Hey, you.
Welcome. I travel fast, mostly by rental car, and I pick destinations by weather, cheap flights, and mood rather than a plan. Sometimes there is a plan. It usually doesn't survive the first day.
I'm not into discomfort for its own sake, and I won't pretend to know the 10 best hotels in a city I drove through once at midnight. Every page here is based on time actually spent there. If a page is short, I just wasn't around long enough to say more. If it is a mostly research based destination page, I'll let you know early on.
If that sounds like something you'd read, stick around.
What This Site Actually Is
Five Steps at Once started as a project in 2018, during a phase where I realized I'd been to a bunch of places but had nothing to show for it except a disorganized photo library and a few blurry memories. So I started writing things down. And then I lost motivation. Restarted again, lost motivation, and so on. This here is reboot no. 5.
Every destination page is based on a place I've personally visited. That means the coverage is uneven and full of gaps, which is fine.
The name? Five steps at once is how I travel. I don't like to stay for weeks at one place, instead moving with a considerable pace. This means that I have to skip some hyper-important sights, if there are a million other travelers and I'd be queuing for hours. But this also means that I visit places where I'm alone. Places that are not very photogenic, not very exciting, but pretty for the eye. Or just interesting. Five steps at once also means that I'm impatient, and when I see 2 tour busses turning into a tiny parking space, I turn around and go somewhere else, just to come back an hour later. It felt fitting for a site about squeezing the most out of limited time.
The Short Version of Me
I'm Darius. I work in marketing and tech, and travel whenever my calendar has a gap that's longer than 48 hours. I'm full of questionable navigation skills and strong opinions about airports and service. I usually don't do group tours (with some exceptions, like boats, because I can't exactly sail myself). I prefer warm weather, I get unreasonably excited about skylines at night, but I will always choose a museum over a rooftop bar. No offense to rooftops.
I travel solo most of the time. Coordinating schedules with other adults is basically impossible. Solo travel is faster, more flexible, and the only person who complains about the restaurant choice is me.
FAQ
Do you travel full-time?
No. I have a regular job. The trips you see here happen during long weekends, public holidays, and whatever vacation days I can stitch together. That's partly why I focus on efficiency: when you only have three days, you learn to move fast.
How do you pick your destinations?
A mix of cheap flights, good weather forecasts, safety, and pure impulse. Sometimes I'll see a photo and book a flight the same evening. Other times I'll stare at a map for weeks and end up going nowhere. There's no system. If there were a system, it would have broken down by now.
Are the ratings serious?
Semi-serious. They reflect my genuine impressions, but they're personal, not scientific. A place scoring a 4 in nightlife doesn't mean it has no nightlife. It can mean I either didn't find it or wasn't looking. Check the 7.5-Step Framework page if you want the full explanation.
Can I suggest a destination?
Sure, but I'll only write about it after I've been there myself. Feel free to drop a suggestion, though. Some of my best trips started with someone saying "you should check out..." followed by a place I'd never heard of. But, some of my worst trips started the same way.
Why is there so little food content?
Because I'm not a foodie. I do eat though. I just don't really care if it is some extraordinary, complex dish, or a burger at a fast food chain. If I like it, I'll eat it. Besides that, I'm a picky eater, particularly when it comes to meat. And before I drop the 42nd Cheesecake Factory pasta pic, I let it be. (On the side note: 4 of the top 5 pasta dishes of my life were at the Cheesecake Factory.)
Are you a backpacker?
Usually not. If I have a rental car, which is most of the time, I travel with a proper suitcase. If I don't have a car and I'm constantly on the move with public transport, I'll use a backpack. But I wouldn't call myself a typical backpacker. I admire the real backpackers for their commitment to traveling with relatively little stuff for weeks or months at a time. That takes a level of discipline I simply don't have.
Do you have a favorite city?
Yes.
Do you use AI?
Not for writing. I use AI for research, grammar and for some non-destination images (editorials, health, tips).
