---
title: 'Video lkn3eH8P1hw'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=lkn3eH8P1hw'
video_id: 'lkn3eH8P1hw'
date: 2026-07-02
duration_sec: 1231
---

# Video lkn3eH8P1hw

> Source: [Video lkn3eH8P1hw](https://youtube.com/watch?v=lkn3eH8P1hw)

## Summary

Jo Franco shares her personal journey and practical advice on the art of solo travel, emphasizing the transformative power of stepping out of your comfort zone and learning to listen to your own voice. She explains why solo travel is a valuable tool for self-discovery and independence, offering tips on safety, making friends, and embracing alone time.

### Key Points

- **Introduction and personal context** [00:14] — Jo Franco welcomes back to 'Not Your Average Joe', explaining she's in London after a solo trip through Berlin and Germany, setting the stage for a discussion on solo travel.
- **First solo trip spurring change** [01:13] — At age 25, Jo made her first selfish decision—a solo month in Italy—which led to immense personal growth and inspired others.
- **Solo travel can be local** [02:42] — You can solo travel in your own hometown by visiting a new restaurant or bookstore alone, building independence without going far.
- **Psychology of solo travel** [03:36] — Food tastes better alone because you're undistracted. Avoiding phones and engaging with surroundings enhances experience and self-awareness.
- **Tip 1: Be strategic about location** [04:45] — Choose central, well-lit accommodation. Safety first—splurging on a central spot is worth it to avoid fear of venturing out. Consider shared spaces or homestays like Apple Languages.
- **Tip 2: Go-to analog companion** [07:10] — Bring a journal or book (no screens). It invites curiosity from others and helps you stay off social media, allowing your own thoughts to surface.
- **Tip 3: Know your gut’s cues** [09:29] — Trust your instincts if something feels off. Have exit strategies for dates, tell friends your location, and make eye contact with servers for safety.
- **Tip 4: Making friends by day** [12:18] — Daytime activities like free walking tours, classes (cooking, yoga), and events on Eventbrite lead to real friendships. Use humor and shared activity to break ice.
- **Tip 5: Embrace the silence** [16:41] — Silence allows you to hear your own inner monologue, reflect critically, and discover what you truly want—the core reason to solo travel.

### Conclusion

Solo travel, whether abroad or local, is a powerful tool for self-discovery, independence, and personal growth. By following these safety and social tips, and embracing silence, you can transform any journey into a life-changing experience.

## Transcript

I know for a fact that there are people in this world that I have not met yet that will change my life. And that thought is what makes me very excited about every interaction and that keeps me going, honestly.
Welcome back to Not Your Average Joe, the podcast that will make anyone a little less average. I'm your host, Jo Franco, and I miss you guys. It has been a long travel, kind of a journey all the way here.
I'm in London, but I left my little forest home in Connecticut and went to Berlin, Germany, where I was studying German, and it was essentially a world trip, solo trip combo, and that's
why today's episode is going to be all about the art of solo travel, why you should do it, how to do it safely, and all of the things that I've learned in this decade of traveling, oftentimes alone.
I hadn't made a decision for myself selfishly until I was around 25 years old.
It took me 25 years to finally decide that I was going to do something for me, just for me. Not for my family, not for my resume, not for, you know, the group collective well-being. Genuinely a selfish decision.
and that decision was my first solo trip. I decided that I had a month to spend in Italy. There was no reason for me to be there. There was no family, there was no friends, there was nothing, there was no work, but I had always craved going to Italy. And so I bit the bullet and I said,
you know what, I'm booking an Airbnb, I'm going for a month, I'm finding a co-working space, I'm downloading dating apps, and I am out in these Roman streets. And it was the best decision I could have ever made for myself which is crazy because I remember feeling this huge amount of
guilt like who was I to be going to Rome for a month alone for no reason at all other than my own desires did I really deserve this trip would this benefit anyone and it turns out it did it benefited a huge audience of people who realized how important this solo kind of travel was for
themselves to get to know themselves to learn about other people to get out of their comfort zone. The list goes on and on of the benefits of solo travel, but what's even cooler is that through my YouTube channel, I was able to document a lot of these solo moments, and I'm so glad that I did
because what I was documenting was my evolution. I was basically capturing my growth as a person, my newfound self-awareness, and this new habit that I had formed of going places alone. I don't
really believe that solo travel is only for planes or even trains. Like, I think you can solo travel in your own hometown. And what I mean by that is like, you could take your journal or a book and
go to a restaurant down the street from you that you've never been to and have a solo travel kind of a moment. You can buy a postcard in a little bookstore in a neighboring town and feel like you're traveling. And if you do it alone, that's a solo travel moment. But when you think about
big solo travel, like you're across the world and you're alone, this is what these tips are going to be really good for but I highly recommend if you've been thinking about solo travel but you're a little nervous start solo traveling in a neighborhood near you because you will feel
the benefits of this like independence and this that you feel when you're alone I also love the psychology of solo travel everything from like why does food taste better when you're alone I have a
theory that it's because you're not distracted in a conversation or you're not really on your phone much and if you are solo traveling big tip here like stay away from your phone which we'll get into in this episode later but food tastes better I meet all kinds of very interesting people the
language that I'm learning gets in my brain so much faster because I'm not relying on the crutch of English since I'm usually alone in a country where they do not speak English to like genuinely just realizing what you crave because when you're alone there's no one else to influence where you
go what you do what you eat what you see and I think that's very powerful because you live in a society that is very influenced like we're all influenced from ads that were served to our
friends and families desires for us that oftentimes it's like what do I actually want who am I when all the noise is muffled and that is what solo travel gives you it gives you the silence to
finally start hearing who you are and what you want independent of any other factors other than your soul and spirit craves it. Without further ado, here are five tips that I have for your solo
traveling adventures to keep you safe, inspired, and ready for the next trip. Number one, be strategic about location. When you book an Airbnb or a hotel or a hostel even, make sure that you're picking a
location that is well-lit, central, and doesn't require much walking through dark, sketchy streets. I always think safety first when it comes to traveling especially as a woman especially as a woman of color or LGBT or anything that minority driven You want to make sure that your bases are covered
When I think about the Airbnbs that are cheaper, they could be out in the boondocks. They could be very far away from the center. I think experienced travelers can stay in those places. But if you're a newbie and if you really are concerned about safety or even if you've been doing it for a long time, make sure that you're picking something central.
just last week when I was in Berlin I was thinking about this because I've done this so so many times and I've been to Berlin before I knew that it was a very safe city but I was in kind of a an area where it was further away from the center than I would have liked so I realized when I was walking
I was like damn I can't be walking around this at night like I'm not gonna walk through a park to go to the metro because it's just not gonna happen and it brought up the fact that if you're looking for accommodation and you want to save money, it might not be as worth it if that means that you're
staying so far away from everything that you're afraid to leave and therefore you end up missing out on so much of the actual traveling part. So pick something central, splurge a little bit more on accommodation because safety is key here. It's like hierarchy of needs, you know, safety first.
Also in terms of accommodation, another really cool trick here is to get a shared space. Like If you really don't enjoy being alone all the time, then you might want to book a private room in a house in Airbnb. I've done that many times. It's a hit or miss.
They exist all over, or you can look into a homestay if you're studying language. There's this company that I've worked with several times called Apple Languages. They even have a promo code with my name on it called Apple Joe, and it's a study abroad agency for any age.
So if you're thinking about studying Italian, you go to Italy and you study, and they can place you in a homestay or in a shared flat. as a part of the program and you can choose whatever amount of time that you want to study.
So I've studied for like four days or two weeks all over the world. Tip number two, we're solo traveling but I always recommend to have your go-to companion. By that I mean an inanimate object,
not a screen, but something that is very analog, whether that's a journal, a scribbling pad, or a book. Okay, you could slide with a kindle but I still really recommend paper and something that doesn't have a screen on it because not only is that a sacred moment for you to either read
something or write something without seeing comment sections and other people's opinions, but in my experience, every single time that I've had a book in front of me, whether it was a book that I'm reading or a journal that I'm writing, people will naturally be curious because this is
a lost art. Like no one is just sitting at a coffee shop writing inside of a journal. This is something that people don't do often and every single time that I do this which is my go-to this is my go-to companion I never feel like I'm alone when I'm solo traveling because even if I'm at
dinner alone I'm having a conversation with myself in my journal and usually that makes other people question who I am what I'm doing and then they're like who is this chick who's just like journaling her heart out what is she writing about they ask me questions we usually become friends we grab a
coffee the next day and this is how it all begins so maybe you're not a writer but maybe you're a doodler or you like to write postcards or even read magazines this is your chance to get off
screens because I think screens have become our crutches and we like to be on screens and on social media because it's a way of preventing ourselves from hearing our own thoughts and that defeats the purpose of solo travel which should be designed to hear your own thoughts
very clearly it could get scary y'all but it's still worth it in terms of headphones and things like that not only do i not recommend wearing headphones especially not on the street because it's safety but it also makes you feel very unapproachable to people so if you're plugged
into like 25 devices you have your noise cancelling headphones on no one's gonna approach you uh so there's that socially it's just not conducive to like meeting locals or meeting new friends But again, that safety piece, like do not, I repeat, do not walk in streets in a new country, new city with both headphones in.
It's just not going to happen. I usually put one headphone in and keep one ear open if I'm in a safe space. But if I'm not in a safe space at all, like I am fully alert. I'm aware of my surroundings because, honey, ain't nobody going to pull up on me.
Tip number three. This one is good for life. All of these tips are honestly good for life, but definitely key in solo travel. Know your gut's cues. We are humans. We are primitive. We have these built-in systems to tell us if we're safe or not.
And usually, when you have a little inkling inside of you that things are off, it's because things are off. And it's better that you get away from that situation than try to test yourself to see if you were wrong.
because you will more likely be safe if you leave a sketchy potential sketchy situation than if you stay a perfect example like I was out the other day and I met this person and this person seemed cool at first and then I was just like oh no y like there no feeling that I have in my gut and this was my moment where I was like I never gonna see this person again it just not
gonna happen no thank you so I'm not gonna be mean because you also have to play it safe but it's just one of those moments where you're like do I feel safe in this moment and if the answer is no then you don't want to pursue anything any further especially women like on dates in these
foreign countries like you know we have all of these apps to download to start dating people and that's a cool way to meet locals I've done that often times but there are tricks for that too you want to meet in a public place you want to tell people where you are you want to share
your location with friends you want to have an exit strategy you want to make eye contact with servers at the restaurant or bar that you're in so that they know that if things go down that they're there for you. Like, how many times have I been in bars or whatever alone and something
sketchy happens, a guy comes up to me and doesn't leave me alone, and a random server saves me, or a woman, this actually happened. I was in a jazz bar in Los Angeles, and I'm sitting there at solo date for myself. I'm sitting there, and this man does not leave me alone. I make eye
contact with this woman who's sitting there with her friends, and this woman calls me over as if we've known each other for years this is the kind of survival mentality that you need to have when it comes to solo travel you need to know your gut's cues and this is something that strengthens
over time like the more you listen to that inner voice the better you will be at recognizing potentially dangerous situations and just like tip number one if you don't feel safe you're not going to have a good time this is not to say that everyone out there is terrible obviously they're
not and I'm the biggest one to say like there's more good than bad but there's some bad too and And if you're not sharp, if you don't have that keen spidey sense, you could feel like you're in an uncomfortable position that you don't want to be in.
When you're solo traveling, you have to have your own back. You have to be your own bodyguard. You have to be your own parent, your own nurturer. That is a big opportunity to grow into yourself and protect yourself.
Because if you don't in that instance, no one else will. Tip number four, how to make friends. This one is so necessary, honestly. like I was always shy and then when I over traveled I was like damn I gotta like be out here in these
streets there's so many ways like I said dating apps are one thing but like obviously you're not making friends there because there's this hidden intention like we're going doodle you know the thing is gonna happen there are apps to make friends like I know bumble has bumble bff there
are so many different online communities from discord channels like the joe club group is a great resource if you want to join joe club you will already have global friends all around but i also have some tips on how to meet people in real life when you're solo traveling the one thing
that i want to point out is to make real friendships when you're traveling it will most likely happen during the day 99.9 of the time making true friends will not happen under a bridge in a
rave or in a nightclub because i've done that as well nightlife and daylife two different things You can make nightlife friends that you think are going to be best friends for life, and you wake up and you realize they don't know what you do, they don't know who you are, and they don't care.
And that's cool, because people stay where they need to stay, and that doesn't mean that they're bad people. It just means likely they're not going to be there for you when you really need them, a.k.a. they're not really your friends. They're your nightlife friends, or your nightlife associates, let's call them.
So, when you really want to make connections, friendships, and things, I like to go to daytime locations like coffee shops. I look for events happening in the daytime. I go on free walking tours. There are free walking tours pretty much in all corners of the world.
Just Google, like, free walking tour in the city that you're going to. Usually those are tip-based, so you come with a little bit of cash. Y'all know I'm a nerd, and I love putting myself into opportunities to learn new things. So one of the best ways that I've found to meet new people and make actual friendships is to join classes.
You know, there are websites dedicated to listing events like this. Just in Berlin, I was on Eventbrite, and I found tons of cool events happening that week, from drawing classes to yoga classes to whatever you could imagine, and poetry night.
Those things that bring together a niche group of people are oftentimes where you'll meet a new friend, and those people are going to have the similar interests that you have, and that's always a good thing.
You can also go to meetup.com, Facebook events, Instagram. And as far as initiating the conversation goes, it's good to go to like a class, let's say, because you're going to have an activity, a shared activity. So that's already a playing field that results in bonding.
But I like to break the ice with some humor, like situational humor. Humor is a great way to tell someone like, hey, I'm not threatening. Hey, I'm here to have a good time. And that has always opened the door for me.
Like show up with a smile, even if you're alone, even if you're a little nervous. Odds are other people are nervous as well. and think about what is funny about the situation. You know, like if you're making gnocchi and your gnocchi look terrible, like tell your neighbor,
like this doesn't look good, does it? That is how connections start to bud And even if connections don form whenever you show up with humor you immediately just enjoying yourself and I think that the whole point of solo travel making
friends and going on dates and creating these connections is a bonus that will likely happen but if it doesn't which sometimes it doesn't you will still have enjoyed yourself so if anything consider it a trip to become friends with yourself eat the best food sign up for those classes that
you've always wanted to do. Learn that thing that you've always thought about learning but haven't. This is your time. And usually when you're operating at such a high vibration spiritually and you're genuinely just enjoying yourself, that's when you attract really good people to you.
And it just so happens that this happens all the time. So I'm almost certain that it's a science. Like when I am enjoying myself, when I'm doing things that make me happy, I attract people that just make me happier. So you have to jumpstart that train of goodness. Sure enough,
you'll be meeting the best friends that you didn't even know existed yet. One of my favorite concepts is thinking about the fact that I haven't met my favorite people yet. I have so many great people in my life and my favorite people are definitely in my life already but I know for a fact that
there are people in this world that I have not met yet that will change my life and that thought is what makes me very excited about every interaction and that keeps me going honestly.
and lastly not that this is the last tip of the entire solo travel conversation but for the sake of this episode the last tip is to embrace the silence it's in the silent moments that you'll
get to know who you truly are you get to be an observer of your own self of your voice of your inner monologue you get to know that personality that's been growing inside of you for all of the
years that you've been alive. It's almost like in embracing silent moments, we give ourselves grace to be who we really are, as opposed to trying to fill all of the gaps. Culturally, especially
Americans, we try to fill every single gap with something. And that takes away from reflection time, that takes away from critical thinking. And when you're alone on a solo trip, or even out to
dinner alone, when you have that silence, that silence is rich because that silence is the stage for your thoughts. That silence is the playground for your imagination.
And it's something that we oftentimes don't value in our day-to-day lives around our friends and family and work. But that's, I think, the main reason I solo travel is to give myself space to think.
and only when I do that do I get to know if I'm happy, if I'm not, where do I need to go and I get to orient myself so I can keep living an abundant and satisfying life around the people
that I love. And that is it for today. I hope this conversation got you super excited about solo travel whether that means getting on a plane, going somewhere abroad that you've always wanted to go to or going down to the restaurant that you've wanted to go into but haven't down
the street. These are all moments that have changed my life. It takes a little bit more effort because no one's going to push you to do it. And I think that's part of the growth. Like you need to be able to motivate yourself because if your friends are saying that they're going to go, but then they
bail, like you shouldn't not live your full life because other people around you don't want to do the things that you want to do. And it's cool, even better that your friends and family don't want to go with you. That's an opportunity for you to get to know yourself and to throw yourself
into what makes you happy, like what an opportunity that is. As always, you know where to find me, DM me on Instagram at joe underscore franco. Let me know what you thought about this episode. Follow them at your average joepod Instagram account as well. We'll do bonus clips there.
And join Joe Club because if you want a community of global journalers and global friends that you can meet whenever you're traveling alone, like all of the retreaters have been traveling to meet each other and they're doing this globally, which is so dope. Some of the retreaters went to
Toronto. Some of them are meeting up in Texas and in Brazil. That's the kind of community I want to build. And thank you for listening. I really just enjoy these conversations with you guys. But again, like I said in the other episodes, if you don't message me on Instagram or if you don't shoot me
kind of like an email or whatever, if you don't join Joe Club, I don't know if you guys are liking the episodes. And I want to make sure that I'm covering your questions. I know that a lot of you have wanted to know about these solo travel tips for a long time. I am so stoked about this summer.
I got here in London two days ago and I applied for film school. I'm waiting in her back. Fingers crossed that I get in. Tons of stuff cooking y'all. I guess the bottom line is I feel like I'm just
getting started and every episode that I make it's just another moment to document. It's just another page for the book. If you enjoyed this episode don't forget to rate it five stars wherever you get your podcasts and have an above average week.
Mine not average, Joey. I will see you soon. Hey, yo, come listen to my girl, man. What you doing? Shit.