediterranean and Scandinavian countries, you’d better be patient. In Spain or Italy, it’s better to take the train, which was dirt cheap back then. However, if you’re a couple traveling light, it’s already easier in most countries.

In 1982, I went on a trip around Turkey with my girlfriend. We only had two small bags, which was plenty. It was November-December, and we wore our warm, bulky clothes. Leaving Eindhoven at nine in the morning, we arrived in Graz, near the Yugoslav border, at eleven at night. 1300 km in a day! In just four or five vehicles. One to the German border, about fifty kilometers from Eindhoven, the second to Hagen in the Ruhr, the third to Salzburg, and the last to Graz at the Yugoslav border. Record broken. During the night crossing of Yugoslavia, we ran into a trucker close to retirement who lent us the truck’s bunk. So we arrived fresh and rested near Skopje the next morning. We continued to Thessaloniki in northern Greece before taking the train to Istanbul. In Turkey, we traveled a good part of the country by hitchhiking too. With truckers in old, overloaded, slow trucks that climbed hills at fifteen kilometers an hour, but also in cars where five or six people were already crammed in. And every time, we were invited for tea. Once, we were even picked up by a big shot in his Mercedes with a chauffeur. Until then, the average speed was around fifty kilometers an hour. There, we were going two hundred. On a national road, not a nice European highway.

I’ve also hitchhiked in Nepal, from Lumbini, Buddha’s birthplace, to a village on the way to Pokhara. It must have been midday. No bus until the next day. I gave it a try. A small truck overloaded with rice sacks, with two or three young people already perched on top, stopped. I rode on the roof of the cab. At fifty kilometers an hour when it was going well, with a breathtaking view. Coming back from India, I also crossed part of Iran by hitchhiking, from Tehran to the Turkish border. I did this trip with an Austrian I met at the hotel who, like me, had to watch his pennies. We gave it a shot. There was almost no traffic, but to our great surprise, the first car that passed in the area would always stop. They’d just ask for a modest contribution for gas, and it cost next to nothing.

Sometimes, you get scared too. After leaving Turkey in early December 82, we spent about two weeks in the southern Peloponnese harvesting olives. A few days before Christmas, we hitchhiked back to Holland. A girl picked us up in her little Fiat 500. We were driving on a mountain road, and that morning there was a bit of black ice. After crossing a pass, we saw the old Ford Taunus ahead of us at fifty meters start to skid. The driver let out a “heeee!” while grabbing my knees. I reflexively grabbed the wheel. Finally, the Taunus got back on track. And we didn’t swerve. But those few seconds felt very long.

In January 77, while I’d been living in Germany for a few months, I decided to spend a few days in Italy. By hitchhiking, of course. I left in the early afternoon, and by ten at night, I wasn’t far from Frankfurt. I saw a big Mercedes stop. The four or five young people crammed inside were listening to Schlager at full volume. Beer cans littered the floor. They didn’t have a precise destination, and as long as they were going south, that was fine with me. They’d finished their military service that very day and had clearly already celebrated their discharge. The driver was going 160, zigzagging dangerously from one side of the highway to the other. I should have realized he wasn’t entirely sober either. Luckily, there was almost no traffic. Finally, I managed to get dropped off at a gas station just before Frankfurt, relieved. I hope their trip didn’t end tragically.

Another time, coming back from Holland with my wife, we were picked up early in the morning near Senlis by two guys from Lille. They were going to work near Tours and could drop us off at Porte d’Italie. Apparently, they were coworkers but barely knew each other. The driver offered us a beer—at six in the morning, sure!—before opening another can for himself. He was clearly having trouble staying in the right lane. We politely declined, the passenger too. Everyone was tense. Luckily, it was rush hour on the ring road, and we were going slowly. When we got out of the car, the passenger said goodbye with the look of a guy being offered the condemned man’s rum and cigarette.

Finally, there are the annoying remarks from drivers who are either gay when you’re alone or turned on by the sight of your girlfriend when you’re a couple. In those cases, I’d get in the back so the guy wouldn’t feel too confident. And if the conversation got a little too suggestive, we’d deflect until we got dropped off.

And luckily, there are the times, not so rare after all, when you run into really nice people who invite you to eat and sleep at their place and drive you to a good spot the next morning. In Germany and England, that was common. And then there are the big strokes of luck, like during our trip to Turkey when we crossed most of Germany in one car, or that other time when some Germans drove me from the exit of Geneva all the way to the Costa Brava.

Going back to “with everything you read in the papers” and its variant “with everything you see on TV”—and now on the internet—it’s always left me perplexed. Personally, I’ve never heard of hitchhikers assaulting drivers, even if it may have happened. On the other hand, what was most common were hitchhikers being assaulted, especially girls. Anyway, even armed, it seems a bit stupid to assault the driver—wouldn’t that risk causing an accident?

Finally, since that time, I’ve occasionally wanted to hitchhike somewhere far away in France. Most often, too busy with work, it never happened, but the nostalgia hasn’t completely disappeared.

* * *

Other Hitchhikers

And then one day, I... settled down to become a driver myself. Ten years had passed, and you saw fewer and fewer hitchhikers. Or maybe I saw fewer because I had a regular job and wasn’t traveling the same way. And then I understood a few things.

Several times, I was tempted to pick up a hitchhiker, but they didn’t meet the required conditions. They were walking along the road instead of staying at the exit of the previous town. Hard to stop without risking an accident. Or the guy looked really scruffy. Or he was sulking, if not both. Then you think of that famous “with everything you read in the papers.” Not that I was scared, but unfortunately, the few hitchhikers I did pick up later were rarely interesting.

A few years ago, we picked up a young guy at the exit of a small town in Sologne. Not an easy spot for hitchhiking. Bad luck, he was a pretentious little jerk. He was barely 20 or 25 and talked like a bitter old man. He was a waiter in a restaurant. According to him, it was lucky he was there, otherwise the boss would have closed up shop long ago. You’d think he had thirty or forty years of professional experience behind him. As we approached Blois, he started ranting about Arabs, blaming them for all evils. And he laid it on thick. That morning, we were going to a teenager’s funeral who had just committed suicide, so he really got on our nerves, Mr. Know-It-All. Out of anger, I dropped him off next to a shopping center a few kilometers from downtown. Not nice, but it felt good.

Some time ago, we were driving around the Limousin on a Sunday to try out the used Twingo we’d just bought. We picked up a guy in his forties. A German who spoke French well. He started talking about the environment. He was a green Khmer. He got worked up all by himself with his pseudo-eco rant and, after a few kilometers, was almost yelling at us. As we were about to leave the main road for a small one, I dropped him off at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. Normally, I would have made a little detour to take him to a better spot, but this time, I didn’t feel like doing the... eco-warrior a favor.

On the other hand, I’ve still done my good deed a few times. One June morning, coming back from Orléans, I saw a man in his sixties hitchhiking. The poor guy had had a rough time. He was from Montpellier and was coming back from Caen, where he’d been promised a job. Once there, they bluntly told him the position was already taken, and he had to go back. Except he didn’t have enough money left for the train. He’d spent the night hitchhiking without success. I could only take him as far as Lamotte-Beuvron, where I dropped him off near the fire station. Apparently, there was some vague shelter there or something, but it only opened a few hours later. In the meantime, he settled on the grass in a corner to sleep a little. While he was doing that, I quickly went to the train station to check the price of a ticket to Montpellier. It was within my means. Since he was sound asleep, I slipped the train ticket and 100 francs into his pocket. I couldn’t imagine him continuing to hitchhike all the way to Montpellier. And I bet he didn’t even have a piece of cardboard and a marker!

When we go to Brazil, we usually rent a small car. One day, we were coming back from Paracuru to Fortaleza when we saw a whole family hitchhiking. Two adults and two or three small children. Here near the equator, the sun sets very quickly, and it would soon be night. There was little traffic, and trucks wouldn’t stop because there was no room in the cab. As for the rich people driving big 4x4s, they wouldn’t stoop to picking up the lower classes. The only hope for this kind of family was usually a farmer or artisan who’d let them ride in the back of his pickup. Obviously, they were a bit surprised to see us. Everyone crammed in as best they could in the back of our little car. When we dropped them off, we got a whole string of “Deus lhes abençõe”—God bless you.

Still in Brazil, we were on the road from Barreirinhas to São Luís do Maranhão. About 150 km of deserted road with an isolated mud house here and there. A young woman flagged us down. She was very pregnant and had to get to the clinic twenty or thirty kilometers away to give birth. Someone was supposed to drive her, but the first signs of labor started earlier than expected, and the driver was unavailable. Even driving fast, we weren’t feeling great: it would be just our luck if she gave birth in the car!

Today, we’re in the age of smartphones and carpooling apps. Safety. With everything you see on TV... Three or four years ago, we signed up on a platform. Our first, and only, “client” was a little jerk who didn’t say a word the whole trip. No hello, no goodbye, and certainly no thank you. The next day, we found his Ray-Bans in the car. We didn’t run after him to give them back. Ha!

Hi everyone. For those traveling to Cuba and then planning to go to the USA, you won’t be able to get your ESTA for the United States (same applies) if you’ve been to Cuba after 2021 due to a law passed by Donald Trump (a law that Biden later repealed). You’ll have no choice but to apply for a visa, which costs 200 € (and approval isn’t guaranteed even after payment). If you’re in this situation, the process to get this visa will be a real hassle—you’ll need to book an appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. It’s the only embassy in France authorized to handle your application after you’ve filled out the visa request on the official website. If you try to cheat by applying for an ESTA for the USA, just know that the American administration has ways of finding out if you’ve been to Cuba. 😉