Don’t just travel,
go on a sidequest.
Join unforgettable small-group trips led by your favorite creators & explore hidden gems, dive into local culture, and uncover the parts of the world mass tourism overlooks.
Start your next sidequest!
Your MainQuest will always be there. But your SideQuest? That starts now.
SideQuests are what make life unforgettable.
What is a sidequest?
In today’s world, we chase the MainQuest — careers, financial milestones, & moving forward to no end.
But life needs balance.
That’s where SideQuests come in — the detours that add balance as stories unfold, friendships spark, & experiences bring fun, growth, & new perspectives.
So, what’s the ultimate SideQuest?
The ultimate sidequest?
Travel is the ultimate SideQuest – where excitement eases you out of your comfort zone, creating space for growth.
Every trip is a chance to level up & gain experience from immersing in new cultures, overcoming challenges, & creating connections.
But not just any trip is a SideQuest...
Why sidequest Travel?
To us a SideQuest isn’t cookie-cutter tours.
It isn’t chain hotels.
It isn’t tourist traps.
Our SideQuests swap crowds & tourist traps for hidden gems – where novel experiences meet adventure activities, locals become friends, & your stories are as unforgettable as the views.
Ready for your next SideQuest?
The story behind sidequest
Hi! I’m Alex the Founder of SideQuest Travel — an Aussie obsessed with storytelling, travel, and chasing the kind of experiences you can’t plan. In 2023, after burning out in the corporate grind and the end of a five-year relationship, I quit my engineering job for good, packed a bag, and booked a one-way ticket out of Australia.
It all kicked off with a Holi group trip in India (shoutout @noratheexplorahh), and I was hooked. The culture, the chaos, the connections — it hit me hard. I realized the magic of travel wasn’t just in the landmarks, but in the SideQuests, the strangers-turned-friends, and the moments you stumble into off the beaten path. I'm drawn to hidden gems, avoid the crowds, and never pass up a SideQuest — as I've found, that SideQuests are where the best memories are made.
Since then, I’ve freelanced as a trip leader across Kenya, India, Iraq, Japan, Pakistan, and Europe. That full-circle moment — leading trips after starting on one as a wide-eyed traveler — still blows my mind. Travel has been transformative for me, and now through SideQuest Travel, I’m here to pass that on to other curious, open-minded souls ready to explore, grow, and to pick up some epic stories and memories.
Travel with your favorite creators
We partner with creators you already follow, so you can share incredible real-life experiences with them — not just comments and DMs.
Our Impact
SideQuest Travel isn’t just about seeing the world — it’s about seeing who benefits when you do.
Too often, the money from tourism flows straight to big-name hotels and overcrowded cities, while remote communities — the ones with the stories, soul, and traditional culture— get left behind. SideQuest was created to change that.
Every SideQuest is built to make an impact. We take travelers off the tourist trail and into regions that don’t usually see visitors — not because they’re lacking, but because they’ve been overlooked.
We prefer to stay in a family-run guesthouse, eat at local tables, and work directly with guides and small businesses that share their culture, not just their services. That means your trip puts money directly into the hands of people who deserve to benefit from tourism — and often don’t.
By doing this, we aim to help divert the flow of mass tourism, to ease the pressure on fragile sites, and provide meaningful support to communities that genuinely want and benefit from visitors. It’s a conscious way to explore — better for you, better for them.
Because the best adventures don’t just change you — they help change the world for the better, too.