While many opt for direct flights or high-speed trains for travel, 23-year-old Ariel Ron from Pardes Hanna-Karkur has chosen a far longer, unconventional path. Three weeks ago, he set out on a continent-spanning journey with a clear goal: to reach Norway’s northernmost point using only hitchhiking. In an interview with Ynet, he shared not just his experiences but also the significance of being an Israeli hitchhiker in Europe.
“I’m now in Budapest, staying at my grandfather’s place. I started at Greece’s southernmost point and got here after 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) and maybe over a hundred rides—I’ve stopped counting—thanks to kind people. My aim is to reach northern Norway,” he said.
Ron openly embraces his Israeli identity while hitchhiking. “I tell everyone I’m Israeli, with a smile and pride, no big deal about it. I’ve said it to all those hundred rides, and it’s been fine. Some even smile back. We Israelis often imagine all sorts of scenarios. In Albania, they even said, ‘Israel good.’ They really like us there,” he noted.
The idea for this hitchhiking odyssey grew from 18 months of travel and adventure, sparked by a desire to explore Norway. “The conventional answer is a plane, but my mind works differently.
"A few months ago, I walked the Israel Trail from north to south, and then decided: now I’ll do Europe from south to north. Hitchhiking is a real experience—it lets you meet people, encounter cultures and live moments you can’t imagine. It takes courage, no doubt, but those who commit to it discover something irreplaceable.”
Wait times for rides vary, with Greece proving toughest, according to him. “There, I stood three to four hours in the sun. Since passing Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia and now Hungary, it’s averaged 20-30 minutes, I think. It’s actually easier than I expected,” he recalled.
His most memorable ride came in Bosnia, where a man stopped and asked his origin. “I said, ‘Israel, of course.’ He asked, ‘Oh, you’re Jewish?’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ He got excited, a Christian who admires Israel and loves Jews, believing God sent me to him. I don’t know the purpose, but to him, I was a divine messenger—and to me, he was one too.”
The Bosnian driver took Ron an hour’s drive, sharing Bible stories en route, then invited him to a restaurant. “Two meters away was a mosque. Then he pointed to a building, saying, ‘Hey, that’s a Jewish one.’ I looked—it was a synagogue. And this happened on a Saturday.
“I thought, ‘wow, what are the odds?’ Of all places to stop, we ate 20 meters from a synagogue.” They visited the site, meeting a man named Doron in a tiny Jewish community. “It was deeply moving, especially on Shabbat. I’m not religious, but you can’t ignore it. We all feel it, I think. It’s one of the most touching stories from this trip.”