✦ The manifesto

Not tourism.
Quests.

— why SideQuest exists, and who runs it ✦

Travel platforms stack thousands of interchangeable activities. I do the opposite: a small journal of rare quests, chosen one by one, often refused, always told.

A sidequest is a deliberate detour out of ordinary life. A story you'll still be telling around a fire ten years from now.

Who I am

A journal, not an agency.
And someone behind it.

— the word “verified” only holds if a human stands behind it

I spent two years travelling around the world. Not the capitals: the detours. That's where I understood something simple: the experiences that changed me were in no catalogue, and the ones in catalogues didn't change me.

SideQuest was born from that list: the adventures I'd recommend to a friend, and nothing else. Huayna Potosí, the first summit in the journal, I climbed myself: the midnight wake-up, the ice headwall, the sunrise over the Altiplano. That's the bar I hold for everything that gets in.

I'm not an agency. I search, I verify, I refuse a lot, and I tell what's left honestly. When you write, I'm the one who answers.

The 5 pillars

A quest must tick all five.

— one missing, and it's just a tourist activity

Rarity

Few people have lived it. What counts is the rarity of the adventure, not the exclusivity of the channel.

Story

At a dinner table, everyone goes quiet to listen. If the story doesn't hold, the quest doesn't get in.

Commitment

It costs you something: time, courage, discomfort, sweat. You come back different.

Authenticity

Real people, real places, living traditions. Never a show staged for tourists.

Singularity

It couldn't be lived anywhere else the same way. The place and the moment are irreplaceable.

What I refuse.

— whatever the potential, it's a no

✕Shows staged for tourists: fake crafts, re-enacted rituals.
✕Unmanaged danger: without supervision, insurance and protocols, there is no quest.
✕Dubious ethics: animal exploitation, poverty tourism, cultural appropriation.
✕Greenwashing and fake authenticity.
✕Partners unable to guarantee what they promise.

How a quest enters the journal.

— eight irresistible quests beat fifty average ones

Spotted

A candidate adventure: crossed on the road, or whispered by someone who lived it.

Documented

Story, logistics, safety, partner references: everything laid out flat.

Vetted

The partner is screened: proof, insurance, protocols. A doubt means a no.

Lived

As soon as I can, I go do it in the exact conditions you'll face. The quest page always tells you where it stands.

Told

The longest step: writing the true story, saying who it's for, and who it's not for.

Two labels, zero blur.

— you'll always know what “verified” means here

⛰ Field-tested

I lived it, in the exact conditions you'll face. The field journal from my own run is linked on the quest page.

✓ Verified

I haven't lived it myself yet, but the partner has been screened: calls, references, proof, insurance, safety protocol. The slightest doubt, and the quest doesn't get in.

A “verified” quest is meant to become “field-tested”: that's the order of my departure list.

— adventures you'll still be telling ten years from now ✦

See the open quests →Hear about the next one →