Lydia Swinscoe

Lydia is a nomadic travel writer and solo travel expert with two decades of journalistic experience (including a nine-year stint as a fashion and beauty editor and five as a lifestyle director). 

An intrepid explorer, Lydia writes about her adventures for The Sunday Times, Condé Nast Traveler, The Guardian, BBC Travel, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Marie Claire US, The London Standard, woman&home, Good Food, Women’s Health, Australia's Body+Soul and easyJet Traveller.

A solo trip to Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico aged 19 kickstarted her travel addiction and she's since gone on to explore parts of 63 countries, returning to many often. Highlights so far include hiking to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal, journeying across the world's largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia, being completely overwhelmed by the magnificent Iguazu Falls on the Argentina-Brazil border, and spending nine months exploring Sri Lanka by bus.

Slow solo travel is her specialty, and she's happiest when hunting out great food while wearing flip-flops, preferably somewhere tropical. Her award-winning website Lydia Travels documents artistic, intimate hotels (she’s stayed in over 250) and brilliant local restaurants across the globe.

As a solo travel expert, she’s been profiled by New Escapologist magazine and is regularly invited to speak on radio programmes and podcasts about her nomadic life and travels.