FAQ about hitch-hiking in Switzerland

Written by Bernd Wechner (b.wechner(a)aitec.edu.au)

Switzerlad is a great place to hitch, works smooth, well, and fast. In spite of their reputation the Swiss are quite helpful when it comes to hitching. But then I stick mainly to the motorways, the copuntry roads can get a bit quiet.
But I wouldn't have any advice to offer, I mean just do it, its like hitching anywhere else. Find a good spot and wait, or ask around ...

I've waited an hour on occasion too, but hey, I'm a hitcher, that happens to me everywhere on occasion. But I've hitched Switzerland East to West, West to East, North to South, South to North, around the middle, back and forth, and never really got stuck, always got off the mark well. And there are some good spots too, almost a perfect connection between Zurich and Bern for example that will deliver you in good speed, generally competing with the trains to be honest.
Geneva-Lausanne is less ideal, but have done it now three or four times in a row, always with short waits and good rides. Daan's book is full of great advice, he's done a really good job. It's not perfect, and I can top up his tips on occasion (for example to get out of Lausanne to Geneva, I have a better spot thn Daan's suggestion I think), but it's a great book. I'd recommend it to anyone. And hey, let's help him make a little money on the damned thing, at least recoup his losses ...

it's like in Germany. I'm not very experienced with hitching in the ex-communist countries, I've noly hitched through a little of Czechoslovakia (as it was at the time). But in all of the west, and for that matter anywhere where you find motorways with cars going over 100 km/h, it is generally illegal to stand or walk, or even ride a bike.
Avoid the word highway, it means nothing consistently, the words to use are generally motorway or expressway, or autoroute, or autobahn something like that will be understood. In many places a highway is something much less grandiose.
I can tell you how best to stand for Zurich->Bern, and Bern->Zurich, and Geneva->Lausanne and Lausanne->Geneva, but beyond that I decide on the day myself. And I can't tell you right now, I'd need a map to describe it.
On which point if you go to any bank in Switzerland they will generally give you a free map of town (with all the banks marked on it). But this getting less common as far as I can tell, and it's difficult to get the point across sometimes without a language in common. Still they are good maps and free. They even have a map of Switzerland that they hand out free, but I've not had any luck getting one this year ... they always seem to be out of stock. Oh well.