About our principles & the team | Desert Island Survival

This is our recipe foR
Unforgettable Expeditions

Desert Island Survival’s journey began by marooning people on uninhabited tropical islands.

The successful recipe is simple: take one stunning island, mix in the world’s best bushcraft instructors, and ice the cake with an invisible safety net. Voilà — you have a delicious adventure.

As any good chef knows, quality ingredients are key. That’s something we never cut corners on. We scour the world for the very best islands, few make the cut, and only the finest instructors run our trips. We’re not just talking about wizards at rubbing sticks together, but cool, inspiring individuals who know how to create a fun learning atmosphere.

We then took this proven recipe and cooked it up in other inspiring wildernesses around the world. From the floodplains of the Okavango to the forests of Sweden, we pride ourselves on never compromising on excellence.

“We walk the tightrope of challenge and fun, leaving you with the feeling that you had a fantastic time and achieved something incredible, promise!”

Tom Williams

Founder of DIS

What makes our trips special?

It’s simple, really: passion. We’re passionate about curating unforgettable adventures that strike the perfect balance between learning skills, challenging yourself, and having fun. Each expedition follows a carefully considered character arc, designed to take you out of your comfort zone while still ensuring you have the holiday of a lifetime and always with safety at the core.

Our Core Values

Excellence
We never cut corners. Every island, every wilderness, every instructor is carefully chosen to deliver extraordinary experiences.

Passion
Adventure runs in our veins. We live and breathe the outdoors, and that energy fuels every expedition we create.

Inspire
Our trips aren’t just about learning survival skills. They’re about sparking confidence, curiosity, and wonder in everyone who joins us.

Commitment
Your safety, the quality of your adventure, and the protection of the wild places we work in are our constant priorities.

View Upcoming Trips

The Desert Island Survival Team

Tom Williams

Founder

Meet Tom Williams, the founder of Desert Island Survival, 2023 winner of the TV survival show Alone UK and one of our expert instructors. With a love of island life and adventure, Tom leads several of our trips, balancing family life and running the company.

His love for expeditions started in colder climates when in 2010 he won a 367-mile race to the North Pole. Tom has lived with tribes, bike packed thousands of miles including over the Andes, sailed 8,000 miles, is a snowboard instructor and dive master.

In 2023, Tom won the prestigious TV survival competition Alone, surviving solo in the Canadian wilderness with no food and only a handful of survival items.

To learn more about Tom’s journey and the origins of Desert Island Survival, check out his website.

Layla Kyle-Hopkins

Managing Director

Layla is our Managing Director, based in Colombia, and leads Desert Island Survival with a focus on delivering real adventure in true wilderness, guided by world-class instructors and supported by invisible safety. She ensures every expedition stays true to our Learn → Survive → Celebrate arc, creating authentic experiences that challenge guests and often prove life-changing.

Meet our exceptional instructors

You won’t find bravado and chest-beating here. Years of wilderness living ensures our instructors are both exceptionally competent yet humble individuals.

An inspiring instructor is not just about world-class bushcraft skills. It’s about their soft skills, their ability to read a group, to curate a fun learning environment and nurture camaraderie, ingenuity and resilience within the tribe.

We invite you to meet these great humans face to face and experience firsthand the difference that a great instructor can make. Our islands are amazing, but its this lot that will make your trip unforgettable.

Tom McElroy

Expedition Leader and Bushcraft Instructor | Panama & Tonga

With over two decades of experience teaching primitive bushcraft skills, Tom McElroy was Tom Williams’ mentor and has trained over 15,000 students ranging from young children to elite military groups like Seal Team Six. His expertise in survival training has been sought after by countless survival TV shows, including his most recent collaboration with Ed Stafford on Discovery Channel’s “First Man Out.”

Tom’s unique skill set comes from his extensive experience living with remote indigenous communities. He has hunted with blowguns in the Amazon with the Huaorani tribe, trekked through the Baliem Valley of Papua New Guinea, lived with a tribal shaman off the coast of Sumatra, and spear-fished with the Aborigines of Northern Australia.

Despite his exceptional abilities, Tom remains modest about his talents and is widely regarded as one of the best wilderness instructors today.

Nicholas Simmons

Expedition Leader and Bushcraft Instructor | Indonesia

Nicholas has around a decade of experience working in the field of outdoor adventure primarily specialising in survival. He has led survival courses and expeditions all over the world in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, America, Greece, Europe and all over the UK.

For many years he has been one of the head instructors at the Bear Grylls Survival Academy responsible for the creation of new courses, the running of corporate events and survival courses as well as the training of new instructors.

He is a rock climber, mountaineer, spear fisherman and all-round adventurer. He has a passion for the outdoors and imparting others with the skills and knowledge that empowers them to thrive in the wild.

Naomi Aldwyn-Allsworth

Expedition Leader and Bushcraft Instructor I Panama & Philippines I Featured in Alone

Naomi didn’t follow the traditional path into the outdoor industry, having grown up in rural Wales she always had a love for the outdoors but moved to London to pursue a career in Sportswear Design. She was fascinated by how science & technology within clothing can better an athlete’s performance. Feeding her love for adventure, she took on a number of challenging treks to test her kit in extreme conditions. But despite her love for Sportswear and the upcoming release of her first collection she knew she wanted to be involved with the outdoor enthusiasts she was designing for– a decision she’s never looked back on. She went on to become a Survival Instructor for the Bear Grylls Survival Academy, teaching bushcraft and primitive survival skills worldwide.

While living in a self-built shelter in the Canadian Arctic for Channel 4’s reality-TV series ALONE she recently had the chance to put her skills to the ultimate test. With limited survival equipment, she was dropped into the woods, had to hunt/fish for her own food, faced close encounters with fearsome predators and faced a gruelling physical and mental challenge. “ALONE” came as an unexpected opportunity to explore the depths of her own soul, her connection to nature and to test my survival knowledge whilst also being able to share it with others.

Naomi is deeply passionate about nature and the power of time spent outdoors, which is why she’s recently set up an organisation called The Rambler’s Mistress which brings like-minded women together and provides them with the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature and learn primitive skills. She loves being able to give people memorable experiences. As an instructor she’s always asking clients to push themselves further out of their comfort zones, it’s essential to never forget that feeling. We as a society have everything at our fingertips, convenience and comfort at the centre of our daily lives, Naomi likes to push people out of their comfort zones. Being able to relate to the experiences that clients have is what she believes makes a strong instructor.

Jade Bielski

Expedition Leader and Bushcraft Instructor I Panama & Philippines

With over a decade of experience leading expeditions and teaching survival skills, Jade Bielski feels at home wherever she sets up her hammock. She has been fortunate enough to learn valuable skills and knowledge from indigenous peoples in Central America and Borneo, which she combines with her passion for research and studying to equip others with the tools to thrive in the wild.

Jade’s love for wildlife and the natural world drives her desire to witness and appreciate remote places and share them with others. Having seen firsthand the need to preserve such environments, she takes a sustainable approach to survival, a key aspect of her teachings.

In addition to her expertise in survival skills, Jade values staying healthy and happy through activities such as yoga, cycling, and learning new things. Her latest interest is paragliding! With Jade’s guidance, you can learn to appreciate and survive in the great outdoors while preserving its beauty for future generations.

Gaz Lloyd

Expedition Leader and Bushcraft Instructor I Panama & Philippines

Gaz is an expert in leading expeditions to remote and exotic locations and teaching others the skills necessary to thrive in such environments. From dense jungles to tropical islands, Gaz brings humor and quiet confidence to his leadership style, inspiring others to step outside their comfort zones and discover the growth and personal development that can be found in the wilderness.

Gaz’s lifelong interest in tropical survival has led him to spend extensive time with the Bribri indigenous group in Costa Rica, which he combines with traditional bushcraft training in the UK. He is inspired by the Bribri’s harmonious relationship with the rainforest, and his approach to survival reflects a conscious minimal impact on the environment – something he’ll impart to you during your training.

When not leading expeditions or teaching bushcraft skills, Gaz enjoys keeping fit, reading, and expressing his creativity through writing books, drawing, crafting, and photography. With Gaz’s guidance, you can learn to appreciate and thrive in even the most challenging environments while minimizing your impact on the natural world.

Azrael Renee Nickens

Assistant Bushcraft Instructor | Panama

Azrael Renee Nickens was born in the Appalachian Mountains to Irish Traveller and Yucatec/Zapoteca parents, instilling in her a deep connection to the natural world. While attending university, she earned a dual degree in neurology and psychology, two national boxing championships, and an award from the American Psychological Association for lab research. However, she dropped out of her Ph.D. program to pursue her passion for solo backpacking around the globe.

Azrael Renee was born in the Appalachian Mountains to Irish Traveller and Yucatec/Zapoteca parents, instilling in her a deep connection to the natural world. While attending university, she earned a dual degree in neurology and psychology, two national boxing championships, and an award from the American Psychological Association for lab research. However, she dropped out of her Ph.D. program to pursue her passion for solo backpacking around the globe.

Azrael’s trekking experiences with unique tribes, from morning hunts with the Hadzabe to learning to prepare the traditional “black drink” of the Seminole, ignited a passion for regaining ancestral skills and culture that were stolen from her family at the Indian boarding schools.

In addition to her love for outdoor adventure, Azrael is also an avid writer, crafter, and student of plant medicine and celestial navigation. She can be found assisting backcountry expeditions and exploring the great outdoors through extreme sports, such as BASE jumping and highlining.

Don coron

Assistant Bushcraft Instructor | Philippines

Don is Coron town born and bred. He started leading trips back in 2007 with Tao Philippines before leading his own expeditions around Palawan from 2011- 2019. Don is a dive master and expert spear fisherman, consistently spoiling the tribe with his impressive catches.

From a young age Don naturally practices bushcraft without labelling it that way from building bamboo traps to his own fishing kits, it was just a way of life. He has traveled the Philippines learning about all of its different cultures. An expedition with Don means learning about Philippines culture from its core. He’s a fantastic asset to the team.

Let’s Have An Adventure!

This is our recipe foRUnforgettable Expeditions

Tom Williams

What makes our trips special?

Our Core Values

The Desert Island Survival Team

Tom Williams

Layla Kyle-Hopkins

Meet our exceptional instructors

Tom McElroy

Nicholas Simmons

Naomi Aldwyn-Allsworth

Jade Bielski

Gaz Lloyd

Azrael Renee Nickens

Don coron

This is our recipe foR
Unforgettable Expeditions