Essex hitchhiker reveals only European country where his thumb was turned down

A hitchhiking buff who has caught hundreds of rides around the world said Italy was the only country where drivers snubbed his thumb after being told people think picking up strangers is “crazy”. Nico Lethbridge, 26, a copywriter from Saffron Walden, Essex, has travelled by thumb around many countries, including the UK, United States, Ireland, France, Zambia, Jordan, Nepal and Azerbaijan.

In most countries, hitching a ride with strangers is permitted except on motorways and in places where pedestrians are banned. Usually, this has not been a problem for Nico, who reaches his destination within double the drive-time advertised on Google Maps.

But there is one country he visited this summer where Nico’s thumb was turned down after spending hours waiting by the side of the road – Italy. Despite this experience, Nico said he will continue travelling by thumb, which has saved him thousands of pounds in transport tickets over the years.

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“Italy was the first country where I wasn’t able to hitch a ride,” Nico told PA Real Life. “I thought it would be like other countries, where you can hitch a ride at a gas station or nearby junction, but it turns out my thumb got me nowhere. The best way to discover a country is to meet the people who live there and hitchhiking is a great way

to do that. Plus if you’ve got time but don’t have hundreds of pounds to spent on expensive tickets, then hitchhiking is for you.”

Nico was planning on meeting his younger brother Tom, 21, in Aosta, a town in the Italian Alps, on June 17 this year. After flying to Milan Malpensa airport, he made his way to Autogrill Pero Nord, a service station on the A4 Torino – Trieste. But when he tried approaching drivers who stopped for gas they said “autostop no functioni” – hitchhiking doesn’t work.

It turns out in Italy the law preventing motorists from picking up hitchhikers extends to service stations. One driver who spoke “good English” told Nico that people in Italy are also less trusting and usually think picking up hitchhikers is “crazy”. After three hours, as it was getting dark, Nico threw in the towel and walked 50 minutes to a coach station where he caught a four-hour bus to Aosta.

“I was surprised because even though I had read that hitchhiking in Italy is tricky, you are normally able to find someone who will eventually give you a lift,” he said.“But this time, no matter how many people I asked, it was no functioni.” Italy is the first country where Nico has been unable to hitch a ride.

In comparison, he found the most hitchhiking-friendly countries to be the UK and Jordan, which he visited in 2021. “The first car that passed stopped, so my success rate was 100%,” he said “They didn’t speak English but they were happy to give me a lift all the way to Petra a couple of hours away.”

Asked whether hitchhiking is a safe mode of transport, Nico said: “Personally, I am yet to have a bad experience. But I appreciate that I am in a privileged position and would say that there is always a level of danger that shouldn’t be ignored.”

Over the years Nico has documented his rides by writing posts on the online platform Substack under the name Britain By Thumb. He has so far produced 113 chapters outlining his travels and the “fascinating” people he meets along the way. “I met this one guy in Seattle who said he was a pimp but is now a social worker,” explained Nico. “I also met a weed farmer in California who invited me to stay at his house and showed me his farm. It’s legal in California.”

After travelling around Italy with his brother, Nico decided to give his thumb another try, but once again nobody stopped. “I went to a junction by the motorway and was there for a few hours,” he said. “There were plenty of cars but none stopped, so I ended up having to catch a train back to the airport because I didn’t want to miss my flight.”

In total, Nico estimates having hitched more than 200 lifts since discovering hitchhiking in 2017 while visiting a friend in California. “A lot of people have hitchhiked around the UK but I haven’t met many my age,” he said.“I suppose you could say I’m one of the most prolific hitchhikers in the UK for my age, although there are plenty of people out there who have been doing it for decades.”

Nico recently became involved with Hitchr, a new app designed to help hitchhikers around the world. “It is going to be a tool to help hitchers connect, share their knowledge and make catching free lifts easier and safer in the modern age,” he said.

He hopes his experience will encourage more people to see hitchhiking in a positive light. “I would rather hitchhike than catch the bus or train, but sometimes your thumb fails and you have no other option. “If you’ve got the time, a fully-charged phone and you’re looking for an adventure, get yourself in the nearest layby.”