Is Polarsteps the ultimate travel companion? We break down its best features, pros and cons, why you'll love (or hate) it, FAQs, and top alternatives!
"We have used polar steps on a couple of trips so far. We absolutely love this app! It gives us the ability to chronicle our trip and include pictures as well as what's going on on our trip. It also gives us the ability to let our friends follow us on the trip without making it public for everyone to see. It's like having your friends come with you on the trip without the expense!"
"App full of potential but the experience is spoiled because of non-stop bugs. The app has been released without being fully developed. Some fundamental features like merging trips are not available which blocks me from buying their album souvenir. Too bad."
PolarSteps automatically tracks your travel route using GPS, WiFi, and cellular signals without requiring manual input. The app works in the background, plotting your path with small white dots on a digital world map as you move between destinations. This eliminates the need to constantly check in or update your location, allowing you to keep your phone in your pocket and focus on exploring.
The Travel Tracker feature works even when you're not actively using the app, creating a comprehensive record of your movements throughout your journey.
PolarSteps creates a beautiful, personalized digital world map that grows fuller as your passport does, showing all the places you've visited with your exact routes plotted between destinations. Unlike traditional travel apps that show straight lines between locations, PolarSteps displays your actual travel path, creating a unique visual representation of your adventures.
The visual travel log provides a timeline of your trip, including paths, locations, travel statistics, and all personal notes and pictures you added, creating a polished digital story of your journey.
One of PolarSteps' most unique features is the ability to transform your digital journey into a high-quality printed travel book. Travel books start at €36 and can cost up to €150 depending on the number of pages (minimum 24 pages) and binding options, with free worldwide shipping included.
These premium photo albums are automatically generated and include your routes, travel statistics, stories, and photos without requiring hours of manual photo album creation. The books make excellent souvenirs or gifts for travel companions.
PolarSteps works offline and is designed to be battery-efficient, typically using only about 4% of battery power for full-day tracking. Users report that running the app for entire month-long trips doesn't require charging their smartphones more frequently than normal.
All trip data is stored locally on your device once created, ensuring you can access your itinerary and information even without an internet connection.
PolarSteps offers three privacy levels: trips can be viewed only by yourself, only by approved followers, or by anyone publicly. You also have full control over follow requests to ensure only desired people can see your trips.
This flexibility allows the app to function as either a completely private travel journal or as a social media-style platform for sharing adventures with friends and family.
The app provides real-time location sharing capabilities, allowing friends and family to follow your journey as it unfolds, giving them peace of mind about your safety while letting them experience your adventure virtually.
This eliminates the need to send updates to multiple group chats or individuals, as loved ones can simply access a shared link to track your progress.
PolarSteps includes destination guides created by travel editors and fellow explorers, showing the world's most enticing destinations with insider tips. The app also features an itinerary planner for building customizable dream itineraries.
The Travel Tracker feature allows you to specify how you plan to travel between destinations, showing actual routes with information about costs, distances, and travel times for different transportation options like car, bus, train, taxi, or flying.
Users can add photos and videos to their journey steps, with videos uploadable only through the mobile app. The app organizes these media elements chronologically with your route, creating a comprehensive multimedia travel diary.
To create a travel book, you need at least 5 photos added to your trip, and the system automatically incorporates your images into the printed version.
PolarSteps automatically calculates and displays travel statistics including total distance covered, number of countries visited, and average travel speed. These metrics provide interesting insights into your travel patterns and accomplishments.
The app creates detailed timelines showing exactly where you were at different times throughout your journey.
Users can leave tips for the traveling community about where to go and what to see, follow other travelers to share in their adventures, and contribute to the global community of explorers.
With over 15 million users (some sources cite 10+ million), PolarSteps has built a substantial community of travelers sharing their experiences.
PolarSteps is completely free to download and use for all core features including route tracking, photo uploads, trip sharing, and digital map creation. The only costs are optional physical travel books.
The app offers volume discounts on travel books: 10% off for two copies of the same book and 15% off for three or more copies.
Keep your phone in your pocket—PolarSteps tracks your entire route in the background using minimal battery power.
Watch your personalized travel map grow with every journey, showing your actual routes instead of boring straight lines.
Track unlimited trips, add photos, share with friends, and create digital memories without spending a penny.
Transform your digital journey into a stunning physical photo album with routes, stats, and memories included.
Let family and friends follow your travels in real-time, giving them peace of mind while keeping everyone connected.
You can't store flight details, hotel bookings, or reservations—it's purely for tracking and documenting, not organizing.
Unlike other apps, PolarSteps won't suggest attractions, restaurants, or activities at your destinations.
Only one person can add content to a trip—travel companions can't collaborate or contribute photos to the same itinerary.
Some users report location inaccuracies, missed tracking, or the app showing you've been places you haven't visited.
While the app is free, those beautiful printed memories cost €36-€150 depending on size and quality.
PolarSteps is an innovative travel tracking and documentation app that automatically maps your journeys using GPS technology. Unlike traditional travel planners, it focuses on creating a beautiful digital record of where you've been, turning your adventures into a personalized world map that grows with every trip you take.
The app excels at effortless background tracking that requires minimal battery usage, while offering the unique ability to transform your digital travels into high-quality printed photo books. Its completely free core functionality, offline capabilities, and real-time sharing features make it particularly appealing to adventurous travelers who want to document their journeys and keep loved ones updated without constant manual input.
However, PolarSteps has notable limitations. It's not designed for trip planning or organization—you can't store flight details, hotel bookings, or get destination recommendations like you would with comprehensive travel apps. The GPS tracking can sometimes be unreliable, and travelers going with companions will find the lack of collaborative features frustrating since only one person can add content to each trip.
Still, for travelers who prioritize documenting their adventures over planning them, PolarSteps offers an unmatched combination of automated tracking, beautiful visualizations, and the special touch of physical travel books. It's perfect for those who want to create lasting memories of their journeys with minimal effort.
Yes, PolarSteps is completely free to download and use for all core features including automatic route tracking, photo uploads, trip sharing, and digital map creation. The only cost comes from ordering physical travel books, which range from €36-€150 depending on size and binding quality.
GPS accuracy can vary depending on your phone settings, battery level, and location. While many users report excellent tracking, some experience location inaccuracies or missed segments. The app works best when you keep location services enabled and avoid battery-saving modes that limit background activity.
No, this is one of PolarSteps' main limitations. Only one person can add content to each trip. If you're traveling with others, you'll either need to use one person's account for all photos and notes, or each person must create their own separate trip documentation.
Yes! Once your trip data is stored locally on your device, you can access your itinerary and add photos/notes offline. However, the initial route tracking requires location services, and sharing updates with followers needs an internet connection.
Travel books start at €36 for a 24-page book and can cost up to €150 for larger, premium versions. The price depends on the number of photos and destinations in your trip. PolarSteps offers volume discounts (10% off for 2 copies, 15% off for 3+ copies) and includes free worldwide shipping.
