Polarsteps review: Is it a travel or photobook app?
To ensure you don't forget any of your amazing experiences while exploring the world, it's essential to document your travels. This is where Polarsteps comes in, offering travelers a platform to plan and track their trips, as well as upload notes, memories, and photos once they've visited.
The app allows users to create a travel route, add descriptions and photos of their adventure, and even get a personalized printed travel book. While we always recommend our Tourist app for planning your trip, mapping your itinerary, and discovering new places to explore, we also enjoy testing other travel apps on the market to see what unique services they offer to travelers.
In this Polarsteps review, we were excited to try out this unique travel scrapbook-style app and determine whether it's worth using. Keep reading to learn more about our experience with Polarsteps.
Polarsteps is...
Polarsteps is more than just a travel planning app; it also acts as a record of your trip. The company was founded in 2015 on a Catamaran sailing the Atlantic and is based in Amsterdam, embodying the true spirit of a traveler. Their mission is to make it easy for other adventurers to capture and share their travel stories as they move from one destination to another.
Using Polarsteps, you can add destinations, notes, and photos before, during, and after your journey to create a travel scrapbook documenting your adventures. Not only can you view your trip online, but you can also print fun and unique travel books that feature all the destinations you visited, along with your pictures and written memories of the adventure.
Polarsteps' innovative approach has caught the attention of publications like Wired and gained a large social media following of loyal users.
What is the cost of Polarsteps?
Downloading and using the Polarsteps app is completely free of cost. However, if you wish to get a printed Polarsteps travel book, you will need to pay for it.
What is the cost of Polarstep's travel books?
As mentioned earlier, using the Polarsteps travel planner app is free, but printing a travel book comes at a cost. In our research for this Polarsteps review, we discovered that the price of the book depends on the number of pages required, as follows:
24 Pages: 36 euros (approx. $40)
50 Pages: 56 euros (approx. $60)
100 Pages: 76 euros (approx. $90)
200 Pages: 96 euros (approx. $110)
300 Pages: 116 euros (approx. $135)
The travel book documents every place you visited during your trip, along with notes and pictures, making it a fantastic souvenir or a thoughtful gift for those who traveled with you. Given the uniqueness and customizability of this product, the price tag will likely be worth it for many.
How Can You Use Polarsteps?
To get started with Polarsteps, create an account on their website or via the app, then follow these simple steps:
Click on "Add a Trip" in your account to begin.
Enter a trip name, a summary, and the start and end dates of your journey.
Choose your preferred privacy option: only you can view the trip, only your followers can view and share the trip, or anyone can view and share the trip.
Add "Steps" to your itinerary, which are the places you plan to visit on your trip.
For each step, add the arrival date and time, along with a description (or "Story") and photos once you've visited the location.
You can also search for locations and view other users' public stories. If you find stories that you enjoy, you can follow those users.
Once your trip is scheduled, Polarsteps will plot a route and create a custom map for you. As you travel, the app will automatically add the duration of time you spent at each location to your account.
How Can You Add Photos to Polarsteps?
To upload photos to Polarsteps, follow these simple steps:
Go to your Polarsteps account and select the trip to which you want to add photos.
Choose the "Step" to which you want to add photos.
In the "Add Photos" section, drag and drop images from your computer to upload them.
Alternatively, click on the camera icon in this section to open your computer or cellphone files and select the photos you want to add.
That's it! Your photos will now be added to the selected "Step" in your trip.
How Do You Finish a Trip in Polarsteps?
If you want to add an end date to your trip on Polarsteps, follow these easy steps:
Go to the trip you want to edit.
Click on "Trip Settings" on the top right corner of your screen.
Under the "When?" subheading, add the end date of your trip.
That's it! Your trip will now be updated with the end date you specified.
Main Benefits of Polarsteps
Easy to Use
Polarsteps offers a convenient and user-friendly experience, with its GPS tracking feature automatically recording your travel destinations. Adding notes and photos to your journey is simple and straightforward.
Travel Book
The app's unique feature is the ability to print a travel book, including all your stops, photos, and notes, making it a perfect souvenir or gift for other travelers.
Privacy Options
Polarsteps provides flexibility in terms of privacy, allowing you to keep your trips completely private or share them with a wider audience. You can approve your followers to ensure only the people you want to see your trips have access to them.
Low Battery Consumption
Sharing your adventures with friends and family is effortless, and they can track your journey from start to finish, giving them peace of mind. Additionally, Polarsteps' GPS tracking feature consumes minimal battery power, making it an ideal tool for traveling and exploring without a reliable source of phone charging.
Negative Parts of Polarsteps
Inability to Add Multiple Travelers
Although Polarsteps allows sharing itineraries with others, it does not allow adding other travelers to your account to upload images or add notes. If traveling with others, each person will need to create their own itinerary/book, or all use one person’s account to add “Steps,” notes, and images.
No Travel Suggestions
Polarsteps primarily focuses on allowing users to add pre-researched travel locations they’ve decided to visit. Unlike other travel planners like Wanderlog, Polarsteps doesn't offer suggestions of nearby places to visit or activities to try at each location.
Not a Comprehensive Travel Planner
Polarsteps is more of a digital scrapbook than a travel planner. It doesn't allow storing information like flight details and accommodation bookings. While it's an excellent option for documenting your trip, it may not be suitable if you're looking for a travel organizer.
GPS Tracking Not Available for iOS
The GPS tracking feature, which records your travel route without having to open the app, is only available for Android users. If you're using the app on an iOS device, you'll have to enter your route manually within the app.
Occasional Glitches
Some users have reported experiencing glitches, bugs, and errors when using the Polarsteps app, such as being unable to edit trips and having trip details removed.
Should You Use Polarsteps?
After testing the app for this Polarsteps review, we believe that Polarsteps can be a useful tool for those who want to create a digital scrapbook of their travels and share their adventures with others. The app is free, so it is worth trying out.
Polarsteps is a convenient and fun way to add notes, photos, and memories of your trips. It also allows you to share your journeys with friends and family in real-time.
However, if you're looking for a complete travel planning tool to help you organize your itinerary, flights, and accommodations, Polarsteps might not be the best choice for you. It also does not suggest places to visit, limiting your exploration of new and unique locations.
Reviews from Google Play Store and Apple App Store users show high satisfaction levels. The app has received 4.5/5 stars based on more than 34K reviews on the Google Play Store and 4.8/5 stars based on 1.6K ratings on the Apple App Store. Satisfied users appreciate the convenience and ease of using Polarsteps to document their travels and memories.
Furthermore, the option to print a Polarsteps Travel Book is a unique feature that can make an excellent personalized souvenir or gift.
Do You Want An All-in-one Travel App: Tourist is here!
For those seeking a comprehensive travel planner that not only helps plan your trip but also offers destination guides, ticket bookings, and more, Tourist is definitely worth checking out! With Tourist, you can conveniently store all of your trip details in one place, and access hundreds of suggestions for exciting and memorable activities to do at each of your destinations. Download the Tourist app for iOS or Android or create your trip plan today to start exploring!