Recommended by many travelers, PolarSteps is a free mobile application created by globe-trotters. It allows you to plan your steps, keep a diary, share your discoveries, get advice and travel guides, or print your souvenir album.
All this, in a simple, semi-automatic and intuitive way, on a pleasant and very aesthetic interface. Here is a quick overview of this practical application for the yachtsman or the traveler who does not want to bother with a personal website.
Automatic geographic position tracking
First of all, the application allows an automatic tracking of your GPS position thanks to your phone. Your track is recorded on a map in order to visualize your itinerary and your different stages or steps .
This option makes keeping a travel diary much easier and the rendering on the world map is very visual. However, you can disable the tracker and save your route manually if you wish.
Commented stages illustrated with photos
At each steps you can record one or more photos and a short text. This allows you to describe a place, a visit, the step that has just been made in a concise way.
Controlled confidentiality
Depending on what you want, you can keep your trip for yourself, or share it with your loved ones. Your friends and family do not need to create an account to view your trip, just send them a private link.
You can also open your itinerary to the travel community and the public. You can also easily share your posts on other social networks.
The people you authorize to access your trip have the opportunity to leave a comment or a like on your posts and you can follow other people's travels. In this way, the application itself functions as a social network for globetrotters.
Travel statistics
The PolarSteps application automatically calculates some statistics about your trip and all the trips you have created in your space. You will find, for example, the number of kilometers traveled, the farthest point from your starting point, the country flags collected along the way or the number of days of travel.
An offline working mode
When you are not connected, as can often be the case when boating, you can work in offline mode to describe your steps and choose your photos. The application automatically synchronizes when you find a network. It is optimized to consume as little battery as possible, about 4% more than your usual consumption during the day.
However, the application loses a lot of its interest if you don't have the network regularly. If your browsing takes you mainly to places without a connection, this may not be the best option...
Generation of a photo album
The mobile application being free, what you have to pay for is the printing of a photo album of your trip with your photos, your statistics, your map with the different stages. However, it is always you who chooses if you want to buy the album at the end of your trip!
