In general, the hitchhiking competition starts on a Friday morning on the Grote Markt. Then everyone hits the road. The rules are simple: the only means of transportation allowed are those that you don’t have to pay for and that were not set up in advance. The only exception being that you can use public transportation to get around a city once you got in.
In the weeks before, teams of two people are formed, each with at least one guy. There are also information meetings with hints, tips, dos and don’ts.
Destinations are chosen such that arrival by Friday afternoon is possible and arrival by Friday night is pretty much guaranteed. In the case of any complications, there is always someone in Groningen that you can call and that can sort things out for you.
Once in the city, accommodation is arranged for the Friday and Saturday night. The rest of the Friday you can explore the city. On Saturday, there’s still plenty of free time but there’s also usually one set activity with the whole group. Also, the group each diner on Saturday together, celebrating the success, congratulating the winners and laughing about the loosers’ stories. Sunday morning, everyone uses their method of choice to get back home: hitchhiking, public transportation or some combination of both, usually.