Bournemouth woman went on holiday 16 years ago and never came home
Daisy Dyke, 34, left her home near Bournemouth, when she was 18 for Australia on a working holiday visa and has been full-time travelling ever since.
She has visited 69 countries - funding her travels as a content creator and travel host, initially using her savings to travel to countries to find work.
Daisy Dyke, while travelling (Image: Daisy Dyke / SWNS)
Despite trolls telling her she is now "too old" to be a solo traveller - she has no plans to stop exploring or settle down with a husband and kids.
While Daisy tends to travel full-time, she uses her home in Dorset, as a base to plan new fun holidays.
Daisy, a content creator and group travel host, said: "I just don't understand why everyone is fine for you to travel in your twenties - but as soon as you reach your thirties - you are told off for not settling down.
"I have never settled down. I was born to travel. I love it and love pushing myself to try new experiences.
"The best thing I did was to take my first trip, because now I can help women do the same - I can help them feel safe enough to travel alone in their 30s and see the fun.
"There's nothing wrong with not wanting to settle down."
Daisy worked in Australia in October, 2010 before university - but even during her course she was constantly escaping the UK to travel between semesters.
She said: "I went on my gap year and just kept going.
"I worked as a cowgirl in Australia, did factory jobs, then travelled through Asia before going to Liverpool University to study psychology.
"I could never really sit still. After I graduated I went to New Zealand and worked as a professional fairy - where I played the role of a fairy for kids entertainment, then went to Tonga and swam with whales, and spent time in Hawaii.
"It just became normal for me to be moving around."
Daisy would save up for flights and spend her time working abroad to pay her way during the trip.
Daisy Dyke, while travelling (Image: Daisy Dyke / SWNS)
By her mid-20s, Daisy was working as a European tour leader, taking groups across multiple countries before the pandemic stopped her work.
She said: "I was basically living out of a suitcase, driving tours all over Europe.
"When COVID hit, it all stopped overnight, my job and relationship went down the drain.
"I was not having a great time, back in my childhood bedroom single and unemployed - so I began posting on Instagram.
"I was in my childhood bedroom and just started sharing my life, at that point I had just bought a one ticket to Mexico.
"The content I was posting did really well, it grew really quickly and turned into my job.
"Now I host group trips around the world, I work with brands, and I help women travel who might not have done it alone before."
Now she's visited countries such as Brazil, Nepal, Greece, Italy, Tonga, Mexico, Argentina Patagonia, Tanzania - which she believes have been her favourite trips.
But despite helping many women she says she has received abuse from men online targeting her age and appearance.
She said: "I started getting constant hate comments from men saying women in their 30s are ‘expired’, that we’re ugly, that no one will love us, that we look old. It was relentless.
"At first it really affected me. I remember thinking - 'why are people saying this?'
"My mum told me these trolls aren’t going anywhere, so you either let it stop you or you grow thicker skin. That stuck with me."
Now she uses those same comments as inspiration for her content.
She said: "I started scripting videos using what men were saying. I turn it into humour and satire now.
"What gets me is if you shrink yourself and say 'I will never find love at 30', the men flock with pity for you - they like when you have no self confidence.
"The hate comments only come in when I am confident in myself."
Daisy believes there is a clear double standard online.
She said: "Male solo travellers get praised for doing this in their 30s and 40s, but women are told they’re too old or undesirable. It’s a completely different reaction.
"Despite it all, I feel more confident then I did at any point in my life.
"People act like your life is over in your 30s, but most people are still figuring things out anyway.
"I just decided I wasn’t going to wait for permission anymore, and learnt to laugh off the men making their nasty comments.
Daisy is now preparing for new trips, including high-altitude expeditions in Nepal.
She said: "It’s going to be challenging, I’m not fully prepared yet, but I’m training. You just have to go for things even when you’re scared.
"My group trips now attract mostly women in their 30s travelling solo for the first time.
"A lot of them didn’t think they could travel alone, by the end they can’t believe they waited so long to try it.
"I tell them - don’t listen to men dragging you down. Go and live your life, travel, explore, and don’t shrink yourself because of what people say."
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