Backpackers planning to hitchhike in Australia could first buy
worldwide travel insurance as they prepare for their adventures.
The Illawarra Mercury reports that hitchhiking has been less frequent in Australia in recent years following a series of murders in the early 1990s, but backpackers increasingly seem to feel more confident owing to its cost-saving nature.
Many backpackers are taking advice from travellers they meet on the route and the feeling seems to be that hitchhiking is safe in more populated areas.
Rogier Swerissen, a Dutch backpacker planning to hitchhike with a friend from Figtree to Melbourne, told the paper: "I imagine [that it would be dangerous] in remote places where no-one else lives, like sleeping in campervans and stuff like that."
He added that lots of his friends had been hitchhiking and had not experienced problems.
Brian Wyver, a police inspector in Wollongong, said hitchhiking was not a good idea and advised backpackers to take advantage of the many different forms of public transport now available.
Cheap travel insurance is always an option for tourists.
Australia remains a popular tourist destination and offers many natural wonders including the Great Barrier Reef.
Going, going, gone. Downunder for
cheap travel insurance.
