Track your backpacking trip on a map
Pebbls draws your route as you travel, from the first bus out of town to the last night train. Add a photo and a few words wherever you stop, and family at home can follow along without you posting every day.
It keeps recording when you lose signal
Your route is saved on your phone and sent when you're back online, whether that's after a week in the hills or a ferry with no wifi.
Easy on your data
Your trip saves to your phone and uploads in the background. Abroad, set it to Wi-Fi only and it waits for the hostel wifi.
Family can follow from one link
Send one link and anyone can see your map fill in, no app or account needed. If they want a note each time you post, they can make a free account in a few seconds.
A film of every stretch
Each chapter of your trip gets a short flyby film over your route, made for you. They're free and you can share them anywhere.
Where these trips went
The lines are what their phones recorded on the way, and the photos sit where they were taken.
Using it on a long trip
One journey for the whole trip
Make one journey for the trip and start a new chapter when you move on: a new country, an overnight bus, a week on a trail. Each chapter gets its own line on the map and its own flyby film, and they all sit together, so a gap year of six months reads as one trip and not sixty posts.
Buses, trains, ferries and walking
Pick how you're getting about when you start a chapter and the line on the map shows it. Ruth walked the Camino from Lisbon to Santiago in 36 days. Qinggong went through eight Balkan countries, mostly by bus, with a few days on foot in between.
When you get home
The trip stays where it is: the map, your photos in the order you took them with what you wrote, and the films. Send the link to anyone who asks how it went, or print the map for the wall.
Trips on Pebbls
A few of the backpacking trips members have mapped.
- World Trip - Zero Impact Expedition · David · 21 countries · 746 days · by sailing boat, campervan and on foot
- The Balkans by bus and on foot · Qinggong · 8 countries · 19 days · by bus, campervan and on foot
- Camino de Santiago · Ruth · 2 countries · 35 days · on foot and by train
- Japan Adventure · Keith & Frances · 1 country · 11 days · by train and on foot
Flyby films from these trips
Pebbls made these from the routes and photos above. Pick one to watch it with sound.
Free, with no adverts
Tracking, photos and notes, your map and journal, flyby films and sharing all cost nothing. Family see your route fill in every few minutes. If you want more, Explorer is $20 a year: your map keeps up with you as you move, and you get private journeys and offline maps.
Questions
Does it work in countries with poor signal?
Yes. Pebbls keeps recording without signal and uploads when you're back online. Photos wait on your phone until then too.
Can I see the map offline?
Your route records without signal on any plan. Offline maps, for finding your way with no signal, come with Explorer, for four areas at a time.
Will it drain my battery?
It uses GPS while you're tracking, like any map app. Most people start tracking when they set off and stop when they get there, and a small power bank is worth packing for long travel days.
Can I track several countries in one trip?
Yes. A journey can run for months. Start a new chapter when you cross a border or change plans and they all show on one map.
Do my family need the app to follow?
No. They open your link in any browser. A free account just means they get a note when you post.
Can I keep my trip private?
With Explorer you can make a journey private or put a password on it. On the free plan your journeys are public, and you share them by link.
Is it free?
Yes, tracking, photos, maps and flyby films are free. Explorer is optional.