Need to know
Oliviyah Stevens, a teacher from Walthamstow, jets off on affordable solo trips and date days abroad with her partner
Oliviyah and Kyle in Morocco(Image: Oliviyah Stevens/SWNS)
Need to Know: Walthamstow mum-of-five reclaims her identity through extreme day trips
- A Walthamstow mum-of-five has discovered a new lease of life through extreme day trips, leaving her children behind to jet off to destinations across Europe for as little as £30.
- Oliviyah Stevens, 36, felt “quite depressed” after her maternity leave ended and needed her “own time” away from the chaos of family life. The teacher stumbled across extreme day trips and took her first solo adventure to Alicante in November 2025, leaving her five children with partner Kyle, 37.
- “I find it really liberating and I feel like I’ve got myself back and as a mum you can forget that a bit,” she said. “The price of flying to Mallorca is the same as an evening meal.”
- Oliviyah has since visited 20 countries, including quick getaways to Italy, Morocco and Bucharest with her family. She also takes regular “date days” abroad with Kyle, a behaviour mentor, every few months.
- The couple discovered the appeal of ultra-short breaks after a three-day trip to Crete was cut short due to a cancelled flight. Instead of going home, they booked Morocco and flew there and back in 30 hours the same weekend.
- “I’d lost myself in the midst of five kids,” Oliviyah explained. “Those breaks away allowed me to reflect, set goals and I found myself.”
- Since sharing her travel finds online, other women have said they want to give extreme day trips a try.
- READ THE FULL STORY: Couple leave kids at home for dates abroad ‘cheaper than dinner’
